Price stepped through the shimmering gateway without a second glance. He wasn’t cut out for this gig, and Daji must have sensed it all along.
The thudding beat of club music thundered in his ears. SUTOL. Fabulous.
He wound through the crowd of writhing bodies and collapsed onto a stool in front of the bartender.
“What can I get you, mate?”
He braced his arms on the counter. “Everything.”
Best way to shove this behind him? Get stupid-ass drunk. The good man poured him a shot of stiff liquor, which burned Price’s throat as he drank. He didn’t pause, chugging the next five, too. Each shot sizzled through his veins, blurring the image of Daji he hadn’t been able to shake from his mind.
Mate my brother? He snorted. Maybe she’d been hot for a little sibling action. She hadn’t hesitated.
“I’ll have one too.”
He grimaced at the lilting, regal tone beside him, and downed another shot, stealing the one the bartender slid in front of her, gulping that one too. Not just because Daji and alcohol didn’t mix.
She didn’t need to feel numbness.
She was already as cold as ice.
“That was mine.” She slid onto the stool beside him.
He tapped his finger on the counter for another shot. “Get out of here, Daji.”
“Fine. I’ll leave, as soon as you do.”
Her curt tone grated on his nerves, so he tilted his head toward her. “Why don’t you go boss around your new King instead?” He nodded at the bartender who slid him another shot glass. “Leave me alone.”
“Oh, your mean your brother? I’m afraid he’s rather busy with my heir.”
He couldn’t tell if her tone was playful, or snide, and he didn’t care. “You don’t need me around, so go back to your throne, Daji.”
“I didn’t dismiss you, so no. I’m not leaving without you. Unless of course, you’re retreating from your mission and I should report you to the Matchmaker.”
Yeah, that. He glowered at his Lotus tat. Until the Matchmaker gave him a cookie and a pat on the head, the job wasn’t finished.
He was still her bitch.
“Fine.” He launched to his feet, teetering a smidge, and seized Daji’s wrist, towing her through the throng of undulating people toward the back closet housing the portal.
“This what you want?” He crushed her against the wall, cushioning her a second before impact. “Huh? Going to command me to be your fuck buddy, Daji?” He ground his hips into her, then shoved off. “Well, too bad. I’m done with this shit.”
Puffing, he glared at the gateway.
***
Daji squeezed her eyes shut. Price had every right to be furious with her. She had dismissed him, and any trust between them had been shattered.
Better this way.
What she would have asked of him… No, she couldn’t. Risking herself was one thing. But sacrificing him?
She’d do everything within her power to protect him. Even crush his feelings for her before they grew strong enough to condemn him.
Blinking away tears, Daji waved a hand across the portal, the surface shimmering, but not into her palace. Before locating Price—which hadn’t been difficult—she’d arranged a meeting.
She stepped through the gateway, Price trudging behind.
He blinked, scanning the room. “Where are we?”
“Price.” A woman and a man rose from the sofa in the far corner.
“Nat? Kassian?” Price raked a hand through his hair. Was he nervous? Or still angry? A smidge intoxicated?
Daji stepped forward, extending her hand. “A pleasure to meet you both. The Matchmaker has told me nothing about you.” They laughed, and she reciprocated as they shook hands.
The woman, Natalie, was beautiful. Her dark hair and sparkling eyes made it easy to see how Price had once cared for her.
The man was huge, brawny, and bore a large, inviting grin.
Snake and Ox. A good pairing. Her mind flashed to the Matchmaker, and the glow she’d noted. Aha, so this is your handiwork.
Daji released Nat’s hand. “Did you uncover anything from the male you interrogated?” The one who’d kidnapped the fox spirits Naya and Ryden had rescued.
“Unfortunately not,” Kassian grunted. “He committed suicide before we had the chance. Cyanide tooth cap.”
Nat pressed a hand to his arm, addressing Daji, “You said you have something to show us?”
“Ah, yes.” She withdrew the book from her jacket pocket. To better blend in, she’d changed into jeans and a blouse before traveling to the human realm.
