I tumble back, barely catching myself as I land on the groundagain. Yù’chén’s eyes glow crimson as dark magic flows from his palms, forming the shields behind him. Cutting me off from Hào’yáng.
At the same time, we thrust our palms out. Spirit energies explode from me, as bright as the sun against his magic of night. The resulting clash flings me backward in the direction of the palace doors.
Pain lances through my back as I slam into the ground. The world splinters with the acute pain of my ribs cracking. When I come to, it is to a bright-blue light streaking through the dark. Like a shooting star, it arcs across the eastern sky…straight toward us.
Snow falls from its tail—gentle, beautiful flakes of snow, drifting down toward us.
The light slows as it descends over the palace roofs, and I make out a shape within, serpentine and scaled and utterly familiar:
She of the Moon-Frosted Sea.
The dragon soars past me, making straight for where Hào’yáng faces off against Sansiran and the two Perils.
It has been a while, Lotus Immortal.Her voice, sweet and ancient, rings out in my mind.I come of my own volition, not as a representative of the dragons of the Four Seas. Our realm cannot declare an alliance with one of the two heirs to the Kingdom of Rivers—yet as Hào’yáng’s chosen companion since birth, I have the right to participate by my choice.
Outwardly, she utters a sound between a shrill cry and a melodic song. Qióng’qí and Táo’wù look up as her power hits them; even Sansiran pauses.
Hào’yáng, blood dripping down his arm, hefts his swordupright—and plunges it straight into Táo’wù’s core as She of the Moon-Frosted Sea descends upon the demon queen.
I push myself to my feet, spitting out blood. I’m shaking, my entire being aglow in the soft blush of my spirit energies as they rush to heal my broken bones. My vision slides in and out of focus.
A shadow falls across the floor. When I look up, Yù’chén is standing over me.
He reaches out with his magic: shadows forming vines, blooming with bright, beautiful scorpion lilies. I expect pain, a dagger in my back or thorns from his magic to pierce my heart.
But there is none of that. The darkness is almost gentle as Yù’chén lifts me into the air, high enough for me to glimpse the other side of this battle, for Sansiran to glance over and see me. The palace steps blur as we ascend.
Dimly, I feel myself being deposited on the floor. Something soft brushes my cheek; when I open my eyes, frayed blue carpets come into focus, threaded through with golden dragons. Dust tickles my nose.
Footsteps, sharp and clinical.
Then Yù’chén steps through the double doors, his shields of darkness expanding behind him.
Trapping me inside the palace.
31
Àn’ying
Imperial Palace, Kingdom of Rivers
Cold. Black. Sinking into my bones with a frightening familiarity as my spirit energies resume healing me and my senses slowly return. I’m lying in the middle of the long hallway leading to the dais, where the throne of the Kingdom of Rivers rests, unoccupied for over a decade. On either side of me are the tatters of silk banners that once hung with the insignia of our kingdom: a golden circle with a river of lapis lazuli. The air is as still as death.
All but for the shifting, swirling gateway open behind the throne.
The gateway that I need to destroy—by ending Yù’chén’s life.
I clench my teeth, and with enormous effort, I heave myself onto my feet, dragging my lotus sword with me.
Yù’chén stands against the great mahogany doors of the palace, watching me in silence. Neither of us moves—him, sharpand clear as steel; me, wounded and swaying, the soft blush of my energies pooling at my feet as my body desperately tries to heal itself.
Panting, I point my sword at him.
He blinks once, glancing at the blade, then looks back at my face. “You’ve figured it out, then,” he says.
I’m too tired to speak, but I need to stall, at least until my wounds are healed. Warmth seeps back into my limbs, the pain dulling as my bones and tendons mend themselves back together. “Figured what out?”
“The secret to the gateway. Why it remains open, decades later. How Sansiran managed to create one in the first place.”
