by JC Kang
He offered an encouraging smile. “Maybe try it one more time. Do as the book you read says. Let your heart project your emotions into the song.”
She held back a sigh. The only emotion she could project right now would be embarrassingly wanton lust. Or maybe irritability and exhaustion. She looked around. From their slouching, Secretary Hong, Meiling, and the imperial guards felt equally irritable and fatigued.
“I would wager since they already feel tired, it would make them more so.” He grinned.
Perhaps. Kaiya closed her eyes and listened for their hearts. There…a cacophonous chorus of erratic thumps. She had never noticed before, at least not until Lord Xu had pointed them out on the castle walls earlier in the day. Among them, Hardeep’s heart remained steady and powerful.
“Don’t tax yourself,” he said. “Relax. Listen to nothing except your own music.”
Opening her eyes, she nodded. Still, though he might enjoy music, and might have read that single passage from the book, he certainly would know nothing of projecting power through borrowing other sound as Lord Xu had taught.
She closed her eyes and listened again. The collective heartbeats rung in her ears, all waves for her exhaustion to ride on. Loosening her stiff, tired fingers, she played the first frame of Hardeep’s song. The chords came out crisp. The changes in pitch resonated clearly. Aligning her spine and joints, feeling the ground through her behind, she continued. The sound filled the hall.
Behind her, Secretary Hong yawned.
She continued strumming and plucking, her own fatigue percolating through her core. The minister’s robes ruffled as he dropped to a knee. The imperial guards wobbled in place. Heavens, it was working!
And there, among her own music and the beating of all the men’s hearts, Hardeep’s own heart throbbed with strength. Borrow that, as she had the sounds in the garden earlier, and it might be possible to magnify the effect.
“Sing!” Hardeep said. “Let me hear your beautiful voice.”
Sing! Yes, the lute begged for an accompaniment, like the interplay between her masters’ pipa and erhu. She raised her voice in song, letting the lute’s melody guide her. Energy welled inside her, climbing toward the crescendo. Her spirit soared with it.
Hardeep smiled, his blue irises twinkling.
No! Breath hitching on the notes, her voice cracked. It was like trudging up the snowy slopes of Jade Mountain on an empty stomach. Her own heart refused to maintain the power. All energy drained from her arms. Her spine, held erect for so long, finally gave out. Gasping, she slumped over the lute.
Her gasp echoed the others around the room. She turned to see many of them crumpling over as well. The imperial guards knelt on one knee, their fists on the ground not in salute, but rather to prop themselves up.
She’d done it! This time without the use of a musical instrument imbued with an innate power, no longer in a place with perfect acoustics. A cool wave washed over her, and she filled her lungs as if it would help keep her sitting straight.
Hardeep crawled over to her side, panting. His words came out in gasps. “Very good, princess. Perhaps with more practice and the Dragon Scale Lute, you could repel even Avarax.” He slumped over, the side of his head plopping on her lap and his hair splaying out in a blossom of silky tendrils. The warmth—no, the blazing heat—burned through the silk of both gowns and into her legs. A fever?
Behind her, the imperial guards stirred, but made no move to intervene.
She pushed the lute over and rested it on the floor. Running a hand through Hardeep’s glossy black hair, she brushed it aside to reveal the bronze tone of his neck, smooth, save for a dark oval scar in one spot. So smooth, and…kissable. His eyes were closed, partially concealed by yet more of his voluminous hair.
She swept it over, pausing on his forehead. It was hot, for sure. Too hot. She beckoned Secretary Hong, now just regaining his feet. “Call a palace physician. No, Doctor Wu, if she is in the palace.”
Secretary Hong said, “Dian-xia, she is searching for the Dragon Scale Lute.”
That didn’t make sense. Why would a doctor look for a musical instrument? She fixed him with an imperious stare. “It doesn’t matter, any doctor then. Prince Hardeep needs help. He has a fever from the fatigue. He needs acupuncture.”
Hardeep’s eyelids flapped open. “No. No acupuncture.”
With a giggle, Kaiya brushed a hand over his cheek. To think an almost-Paladin, who had dared face two imperial guards unarmed, would be scared of thin little needles. “It’s okay, Prince Hardeep. They don’t hurt. Your fever will break with just a few needles.”
