He took a breath after his thunderous rant, tossing out a tile irritably.
Zizi didn’t doubt what Emperor-Father was saying. It was true that many mortals had shown themselves to be undeserving of grace, and hadn’t they caused Lei Ying’s death because of their ignorance and bigotry and lust for power?
Why do you still risk your life to protect them?
Because it is the right thing to do.
He could not forgive, and he would never forget. But for her, he would try.
He stared at the row of tiles in front of him. Thirteen in hand, fourteen to win.
One three, one four.
He reached out to the table and picked up the tile Emperor-Father had discarded, slipping it into his own row.
“I’m choosing to save just one,” he said quietly. “And if in the process other mortal lives are saved, so be it.” He flipped the row of tiles, showing his hand. “The Thirteen Wonders.” He nodded at Emperor-Father. “Thanks for the assist.”
Stunned silence fell over the table.
Emperor-Father sputtered, “The mistakes you made—you were leading us astray, distracting us, weren’t you?”
Zizi smirked. “Or I could’ve been twice lucky. I guess you’ll never know.”
The cold metal around his neck, legs, and back retracted.
“I believe I just won,” he said, rising from his seat. “Now for my reward. My one request is for both Rui and me to cross Naihe Bridge safely into her realm. As for my question...” He smiled devilishly at the Elders and Celestials. “Tell me about thefirsttime I played this game with you.”
44
Rui
The woman rose to her feet and turned from the altar.
“Rui?” she gasped, coming closer. She reached out with shaking hands. “Is it really you?”
The shock of seeing her mother took the wind out of Rui.
“It’s me,” Rui said, clinging on tightly.
Her mother’s skin was chilled, but she was solid, not a mirage. Her presence was strangely intoxicating, and a veil seemed to fall over them. Yet something tickled at the back of Rui’s mind like a persistent itch. She brushed it away. Things in the underworld didn’t exactly work the way they did in the human world. Her mother was here; nothing else mattered.
“I missed you,” she said, scrubbing her eyes and trying not to bawl.
“I missed you too, Xiao Ru.” Her mother’s eyes darted around nervously, and she whispered, “You’re not supposed to be here. They’ll find me.”
“Who? The Guardians?”
Her mother bit her lip. She was afraid. But of what? Nikai said that each soul had to be sorted into a Court, but her mother was in this temple. Was she in trouble?
“I have so much to tell you,” her mother said. “But you should leave. Your soul can’t stay here.”
“But we just met—I don’t want to leave you.” There were so many things Rui wanted to say, so manyI’msorrys, so manythankyous, so manyI didn’t meanits. She needed her mother to understand. She needed more time.
“You wish to stay?”
Rui nodded. Her mother smiled then. It was oddly sharp-toothed, different from what Rui remembered.
“It isn’t safe to speak here. Come with me.” Her mother grabbed her hand forcefully. Rui’s instinct was to pull away, but her mother’s grip tightened. “Do you trust me, Ru-er?”
