Page 45
I scowl. “How do you know?”
“Because of the way you look at him and speak to him. The way your body remains unmoved in his presence.” He steps closer, my heart quickening. “I’ve seen how you look when you do like someone, in a way I would undoubtedly be jealous of.”
My face burns. “It’s a farce. The Elders and our families desire a union. Shenming and I cannot refuse outright without offending them. He doesn’t want this either.”
“Good, because I find myself not disliking the captain. And now, I am certain we will get along.”
As we approach the courtyard where the prince is held, I ask, “Will Prince Zixin really tell me what we need?”
“He asks for you every chance he gets,” he says tersely. “Be careful. He’s grown increasingly frustrated at his confinement.”
“He deserves a taste of despair.”
My stomach churns as the guards open the doors. In the day, the grounds appear well-tended, a cluster of trees shading the small pavilion beneath. Books are piled on the table, a few strewn across the floor, their pages creased and rain-splattered. The Prince of the Iron Mountains isn’t accustomed to caring for his possessions. Once ruined or broken, they are easily replaced.
He strides out in a white robe, as cold and beautiful as a statue. I loathe how he stirred me once, the dreams awakened that were so rapidly crushed—their remnants still imprinted on my mind.
His eyes shift to me, boundless and dark. “I heard your voice, Yining. I hear it every night, whispering false promises and lies.”
“Weigh the wrongs between us and you will lose, Your Highness.” I lapse back into the old address, rejecting the intimacy of his name. “You stole from me, tortured my sister, imprisoned us.”
His mouth is tense and unsmiling. “You owe me an explanation for my prolonged captivity. We struck a deal—”
“I said I’d bring you with us, I made no other promises. You are safe, well looked after.”
“A prisoner,” he seethes. “I would expect no less from him”—he jerks his head at Jin—“but the waters that flow between you and me go deep.”
“There is nothing between us. We are even. Finished,” I hiss. “You saved me once and I repaid the favor.”
“We are never finished.” Prince Zixin steps forward but Jin moves between us.
“Keep your distance,” Jin rebukes him, “or I will restrain you. We have treated you courteously. But that can end.” A threat only a fool would disregard.
“The days are over when you could force others into obedience.” I lift my chin. “Your commands no longer bear weight.”
“You are wrong,” the prince declares with haughty assurance. “You are here because you want something from me. To get it, you will pay my price.”
Unease slithers through me, but Jin shakes his head. “Make your deal with me, not her.”
“Except you have nothing I want, Lord of Thorn Valley.”
“What about your life?” Jin asks with disdain. “Once I end my protection, you would not last the day here.”
“If it were up to you and your uncle, I’d already be dead,” Prince Zixin says shrewdly. “I’m alive because of Yining, not your mercy.”
“Only because of the deal we struck,” I correct him.
“Then break it,” he challenges me. “Didn’t you deceive me countless times before? Maybe you don’t want me dead after all.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I lied when you held my life in your grasp and threatened those I cared for. Such words are dust in the wind, forgotten when scattered,” I say wrathfully. “But the promise I made when you’d lost everything is one I will keep. I don’t cheat the downtrodden, or take from those with nothing left to give.”
The prince’s eyes thin with anger. He would loathe pity more than malice. “Why are you here?”
“We need to reach the southern part of the Three Kingdoms. Except we can’t take the path through the Iron Mountains—Queen Chunlei guards it too closely.” Jin’s mention of her name is calculated to stir the prince’s fury. “You must know of another way there, and how to avoid your soldiers’ patrols. Was it not how you intended to invade?”
Prince Zixin smiles, the slow one that used to dazzle me. Now I brace with dread. “I know exactly what you wish. As the heir, I studied the maps of the realms, those my sister is ignorant of.” He strides to the pavilion and sits down. “There is a remote trail that connects the ends of the Iron Mountains and Thorn Valley, a treacherous, abandoned wilderness. We sent scouts to chart the safest course; most didn’t return. Those who did could only travel as far as a wide chasm in Thorn Valley. I trust your people have a way of crossing this?”
“We do,” I say curtly. “Would the queen know of the path?”
