Thorn of the Night Blossoms

by J C Kang

  Using his body position, he corralled her out of Lilian’s line of sight.

  She sidestepped his attempt to touch her ear, and started to—

  “You’re a shy one, aren’t you?” His tone was playful, his grin charming.

  What? She gawked at him. That wasn’t what an assassin would say. Where was he going with this? “Master Shixian, it wouldn’t do to let a man touch me.”

  “But…” He pointed with that prominent jaw. “You have something in your hair.”

  She reached up, then scowled. “That’s my ear!”

  “You…you’re an elf!” His mouth formed a perfect circle. “Heavens, forgive me.”

  “Half-elf.” Surely he’d known well before. She searched his eyes.

  There was nothing but sincerity. And now, even as close as he was, there was no smell of the sesame ginger, nor any toxin from the Black Lotus’ sizeable lexicon. Maybe she’d been mistaken about the Peony Garden’s intentions.

  “I…I assumed you were half, but I thought you were half-Hua, half-Easterner. Not half-elf.” He studied her, not like the lechers roving the Floating World, but with a childlike wonder. It was almost endearing. “I can see it now. There must be quite the story there.”

  She searched his eyes but found nothing but candid curiosity. The story wouldn’t inspire the bards, though—she’d been a bawling babe left at the front gates of the Black Lotus Temple. Master Yan had raised her as his own, though he had lost the only hint of her identity. The letter pinned to her swaddling blanket spoke of a human mother who died giving birth and an elf father too busy to be burdened. Still, she stuck to the same cover story: “I assume I’m like all the few other instances of half-elves. A wanderlust-stricken mother left home, either fell in love or into a trap, and left me with humans.”

  His expression contorted into genuine concern, unlike any of the other prospective Hummingbirds, who’d just moved on to the next question. He seemed so earnest that it felt cruel to have lied. “Too bad for your mother,” he said, “never knowing that her daughter grew into such a beauty.”

  Nothing but sincerity hung in his tone. Heat rose to the tips of her ears. Of all the handsome young men she’d lusted after, he was even more so. And warm. She would’ve given herself to him right there and then, if not for the issue of her record virgin price. “I am guessing you are not really one of the House guards. Who are you, Master Shi—”

  “Lieutenant. Lieutenant Chen Shixian. I’m an officer of the Huayuan Provincial Cavalry.” He bowed.

  Goosebumps prickled on Jie’s shoulders, and not from the breeze. While she and horses didn’t get along, there was something dashing about a handsome soldier on a horse. “And how did you come to be here? A guest of Lord Peng?”

  He shook his head, loosening his luxurious mane, then locked intense eyes on her. “I think you know why I’m here.”

  Her spine just about turned to jelly. All her pent-up desire felt like a raging torrent about to overrun a dam. If not for the matter of her virgin price, she’d take him there and then.

  “You have something on your cheek.” He reached into the fold of his robe and withdrew a kerchief. It unfurled, revealing intricate stitching, winding in a mesmerizing pattern. The Dragon Weaver magic woven into the cloth washed over her, making her…making her… Heat surged through her. She shook the haze out of her head.

  “Are you all right?” Locking those gorgeous eyes on her, he dabbed the kerchief over her cheek. He pulled it back, revealing a dark smudge. He grinned again, so rakish and alluring. “It looks like ash.”

  Surely she’d cleaned it all off. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was now close.

  And it didn’t bother her.

  On the contrary, his body heat and the masculine rust smell sent a jolt up her spine. Fire blossomed inside her.

  Their eyes met, searching each other.

  “You are so beautiful,” he repeated.

  Beautiful. Not exotic, or different. Virgin price be damned. Claiming what little space remained between them, Jie reached up and pulled his face to hers. She parted her lips, and welcomed his tongue.

  He pressed against her, boxing her against the wall. His hands slid down her back to her waist, but she moved them lower, up under her skirts. So invited, his fingers brushed along the inside of her thighs, walking higher at a leisurely pace.

  Too slow! Aching with heat and desire, she bucked her hips to meet his hand. He tore her undergarments off.

