by Mary Fan
Shock radiates through me. I stare, frozen in place. This must be a trick—this must be.
Because it’s Tai who stares back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SEIZED BY FATE
It’s a trick—I won’t fall for it. The enemy I’ve sought to destroy and the boy I risked everything to help—they can’t be one and the same.
My sword remains pressed against his weapon. When he shifted into human form, the black blade transformed into a bronze staff—the same one he carried during our journey.
This thing might look like Tai, but it can’t be him. That it would use his image against me reignites my wrath. I attack with full force.
“Anlei!” He dodges.
“Coward! Show your true face!” My sword clashes against his staff as I drive him back.
“This is my true face—it’s been me this whole time!”
“Liar!” The tip of my blade nicks his cheek.
I freeze at the sight of red blood trickling down his face. Ligui don’t bleed. Supernatural beings don’t bleed—only humans do.
“It’s me, really.” Tai gives me a pleading look. “I’m sorry—I wanted to tell you before that I can shift into shadow form, but Suyin stopped me. I should have ignored her.”
I stare in shock. “You—You’re a Ligui?”
“No. I only look like one in my shadow form. This happens because I can’t become fully invisible like the other Yueshen.”
“Can they become shadow as well?”
He shakes his head. “I only do because my powers are partial.”
Part of me is still convinced this must be a trick. I keep my sword ready before me, but he doesn’t attack, doesn’t transform into another kind of monster, doesn’t do anything except watch me. His expression is one of earnest apology, tugging at my heart, begging me to believe him.
Tai is the Shadow Warrior …
The entire time I knew him, he was lying—even more so than I already knew. It was one thing when he was concealing his identity as half Yueshen, but now that I know he’s the Shadow Warrior as well …
Why is it that every time we meet, you’re trying to kill me? Those were among the first words he spoke to me … I thought he was referring to the time I pursued him as the Masked Giver. But now I recall how the Shadow Warrior’s eyes smiled at me when I confronted him aboard Kang’s flagship.
Now that I see the truth, it seems so obvious that those were the same eyes that teased me throughout our journey to the Courts of Hell. No wonder the Shadow Warrior appeared so often—he was Tai all along. Tai, the boy for whom I risked my life and the lives of everyone I knew. For whom Dailan suffered so his people could be free. The boy I laughed with, performed with, fought with. The boy I foolishly let myself trust.
He was a lie—all of him. The Tai I thought I knew never existed. Because he’s also the monster that killed my father.
Perhaps he thinks the truth about his identity will save him from me, but he’s just sealed his fate. I will destroy him—send him back to the Courts of Hell where he belongs, except this time as a sinner to suffer all the tortures we witnessed.
I swing at him hard. Shock lights his eyes as he blocks. I almost want to laugh. Did he really think I’d let him go? Did he take me for a soft-hearted fool who’d release a murderer because she once considered him a friend?
Somewhere in the world, there’s a person who would seek a reason to forgive him. Who would cling to the illusion of him created onboard a ship in the sky and in the streets of a strange city. Who would trust in the boy whose sense of fun could lighten her own heart as she both delighted in and raged at the jokes he made. Who would toss away any sense of betrayal and instead try to understand, to sympathize.
That person is not me. If that makes me a monster as well, so be it.
I strike and strike. “Why?”
“I came to Dailan for the River Pearl but had to flee when Kang’s fleet arrived.” He speaks between quick breaths, and his staff clashes against my blade. “I tried to steal it again on the flagship, but then—I encountered you, and something about you fascinated me. It was the way you fought—with a passion and grace worthy of Warrioress. That’s why I had to see you when you came to Tongqiucheng.”
Is he mocking me again? The monster! Now I know why he killed my father. He must have been after the River Pearl then as well. It was what he needed to defeat Mowang, and he didn’t care who he had to cut down to get it. He must have tried again and again over the years, spying on our village until the Ligui attacked, and then using the creatures to mask his efforts. He was only lucky enough to avoid me until that night when Kang arrived with his dragons.
