“What are you saying?” Zizi leaned back, tipping her chin up.
“I said, I remember everything. I was sent to some forest, and I met a creature that pretended to be my mother. She tried to trick me, but I escaped—it wasyouwho helped me, wasn’t it? The red thread led me to this room of mirrors, and I saw everything.”
“What red thread? It wasn’t me—I didn’t do anything.”
“It doesn’t matter—” Rui laughed at his beautiful, confused face. “I remember everything. I remember you,Four.”
Zizi was stunned. “You remember our past?”
She didn’t know why he had that expression on his face. Was he upset? But he pulled her close again.
“I didn’t think it would work out this way,” she heard him murmur.
There was a hitch in his voice that she couldn’t decipher. Four must’ve blamed himself for everything and been haunted for centuries. Maybe Zizi still carried that weight. She had to set him free from it.
It was his turn to resist when she pulled away. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said sternly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “She never blamed you.Idon’t blame you.”
“But—”
“Shh,” she whispered, pressing her fingers to his lips. “Lei Ying didn’t die by her own sword.”
“She didn’t?” Zizi looked even more taken aback. “But the Elders...” His shocked expression turned into something else Rui couldn’t read, as if what she’d told him altered his perspective on an important matter.
“What is it?” she said.
“Nothing. Tell me who killed her.”
“Emperor Burning Flame.”
“That bastard,” Zizi growled, eyes flashing. “If I ever meet his soul...” Blue flames rose from his hands.
Rui touched his arm, and the flames subdued. “Burning Flame and Lei Ying once shared a close friendship. She called him Xiao Ran—Little Flame. And when the killing blow struck, she saw—Isaw his face. He looked just like Yiran.”
“SongYiran?”
“Maybe it’s a coincidence.”
Looking troubled, Zizi turned to the bridge, staring into space. “It’s a cycle repeating itself.”
“Are you saying Yiran might’ve been Burning Flame in a past life?” she asked, but Zizi didn’t seem to want to answer.
Rui remembered Burning Flame’s regret, the way he was aware he’d gone down the wrong path but he kept going anyway because it felt like there was no other way through. She was certain he’d spent the rest of his life regretting what he’d done.
“Even if Yiran was Burning Flame in his past life, he isn’t anymore,” she said.
Zizi looked as though he wanted to argue, but he only said, “I think it’s time for you to return home. I got you safe passage across the bridge. And I’m returning with you to settle some unfinished business. I’m going to find the spell and destroy it.”
Safe passage? It meant she wouldn’t have to give up treasured memories of her family. She should’ve felt relieved, but her worry surged instead. She gripped his arm. “But I went through a ritual to come here, and Madam Meng said Ihaveto make payment to return home. How didyouget me safe passage? Nothing comes for free in the underworld. Did you make a deal with—”
Zizi cut her off. “We shouldn’t waste time—you need to cross over. I’ll explain everything later.”
He seemed to be in a hurry. Rui supposed it was best not to linger in the underworld. “All right,” she breathed out, staring warily at the bridge. It was swaying over the flames, and her knees felt like jelly.
“Don’t turn back,” Zizi told her. “Keep going until you reach the end.” Smiling, he brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his hand resting briefly on her cheek. “We’ll meet again on the other side.”
She smiled back. Ignoring the river of fire beneath her, she straightened her spine, stared ahead at the horizon, and took the first step.
51
