We walked for another hour or so, the breeze whistling through the reeds on either side of the road. Tree-shaped black silhouettes stood flush against the distant skyline. Mount Long’s hulking ridge gradually appeared to the west, signaling our progress. I maintained a brisk pace but monitored Ren’s movements for signs of discomfort.
At first, he filled the nighttime silence with anecdotes from his childhood, just to pass the time. But too soon, his voice faded, and he began avoiding my eyes whenever I turned, as if afraid I’d see the exhaustion written across his face.
I said nothing, not wanting to alarm him further. Instead, I gripped my peach staff, prepared to give a command should his footsteps falter.
At one point, a sudden gust cut through the road, jarring the iron bells. They chimed loudly, making me wince. I turned and saw Ren standing with his hand on the back of his neck, his shoulders drooping with fatigue. Worry sliced my stomach.
“Ren,” I said, touching his elbow. “Do you need to stop—”
We both tensed at the distinct hiss of a blade being drawn from its sheath. I raised my head to see my lantern reflecting off a silver sword pointed at my chest. My eyes flicked up to its owner, a figure dressed in brown and black, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and the lower half of her face covered by a mask.
Despite the disguise, I recognized those piercing eyes.
“You again?” I growled. “When will you stop following us?”
“When you’ve given me the Sian prince.”
“I told you, I don’t have—”
“Stop lying,” the Wen soldier interrupted. “Everything about that boy is suspicious. Either he’s the missing prince or your magic is stronger than most, priestess.”
“You’re in Sian now,” I said. “You can’t hurt us without consequences.”
The woman took a step forward, sword raised. “Do you want to test me?”
“Stop!” Ren placed a hand on my shoulder and nudged me back. I noticed how heavy his hold was, as if he was struggling to remain standing. To the Wen soldier, he said, “Why do you want the prince? What do you intend to do?”
“That’s for my governor to decide,” she said. “Do you confess to who you are?”
“If I do, will you leave Siying alone?”
The soldier glanced between us, her gaze calculating. After a moment, she replied, “No. She committed a crime by entering Wen under false pretenses and smuggling you out. She must take responsibility as well.”
“What—”
The soldier looked past us and nodded. “Restrain them.”
I whirled around, catching a glimpse of two other soldiers behind us. But it was too late. Quicker than a whip, someone bound my arms to my body with rope and blocked out the night sky with a sack over my head. When I protested, I felt a hand grab the back of my neck, hard, and heard the soldier’s voice snap, “Make another sound and I’ll run this sword through that prince’s heart.”
I clamped my lips shut, fearing that Ren would collapse from both stress and his weakening qi. Perhaps he’d already fainted, considering his sudden silence. I was half tempted to fight my way free and make sure he was all right. But I didn’t want to risk the soldier’s threat.
The peach staff was wrenched from my helpless hand, the lantern having fallen when we were attacked. Someone shoved me forward, then dragged my knees onto what felt like a farmer’s cart. A moment later, I gasped as the vehicle lurched forward. My shoulder bumped against something softer than wood.
“Ren?” I whispered hopefully.
He gave no response, though I thought I recognized his sigh. At least he was alive.
But where were the Wen soldiers taking us?
CHAPTER 20
I didn’t realize I’d dozed off until I was startled awake by the crush of hands around my forearms. My body was dragged off the cart and carried into some kind of building, the air losing its bite when we stepped inside.
“Put them there,” the Wen soldier said just before I was dumped on hard ground littered with small rocks and dried grass. The sack was ripped off my head, and I blinked at my surroundings until my brain could make sense of where we were. An old, abandoned barn, from the looks of it. Open slats in the roof revealed the stars above. Hay, not grass, dusted the dirt floor. One of the soldier’s companions crouched a few feet away, building a small fire.
“This doesn’t seem like much of an interrogation office,” I said, discreetly scooting closer to Ren. He was still unconscious beside me, though his sack had been removed too.
The soldier scowled. “We’re still in Sian, unfortunately. Once your little prince wakes up, we’ll be able to cross the border more smoothly.”
