The mansion was quiet, save for the creak of the main house’s walls. I anticipated a lengthy search through the estate to locate Ren. But I’d hardly taken ten steps across the courtyard when I glimpsed a dark figure running toward me.
“Ren?” My eyes narrowed. “Is that you?”
“Siying!”
At the sound of his voice, all the tension seeped out of my body. I flew forward to meet him, surprising us both by flinging my arms around his neck and squeezing as if he might disappear again.
“What happened to you?” I asked, leaning back to look at him. He appeared unhurt, his face showing no new injuries. “I was worried sick!”
He smirked. “You were worried about me?”
“Well… yes.” I bit my lip. “Of course I was.”
He chuckled. “Then you shouldn’t have lost me.”
Frost crept over my heart. I realized then that he wasn’t wearing his Fu talisman, that it wasn’t even pinned back on his head. He’d also called me by my first name, something he’d never done before except, perhaps, in Yuyan’s illusion.
And most alarming—his smile didn’t suit him. It was too unnatural. Too cruel.
Too awfully familiar.
I shoved myself out of his arms, springing backward to put distance between us. I couldn’t hide the dismay in my voice as I recognized the person before me.
“Yuyan.”
CHAPTER 12
“Did you really think I’d lock him away and save his qi for later?” Yuyan sneered at me with Ren’s face. “I prefer accepting gifts the moment they’re given. And this is a rather expensive gift, wouldn’t you say? An actual prince of Sian. The irony is sweeter than honey.”
I took another step back, my staff poised in defense. “But I killed you.”
Across the courtyard, the main hall was a massive brazier throwing smoke to the sky. Given time, the fire would devour the entire mansion. Perhaps the townsfolk would see and come to help. But I doubted it.
“Some advice, dear priestess,” Yuyan drawled. “If you want to purify my soul, you should make sure you purify every last piece of me.”
I stared at the piece I’d missed, the piece that’d cost me the most.
Ren.
“Is he dead?” I asked, my flat tone belying the tightness in my chest.
Yuyan held out Ren’s arms, making a show of examining her vessel up and down. “Quite. How else would I possess his body with my spirit?”
Quite.
The word impaled me. My brain couldn’t believe that Ren—the cheerful, reckless, annoying, warmhearted prince—was really gone.
Get a hold of yourself, Siying.
“Then I’ll just have to force you out,” I said, withdrawing a purification talisman from my pocket.
“Ah-ah.” Yuyan wagged a chiding finger. “The moment you purify me, this body will die.”
“What does it matter if you’ve already killed him?”
“I said he was dead. I didn’t say there isn’t a spell that can bring him back.”
I hesitated. “A spell?”
