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“We will prepare a suitable welcome for His Celestial Majesty,” Queen Suihe said.

A chill sank through my veins. The Celestial Emperor was coming here? Was it because of Liwei? All knew my part in his escape. As the messenger left the hall, I addressed the queen. “Your Majesty, would you reconsider? If you let us leave, you will have a loyal friend in us forever.” A paltry offer, but I had little else.

A shrill laugh broke from her, scraping like nails over my nerves. “Leave? That you will, except under my terms. I far prefer the friendship of the one who possesses the might of the Celestial Army to yours.” Her hand flew up in a curt wave to the guard. “Take them to the cells. Find their friend and lock her up too.”

Relief flooded me that I had told Shuxiao and the others to leave the palace. I hoped they would flee for there was no sense in us all getting captured. They could return for us later, and I had no doubt they would.

Turquoise armor clinked, golden blades flashing as two guards moved toward me. Wenzhi’s warning of their impenetrable prisons flashed through my mind. I could not let them take us. As a soldier reached for my mother, my leg lashed out, kicking him aside with brute force. At once, I snatched up my bow, stripping its bindings free, a beam of light forming between my fingers.

Panicked cries erupted, guests stumbling over themselves as they rushed from the hall. As Prince Yanxi’s anxious gaze met mine, I jerked my head toward the doorway, mouthing for him to leave. As an ally of the Celestial Kingdom, his loyalties were bound. He had already tried to distract Queen Suihe on my behalf, to persuade her to listen, which was more than I could have hoped for. Prince Yanxi lifted his brother in his arms and dashed through the entrance, away from the tumult.

My grip tightened around the bowstring as I trained my arrow upon the queen, the only one who could ensure our safe passage. “Order your soldiers to stand back. Let us leave and do not follow.” My voice was low with threat.

Queen Suihe’s lip curled as her magic surged, jagged shards of ice plunging toward my mother and me. I shielded us at once, dropping my arrow tip to her shoulder, aiming to wound rather than kill. As I let it fly, it streaked through the air, just as a luminous barrier encircled the queen. Her face twisted with contempt as she threw her other hand out, a gleaming wave of power knocking my arrow to the ground. Sky-fire scorched the carpets, blackening the intricate embroidery, gouging a crude hole in the floor. As a tremor shuddered through the ground, the crystal vases tipped over, the scattered shells trampled beneath the feet of the fleeing courtiers.

Several of the queen’s soldiers broke away to surround my mother and me. I aimed another arrow at them, hardening myself to strike Ping’er’s kinsmen—but something whistled through the air, a translucent arrow hurtling into the guard closest to us.

“Chang’e! Xingyin!”

My father’s voice. My heart swelled as he raced into the throne room, his silver bow already drawn. Liwei, Wenzhi, and Shuxiao followed close behind. Shouts erupted, the queen’s guards rushing toward them. Swiftly, I summoned a burst of wind to sweep aside those nearest to us.

Magic coursed through the air, the clash of metal reverberating through the hall. My father sheltered my mother, releasing arrow after arrow, his hands moving at a dizzying pace. As a soldier crept up behind him, her sword swung high—I shot her down, my arrow spearing her chest, her body jerking as light crackled across her armor.

Wenzhi and Liwei were encircled by Southern Sea soldiers, their swords flashing in a blur of silver and gold as they made swift work of their opponents. Shuxiao was locked in a ferocious tussle with another guard, his spear clanging against her sword.

Queen Suihe pointed a trembling hand at Liwei. “The Celestial Crown Prince! The emperor will reward us well for this. Call for reinforcements!”

Three guards detached themselves, running toward the entrance. I did not let myself think, an arrow springing from my fingers to strike one, then the next. As I drew another arrow, the last soldier dashed through the doors, shouting for aid.

I cursed myself. In a moment, more guards would swarm the room, barring the only entrance. Already, they might be barreling through the corridors. I frantically searched for an escape route—not the walls, for the throne room was deeply ensconced within and we would have to fight our way through the sole pathway. An impossible feat when we were vastly outnumbered. My eyes flew to the domed ceiling, recalling its decorative spires and low structure from the outside—just a single layer of stone separating us from freedom.

I signaled to the others to raise their shields, even as I strengthened the ones around my parents. Only then did I draw my bow, raising it high, releasing a bolt of Sky-fire at the arched ceiling. It struck in a blinding flash, a web of fissures tearing across the stone with ominous grinding sounds. Another arrow of ice—my father’s—plunged after mine. The ceiling shuddered, the cracks splitting wider as clouds of dust showered down. I choked, coughing to clear my lungs as stone fragments fell away, cascading like hail—one crashing through my shield, knocking a gasp from me as it struck my shoulder. More shields arced around me, pulsing with Liwei’s warmth, gleaming with Wenzhi’s cool energy—just as a spire crashed by my feet, disintegrating into shards. Above us, through the jagged hole torn in the roof, midnight waters embraced the barriers arcing over the city. They had never seemed so inviting before, nor had the air in this place ever pressed on me more.

Shouts rang through the chamber, the remaining courtiers scrambling for shelter. The guards no longer attacked us, channeling their energy to form protective shields around the vulnerable. I spun to the dais to find Queen Suihe’s gaze locked on mine, burning with loathing. She would neither forget nor forgive this destruction, a shiver running through me at the thought.

I turned from her, rushing toward my parents. Wind spun from my fingers, weaving coils of air which swept us high—Shuxiao, Liwei, and Wenzhi doing the same. Together, we soared through the tear in the roof, landing upon the outskirts of the palace. My breathing came labored, for it was a great strain to fly without a cloud.

Fortunately, all seemed calm outside. The alarm had not been raised, perhaps because we had left the throne room in such chaos. Yet at any moment, the queen’s soldiers might be rushing forth to apprehend us, or the emperor’s troops might arrive.

“We must be careful,” I warned the others as we approached the passageway. “If the guards suspect anything, they will seal the tunnel—the only way out from here. We would be trapped like fireflies in a jar.”

Four soldiers guarded the entrance, none of whom I had met before. “Who are you? What business do you have here?” one of them demanded brusquely.

“We are Queen Suihe’s guests,” I replied as calmly as I could.

Another studied us, her eyes narrowing. “Her Majesty commanded that the passage be kept clear for the royal guests from the Four Seas. You must wait your turn, until their arrival.”

“Queen Suihe gave us permission to leave today,” Shuxiao said with a smile.

As the guard shook her head, light flared from Wenzhi’s hand, hurtling into the point between her eyes. The other soldiers aimed their spears at us, yet Wenzhi’s power arced wide, striking them swiftly. The soldiers’ eyelids sank shut as they collapsed upon the ground like limp pieces of string.

“Why did you do that?” As I pressed Ping’er’s pearl into the carved creature’s eye socket, the door swung open.

Wenzhi shrugged. “They were rude and suspicious. Better to catch them by surprise.”

I stared at the unconscious guards. “Are they—”

“They are asleep. I know your preferences in such things, Xingyin,” Wenzhi replied.