  ***

  “Sir!” Lilian barked from the archway. “Unhand my Little Sister.”

  Jie broke the kiss and looked over his shoulder.

  At least a dozen people were there. Wide-eyed Blossoms covered their gaping mouths. Men muttered as their lips curled into sneers.

  And Lilian. Confusion was scrawled over her face.

  Jie pushed herself off Shixian as all heat drained from her. Her muddled head cleared. Heavens, what had she done?

  The Peony Garden Gardener and Lusha pushed through the throng and passed to either side of Lilian. They exchanged knowing smirks.

  “You’ve broken the rules of the Floating World, girl.” The Gardener jabbed an accusatory finger at her. “A Blossom may not entertain a Hummingbird in another House without the Gardener’s permission.”

  “I thought… I thought…” Brows furrowed, Shixian shook his head. “I wasn’t a Hummingbird.”

  Jie nodded. “No. He…he wasn’t. He was…” Oh, Heavens, no.

  Holding up Jie’s undergarment as if it were a scorpion, Lusha brought her hand to her chest. “Heavens, are you saying you gave in to passion?”

  A different kind of heat flared in her cheeks. Was it? What was she thinking? No, there was no thought, just primal desire. For Shixian? He was handsome, for sure, but that alone wasn’t enough for her to forget about the value of virginity. No, it had to be…the kerchief. It had Dragon Weaver magic imbued in it. She looked around, but there was no sign of it.

  “So much for your virgin price.” Lusha cast a cruel smile.

  This had all been a set-up.

  And it’d succeeded.

  She’d walked right into it. No matter how much she’d wanted it, even before the magic, she wouldn’t have. Not with her virgin price at stake. She glared at Shixian.

  His eyes widened, and he waved his hand back and forth. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Liar. You used a kerchief embroidered with Artistic Magic.”

  He shook his head so fast, his head might come off. He was a good actor, that was for sure; maybe not even a military man. “I know nothing about—”

  “This?” The Gardener held up a kerchief. No waves of magic rolled off it. “It looks quite plain.”

  Had she swapped it? Or was it only single-use? No matter what, there was no proof of what Shixian had done.

  The Peony Garden didn’t want her killed, but deflowered. To keep Lusha’s record virgin price safe.

  And as horrible and underhanded and violating as it was, it left an even more sinister question: who’d tried to kill her this morning, and why?

  Chapter 9

  Though full-fledged Blossoms were allowed to take on lovers as long as it didn’t interfere with house business, Florets had no such leeway. Even less so for Jie, whose virgin price would’ve fattened the house’s coffers—and the clan’s—beyond imagination. In their eyes, it was a dalliance that couldn’t go unpunished.

  Though technically her contract was held by a Black Lotus shell company, the Gardener had free rein to mete out judgement. She’d stormed over to the Peony Garden, guards in tow. They’d dragged Jie back to the Chrysanthemum House, and would’ve confined her to a long-unused cellar if it hadn’t stunk like some animal had crawled in there and died. Instead, they locked her in a windowless storehouse, with a guard posted.

  With nothing else to do, Jie had just wallowed in what had happened. Even though she’d wanted to give herself to Shixian, she wouldn’t have. It was still rape,
plain and simple, with Artistic Magic as the means. With the kerchief, they might be able to prove it and seek redress. Without it, there was no recourse. The Peony Garden would get away with the violation. She’d been tempted to open the high-proof bottles of White Lightning wine stored there to drown her sorrows, or perhaps light the surplus cases of New Year’s firecrackers and just end it there and then.

  Now, the morning after, as news of her indiscretion swirled throughout the Floating World, Jie knelt at the edge of the stage of the Chrysanthemum Pavilion’s common room. Arms outstretched, she balanced trays laden with rice wine-filled cups. The entire House gathered below, a witness to her disgrace.

  Still, no castigation in the Floating World could begin to compare with everyday Black Lotus training. In the Floating World, no girl, from Sprout to Blossom, was ever whipped, for fear of leaving scars. Kneeling on hardwood planks meant nothing to someone whose body was hardened to stone; and no amount of berating hurt more than Jie’s own internal rebuke.

