by M. Lynn
The fire popped, breaking the silence as she hurried toward the door and yanked it open. Letting it shut behind her, she slipped down the hall and into Luca’s room. She slid down the door to her butt and pulled her knees to her chest as sobs wracked her body.
“I’m sorry, Hua.” The Nagi’s voice filled her mind. “Truly.”
Hua didn’t let herself think of what the next day held for her lest the Nagi try to stop her. She ignored the beast in her mind as the Nagi continued to talk like they were friends, or worse, family.
“I’m not going to sleep.”
“Eventually, you will.”
Hua leaned her head back against the door, letting herself listen to Luca’s soft snores.
The next time she slept, she would never wake again.
22
Hua
It was still dark when Hua picked herself up off the floor of Luca’s room. Jian had knocked on the door a few times in the night, but she told him to go away. If she saw his face, looked into the eyes that saw every part of her, the resolve she’d crafted would waver.
She’d put all of Piao at risk.
Inching toward Luca’s bed, she looked into his serene face, wondering what life would have been like without the Nagi, without the war. Would she have married Luca like her family wanted? They’d have been happy together, even if they wouldn’t have fallen in love. Life would have been a lot simpler.
She glanced over her shoulder to the door she expected Jian to barge through at any moment. He wouldn’t give up, but then, neither would she.
Luca Kai was a good man, a kind man, but they’d never been meant for each other. He didn’t light a fire inside her with a single look. Only one man had ever done that, and she’d repaid his offer of love with a lie.
I can keep myself from loving you back. Was the lie meant for Jian or for herself? She lifted a finger to her lips, hating how his touch already faded from her mind.
“Is there a reason you’re hovering over me before the sun has even risen?” Luca’s eyes opened.
She sucked in a breath and expelled it with a rush of words. “I need you to take me to the palace.”
Luca sat up with a groan. “Well, that was effective in getting me up. What do you really need?” His eyes searched hers. “It is you, Hua, right?”
She nodded. “I’m not kidding. I need to go to the palace, but I can’t just walk up the steps. I need to be sure to see the emperor.”
“Bo?” He gripped his head as his face twisted in pain. “I’m not taking you anywhere near Bo.”
His distrust stung, but she understood it. As long as the Nagi lived inside her, none of them could trust her. “Please.”
“Hua.” He slid his legs over the edge of the bed, planting his feet on the wooden floorboards. “You almost killed me last night. Why would I help you get close to the emperor?”
She wrung her hands together. “The Nagi wouldn’t have killed you.”
“Oh really? I have a splitting headache that tells me otherwise.”
Hua turned and paced the length of the room as she searched her mind for the Nagi who’d gone quiet. She couldn’t stop moving. If she did, her mind would settle, her determination would waver, and she would lose the battle warring within her.
“Hua.” Luca sighed.
She kept pacing.
“Hua!”
At the sound of his stern voice, she stopped and pivoted on one heel. The Nagi’s presence flooded her mind, filling every empty space with her words until they tumbled past Hua’s lips. “I would never have killed you.” She bowed her head through no will of her own. “You are blooded.”
Luca stood and crossed the room, approaching her with caution. He dipped his head to meet her gaze. “Are you Hua or the Nagi?”
Hua struggled to the surface of her mind. “Please, Luca. I need your help. I need to try to save him from this thing inside me.”
Indecision warred in his eyes before he stepped back. “I want you to know, I will protect Bo before I protect anyone else. Even you.”
Relief flooded her. “Thank you, Luca.”
He grunted. “Jian is going to kill me for this.”
She tried to avoid thoughts of Jian by picking up Luca’s cloak and tossing it his way. He stepped into his boots and laced them up. Neither of them said a word as they walked into the dark hall and passed the door behind which Jian slept, thinking he’d see them when he woke.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The Nagi growled in her mind, but she suppressed the sound. When they reached the inn’s courtyard, Luca held a hand out to stop her. “Promise me this is the right thing.”
She pushed past him. “What is right, Luca? Maybe there is no such thing.” Sparing one glance for the stars she knew so well, she said a silent prayer to the skies. Would Nainai be proud of her? Would she understand Hua’s decisions? Her sacrifice?
Luca stopped at the three-stall barn, and Hua peered in, her chest tightening when she met Heima’s eyes. She had so much to say to her friend, but no time to voice the words. Instead, she rubbed Heima’s nose and moved on to Luca’s stallion. “We only need one horse.”
“Hua.” Luca’s brow creased. “I thought we were going to the palace together.”
She nodded. “We will. As soldier and prisoner.”
“Prisoner?”
“It’s the only way.”
His eyes widened as he stared at her with a new understanding in his eyes, a new respect. “I could stop this, stop you.”
“But you won’t because you can see this is the only way.”
He didn’t move for a long moment before he reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug, his arms keeping her pressed against his chest.
“Hua Minglan,” he whispered into her hair. “You are under arrest for harboring a dangerous beast, a Nagi. For hiding your dragon blood from the empire and the murder of innocents in the Kanyuan province.”
