Page 7

As I glanced at Master Haoran, his skin a sickly pallor, my anger at him dissipated. He had been used as a mask—his petty lies distracting me, allowing the true villain to roam unhindered. By fixing on a single sapling, I had lost sight of the forest.

“What else did he tell you?” Liwei pressed.

“Only that he needed to retrieve something which belonged to him. I didn’t think there was any ill intent.”

Master Gang had said as much when I confronted him. I had thought it bluster, a lie to excuse his actions.

“Who is he?” I probed.

“He didn’t say and I dared not ask.” Master Haoran gnawed his lower lip. “The first time we met, he wore a jade ornament carved with the sun. I haven’t seen it since.”

The symbol of the Celestial Kingdom. Liwei inhaled slowly as my chest squeezed tight.

“I know nothing else. I swear.” Master Haoran’s voice trembled.

“Let him go. He was tricked too,” I said to Liwei.

As his binds vanished, Master Haoran slumped to the ground, shaking, yet his gaze lingered on the silk bundles scattered around the room.

“Take the osmanthus. You are free to go,” I told him.

“Thank you.” He bowed to us, then snatched up as many bags as he could cram into his arms. Without a backward glance he fled the room, the wind outside rustling as his cloud shot into the skies.

Silence stretched taut between us. “Many people wear such an ornament,” Liwei said. “Even if he was from the Celestial Kingdom, it does not mean he is here upon my father’s command. My father has no need for such devious measures. The moon falls under Celestial rule. If he wished, he could have commanded your mother to accept Master Gang’s presence.”

Not if he wanted his interest to remain a secret. But I nodded, eager to grasp at this sliver of comfort. I had no urge to confront the Celestial Emperor again.

“We must find out more,” I said. “Would Teacher Daoming know anything about the laurel seed?”

Teacher Daoming was one of the few I trusted in the Jade Palace, who had looked out for me, though it had not felt that way in the beginning when I struggled with my lessons. Only later did I realize she was helping me overcome the barriers of my power, and only after I yielded her my respect did I earn hers.

“I will ask her,” Liwei assured me.

As he tucked the laurel seed into the inner pocket of his sleeve, the embroidered cranes spread their wings as though poised for flight. His robe was of the finest blue brocade, fastened around his waist with a silver brocade sash. My gaze drifted up the smooth column of his neck to his black hair gathered into a topknot encircled by a crown of sapphire and gold.

How magnificent he looked. How regal and formal. An irrational desire swelled in me to have dressed with more care, to have coiled my hair in a different style instead of tying it partway down my back. Here, there was little need for finery.

“Are you attending a banquet later?” I asked, despite knowing how he disliked such events.

He shook his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you look … because you are dressed like that,” I finished clumsily.

A corner of his mouth curved up. “Does it please you?”

I met his gaze. “It suits you.” It was not flattery; he looked just as the Celestial Crown Prince should, yet the disparity in our positions had never seemed more stark.

His power flickered forth, his crown morphing into a simple circlet of silver, the cranes on his robe stilling before they vanished. “You were never much good at disguising your thoughts.”

“Not to you,” I admitted. “And you did not need to do that.” Yet I could not deny feeling more at ease with him.

“I wanted to.” Liwei paused, brushing a stray strand of hair from his forehead. “Xingyin, I would like to show you something.”

The intensity in his voice struck me. “Now?”

He glanced at the darkening skies. “There is no better time. I will bring you back before dawn.”

His fingers clasped mine as he drew me from the room. Outside, a cloud was already waiting. The wind glided over my face as we soared higher, until my home was no more than a pale orb in the distance. Once before we had flown like this, our hearts entwined before the storms that swept us apart.