She handed the book to Natalie, who frowned as she flipped through the pages. “Can you read it?”
“Yeah.” Natalie squinted. “I’m pretty sure I can. My father taught me this when I was little. Fun times.”
“Wait, your father? Xing? That fucking crazy demon?” Price strode forward, pausing to peer at the book. “Didn’t you kill him at that hotel?”
“What hotel?” Daji scanned their faces.
“Price helped us gain an audience with him.” Kassian folded his arms across his massive chest. “Posed as an intermediary between him and the húli jīng. Didn’t he tell you?”
“Anyway,” Nat rushed in. “Yes, we did kill him. Where did you find this?”
“With my mother’s bracelet.” Price’s tone was flat.
“His mother was murdered,” Daji murmured. “Perhaps by your father.”
“Oh.” Nat perched on the edge of the sofa, scrolling through the pages with the tip of her finger. “Wait. There’s a record of a bracelet, and a symbol.” She tilted her head, studying the pages. “The entries either have this one or that one.” Her fingertip landed on a second symbol. “I recognize this one. Translated, it’s something like ‘mission accomplished.’ ”
Daji inched forward. “Does this mean the other is incomplete?”
“Probably.” Nat pursed her lips.
“My mum is dead. Why would it be a fail?” Price stiffened, his jaw clenching.
A sinking twist of sadness tightened her insides. “Your mother was never the target.” Daji swallowed hard. “You were.”
“No.” Price stepped back.
“I’m sorry.” Nothing she said would change the heartbreak of this revelation.
“She died because of me?” He dropped his head into his hands, hunching.
“No, because of Horse.” Nat’s whisper cut through the silence. “Xing and Xiaodan collected every spirit animal they could get their hands on. Dragon, Snake. It’s not your fault.”
“It damn well is.” He squeezed his hands around his head, huffed, and shot a glare at the walls. “Fuck this.” The haze of Horse formed over him as he whirled past them, storming from the room.
Poor Price. Her heart ached at the burden he bore. For him, and the guilt he must endure for the brother he did everything to protect.
It would take time for him to comprehend and accept his loss. Yet his wasn’t the only one. She focused on the book in Natalie’s hands. “The others? What can you tell me about them?” The enemies of her enemy just might prove her allies.
“Not a whole lot of incompletes, but I can try to translate them. Give me a bit of time and I’ll send you a list.”
“Thank you.” Daji inclined her head at the pair and veered from the room. No telling where Price was. With Horse cloaking him, he was capable of traversing miles in minutes. The one place he couldn’t reach was her realm. Should she wait for him? Outside, it was cold and dark. Doubtful he would return before dawn, if he even remained in the city.
A sigh sank her shoulders. She was a Queen. Her responsibilities outweighed any desire to console the man she cared for.
Heart heavy, Daji stepped through the portal to her realm.
***
It wasn’t true. It fucking couldn’t be true.
Mum.
His throat constricted, chest tightening, cutting off his air. Skidding to a halt, he
shrugged off Horse’s cloaking and stumbled onto his knees. Why the bloody hell had the Jade Emperor cursed him with this gift?
Why when he’d been a baby? Why not after he’d grown older, strong enough to have protected his family?
No, instead, his mother’s cries haunted his nightmares. She hadn’t deserved such a fate. He sure as hell wasn’t worth dying to protect.
Bad enough he’d lived most of his life with the guilt of not saving her. But to learn it was his fault? How was a man supposed to cope with this kind of shame?
Worst of all, how could he tell Ryden? It’s my fault you grew up without a mother, with a jackass like me looking after you.
Every moment they’d missed out on stung him like thousands of lashes. Hot moisture pricked his eyes, his fists clenching so tight his knuckles threatened to pop through. He blinked, but nothing in the world was the same. Every ounce of carefree optimism dissolved.
Now, the world was a bleak slap in the face.
He snorted. Just what he craved. Someone to punch the snot out of him so his body would hurt as badly as his heart did.
Ryden.
Gotta tell him.