The words sent a chill down her spine as she pulled back to meet the gaze of the first friend she’d made in the army, the man who’d protected her secrets, and now the one making her pay for them. “Thank you.” The words were barely audible over the hammering of her heart.
“I have no choice but to take you to his Imperial Majesty.” His voice thickened with emotion. “No choice.”
She shook her head, a tear breaking through. “None.”
His breath released in a long hiss as he turned away from her to saddle his horse.
“Hua,” the Nagi pushed to the front of her mind. “This will not end like you hope it will.”
“I am in control now.” Control of her actions, her words. Control of her destiny. All she had to do was remain awake until the emperor delivered her fate.
Luca lifted her into the saddle before leading the horse from the barn. He looked up at the inn one last time before climbing up behind her and snapping the reins.
The first light of dawn rose on the horizon as they continued through the cobblestone streets of the main square in Dasha. The Imperial Palace stood like a beacon raised above the city, representing everything Hua wanted to protect. Black marble pillars lined a walkway at the bottom of the steps, and Hua couldn’t tear her eyes away as memories flashed through her mind.
Sitting with Luna and laughing during the festival.
Hiding from the attack.
Meeting the emperor.
Jian.
That night changed her life forever, setting her on a path to vengeance and destruction, bringing her back to where it all started.
Searching inwardly, she spoke to the Nagi. “Why did you choose me?” It wasn’t a question she’d ever thought to ask before. All dragon blooded had minds that could open to the Nagi, but this one hadn’t chosen anyone else. If Hua was going to destroy the Nagi—and herself in the process—she had to know why.
The Nagi didn’t respond at first, and Hua let her mind drift to the feel of the horse beneath her, her friend at her back. As soon as her eyes c
losed for the final time, she’d forget these moments.
But the moments would never forget her.
“You and I are the same.” The Nagi’s voice was quiet. “Your desire for vengeance called to me, and I realized we belonged together.”
“I will never belong with you.”
“You yearn for blood.”
Hua closed her eyes. She had yearned for blood, for revenge. Those early days of her war were tainted with anger and hatred. A piece of her died when Luna did. Luna was the sun, the brightness in a dark existence.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Luca’s voice rumbled against her back.
“No.” Hua’s jaw clenched. If Hua backed down now, if she gave in to the beast, that was when they really would be the same. She lifted her hands, turning them over to stare at her palms. The Nagi had done terrible things using these hands. They were forever stained with blood.
After today, Piao would remember Hua forever. She’d become part of their lore, but not as the hero.
Hua Minglan was the villain of many of their stories.
Two guards rushed down the steps as they approached, but the rest stayed near the ornate golden doors at the top.
“Ting,” one of the guards called, ordering Luca to halt the horse.
Luca pulled back on the reins.
“Who goes there?”
Lifting his chin, Luca stared at the two guards. “I am General Luca Kai.” He swung his leg over the horse and slid down, pulling Hua with him. He shoved her forward, keeping a tight grip on her arm. His lips formed a snarl. “I bring a prisoner for the emperor.”
One of the guards removed his helmet to examine her more closely, his brown eyes scanning her from disheveled hair to wrinkled robe. “What has she done?”
Luca pushed her down to her knees, keeping a hand on her at all times. Hua bit back a cry as her knees slammed into the stone.
“He won’t do it,” the Nagi said. “He loves you, and that is the ultimate weakness.”
Hua lifted her eyes to Luca, imploring him to finish what they’d come here to do. He only had to utter a single line to bring the might of the emperor down on her. She swallowed roughly as time ticked by, and she began to wonder if the Nagi was right. Luca cared too much for her to put her at the emperor’s mercy.
His tongue darted out to lick his lips, and he cleared his throat. “Hua Minglan has come to kill the emperor.”
The words struck Hua with a force she hadn’t seen coming, and her shoulders slumped under the truth of them. Because that was why she’d come to Dasha, and she hated that it wasn’t a lie.
Luca met her gaze once more, an apology in his eyes.
The Nagi sighed. “I see now.”
“What?”
“He loves you, but there is someone he loves more.”
23
Jian
The moment Jian woke, he knew something was wrong. He could feel it, a pain in his chest. He jolted up in bed, cursing himself for falling asleep at all.
Hua never returned, but he’d tried to reach her throughout the night, tried to tell her everything was going to be okay, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. At least, that was what he’d planned to say each time he pounded on Luca’s door.
She’d refused to open it, refused to see him.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to ignore the sharp stab of pain radiating out from the wound in his side. Glancing down, he stared at the blood-stained bandage.
Blood had seeped onto the bed, too much blood.
The smart thing to do would have been to search for the healer, to take care of the wound.
But Jian didn’t want to be smart. He only wanted Hua, to look in her eyes and know it was still her, not the beast bent on killing his brother.
He couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness as he stood and reached for his clothing, the skin pulling against his wound. Unable to lift one arm, he managed to pull the robe over his head with the other and squeeze his weak arm through the square sleeve.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he gripped the back of the chair until it passed. There was no time for injuries or weakness, not when Hua and Bo’s lives were at stake.
