“Prince Cao.” Winter appeared behind Lei, his long pale robes stark against the blackening night. “My felicitations on the occasion of your betrothal.”
Betrothal? My spine stiffened as I caught Lei’s reaction. He straightened, distancing himself from me, his face regaining its impassive mask. “Thank you,” he said, bowing his head. “I hope to share a toast with you at my wedding ceremony.”
“You’re betrothed?” I asked, ignoring etiquette. “To who?”
Lei raised a mocking brow, as if the information had no pertinence to me. “Lady Tang Liqing of the Tang family. Have you had the pleasure of making her acquaintance?” My stomach sinking, I recalled the pretty girl with crimson lipstick who’d kissed Lei at the Rain-Listening Gazebo.
Lei’s face was cold again, and he looked at me as if I were merely a prying stranger. “I see,” I said, struggling to keep my voice level.
To my mortification, I felt pressure build behind my eyes. I did not know if it was due to the holidays or simply because I missed my family; never had I been someone so quick to cry. Humiliated and fuming, I turned to go. “Goodbye,” I spat out.
“Wait.” He seized my wrist with the speed of a cobra.
“Let me go,” I said, determined not to look at him. I would not let him see my tears.
His voice sounded odd. “Meilin—”
I felt a sudden movement behind me and turned just as Sky punched Lei in the face. Lei staggered back, wiping blood from his lip.
“Touch her again and you’ll die,” said Sky, his nostrils flaring. Nervously, I edged toward him as court officials gathered around us, whispering.
“Sky,” I said. He was bristling, itching for a fight. “Let’s go.”
“Will you tell her or will I?” Lei asked, a cruel smirk playing across his face. “I always knew you were a coward, but the extent—”
Sky snarled and threw another fist at him. This time, Lei was prepared and easily dodged, laughing. Sky tried again and Lei eluded him once more, leaving Sky panting from exertion.
“That’s enough,” said Winter, seizing his brother. “You’re making a scene.”
Sky’s face was still red, but at least he grew aware of the watching crowd. Taking a breath, he found me and grabbed my arm.
“We’re leaving,” Sky said, and an unsettling premonition struck me—that I might never see the Ximing prince again. In a few days, he would depart for First Crossing, and I would remain in Chuang Ning. It hardly mattered; he was soon to be married, as was I. Like two shadows meeting at dusk, our lives were only ever meant to cross for a fleeting moment.
Lei’s face changed, growing raw and desperate in a way that made me hesitate. “Don’t go with him,” he said lowly, in a voice meant for me alone.
I steeled myself against his manipulations. “You have no right,” I hissed. “Congratulations on your forthcoming nuptials. From now on, let us be strangers to one another.”
Twenty-one
Father, I know you will not approve, but I beg you to understand that no other man can compare. If you love me, please, I ask that you support my choice. And if you care for my happiness, I implore you to help him secure his terms in the treaty negotiations. His success is all that matters now, and I need you to endorse him—for both our sakes.
—Lady Tang Liqing in a private correspondence to Chancellor Tang Jianguo, 924
We did not speak asSky led me back to my rooms. He hesitated on the threshold of my door, seeming to waver with indecision, before bidding me good night. I was exhausted and did not argue. I would talk to him tomorrow.
My guards exchanged shifts; Zibei smiled at me, squeezing my shoulder in what must have been intended as comfort. I ignored him and locked the door to my bedroom behind me, not waiting for Lotus before stripping off my heavy gown. What was Sky hiding? What did Lei want from me—why had he warned me of famine and rebellion and the burgeoning threat of civil war? Did he expect me to intercede, or to play his willing pawn? Why had he saved my life—why had he asked me to run away with him—only to propose to another woman?
Exhausted and upset, I buried my head beneath the covers and willed myself not to think of him. Gradually, I drifted into a deep,dreamless sleep, so that I did not hear the sound of the key fitting into the lock, nor the parting creak of my bedroom door.
I screamed in fear andanguish as something sharp lanced my arm. The iron arrow tore open my skin, and I fell to my knees, trying to stanch the bleeding. I looked around wildly, struggling to make sense of my surroundings. Was this a dream? A memory from the war? But the blood continued to drip from my wound, and the pain did not abate.
Another arrow whizzed by me as I flattened myself against the dirt. Squinting into the darkness, I saw an archer crouching in the shadow of a tree. I extended a hand toward him, concentrating my lixia.
Water rose from the damp earth. The man whimpered, dropping his bow and sprinting away. He slipped, hitting the ground, just as I clenched my hand into a fist and drove a stream of water into his mouth.
His gurgling breaths continued for but a few more moments, and then—silence.
It was not my first kill of the night.
