Sky drew his sword atonce. Shaking, I followed suit, though I did not quite know who I was defending. Kuro raised a taunting brow at me, and I saw then that his eyes were back to their brilliant golden hue.
Baihu has returned.
“So you’re back to being the empire’s pawn?” Kuro asked me. “I wonder what that must be like…to have such low self-esteem that you’d let yourself be clapped in irons.”
Sky hissed. “She’s not a—”
As he raised his blade, I threw myself between them. “We need him, Sky!” I interrupted. “I can’t seal the rift alone.”
“She’s right,” said Winter, though he too eyed Kuro apprehensively. Kuro met his gaze, and held it.
“You’re the sixth prince, aren’t you?” the rebel leader said, achallenge in his voice. “I’ve heard about you. You circumvented my poison. How?”
Winter smiled, a smile that I suspected sent stronger men to their knees. Kuro considered him with an air of curiosity, but before he could speak, Sky interrupted: “How did you find us?”
“Why, the Ximing prince, of course,” said Kuro easily. “I never knew royalty to be so helpful.”
Sky’s lip curled as his eyes sought the shadows. “Is he here now?”
“I was sent ahead,” said Kuro, inspecting the iron walls with a shudder. “He’s dispatching a few messages above, but he’ll come.”
Sky smiled now, a smile that promised violence.
“Sky…” I said quietly. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“What does that mean, Meilin?” Sky rounded on me, his former fury resurrecting. His eyes flashed dangerously, like lightning before a storm. “Are you so desperate to seek a new bedfellow?”
I gasped. “How dare you?”
“It seems a whore never forgets her ways—”
I struck him across the face. Hard enough that his head snapped back. Meanwhile, Kuro began to laugh.
I faltered, backing away as I stared at the red mark on Sky’s cheek. A mark left by my hand. I had struck him in the same way my father had once enjoyed hitting me.
Tears pricked my eyes as I considered the depths of my own monstrosity. Was it all my fault—because I cared for Sky, and in the same breath, cared for another? How could my heart be so duplicitous—and how could my feelings be so fickle? Was I the only one who kept hurting those I loved? Was it my love itself that was so damaging, like a poison that corrupted at the core?
“So,” drawled a new voice, “it seems the cat has left the bag, and my, it’s not a very sweet cat.”
Lei appeared in the cavern entrance, windswept and pale, but largely unharmed. His words, directed at Sky, seemed to drain the very air from the room.
Sky’s voice was like a growl. “You—”
“I do have a name,” said Lei pleasantly.
Sky spat. “It was a mistake to let you live.”
“A very foolish mistake,” agreed Lei. “Though some seem to take pleasure in my company, I can’t understand why. Perhaps it’s simply that, compared to a few others, my company is slightly less foul.” He raised a brow at Sky, who bared his teeth at him.
They brought out the very worst in each other, and it pained me to see it. “Stop,” I said. “Stop this.”
Sky ignored me. “It’s a mistake we can remedy,” he said, advancing with his sword drawn.
“Di Di,” said Winter quietly. “We can’t kill him.”
“I don’t intend to kill him,” said Sky, his expression a mask of brutality. “I only intend to ruin that pretty face. Without it, he’s nothing.”
Lei smiled mockingly. “You think I’m pretty?”