Behind her, the guards muttered. They were finding their feet.
“I will be all right.” Prince Hardeep pushed himself off her lap and scuttled back. “I just need some rest. You, too. It has been a long day of hard practice. Rest and don’t practice again tonight. I will find a way to meet you tomorrow.”
Secretary Hong looked at them. The wrinkles around his eyes and jowls stood out in lines of black against his wan complexion. He turned, shuffled back toward the entrance, and beckoned someone in.
A palace official, a Foreign Ministry secretary from the markings on his robes, entered and bowed low. “Lord Peng petitioned the Tianzi. He has graciously allowed the Blind Musician to stay in these guest quarters.”
Outside the doors, other officials were taking down Madura’s banners. Such an honor! Guest quarters were usually reserved for visiting dignitaries from Hua’s largest trading partners, and certainly not for a musician with no name. If Hardeep were on the palace grounds, there might be some way to meet again tonight. Even if this pavilion was a good walk from the inner castle and imperial residence.
Gaining his feet, Hardeep pressed his palms together. “I thank you for your hospitality, but my effects are in Lord Peng’s villa. I will retire there for the night.”
The secretary clucked his tongue. “To refuse The Tianzi’s hospitality would be in very poor form. We have a fine meal prepared for you, as well as several Night Blossoms from the Floating World.”
Kaiya’s stomach twisted into a tight knot. Renowned for their beauty and grace, the Night Blossoms would make Hardeep forget all about her. Not to mention they would freely offer what she could not.
Or could she?
CHAPTER 31
Women’s Secrets
Approaching the Phoenix Garden with the two imperial guards and Secretary Hong, Kaiya listened to the stream rustling toward the courtyard’s central pond. Still, all she could hear were her inner insecurities. The beautiful and elegant Night Blossoms would make her Hardeep forget all about her flat body and plain face. Maybe he was already wrapped in their arms, preparing to personally hand her to Lord Tong.
She blinked away the tears blurring her vision. Another beauty came into focus, rubbing salt into her self-confidence’s open wound. Wearing an elegant floral gown, Crown Princess Xiulan sat in an open pagoda overlooking the pond. Several handmaidens, including Meiling, stood at a respectful distance. Two of her imperial guards at the edge of the garden melded with the background. The scent of roasted pork and garlic-steamed vegetables wafted on a breeze.
Gently illuminated by a shuttered light bauble in the pagoda ceiling, Xiulan stood with a smile. “You’re late,” she called.
Because of Hardeep’s lessons. If only there had been more time. While Secretary Hong and the two guards came to a stop at the garden’s edge, Kaiya lowered her head as she walked up the path to the pagoda. “Forgive me, Eldest Sister.”
“Your handmaiden informed me of your…visit. Come, sit.” With a graceful wave of her hand, Xiulan indicated a porcelain garden seat by a stone table built into the center of the pagoda.
How much had Meiling said? How many ears had heard? How many people knew that a just-betrothed princess had allowed a foreign man so close? Almost close enough to touch. The memory of his lips within a hairbreadth from her neck sent her heart fluttering.
Kaiya shook the image
out of her head and looked at the meal. Artfully arranged food graced porcelain dishes. Her stomach rumbled in the most unladylike fashion. Playing music much of the day, and then the audience with Father in front of all the lords, had left her hungry and drained. With no semblance of grace, she plopped down.
In contrast, nonchalantly graceful as a weeping willow, Xiulan settled on her own seat. She lifted a teakettle and filled Kaiya’s cup. When she set the kettle down, Kaiya picked it up and poured tea into Xiulan’s cup. Some of it splashed.
How embarrassing! Kaiya bowed her head in apology.
“It’s okay.” Xiulan placed a hand on hers. “You have had a long day.”
And the last hour had felt like a full day of sweet torture. Kaiya’s face flushed at the thought of Hardeep. Thank the Heavens her head was down to hide it.
“You are thinking about him, aren’t you?” Xiulan’s voice carried concern, but no accusation. How did she know?
Kaiya let out a long sigh. “I have never met any man like him. Beyond his handsomeness, his voice is so sweet. He might be a foreigner, but his eyes hypnotize me.” Making her feel beautiful. She looked up.
