“Stop looking at me like that.”
Zizi blinked. Rui had a magnificent scowl on her face. “Like what?” he said.
“Like you... like we’re... I—” Her scowl disappeared, and she blushed. “Forget it.”
She turned away and tossed the sparkly ball down the corridor. With a chirp, Mao bounded after it eagerly.
It struck Zizi suddenly that this could be the best scenario for the two of them. If he and Rui had been tied together because of Four’s promise to Lei Ying, then Rui’s memory loss might have an explanation. If he had been erased from her heart and shedidn’tlove him anymore, didn’t thatmean the deal was off? That he had fulfilled it somehow? But he could still feelhislove thread, and One seemed to believe that its presence was evidence of his enduring bond with Rui.
And if our souls are bound together in all worlds and lifetimes, won’t she fall for me again?
A shrill noise burst from Rui. “Are you talking about you andme?”
Had he said that last line out loud? He must’ve sounded like a creep. “I was thinking about Mao,” Zizi lied.
“Good,” she said, “because I’m not falling in love with some random guy just because he’s attractive and he cooks.”
Zizi beamed. “You think I’m hot?”
“Absolutely not!” she half screeched. “And I wouldn’t fall for you even if you were the last person alive—or dead—in either realm.”
He was surprised by how much her words hurt.She doesn’t mean it, he told himself, only to realize he didn’t know that. Rui could very well mean it, and truth be told, it wasbetterif she did.
He rolled off the chaise and went to the rear courtyard. His beloved wisteria tree greeted him, its lavish cascades of flowers hanging down from curved branches like a beautiful veil hiding a shy maiden.
The ache in his chest was unfathomable.Youhave tolet hergo, he reminded himself. His time in the mortal realm was limited. He was here for a single reason. He had a duty to the underworld and an agreement with the gods. He had to complete his task and return to his siblings.
If Rui had forgotten him and what they shared in this life and the previous, then his eventual absence would bring her no pain. If she didn’t love him, she could still get her happy ending—just not with him.
He circled the tree, thoughts in disarray. There were other things that troubled him.
Lei Ying had been embroiled with Burning Flame, and somehow Rui had gotten entangled with Yiran. Yiran’s entrance into all this triangulated what Zizi had assumed to be an interconnected fate between twosouls. Was the past haunting the present? Were there other threads that needed to be severed, knots that needed to be undone?
A petal brushed Zizi’s arm as it floated to the ground. He frowned at the vines of lilac and blue flowers. He had been gone from this realm for so long that any vestiges of his mortal magic should have disappeared.
Why was the wisteria in full bloom?
He placed a hand on the rough bark.
A pulse. Like a beating heart. Traces of spiritual energy.
There wassomethingkeeping the wisteria alive.
“Are you all right?” Rui had come into the courtyard.
“Leave me alone,” Zizi said, his hand still on the bark. What could be in the tree? Hadheburied something there?
Rui stood in front of him. Zizi wanted to look away, but he couldn’t bring himself to.
“You all right?” she said again. “You seem distressed.”
“I’m going through the five stages of grief because you’ve forgotten me.” It was the first thing that came to his mind.
“What stage are you at now?”
“Depression.”
“Perfect. Acceptance will come next.” She was teasing him.
