Liqin clenched his jaw and glanced around the room. “Someone, take her away! Where are the guards?”
“I’m afraid your guards are distracted at the moment.” I placed a hand on the shoulder of the skeleton to my left, the bone rough and cold beneath my fingers. “You see, Your Highness, you killed quite a few men.”
“No—” He backed away only to fall onto the throne’scushioned seat. Shrinking into himself, he pointed at me. “Remove her now!”
But none of the ministers moved. They were too befuddled. Too afraid.
I smirked, approaching the dais. “Well, Your Highness. Would you like to offer the payment yourself, or shall I take it from you the way you took my father’s life?”
At my command, the skeletons raised their weapons and slowly approached the prince. I imagined his blood spilling across all that extravagant gold and marble.
But just as I was about to tell my warriors to strike, a sharp pain pierced my temple. I winced, reaching for my head. The skeletons stilled, awaiting my orders with their blades hovering in the air.
Taking advantage of my distraction, Liqin sprang off the throne and fled through the hall’s rear exit. Panic broke as the ministers began to rush out the door, the cowards.
I didn’t pursue them. Instead, I pushed past the throbbing in my skull and regained control of my soldiers, directing them to follow the prince. Together, we marched after the sounds of his frantic footsteps.
I wouldn’t allow him to escape.
CHAPTER 26
Though the palace was immense, the prince could run only so far.
Courtiers and servants retreated at the appearance of my skeletal guards. I kicked aside fallen fruits and abandoned linens, never slowing my pace. Whenever a royal guard emerged, he was easily knocked away by the nearest skeleton.
With my eyes glued to the tail of Liqin’s blue robe, I finally cornered him in a smaller courtyard deep in the palace. The area was occupied by several maids who were busy working and gossiping. All casual chatter died when the prince stumbled into their space, with me on his heels.
He tripped over a laundry basket, his legs entangling in its sheets. Alarmed by the deathly entourage behind him, the maids scattered immediately, abandoning their tasks and scurrying out the side entrances.
Liqin jerked away from me, moving to do the same. But he’d hardly escaped the sheets when one of the skeletons grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off the ground.
“R-Release me!” he cried, twisting his neck around to face me. “I am the first prince of Sian. Release me now, or I’ll have you executed!”
“I’ll be executed soon enough,” I said coldly. “But only after you, Your Highness.”
With a furious yell, he kicked at the skeleton holding him. I flinched, and the prince slipped away. As he landed on his feet, he whisked out a hidden dagger from his robe and changed tactics. Rather than running, he charged at me.
But before he reached me, I compelled another skeleton to step into the prince’s way, meeting his blade with its own. The effort tore at my energy.
I leaned against my staff and gasped, “Kill him.”
The skeletons beside me rushed forward. Spurred by desperation, the prince dodged and kicked and swiped at his opponents to keep their blades from touching his body.
My jaw clenched, my concentration stretched taut between the skeletons before me and the ones facing the guards at the main hall. I couldn’t focus much longer. Soon my strength would break and I’d lose control.
Before that happened, I had to kill Liqin. I had to ensure he’d never again hurt another soul.
But Liqin was a trained fighter, and clever. He soon realized how to use the skeletons’ power against them, manipulating them into crashing into each other, hard enough to snap their joints. In a matter of minutes, only one skeleton remained whole, wielding a short bronze sword.
I clenched my staff, breathing heavily as if I were the one physically battling the prince. The ache in my head had intensified. If I released my hold on the other skeletons now, the royal guards would surely come find me. But what choicedid I have when I was too weak to piece together the skeletons here?
Liqin skirted around the remaining soldier and lunged at me.
I sidestepped his attack, but not quickly enough. The blade sliced past my waist, pain shooting up my body. I parried another blow with my staff. The dagger bit into the peach wood as the prince kicked me squarely in the stomach. I crashed onto my back, staff clattering over the edge of the platform. My last skeleton stood blankly in the courtyard, no longer linked to my will.
The prince stalked toward me, grinning madly.
“You should’ve stayed in your little monastery,” he sneered. “You could’ve lived a decent life.”