After staggering to his feet, he shuffled through the streets, heading in the direction of SUTOL. One of the females inside would be able to send him to the fox spirits’ realm.
Not Daji. Nothing left in him was worthy of protecting her people.
He stumbled into the club, snatched the first fox spirit he came across, and asked her to send him. She pouted at his lack of invitation, but getting laid was the furthest thing from his mind.
The hallways inside the palace were unusually cool tonight. Quiet. He frowned but headed straight for Ryden’s room and pounded on the door. “Dude, open up.”
No answer. No creaking mattresses or rhythmic thumping either, so he wasn’t interrupting.
Huh.
It was late. Middle of the night. His brother wasn’t one for staying out partying. Where was he?
Price wandered the corridors. Every room he passed, he listened, and caught no sounds. Was the entire palace empty?
Stepping more cautiously, he treaded through the hallways, peeking into every open room, the hairs on his neck rising with each empty location. This wasn’t good. He slipped a knife from his boot and gripped it in his hands just in case.
Murmuring drifted from the atrium ahead.
He tensed, creeping forward.
Feminine voices, singing?
A soft, sad tune carried toward him. He stiffened as he stepped into the atrium, the crowd of hooded females parting for him.
At the other end, Daji, Ryden, and Naya sat cross-legged, holding hands.
Not an attack on the palace. He stuffed his knife into his boot and marched toward Daji. “What’s going on?”
Ryden vaulted to his feet and threw his arms around Price, crushing him.
Was he ok? He shoved back to peer at his brother, but grief flickered in his blue depths.
No.
Ryden knew. Why did Daji tell him?
Price shot her an accusatory glare, narrowing his eyes. Everything fucked up in his life circled back to the fox spirits…to her.
No escaping them. His fate, theirs. His chest tightened. Horse snagged on the reins, threatening to bolt again.
Too much control. The woman had too much control over him.
Over his head, over his heart.
Even his soul.
Take a breath, a step back.
Ryden didn’t smack him, so this might be a good thing. He edged closer again and squeezed tighter, ruffling his brother’s hair.
“They have a ceremony. Join us?” Ryden jerked his chin toward the floating pink lotus flowers, each lit with a gentle glow as it flowed down the small stream and over the side of the cliff.
He bobbed his head, his throat too tight for words. Muscles stiff, he accepted a lotus from Naya, cradling it in both palms, and placed the flower on the surface of the stream. As it made contact with the water, the petals illuminated, and the lotus drifted away.
“Húli jīng don’t travel to Dìyù when we pass,” Naya murmured. “Nor are we ever reborn to this realm. We end our lives as we begin them, in the arms of our goddess, Nüwa.”
He gave a slight nod. The image of his mother’s body sparking with an ethereal glow as she passed flashed through his mind. After everything he’d witnessed that night, he’d categorized the memory into a kid’s imaginings and never contemplated what he’d seen.
Now, he’d learned the truth.
Daji stared toward the path of flowers. Would she vanish too?
What would be left of him if she did?
Price hadn’t visited her chamber the past two nights, and Daji didn’t expect him to. She’d made an executive decision in revealing the past to Ryden. Charya might have been Price’s mother, but she was Daji’s subject, and deserved a proper burial. A befitting remembrance.
Her sacrifice would be honored by the húli jīng.
Besides, after he’d fled, Daji hadn’t been certain he would resume his position.
She had little time remaining, and none for a man who wouldn’t stand by her side through every trial.
Especially the one to come.
She drummed her fingers on the armrest of her throne. The Matchmaker had assured she would send this mysterious asset soon, but when?
As Daji shifted in her seat, anxiety eating at her nerves, two figures stepped into the grand chamber.
A man and a woman. The man’s striking, intense prowl and the woman’s light gait left no doubt as to their identities.
Chosen. Tiger and Rabbit.
Hmm…but how were they supposed to help restore the fox spirits’ souls?
“Queen Daji.” The man bowed his head, the woman following suit.
Daji rose, then stepped toward them. “The Matchmaker sent you?”
