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My head darted up as I registered the soldier’s greeting, the serving girl’s earlier words. Was his father really the Demon King, the conniving monarch whom all Celestials dreaded and despised? I wanted to slump back onto the bed, to close my eyes, hoping this was just a nightmare I would awaken from. But I recalled the dragon’s voice ringing through my mind, their pearls tingling in my hand, the wind surging in my face as I was borne away . . .

This was no dream.

The soldiers bowed again to Wenzhi, acknowledging a command I had not heard. When they stood upright, they stared at me with blatant curiosity.

“Leave us,” he said coldly. They backed out at once, closing the doors after them.

I clasped my hands, wishing I held a weapon in them. “Your Highness,” I ground out. “How dare you bring me here against my will?”

He leaned against the window frame, facing me now. “Against your will? You agreed to come with me.”

“I did nothing of the sort.”

“You did. You said you would come with me, to my home.”

I could barely think through the rage which throttled me. His deceit made a mockery of our promises to each other. I had believed he was from the Western Sea; never did I imagine the Demon Realm was his home! Never would I have agreed to this. My fists clenched but I forced them to loosen; now was not the time to indulge my wrath. He was a liar without par, however knowing this could only help me now.

I needed to find out more.

“How could you do this to me?” My voice was hoarse with swallowed rage.

He crossed the room, taking one of the stools by the table. Lifting the porcelain teapot, he poured out two cups of tea, offering me one just as he used to. I stared at him stonily, until he raised the cup to his own mouth and drank from it.

He frowned. “Good decision, it’s cold.” A light surge of his power enveloped the cups, the fragrance of jasmine rising as its color morphed from the dull brown of oversteeped dregs to a rich gold.

“I might have done that myself except I couldn’t. What did you do to me?” I shoved myself off the bed, stretching my hands out to him, the metal gleaming darkly against my skin.

“Just a precaution, to make sure you don’t do anything foolish.”

An urge to strike him gripped me. “The stupidest thing I ever did was to trust you. How did you get past the wards of the Celestial Kingdom? Why the farce of joining the army? Why did you bring me here?”

“So many questions, Xingyin. I’ll answer what I can, if you sit down.” He gestured to the stool beside him.

I glared at him as I lowered myself onto it, my back stiffer than a plank of wood.

“The wards of the Celestial Kingdom aren’t as strong as they once were. Perhaps because they no longer possess the ability to probe their enemies’ thoughts? It was a simple matter to weaken them further, to conceal myself with magic.”

“You’re one of them. You practice the forbidden arts.” I could not help my shudder.

“Yes, though it is not forbidden here. Here, it is a gift.”

“You traitor,” I snarled, recalling the fox spirits that had broken through the wards and injured Shuxiao. “Don’t you care for the hurt you’ve caused?”

“What of those I saved? The monsters and enemies I helped the Celestial Kingdom vanquish?” he countered. “But we talk in circles now; this will lead nowhere. Did you not keep your own parentage a secret, Xingyin? You, more than anyone, should understand the position I was in.” His tone turned mocking. “Don’t be so righteous. Your loyalties don’t lie with the Celestial Kingdom.”

My fragile hold over my emotions snapped. “Whatever I did, I was no spy. I had to protect my family. My life. At no time did I endanger anyone other than myself.” I added scathingly, “What of your loyalties? How well you pretended to care for Celestial soldiers when you were inwardly rejoicing at their wounds.”

His aura thickened, churning as storm clouds. “I always cared for those under my command, I mourned for each life lost. But I did what I had to. It did not matter whether I liked it.”

“As you did with me.”

“What?” he said sharply, seemingly taken aback. “No—not that. Never.”

“Then, why?” I probed, glimpsing a chink in his composure.

I did not think he would answer me and even if he did, I expected more lies. Yet when he spoke, there was such tension locked in his body, whatever he was thinking affected him deeply.

“The second son of the king has few opportunities here. Everything was given to my half-brother, Wenshuang. Even though he was less capable and his powers inferior to mine—without the slightest talent in our magic, the pillar of our might. Yet he was named the Crown Prince for no other reason than he was the firstborn.” His mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “So, I went to my father and we made a bargain. Not much different from the one you struck with the emperor.”