A curse flew from his lips as he stumbled to where he’d left his boots by the door and bent to pull them on, tying them with one hand. It took all his remaining strength to straighten once more and pull the door open. He stumbled into the hall, stopping when he saw the door to Luca’s room open.
Using the wall for support, he inched forward to peer in, finding it empty save for a single maid bent over cleaning the hearth.
“They have to be downstairs,” he whispered to himself. Would Luca and Hua have left him sleeping to seek their breakfast? His heart wanted to believe he’d find them as soon as he descended the stairs, but his head knew better.
Gripping the rail, he took the narrow steps one at a time, trying not to fall as his unsteady legs shook. He reached the bottom and pressed a hand to his side. Blood seeped through the silk.
Only hours ago, Hua carefully tended to his wound, her strong fingers flitting over his skin, making him forget about the pain or the fact the only bandage they had was a strip of cloth cut from his clothing.
He crossed the small courtyard to the front room where two women bustled around crowded tables, plates of food balancing on their hands. One of them looked up, catching sight of him leaning against the doorframe. It was the only thing holding him up.
A smile curved her lips. “Sir.” She approached him and bowed. “May we serve you?”
He shook his head and tried to push away from the frame before falling back against it. “I was staying here with another man and a young woman.”
She nodded. “Yes. General Luca, I remember him.”
“His room is empty.”
He didn’t ask a specific question but understanding lit in her eyes. “One of the stable lads was waking for the early morning work when he saw the general and his lady riding across the square.”
His lady. Jian’s jaw clenched. Hua was Luca’s intended, but she wasn’t his, not really. “Do you know where they went?”
She smiled in apology and shook her head. “But I can’t imagine what would have been so pressing at such an hour. They rode toward the palace, and the shops near the steps will only just now be opening their doors.” Her eyes lit up. “Maybe they went to fetch healer Liqin to help you.”
Jian wanted nothing more than to believe that, but the moment she mentioned the palace, his blood ran cold.
There were only two reasons Hua would go there, and it depended who was in control for each.
If the Nagi controlled her movements, she was on her way to kill Bo with Luca as her prisoner. But then why would she have left him unharmed?
And if Hua chose that road… Jian twisted away from the serving girl without another word and half-walked half-ran out the front of the inn. He swallowed down a bout of nausea and kept his hand pressed to the wound. It didn’t matter what happened to him, only that he made it to the palace before Hua or Bo did something they couldn’t take back.
He managed to reach the barn without collapsing. Heima picked up her head when she saw him, releasing a braying sound.
“Heima.” He reached up with his strong arm to touch her between the eyes. “Master Delun brought us here for a reason. It’s time we do something useful.” His eyes searched the stall, landing on the saddle hanging on the wall. He wasn’t strong enough in that moment to saddle a horse, much less with one hand.
“Do you trust me, girl?” He’d been through a lot with Hua’s horse, and it seemed their adventures were never ending.
Heima snorted.
“Well, I trust you.” He clicked his tongue, leading her from the stall to a row of hay bales sitting at the far end of the barn. Gathering his remaining strength, he stepped up on the hay and gripped a fistful of Heima’s mane. She shifted as he pulled himself on, situating himself along the curve of her back.
It seem
ed as if with every move she made they were more connected. Heima was the strength Jian no longer had.
“Come on, Heima.” He nudged her forward out the barn door.
A few people lingered nearby, sparing him passing glances.
But Jian only had eyes for one thing, a shining palace in the distance. In his mind, he was the hero racing to save the woman he loved, galloping across a battlefield for her.
In reality, he inched across the square on Heima, unable to prod her into a trot without losing his seat. It was all he could do to keep his seat on the horse. A few shopkeepers called to him as they opened their shops. It wasn’t every day they saw an injured man riding bareback in their city.
His breath curled in front of his face with each puff of air. Every inhale was harder than the one before it.
Jian’s vision went dark for a moment before he blinked the blackness away and sat up straighter. His robe stuck to the wound, a sticky reminder of his weakness.
His heart, pounding in his ears moments before, slowed to a low rhythmic beat. He focused on his breath. In. Out. In. Out.
As if sensing Hua, Heima walked toward the palace with little direction from him.
He didn’t know how long it took to cross the square, or how he made it without succumbing to the darkness, but the clanging of armor made him jerk upright as Heima stopped.
Guards ran down the steps, their footsteps like a thundering herd.
“It’s the commander!” one of them yelled.
No, not the commander. Not anymore. Now, he was just a man who’d failed in his vow to protect Hua Minglan.
Guards called to him, but he didn’t hear them as his legs loosened their hold on Heima and he pitched to the side, only vaguely aware of the ground rushing up to meet him before his head hit the bottom step and everything faded away as he whispered one final word.
“Hua.”
24
Hua
Exhaustion warred with determination in Hua’s mind. She wouldn’t let herself fall into slumber, not while inside the palace.
