There was no bluster in Sky’s demeanor, and it frightened me. “I’ll give you a face to match what you really are inside.”
“Averypretty face, then.”
“Please,” I said. “Stop.”
No one paid me any heed, as if I hadn’t spoken at all. I felt a wave of fatigue buckle my knees. I could’ve resisted it, I could’ve fortified my qi and straightened, but instead, as a last resort, I let myself collapse.
The effect was immediate: Sky lowered his sword and went to me. I let my eyelids flutter shut as I heard his distress. “Meilin?” He said my name over and over again. “Are you all right?”
Why do you only come to me when I’m in pain?I wanted to ask.Why is this the only way I can get your attention?
I felt him lift me, checking my pulse, then my wounds.
Silently, I called to Lei. “Stop your bickering. Please.”
“A convincing performance,” replied Lei in my mind. “You should consider a future as an actress.”
I did not respond; I was too vexed with him. Opening my eyes, I found Sky above me, his face familiar with concern.
“Forgive me,” he said quietly, and I could feel his hands shaking.
“It seems a whore never forgets her ways.”
I pushed myself upright, saying nothing. If I addressed this now, I would let the ocean of my guilt and anger flood this place.
It was not the first time I had been called a whore.
“While that was certainly entertaining, we do have bigger problems on our hands,” said Kuro.
I rose to my feet, ignoring Sky’s proffered arm. Focusing my qi, I guarded my mind not only against Qinglong but also against Lei, against my own emotions. I shut them all out, contending only with the external.
“I’m going to find a way to seal the rift in the veil.” I addressed Kuro, my voice echoing across the cavern walls. “Will you stand in my way, or will you join me?”
Kuro swallowed, his eyes meeting mine in recognition. Here we were, back at that same crossroads—but last time, we had both made different choices.
And yet, back then, Jinya had still been alive. The Ivory Tiger had not turned her back on her own vessel. The Azure Dragon had not broken free of the spirit realm. And I had naïvely believed I could escape the consequences of my own actions.
“You sought the dragon’s power, and the power corrupted you. Nowyou wish to forsake it, and return to who you once were. But the world itself is irrevocably changed. Even if you find the spring, qinaide, and even if you succeed in relinquishing your powers, do you really think you can go back to the person you once were? You will live with what you have done, for the rest of your life.”
Kuro glared at me, then at the other princes. I bit my lip, wondering if he would choose defiance just for the sheer sake of it. But then I heard the guilt in his voice: “Jinya wouldn’t have wanted this.”
I capitalized on that guilt. “Do it for her, then. For her memory.”
Kuro sighed. “What’s the damn point?” he asked. “You know we’ll be remembered as the villains of this story. Their fathers”—he pointed at the princes—“will make sure of that.”
I shook my head. I did not know if it was naïveté or stubbornness that drove me, but I truly believed there could be another ending to our story.
I would make it so.
“There’s still time,” I said, repeating my mother’s words to him. “Remember—history is always being rewritten.”
“You won’t be alone,” said Winter. “Let us set aside our differences and support one another.” He paused, looking around the cave. “Allof us.”
With another sigh, Kuro nodded, as did Lei. We all turned toward Sky. His mouth twisted, his eyes scornful. I could feel the unhappiness radiating off him. But slowly, meeting my gaze, Sky too nodded.
“A Three Kingdoms truce,” said Lei, eyes glinting with mirth. “A real one, this time.”
Thirty-Six
