A flash of pain darted across Qian’s face, and heat rushed to mine.
“I’m sorry—” I started to say, but he shook his head and lifted a hand.
“Someone very close to me died at the hands of a monster.”
It felt as if I’d drunk an entire tub full of ice water.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. I could tell it was a sensitive subject, and he didn’t expand on it.
Qian nodded once and then put the arrow back. He cleared histhroat and mercifully changed the subject. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this…rainy day?” He gestured out the window at the rainstorm and moved to his privacy screen to put on his clothes.
It took me a second to find the words. I felt unmoored. “I would like for you to join me on a retreat.” I could hear him moving behind the screen, sliding the hanger off the rack, and shuffling fabric as he pulled his shirt over his head.
“A retreat? For what occasion?”
“I have a vacation home in the mountains, Mount Makiling, a place where many peace agreements were forged. I would like to use it as an opportunity to extend a measure of good faith and to see if we can come to an agreement that both of us will find acceptable.” I tried to sound diplomatic, but the heat never left my cheeks. Why he made me feel this way was baffling for a number of reasons. I had to remind myself that this was Nix’s older brother. It would be crossing a dozen lines of our friendship if I even so much as looked at him in any kind of way that wasn’t purely platonic.
“A vacation home,” he repeated. He poked his head out from behind the screen. “This is certainly not how I expected events to unfold when finding my sister.”
“You would be staying as our guests, you and your men.”
“And Nix?”
“I haven’t asked her yet, but…I’m sure she’ll be in attendance.”
“Not that I’m in the habit of declining a much-desired vacation, but this palace isn’t suitable enough for our needs?”
When he stepped out from the privacy screen, Qian was fullydressed. His tunic shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing a hint of pale skin on his chest, and my eyes flicked to it against my will before I forced them back to his eyes. He noticed, of course, but didn’t move to cover himself or make any mention of it. Instead, he smiled at me.
“I’d like to clear the air between us,” I said. “I thought we started off on the wrong foot. If we went someplace else, we could begin again. Better this time.”
Qian ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing it back from his face, but his hair stubbornly flopped down the middle once more. It was a small, endearing quality that I couldn’t help but notice.
“I believe you’re right,” he said. “We have started off on the wrong foot.” The healers had done a good job returning his nose to normal, but it still didn’t diminish the fact that I’d broken it in the first place. Our meeting had been less than stellar, but now I felt like we were seeing eye to eye. That had to be a good sign.
“I think your idea sounds…appropriate, given the circumstances,” Qian said. “It would be a step in the right direction. When would you like to depart?”
“As soon as possible. Perhaps after the storm clears. Unless you would like some time to prepare?”
Qian jutted out his lower lip and looked around the room. He hadn’t brought any personal effects for an extended journey, so there wasn’t much by way of packing, and I thought he was amused by that fact, too. “I think I’ll be able to get ready by then.”
“Good.” I spun around and headed to the door. “I look forward to our journey.”
“Me too, MJ.”
I opened my mouth, automatically ready to ask him to call me by my full name, but thought better of it. This would be the second time he’d used my nickname, and I found that I didn’t mind the way he said it. I closed my mouth, tipped my head, and took my leave.
His smile stuck with me even when I left his room, but the moment I closed the door, I was intercepted by a frantic-looking Ayo.
“Your Majesty,” he said, gasping for air. He looked like he’d sprinted all the way here. “You must come at once.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“There’s been an attack.”
8
I couldn’trunany faster to the throne room. In actuality, it took me only a few minutes, but panic made the halls grow longer with each stride. An attack? Here? In Biringan City?