Xiulan gawked, all her usual poise scattered to the four winds. It was if they were holding two different conversations. Oh, Heavens, Xiulan must not have been referring to Hardeep.
Covering her mouth, Kaiya turned to the handmaidens and guards. If they had heard… Well, Xiulan already had, Meiling already knew, and Kaiya’s confession had left no ambiguity.
“Oh, Heavens,” Xiulan said with a stuttered whisper. She placed a hand on her chest. “You are enamored with the foreigner.”
Enamored? It sounded so shallow. It had to be love. Yes, she admitted it. If Kaiya could lower her head any more, her face would be in the food. And her appetite had just fled with her last vestige of dignity.
Xiulan squeezed her hand. “I was mistaken.” Surprisingly, there was no rebuke in her tone.
Kaiya hazarded a glance up.
Xiulan smiled. “Let me tell you a secret. Before I was betrothed to your brother, my father’s most trusted Yu-Ming wanted me to marry his first son. He was a handsome young man, and our parents had arranged a chance meeting so no one would lose face if things didn’t work out.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “They did.”
Kaiya’s pulse quickened. Kai-Guo and Xiulan made such a beautiful couple, even more so considering the imperial nature of their marriage. If any relationship provided even a semblance of hope, it was theirs. To think there had been someone before. Kaiya edged forward on her seat. “What happened?”
Xiulan sighed. “The Tianzi asked to strengthen the ties between our families. How could my father refuse?”
“And the Yu-Ming heir?” Kaiya tried to keep her voice low through her excitement.
“My father forbade him from contacting me.” Xiulan leaned in with a conspiratorial smile. “But we maintained correspondence through one of my handmaidens and his page. It was a passionate exchange.”
Was that a suggestion to defy the Tianzi’s orders and maintain an illicit communication with Prince Hardeep? Kaiya cocked her head. “And now?”
Xiulan laughed. “As soon as Kai-Guo and I were married, the lord’s son broke contact. Not for fear of punishment, but because of his integrity. He would have ended things whether my husband was Crown Prince or a beggar.”
“Why are you telling me this?” The mixed signals made frustrating knot puzzles look simple in comparison.
“No reason, except to share a secret with my little sister.” Xiulan covered her giggle. “The decision is yours. Though realistically, as an imperial princess, you would not be allowed to marry a foreigner, even if you weren’t already betrothed.”
Kaiya let a sigh escape. Of course that was the case, no matter how much she might want to believe otherwise. She and Hardeep would never be together.
“Kaiya, I used to think about that young lord in the first months of my marriage. However, I soon grew to adore your brother.”
After meeting someone as charming as Hardeep, Kaiya didn’t think she could ever love another. She peered into her teacup. “What do you know of Lord Tong?”
Breath hitching, Xiulan shifted in her seat. Kaiya looked up. Dear Sister-In-Law’s lips pursed. Her expression darkened.
“Tell me.” Kaiya’s voice cracked. Rebel or not, he might still be a kind man.
“His late wife was a friend of my mother. She was spirited in her youth, but marriage broke her.”
“Marriage is a woman’s grave.” Kaiya’s sweaty hands tightened into fists.
Xiulan shook her head. “It doesn’t have to be. No, Lord Tong is well-known for his depravity. Several of the houses in the Floating World have banned him for fear of what he might do to their Night Blossoms.”
Kaiya’s chest tightened. What had she gotten herself into? She summoned the memory of Hardeep, so close, nearly pressed against her back as he taught her the lute. Run away. There was still time to run away.
“Which brings me to the reason the Tianzi asked me to meet privately with you tonight.” Xiulan reached back to the seats built into the pagoda’s sides and retrieved a silk-wrapped package. “Doctor Wu said Heaven’s Dew will arrive soon. I think that might explain your sudden interest in foreign princes.”
Yes, better to think of Hardeep. Kaiya eyed the vermillion silk bundle as Xiulan placed it on the table with two hands. No doubt a pillow book. With a shy tilt of her head, Xiulan gestured toward it with an appropriately delicate wave of her hand, inviting Kaiya to pick it up.