  A trap, so obvious, and she’d fallen for it.

  And Shixian. For all his charm, he was just manipulating her. Using magic, no less. Her chest clenched. That Turtle’s Egg would pay for what he’d taken from her.

  Her arms ached, though certainly not as much as anyone else’s would in the same position. Definitely not as much as her heart right now.

  Gardener Ju hobbled over and jabbed a finger into her chest, daring her to spill any of the rice wine. “I’ve sent word to the Golden Peacock Company to see what they want to do with you. You’ll still fetch an ungodly amount, from all the Hummingbirds who’ve eyed you over the years.”

  That was the reality. Lilian’s plight made more sense now. All the training as a spy and warrior meant nothing compared to her body’s value to wanton men. Jie’s heart knotted even more.

  “Now, Lord Ting has reserved the entire house for him and Lilian tonight. He wants it empty, so the rest of you have the night off…”

  He would’ve had to pay enough to cover the house’s profits for the night. Thousands of yuan. It would’ve been far less expensive to take Lilian to his villa. What kind of depravity did he have in mind?

  “…all except Jie. You will serve dinner to Lord Ting and Lilian tonight.” The Gardener gestured to the corner of the stage.

  Jie looked at the corner, the same one where Lord Ting had lounged two nights before. The same spot she’d cleaned yesterday.

  “Maybe he will be your first Hummingbird.”

  “Gardener!” Lilian dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor. She looked up. “Little Sister Jie has not yet flowered with Heaven’s Dew. She can’t receive Hummingbirds yet.”

  “Gardener!” Speaking in unison, the other girls all dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. Even the Florist, stern but kind mother that she was, joined in.

  The Gardener looked among them, lips tight.

  Silence fell over the room, save for the soft weeping of Ai and Yin. Jie’s heart wound so tight it might burst. Her House sisters, Sprout to Blossom, all supported her, and each other. Just like the Black Lotus Clan members embedded in the Floating World did.

  The Gardener’s chuff broke the quiet. “Little Jie has lived in the house long enough without earning her keep. Now that the blossom has been plucked, it doesn’t matter. Youth is a commodity with diminishing returns, and the fact you’ve not blossomed with Heaven’s Dew makes you even more unique for the Floating World. It will allow us to set an even higher contract price for your regular assignations, and schedule a few a day.”

  Anger churned in Jie’s stomach. The adherence to this one convention had set the Floating World above every other seedy whorehouse in the land. Sure, she was already twenty, but if the Gardener was willing to make this exception now, who would she sacrifice in the future? “Gardener—”

  “Silence! Who gave you permission to speak, selfish little slut?” The Gardener’s glare shifted from Jie to the Florist. “Send out invitations to all who have bid on her.”

  The shuddering shoulders and sniffling among the girls intensified. Jie’s heart broke more for them than for herself.

  “Gardener,” Lilian said, pressing her forehead to the ground again. “Please.”

  The Gardener slammed her hand down on the stage, making everyone wince. “Don’t think that just because you are the Chrysanthemum House’s Corsage I won’t turn you out. I’ll make sure no Floating World House will take you in. Golden Peacock Company will contract you to some back-alley whorehouse in the Trench, where you’ll service fifty lowlifes a day.”

  The Gardener had no idea it was an empty threat, since the Black Lotus Clan would never do such a thing. Lilian knew it, too. She stood, scowling, and took a step forward, in what a trained eye would recognize as the start of an attack.

  The room went silent, even as the tension wound tighter than a garrote. The Gardener cowered back, bumping up against the stage as her left leg wobbled.

  “I’ll do it, willingly,” Jie said. Lilian might not have to worry about reprisals from the Gardener, and in fact, banishment from the Floating World was everything she wanted. But the other girls, if emboldened, did not have a clan of spies and assassins to go back to. Jie shot Lilian a warning glance, and would’ve used signals if her hands weren’t full. The other girls, she mouthed.

  Lilian met her gaze and sighed. Her shoulders slumped and fists unclenched, and she took two steps back and dropped to her knees. “I am sorry, Gardener.”