The man raised dark, piercing eyes, gleaming in feline-like perusal. “She did.” He smiled at the woman beside him. “I’m Sheng, this is Lucy. She’s the one who can help you.”
Daji arched a brow at the slight female. What kind of asset could she be? Rabbit wasn’t a formidable spirit.
A sly tilt curved the woman’s lips. “I know, Rabbit. Not exactly who you were expecting to rush in and save the day, huh.” She held up both her hands, parted her lips, and focused on Daji. “Check this out.”
A tug jolted her forward, as though the woman had snatched her hand and dragged her. She frowned at her hand, and blinked. No, the tug came from within.
Impossible.
She scrutinized the woman, who smirked.
“Shèhúnzéi.” Spirit thief.
Lucy smiled, bowing her head. “At your service.”
An asset, indeed. The powers this woman possessed could change the world, for good or for evil.
Hope bubbled inside Daji’s chest. This might work. “Come, please.” She waved for them to follow, and hastened toward the room with the three females Ryden and Naya had rescued. The box containing their fox spirits rested on a table beside the bed, the three lifeless females lying upon the mattress.
The woman halted beside her and Daji plucked the box, pressing it into her hands. “Please.”
Lucy swept her arm toward the three females. A soft glow formed around them, the bluish haze flowing in and out of the box and the four bodies.
Daji stepped back, allowing her to work. Legends of spirit thieves were so fantastical, she’d considered them extinct.
The woman beside her was real. Very real.
“What’s going on?” Price strode into the room, but Sheng blocked him.
“Easy, stay back.” Sheng’s eyes narrowed. “Horse.”
Jolts of electricity passed between the two men. Not the good kind. Price plucked Sheng’s hand from off his chest, shoulders straightening. “What the fuck are you doing here, Tiger?”
Definite animosity in that word.
Daji rushed between them. “Helping me.” She shot Price
a glower to back off. Lucy wasn’t finished yet, and she wasn’t about to let a past grievance offend her guests.
Price slunk a step to the side, scanning Lucy and the fox spirits. “How long will this ta—”
Lucy groaned and buckled, the glow evaporating around her.
Sheng rushed to her side and scooped her into his arms.
She lifted her head and smiled. “Finished.”
Daji slid one foot in front of the other, approaching the bed. It was too good to be true.
One fox spirit fluttered her eyelids and, moaning, blinked into consciousness. Her eyes widened and she prodded her hands along her body, a sob shaking her shoulders.
Daji covered her mouth with her hand and blinked back tears. “You are restored, my dear.” She brushed aside the female’s disheveled locks and peered into her brightened green depths. “All will be well.”
The other females awoke, and the cries of their weeping mixed with their laughter.
The weight of her fears eased from her shoulders. She might be doomed, but her people were not. No longer would they face extinction. Naya wouldn’t become Queen of a fallen people.
“Where are the others?” Sheng’s deep timbre echoed around the chamber.
Daji jolted. Others? Oh, yes. “They’re in the palace, but we haven’t been able to trace their fox spirits yet. Can you?”
Lucy pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. Any idea where they might be?”
Idea, no. Fear, yes. If Dì Xīn was behind this, he might have imprisoned them.
In Dìyù.
“Not yet.”
“Okay, well, she’ll be ready when you do.” Sheng shifted Lucy in his arms, shielding her protectively. He cast a wary glare at Price as he strode past him, his murmur a low threatening tone. “You don’t choose sides soon, someone will choose for you.”
***
Price stiffened at Sheng’s threat. They couldn’t make him their puppet, regardless of what Sheng’s words alluded to.
Tiger and Dragon were the leaders of the Chosen. They were supposed to claim loyalty from each of the other ten spirit animals. Once pledged, the leader was able to control the spirit animals—like pathetic marionettes.
No thanks.
Dragon used to belong to a crazy motherfucker named Xiaodan, Lucy’s uncle, incidentally, who’d stolen the spirit animal from Sheng’s brother, Delun.
Reining Him In (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 5) Page 16