Feigning the disinterest she would have had just a few days before, Kaiya bowed her head and lifted it with the formality of a minister accepting an imperial decree. Hidden beneath her silk gown, her heart pounded. She unwound the red cord bindings, then the silk wrapping. The light green cover was innocuous enough, save for the title Cloud Rain, emblazoned in gold characters.
“It’s fairly new,” Xiulan said. “By imperial palace woodblock artist Gao Liang. It was presented to your mother thirty years ago, when she married the Tianzi. Open it.”
Cheeks hot, Kaiya opened it somewhere in the middle. She sucked in a sharp breath. The imperial archives might boast the largest collection of books in the world, but no doubt, this particular book wasn’t kept there.
Glimmering in vibrant colors, a man and woman were locked in an embrace with lifelike radiance. Not only that, their mutual affection spilled off the page. Just looking at it brought labored breaths. Heat surged inside of her. It seemed remotely similar to the emotions Hardeep stirred in her. If it were the two of them, acting out the image in the book…his weight on top of her… Biting her lip, Kaiya tried not to squirm.
Pulling her gaze away from the page, Xiulan wiped her brow. “Palace artist Gao Liang could infuse his art with emotion-evoking magic. When I say how I grew close to the Crown Prince so quickly, I would credit this book for part of it.”
How dangerous was that? Both dangerous and helpful, depending on the circumstance of a marriage. Thoughts of Hardeep’s closeness earlier in the day mingled with the book’s magical impact on her. Him, behind her, chest nearly pressed to her back. Kaiya shut the book and fanned herself with it. “Thank you for your gift.”
Xiulan bowed her head. “Perhaps this will make your marriage to Lord Tong more palatable.”
Him again. Faceless up to now, her inevitable destiny loomed in the recesses of her mind like the mythical Moquan. Kaiya set the book down as if it were a hot plate. If it couldn’t be with Hardeep, perhaps it would be better to take the tonsure and live life out as a nun. Though it was unlikely anyone would let her do it, since her value as a princess was determined by whom she could marry.
Unless she could revive a long-dead art. Something she had already started, with Hardeep’s help. On the table, the pillow book’s gold lettering beckoned her. Heat and desire cascaded through her. Tonight, she’d give herself to Hardeep, and no one would have to know. She just had to get to him before t
he Night Blossoms did.
CHAPTER 32
Spies Like Us
As Jie slipped into the solarium of Sun-Moon Castle’s residential wing, Master Yan turned his head a fraction. Somehow, even at his old age, he still sensed her arrival when no other clan member could. With a subtle hand signal, he ordered her to stay in the shadows, out of sight of the nine Tai-Ming lords, the Chief Minister, and War Minister Shan.
Oblivious to the existence of the Black Lotus, they all knelt on silken cushions on the stone floor. They faced the two princes and the Tianzi, who sat in a cushioned bloodwood chair with his back to the night sky.
“When Lord Tong arrives,” the Tianzi was saying, “take him into custody. It doesn’t matter how many guards he has.”
“Huang-Shang.” Lord Peng rose to a knee. “So offering Princess Kaiya as a bride was just a ruse?”
Crown Prince Kai-Guo nodded. “Yes. She is our bait, to lure him into the capital.”
The poor girl. Jie sucked on her lower lip. Perhaps it was far better to be an orphaned half-elf than a princess.
Lord Liang of Yutou rose to a knee. “Huang-Shang. Your messenger bore an imperial plaque. To renege on your offer is tantamount to forsaking the Mandate of Heaven. Another Hellstorm…”
“Lord Liang,” the Tianzi said. “Our messenger bears a piece of jade artwork and the missive was written with a magic that will distract Lord Tong from questioning its authenticity. I will not allow my daughter to marry a traitor, and I would sooner take his head than elevate him to Tai-Ming.”
Jie suppressed a snort. Why bother to ever use a real plaque if it risked the wrath of Heaven?
Boots clopped in the hallway and heads craned to the solarium entrance. A messenger ran in and dropped to a knee, first to the ground. Head bowed, he proffered an envelope. “Huang-Shang, a message from Lord Tong.”
The rebel certainly hadn’t wasted any time in responding; the horse relays would’ve taken two hours to reach Wailian and return.