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I bowed to the Keeper again, concealing my eagerness. “Honored Teacher, thank you for your guidance.”

“Xingyin, these are strange and uncertain times,” he said gravely. “Be careful. Watch over His Highness.”

“Always,” I replied.

The Keeper left then, striding toward the town with his apprentice following behind. I slipped between the bamboo trees and sank upon the ground. The stillness was broken by the occasional rustle of leaves, the scurry of small creatures. I drew a long breath, my head spinning from the scents of this world—the fragrance of rainfall laced with the decay of wilted leaves, the gritty undertones of salt and earth.

Hours slipped by, still there was no sign of the Keeper’s apprentice. Just when I rose to leave, thinking I had been mistaken—the air shifted, a pair of immortal auras drawing closer. A man walked beside Leiying, of a similar height, though with a more slender build. His face was striking with its high cheekbones, full lips, and sweeping brows, and his assured smile showed he was well aware of his charm.

“I apologize for the wait. My brother, Tao, takes too long to ready himself.” Leiying’s tone was at once resigned and exasperated.

He ignored her, his gaze moving from the top of my head to my toes, then to the bow I carried across my back. “You’ll do,” he said drily.

“I’m not sure you will.” I raked him with an appraising look of my own, taking in his teal brocade robe and gold sash, which were as ornate as any royal’s.

He grinned as he slanted his head back. “My sister told me that you seek the Elixir of Immortality? If so, we can aid each other.”

“What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

Leiying’s tongue clicked impatiently against the roof of her mouth. “We want the elixir too.”

My eyes narrowed. Was this a trap, to rid themselves of a rival? “How many are there?”

“One for each of us,” Leiying replied. “I do not know when His Celestial Majesty will create another, for their crafting is a strain on his power.”

“Why do you want the elixir?” I asked.

“Someone we care for needs it,” Tao said.

“Who?”

Brother and sister exchanged a cautious look. “You came seeking help. We offer it. We’ve already told you what we can.” Tao added pointedly, “Just as we’re not asking why you seek this. It is safer this way, the less either of us divulges of our plans.”

He spoke the truth, for I had no wish to reveal my own intentions. And I was reluctant to antagonize my newfound allies even as I wondered what they concealed. “What is your plan?”

“We steal the elixir.”

A shiver coursed through me to hear the words spoken so baldly. My heart raced with the possibilities, even as my mind urged me to refuse. “Where is the elixir kept?” I found myself asking.

“In the Imperial Treasury,” Tao replied.

I recoiled. “You want the three of us to break into the Imperial Treasury? That is madness.” In all my years in the Jade Palace, I had never ventured there. While I had been curious about the place, I had not wished to invite scrutiny through an unplanned visit—and what I most desired then did not lie within its walls.

“Two of us; you and me,” Tao clarified, undaunted. “I won’t jeopardize my sister’s safety.”

“This will never work.”

“How else do you propose we obtain the elixir? Do you think the emperor will give it to you?” Leiying countered.

“I’ve scouted the Jade Palace for years, waiting for the right chance. I’ve been close enough to the elixir to inhale its fragrance,” Tao assured me. “I can get us in and out of the treasury undetected.”

“How?” I pressed. “If this is going to work, I must know everything.”

“I have a key.”

“Where did you get it from? Will it work?” Perhaps I hoped he would give me a reason to refuse, something to bolster my wavering will.

“The same way I got anything I’m not supposed to.” He ran his fingers across his fine garments. “You’ve got a suspicious mind. Rest assured, the key will work. I’ve used it before.”