His luck has run out. He won’t escape me this time.
Red tints everything; all I see is rage. I attack relentlessly, striking and stabbing and swinging with the ferocity of a thousand armies. His efforts to stop me aren’t enough to keep me from driving him into a wall.
His staff keeps my blade from cutting off his head. I press my sword against it as hard as I can. If I press hard enough, I’ll force his staff into his throat, and he can die smothered by his own weapon.
“Anlei!” His desperate gaze meets mine. “What do I need to do to earn your forgiveness?”
“You can’t,” I growl.
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“Do you really not know?” A strange, humorless laugh explodes from my lips. “You killed my father!”
I turn my sword against his staff, hoping to catch his neck. He shoves back, sending me stumbling away. His shocked eyes are as round as the moon. I spring forward again, but instead of defending, he shifts into his shadow form and soars into the sky.
Spotting a nearby column, I climb it as fast as I can.
An explosion shakes the world around me, causing me to lose my grip. I land on my back. Buzzing sounds in my ears, and my head throbs from where it hit the ground. I glimpse a second explosion taking out a Ligui a few feet away and squeeze my eyes against the brilliant light.
When I open them again, Tai is gone, no doubt retreated to the Yueshen’s realm. I’ll never look at the moon the same way again. The weight of defeat sits heavily on my chest, and I remain on the ground, wishing the dirt would swallow me whole.
I let him escape again, and this time it’s worse … because I can’t tell myself that I did everything in my power to stop him. Despite all my rage, despite all his lies, that was still Tai before me. Though I attacked as hard as I could, my blade kept finding his staff—not his body. Something held me back.
That soft-hearted fool—part of her is a piece of me, and it was just enough to let him escape. Because though I want to see him only as the Shadow Warrior, he’s … he’s Tai.
Tears stream down the sides of my face as I remain prone, staring at the bronze dragons winding through the sky. They’re tears of anger at myself and at the boy who betrayed me. Tears of grief for the Tai I thought I knew—the one I wish existed in place of the lying, murdering wretch who tricked me into thinking he was a hero. Tears of shock and tears of pain … I want to rip my heart from my chest and crush it to bits.
Where was the glimpse of darkness that should have warned me to his true nature? And why was it absent again, just now, even after the truth became clear? Maybe if I weren’t so bad at reading people, I would have seen it.
I don’t want to believe any of this. But there’s only one shadow being that bears a white crescent on his neck, and he said himself that the other Yueshen can’t shift into this form. He also confessed that he was the only one of his people who escaped Mowang’s capture—and it was because he was half human.
No other being in the world could have been the one I saw cut my father’s throat.
I can’t believe I let myself be so fooled.
Quick footsteps pound the dirt, and the Ligui’s screeches pierce the air. But I remain on the ground, defeated in a way I’d never thought possible, anchored in the dirt by my shattered heart and flowing t
ears.
I can’t let anyone see me like this. Any moment, one of the other remaining guards—or worse, my sister—might stumble upon me.
I inhale deeply, breathing in the smells of sulfur and smoke and river water, and push off the ground.
“Lady Jiangzhu!” One of Kang’s cyborg soldiers approaches at a run. It takes a moment for me to recall that I am Lady Jiangzhu—or will be once I’m married. He seizes me by the arm. “I’m so glad I found you. Come with me. I’ll take you to the viceroy.”
I let him drag me forward, too weary to shake him off.
Kang’s sharp eyes flick up and down my body, his lip twisting with disgust. He sits on a wooden throne, an ornately carved thing with abstract curving patterns and dragon heads peeking out from elegant swirls. Rich embroidery of colorful dragons covers his long blue robe, but though his official garb and stern expression radiate authority, he no longer scares me. I’ve evaded his soldiers and stolen his ship, fought my way through Hell, and conquered the demon king. He may still hold power over me, but I will not tremble before him.
