Lucas’s eyes shone, bordering on glassy. Hearing the way my voice broke made him swallow thickly. “I know. But I can’t…”
“Can’t what? Be with me? Love me?” As I stared at him, my heart hardened in my chest. I had been so foolish. This whole time I’d been played. How could I believe him? How could I ever forgive him? “Go,” I said.
“MJ—”
“I said, go.SirLucas.”
Lucas clamped his mouth shut at the tone of my voice. It was an order from his queen, and he was bound to his duty.
He gave me a stiff half bow, heels together, then left. I stood in the middle of my room, watching until he closed the door behind him.
5
At sunrisebreakfastwas served on the terrace. I didn’t see Qian and his men, and I assumed they’d decided to sleep in.
The cooks had gone all out making a lavish meal, stacking the table with fried eggs, tapas, mountains of garlic rice, pineapple-cured pork, sun-dried herring, and dessert tofu in a brown sugar syrup. I told one of the butlers to thank the kitchen and to let them know that they’d be compensated for their efforts tenfold. It was an impressive feast.
I was the first to arrive and practically collapsed into my chair. I hadn’t slept after Lucas left. My eyes were still crusty and sore from lying in bed, staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night. This morning, while Jinky combed out my hair and dressed me in a casual patadyong, she had practically held me upright the whole time. I rested my elbows on the table, pressed my hands against my warm cheeks, and closed my eyes.
The morning was bright, and a slight breeze cut across the terrace, rustling the turquoise jade vines overhead and scenting the air with brine and cherry blossoms. The dappled light angled acrossmy eyelids, and birdsong floated out from the trees. It should have been a perfect day, but rain was on the horizon. I could feel it. I couldsmellit. The air was dense, like a hair tie pulled taut, ready to snap. Not only could I smell rain but I could smell the goats and the pigs; I could hear the bees flying in the garden below, eventastethe sea salt in the air. It was like my senses had been dialed way up.
There was something else, too, a steadythump-thump-thumpresonating in my ears. It almost sounded like…a heartbeat. And it wasn’t mine.
I was so hyperfocused on my heightened senses, I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone burst onto the terrace. I sat up and looked around blearily.
It was only Nix, though. Her dark hair hung loosely across her shoulders, and while she usually dressed casually despite her interest in fashion, today it looked like she had just rolled out of bed, too. I wouldn’t put it past her to not have gotten a wink of sleep, either. She dropped into a chair next to me, tipped her head back into the sunlight, and let out a deep, beleaguered sigh.
Yeah, that about summarized it.
I chalked up my sensory overload to stress and rubbed my face, waking myself some more, then set a bowl of rice in front of Nix. A peace offering.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
Nix leaned over the table, resting her elbow and cradling her forehead in her hand. She stared at the rice bowl but didn’t touch it, her gaze distant. “I didn’t think they’d go that far.”
“You don’t sound too surprised. This is a common occurrence, then, for Jade Mountain?”
“I didn’t think I was important enough for them to care.”
“Clearly your family was worried about you.”
Nix sighed again. She picked up a large spoon and stabbed it into the rice. “I ran away for a reason.” She frowned at her food, a million things rushing behind her dark eyes that had suddenly lost their sparkle. “Growing up there, I was barely my own person. I couldn’t choose my own clothes, what to eat, who to be. I’m one of fifty children…fifty. I didn’t think they’d find me, to be honest, or even bother to look. I was just another face in the palace.”
“And yet they sent Qian and an elite team of special forces to get you.” I leaned toward her and said, “I meant what I said last night. I won’t make you do something you don’t want to do.”
Nix finally looked up at me, and her gaze softened. “I know. Thank you. But it might be no use. Qian is the crown prince for a reason. Our people look to him for guidance, for inspiration. With him in charge, nothing can go wrong. He’s exceptional at what he does, determined and cunning.”
“What does he do? Besides being a prince?”
“He’s a hunter.”
“Oh? Of what?”
“Monsters, offspring of the Four Perils.”
My eyes widened. “What’s that?”
“They’re four monsters that plague the world, causing death and destruction wherever they go. Our father, the emperor, will get reports from some nearby villages that are being tormented by a giant winged tiger that’s eating people or terrorized by a sheep with a human face consuming an entire region’s food supply, and Qian will be the one to find it and kill it. He’s a hero. The entiretyof Jade Mountain loves him. He’s everyone’s favorite, and I meaneveryone—including me. He was my hero, too…”