  “I’m glad that is settled.” The Gardener regained her air of authority, even if her voice came out strained. She turned to Jie and pointed to the corner. “Tonight is an important night. For now, you are going to scrub his favorite table clean and polish every wood surface until I can see your pretty little reflection in them.”

  ***

  With the cleaning done, along with all her other chores, Jie lay on her side on Lilian’s bed, arm supporting her head. Memories of the night before never strayed far from her thoughts. After repeated rebuffing, Lilian had finally given up trying to comfort her, and now sat at her make-up table in a plain dressing robe, lengthening her lashes. Late afternoon sun streamed in.

  Jie finally broke the silence. “What were you thinking, challenging the Gardener?”

  “Those are your first words?” Lilian lowered her brush. “I would ask you the same. Don’t make this about me. Why did you even go last night? I told you it was dangerous. What if the Peony Garden really wanted to kill you? You never listen.”

  “I was worried that all our sisters were compromised. I had to hope it was just me.”

  Lilian’s lips pursed. “You should have left it to Wen. She would have figured it out. You always take it upon yourself.”

  Jie sighed. It was true. Her own hubris, thinking that as senior and with superior senses, nobody could do a better job. But not just that… “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  “At some point, you have to trust the rest of us.”

  Jie shook her head. How could she ask others to take risks? “I could never forgive myself if Wen had gotten caught.”

  “She wouldn’t have. She’s not as stealthy as you, but she’s still good.” Lilian glared at her. “Did you ever think that maybe you taking charge of everything has prevented the clan from seeing worth in the rest of us? Maybe that has kept many of us stuck spreading our legs in the Floating World.”

  Jie’s heart sunk. The truths battered her confidence; her very sense of self. Tears threatened.

  Lilian rose with enviable grace and glided over. She sat down in the curl formed by Jie’s bent knees and body, and draped an arm over her. “Oh, my sweet. I’m so sorry.”

  Hot tears welled in Jie’s eyes and ran down her cheeks.

  Lilian climbed over her to the other side of the bed, then embraced Jie from behind. Her cheek pressed against hers. It was protective, comforting.

  “I wanted to give myself to him,” Jie said. Just saying it made it real. “But I was
n’t going to. I couldn’t, not with so much money at stake.”

  Lilian stroked her hair. “I know. Our bodies aren’t our own. No matter how much it is drilled into us at the temple, and here in the house, a little piece of me dies every time.”

  So much sadness in her voice. Jie’s stomach twisted. No matter what happened next, she had to convince the clan to reassign Lilian. For now, though, it was time to redirect the conversation. “Clearly, the Peony Garden had ill intentions, but they hadn’t planned to go so far as to have me murdered.”

  “Which means someone else is targeting you.” Lilian’s nod rubbed against Jie’s cheek.

  “And maybe not just me.”

  Lilian’s voice dropped lower than a whisper, as if voicing her words too loudly might make them true. “What if there’s a traitor? A mole?”

  “No.” Jie closed her eyes. She’d trained every one of the clan sisters, knew their psychological profiles. “We’re like the Steel Orchids. I trust each and every one of them with my life.”

  “You have a blind spot with us.”

  Jie started to shake her head, but stopped. She couldn’t deny it. Though all clan brothers and sisters felt like family, the girls embedded in the Floating World forged even closer bonds. If one wanted to betray them, the rest wouldn’t see it coming. “You’re right. We need to contact the clan, to implement an objective evaluation.”

  “When?”

  “Now.” Jie started to rise.

  Lilian held her down. “I’ll go. There’s still time before Lord Ting arrives.”

  “Masked Crossbowman saw you, too. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Trust me. Trust my skill.” The message was the same as just a few minutes earlier. Cupping Jie’s cheeks, Lilian leaned in with a deep kiss.

  Every nerve tingled, up and down her spine, to her toes and fingertips. Jie reached around to the small of Lilian’s back and the nape of her neck, drawing her closer.

  Lilian broke the kiss, and smiled. “I’ll be all right.”