Headman Su stands behind him. Though he holds himself erect, his lip twitches nervously behind his gray beard.
Kang’s eyes narrow. “When Su begged me to intervene after receiving Dailan’s message, I was inclined to refuse. What kind of alliance can be forged when the promised bride leaves without permission?”
“Did you not read the note I left for you?” I arch one brow. “I went to pursue the thief that stole the River Pearl.”
“Where is he, then? That’s the ship he stole from my scouts on Dailanjiang, is it not?”
There’s no point in denying that. But I don’t have to tell the whole truth either. “Yes. I found it in a river cave—he’d hidden it there while he went to steal food.” My prepared words roll easily off my tongue. They’re all technically true, and I hope that means the cyborg soldier standing behind me won’t be able to use his powers to detect any falsehood.
“The thief got away, but not before I reclaimed the pearl. I took the ship so I could return sooner with it.” I reach into the cloth bag on my shoulder and produce the glowing white relic.
A startled look flashes across Kang’s face. Su’s bushy brows shoot up into his crinkled forehead. I lift my chin in triumph.
Kang drags his gaze over me again, but this time a hungry glint sparks in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have underestimated you, my beautiful Warrioress.”
Though it sounds like a compliment, his words make me uncomfortable. “I take it you still want to marry me, then? With this as part of the deal?” I hold the River Pearl up a little higher.
Kang’s tongue flicks over his lips in a movement so subtle I almost don’t see it. He reminds me of a snake tasting the air. “I honor my agreements. Why did you not come to me at once?”
“On my way back, I heard of what had happened to my home.” I keep my words curt. “I had to come here—I needed to know if my family had survived.”
“Understandable.” Kang’s tone is cold.
“Dailan still needs your protection. But as you can see, there’s nothing left here. We can rebuild, but with the fields destroyed, my people will starve unless given refuge.”
“Then I will grant it.” Kang stands and approaches. “There is enough space aboard my ships to house all your refugees. In time, I will help your village rebuild.” He reaches into his sleeve and pulls something out of what must be a hidden pocket. When he uncurls his fingers, I find my jade pendant sitting inside. “You left this behind as a promise that you’d return. By taking it back, you close the circle.”
He slides the cord over my head. His breath fouls the air around me, and his fingers on my neck might as well be spiders. Bile rises up my throat. He’s turned a precious memento from my father into a symbol of my bondage.
He grabs my chin. “Of course, the quality of my wife indicates the quality of our alliance.”
Nausea coils through my stomach. He wants to know that I’ll be obedient, dutiful. A decorative flower pot or a plaything or a servant depending on his whims. But Dailan already suffered once because of my mistakes, and I can’t let that happen again.
I grit my teeth. “As I said before … If my people have your protection, then you’ll have your bride.”
Kang’s lip curls. “Good.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
WHISPERS OF TRUTH
The night passes swiftly outside my window—too swiftly. Warm summer wind breezes into my room as the viceroy’s flagship cuts through the clouds. I glimpse one of the other ships, a wide vessel with enormous propellers and three tall sails scalloping toward its deck, and I wonder if my mother and sister are aboard it. All who remain of Dailan fly with me tonight, to be sheltered in Tongqiucheng until arrangements can be made to rebuild the village.
I suppose I should be grateful, but can’t bring myself to be. Perhaps it’s because Kang’s “generosity” was bought and paid for by an ancient relic and an unwilling bride.
The small ship Tai and I once stole together passes across my view. Hovering lanterns, which we never used for fear of being seen at night, illuminate the cyborg soldier behind the wheel. I turn away as anger slices me like a hot knife. How could Tai have led me to believe he was my friend when all along, he was my father’s murderer? Did he not even recall the crime? Has he killed so many that one villager’s life was nothing? Who is he?
