“You two look good together,” I said, smiling. I’d first encountered Captain Tong during the bandits’ ambush near Ji Zong. Winter had nearly been taken captive that day, but Captain Tong had guarded him fiercely. “I’m glad at least some good came from the war,” I remarked.
“Oh?” Winter raised a brow. “I can think of a few other good things.” From his arch tone, I knew whatever he said next would be at my expense.
Before he could tease me relentlessly, I bid him good night andushered him out the door. Exhausted, I prepared for bed, telling myself I’d sleep in tomorrow—I’d earned it.
Unfortunately, the morning had other plans for me.
“My lady,” said Lotus. “Sorryto wake you—but you must rise.”
“What time is it?” I asked groggily. “I thought I asked Lily to cancel today’s training session.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “The crown prince has returned early on an imperial mission. No one knows why! The third prince requested a private audience with him—and now the crown prince is issuing a summons for you! It’s an official summons”—she worried her lower lip—“under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Commander.”
Which meant it was either a punishment or a promotion. Given my previous track record, I knew not to expect the latter.
With mounting unease, I let Lotus and Lily dress me as we waited. Lily discreetly handed me the custom-made bracelets, crafted to mimic iron—a simple task, she remarked, given the current fashion for wearing iron.
Within the hour, the imperial guards arrived, summoning me to Prince Keyan’s palace. Though they did not bind my hands, I noted the way they surrounded me, as if they thought I might try to escape. But I was not so foolish as to think running could get me anywhere.
When Lotus tried to follow, the head guard shook his head. “He requested only the lady.”
“Lady Hai is prone to nausea and vomiting,” explained Lotus. She shot me a wink as the head guard allowed her to accompany me.
The throne room of the crown prince was smaller than the Imperial Commander’s, but no less extravagant. Prince Liu Keyan saton a raised dais made of rosewood and cedar, the steps intricately carved to resemble a swaying bamboo forest. In front of him Princess Yifeng poured him a medicinal-smelling tea, before placing the porcelain teapot on the table and retreating to the back.
Prince Yuchen stood before the dais, vibrating with a nervous, uncontainable energy. As my presence was announced and I entered the room, I watched him watch me, tracking my every step like a cat before a mouse. But who was the cat, I wondered, and who was the mouse?
“There she is,” said Yuchen, “the demon girl.”
Ten
After the war, they were brought over by sea to serve as forced laborers. Thus their bodies were buried on foreign soil, where they haunted the capital city until Emperor Wu declared they were to be given a proper burial. Their souls have now gone to rest, but on a particularly windy night, one may hear them singing in the old language, singing of a land they can never return to.
—Remembering the Wu Dynasty, 913
“Your Highness,” said the thirdprince with spurious humility, “I have it on reliable authority that the seventh prince has been openly defying the Imperial Commander’s edicts. Prince Liu Sky has engaged in black market dealings to amass an extensive collection of banned texts. His actions are intended to spread the wickedness and corruption of black magic, deliberately undermining the Imperial Commander’s efforts to eradicate such evil.”
My pounding migraine had returned. I studied the crown prince’s reaction; he listened silently, his only tell in the deepening fatigue on his face. Perhaps rumors of his sickness had not been exaggerated.
“Why does he do this, you may ask,” said Yuchen, with an actor’s flair for the dramatic. “He does this forher”—he whirled on me—“because she is a black magic practitioner.”
He strode toward me and grabbed my wrist. I struggled against him, but in my weakened state, he easily restrained me, raising my arm in the air so that my trailing sleeve fell back.
“Why do you think she wears iron at all times?” asked Yuchen, his hand squeezing my wrist hard enough to bruise.
“That’s not exactly particular to her, is it?” said the crown prince, before coughing into his sleeve. “Half the city wears iron these days.” He glanced down at his left hand, and I noticed the thick iron ring on his middle finger, out of place beside the sparkling gemstones he wore.
“And where is proof of this supposed collection?” Keyan asked, after taking a long sip of his tea. From the way he grimaced, the tea did not seem particularly appetizing.
Yuchen’s smile widened as my ears began to ring. Of course Yuchen would make his move while Sky was away, leaving me to defend him. And how could I, when in the palace I was regarded as a fallen woman at best, a demonic spirit at worst?
“Your Highness, allow me to show you—so you can see with your own eyes.”
As the third prince led the way, he spared me one glance—his smile sweet as a sated viper’s.
As we entered the now-familiarreading room, I sensed rather than saw Lotus trying to catch my eye. Aware of the intense scrutiny upon me, I resisted meeting her gaze, not wanting to do anything that might implicate her.
The crown prince showed no particular surprise as Yuchen led him and our entourage through the secret passageway. He made sure I went last, lest I somehow tamper with the evidence.
