Sansiran lashes out with her powers: a bolt of black lightning, aimed straight for Hào’yáng.
Hào’yáng raises Azure Tide, and around us, magic fills the air. The dragons begin to glow, their energies pouring toward Hào’yáng. The air thrums with the vastness of oceans; the churning of tides; the shift of seasons, the turn of realms and lives across time. Power more ancient than this world, coalescing around us.
Hào’yáng steps forward, sword raised, an aurora of light splintering through Sansiran’s shadows. Azure Tide arcs through the air, sending the combined powers of the dragons tearing through the demon queen.
Sansiran’s mouth remains open in that furious shriek. As a blinding nexus of light explodes over her, the last I see is her face, distorted in hatred until the very end.
When the light fades, the marble steps are empty. Nothing remains in the spot where Sansiran and her Perils stood, not even a trace of shadows or a single petal of her red oleander. The sun gleams over us, and the Imperial Palace sparkles with remnants of the dragons’ magic.
Slowly, immortals, mortals, and halflings alike gather around us, forming a circle. Some are wounded and bloodied, some in disbelief at the sudden end to the battle—yet as they turn their gazes to their heir and rightful emperor, their expressions transform to reverence.
One by one, they kneel. Even the immortals follow suit, heads bowed in deference. A chant rises, soft at first but growing stronger:“Emperor…Emperor…Emperor…”
Hào’yáng’s eyes, however, remain only on mine as, beforeall his subjects and allies, he, too, lowers himself to one knee and inclines his head.
Toward me.
“Hé Àn’ying,” he says, his voice ringing across the grounds. “Honorable Lotus Immortal. Without you, my life would be forfeit. It is you who pulled me from the gates of the Nine Fountains, who breathed life into me again. It is you who turned the tides of this war by destroying the gateway to the Kingdom of Night, which the mó used to feed on the energy and life of our realm. And it is you who secured the alliance with the Kingdom of Sky.” Hào’yáng’s gaze meets mine, and I find that I cannot breathe. “The honor of winning this war, therefore, belongs toyou.”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd, and I feel it, the moment their attention shifts to me. Then, one by one, the warriors turn to me, heads bent, as they chant my name. Behind me, the dragons rise into the skies, sunlight refracting off their colorful scales. The air fills with their ancient, echoing song until they blend into the brilliant blue of the distant horizon, disappearing into the folds of another realm.
33
Àn’ying
Kingdom of Rivers
The soft dawn light coats the blossom in hues of gold. My breath plumes before me as I brush aside a dusting of snow and bend to examine the flower.
It’s a red scorpion lily. The petals taper to sharp edges, unfurling like a crimson star and gleaming like a ruby in the snow.
A beautiful flower for a beautiful maiden.
A flower foretelling a tragic fate? You can keep it.
I blink, glancing around me, half expecting to find him there before me, dressed in his bright red cloak and wearing that wicked smile. Yet as the ghosts of voices past fade, I find that there is no one else in this section of the Imperial Palace gardens. No one and nothing but me, the blossoms, and my footprints in the freshly fallen first snows.
It’s been one month since the Battle of the Imperial City. The palace is being rebuilt, much like the rest of our kingdom.Hào’yáng summoned our remaining mortal practitioners to journey with him throughout the realm, repairing the wards the Kingdom of Night broke past over a decade ago. Word of our victory has spread throughout the Kingdom of Rivers, spinning it into tales and legends of the crown prince and the Lotus Immortal; of the Day the Dragons Danced, heralding a long and prosperous reign for the new emperor of the Kingdom of Rivers.
The immortals, too, have reclaimed their realm since the mó were driven out. Shortly after the battle, I bid farewell to the Eight Immortals who stood with us. We are soon to be reunited when I attend a ceremony before the High Court of the Kingdom of Sky to officially seal my title and position among them.
All is well; the valiant warriors have been honored, the fallen soldiers paid their due respect.
Except for one.
I kneel before the scorpion lily. I had another dream last night—the same one, in the forest, where I search for something. For someone.
Dark magic leaves signs behind, he once told me.Unnatural growths of flowers, birds, and animals that don’t belong…
As his voice echoes in my mind, I catch movement in my peripheral vision.
A butterfly, flitting between the branches of snow-kissed plum blossoms. Its wings catch the early morning sunlight, reflecting patterns of red and black. It flies toward me, circling the scorpion lily.
In disbelief, I hold out a hand. Chest tight, hope drumming a wild heartbeat inside me, I can’t help but wonder…
“Àn’ying!”
A cheerful shriek pierces the peaceful silence. I turn as a whizzing pink blur rams into me, tackling me onto the snow. Méi’zi is cackling as she draws back. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright; her chin is tucked into the thick fur of her new winter cloak. By her side, a familiar little white fox with amber eyes and a bushy tail yips in what sounds like laughter.