Memories tug at my heart—of us journeying together as allies, as friends, as …
I tell myself that they’re lies—all of them—that every nuance of Tai’s character was nothing more than an act designed to deceive me into helping him, but though I repeat these thoughts over and over, they don’t feel real. I still want to believe in the boy I thought I knew.
I’m an even greater idiot than I thought. Tears of rage prick my eyes.
I wish I could block out the moon forever. Sinking into the wooden chair by the wall, I bury my face in my hands.
Anlei …
I start at the sound of my name, spoken in a ghostly whisper. That voice—it was my father’s. It rings in my bones, just as it did the last time I was aboard the viceroy’s flagship. Just like the other whispering voices aboard both stolen ships. Yet while those sounds held no words, my name is clear.
Anlei …
“Father?” I look around, wondering if it really is his ghost this time. Or maybe it’s my guilt speaking, asking how I could have failed him so thoroughly. Not only did I let his murderer get away again and again, I actually helped him. Befriended him. Trusted him.
If I ever see him again, I’ll finish this once and for all. I clench my fists. But something about the thought feels wrong. It was one thing when I sought revenge against a faceless Ligui. Now that I know it was Tai the entire time …
Why should that change anything? Just because he showed himself to be part human doesn’t mean he’s not the same monster that killed Father.
The next time I encounter him, I’ll remember that.
My mind floats in a fog of weariness and sadness. I don’t think I slept at all during the day we journeyed back to Tongqiucheng aboard the viceroy’s flagship. At least this time he didn’t parade me through the city, opting instead for a quiet return in the drowsy hours before dawn. I hoped to see my family when we arrived, but one of Kang’s automatons quickly led me into a carriage to take me into the palace. From what I’ve heard, the villagers are being settled in temporary quarters on the other side of the city.
Now that night has fallen again, I’m finally alone. No more servants trying to dress me up like a proper lady. Preparations are being made for a second attempt at the wedding ceremony, which is to take place tomorrow. I try not to think about it, or about what will come after.
I cross my room, wishing I could appreciate its beautiful décor. Wooden carvings of orchids adorn the tall bed frame, and latticed bronze lamps hover near the ceiling, their tiny propellers whirring softly and giving off subtle sparks.
A sudden movement in the window catches my eye. I jump; there’s a pale, translucent figure hovering outside.
It’s Tai in his Yueshen form, his staff clutched in his hand.
I automatically reach behind me before recalling that my sword’s no longer strapped to my back—it lies at the bottom of my trunk. I bolt toward it and seize its lid.
“Anlei!” Tai flies into the room. His body becomes solid as he shifts into his human form. “I’m not here to hurt you!”
“Why did you come armed, then?” I grab my sword and whirl to face him. “I know that’s no staff you wield!” I strike.
He holds up his weapon in time to block mine. “I only brought it so you wouldn’t kill me before I had a chance to speak. Looks like I was right about needing it.” Tai’s mouth lifts into a humorless smile. “Can you let me live long enough for me to explain?”
“Explain what? How you’ve been lying to me since we met? How you killed my father in cold blood?”
Tai looks me straight in the eye. “I did not kill your father.”
“Liar! I saw you!”
“You saw a man-shaped figure with a white crescent on his neck, right? It may have looked identical to my shadow form, but it was someone else.”
I shove my sword against his staff, forcing him to step back. “You’re the only half-Yueshen—you said it yourself!”
“I’m not the only one with partial Yueshen powers.”
I start to speak but hesitate as I wonder if there might be some truth in his words.
“I’m not the murderer you seek—my father is.” Tai’s voice is taut. “It’s the only possible explanation for what you saw five years ago. I swear, I didn’t know. When he married my mother, the Yueshen granted him the ability to shift as I can so that they could both travel between realms. And like me, he can’t turn invisible. He can only become shadow. I didn’t want to believe it, but I do believe you, and if you saw a shadowed man with a white crescent on his neck … there’s only one person that could have been.”
