The tightness in my chest eases as we fall into step next to one another. Fán’xuan is back in his wolf form; Lì’líng trots delicately by my side, nose in the air.
“Those huà’pí were something, huh,” Tán’mù muses. “They’re saying the Second Trial is the test of courage. Whether we can overcome our greatest fears.”
I’m not ready to talk about my parents yet, but I tell herhow the huà’pí took Méi’zi’s form. Tán’mù listens without a sound. When I finish, we lapse into a companionable silence.
“Tán’mù,” I say.
“Mm?”
I count my steps, measuring my words. “We must be careful. Number One’s killer is still on the loose.”
Her dark eyes go to Lì’líng and Fán’xuan, trotting a ways ahead of us, tails in the air. “I’m always careful,” Tán’mù replies, and I feel it when her gaze slides to me. She’s silent for a few heartbeats, then between the sound of our footfalls, her voice drifts to me. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
I inhale deeply and give her the one thing Icantell her. “I was the one who found her body. The wounds she sustained…Idon’t think a candidate would have inflicted them.” I finally lift my eyes to meet hers. “Her chest was torn open, Tán’mù. Her heart and organs were eaten.”
Tán’mù’s mouth tightens. “They’re going to come after us, you know.”
Byus,she means the halflings. The immortals know that halflings participate in their trials.
What they don’t know about is the presence of a fourth halfling on their temple grounds, who’s half-demon, half-mortal—a creature whose very existence is unheard of across the realms.
“Whatever killed Number One is dangerous,” I say in a low voice. “Xiù’chun was the strongest among us, and she couldn’t beat it. Promise me you’ll watch Lì’líng and Fán’xuan while the immortals hunt down the culprit.”
“I will.” Tán’mù tips her head. “And I’ll be watching you, too. Like it or not, you’re with us now.”
Her words warm me as much as they weigh on me. I amthe only person who knows of Yù’chén’s existence—and of the gate we created in the Kingdom of Sky’s wards.
My stomach tightens. Tonight, I’ll go investigate the gate—the one Yù’chén said he closed—and try to determine whether something got through from the outside…and is now hunting down the Temple of Dawn candidates.
The charm on my golden butterfly has not yet faded; its wings flutter gently as I brush my thumb along it time and time again, feeling the grooves of my number:
44.
There is something oddly comforting about it now, I think, as I cross the marble bridge with my friends. Here and there, we spot candidates trickling back into the Kingdom of Sky. Some limp; a few are wounded.
The disembodied gong clangs across the Temple of Dawn just as Lì’líng, Tán’mù, Fán’xuan, and I enter the Hall of Radiant Sun. I glance behind me as we step into the warm glow of lanterns. The marble bridge melts away into the night, shattering like ashes of stars. For a split second, I think I see the hulking shadow of a great landmass drifting in the darkened sky…before the fog swallows it whole.
—
Yù’chén is not back.
Twenty-six of us have made it. With each face that I scan that isn’t his, my chest tightens a bit more. I remember the look on his face as he gazed at the pale, lifeless form between the trees, the way his voice changed when he told me to leave.
He pulled me out of the depths of my most vulnerable moment yet. And I left him there to face his greatest fear alone.
Immortal guards move to stand in front of the entrance tothe temple, declaring the end to the trial. I look for Hào’yáng, but I don’t find him, either.
“Welcome back, candidates.” Dòng’bin’s voice is a low rumble that fills the Hall of Radiant Sun. “And congratulations on passing the Second Trial.
“The Temple of Dawn is the first front in finding those worthy of joining the Kingdom of Sky.” There’s a shuffle of suppressed excitement around us. Up until now, the immortals have given us information in dribs and drabs, but Dòng’bin is gearing up for a speech. “First and foremost, we value physical prowess with the mortal martial arts and practitioning arts, as well as the natural state of one’s body. That was the First Trial: testing your ability to reach our temple. Yet we also value what lies beneath the strength of one’s body—and that is the strength of one’s heart. That is why the Second Trial was a test of the fortitude of your mind: a trial of courage, and your ability to withstand the depths of your own fears. Each of the remaining trials will test other aspects of what we value in our bravest and our best—qualities that, I am certain, these trials will reveal within a handful of you here.”
The candidates’ excited air takes an uneasy turn at his reminder: only a few of us will earn the elusive pill to the Kingdom of Sky.
“While we reward those who show desirable traits, we also punish those who break the rules we have set forth for this sacred temple.” Dòng’bin’s gaze narrows. “This world was established according to the unbreakable laws of the Heavenly Order. Just as the realms must follow the Order, so, too, must all beings within the realms adhere to the laws set forth by their kingdoms, their temples, their households. And those who disrupt must be punished.”
By his side, Shi’ya tilts her head. Nearly imperceptibly.
“Guards, bring out the perpetrator.”
