by M. Lynn
To Hua’s surprise, as soon as the Nagi obeyed, the emperor sat beside her. “The last time we were together, things did not go exactly as planned.”
Luca snorted.
“General Kai,” the emperor barked.
The use of his title made Luca snap to attention.
“Do you need to wait outside this room?”
“No, your Majesty. I will not leave you.”
“Then forgive me if I tell you to keep your words and insubordinate noises to yourself.”
Hua caught sight of an amused smile forming on Jian’s lips before it was gone just as quickly.
Luca took a seat, not saying another word.
“I wish to begin anew,” the emperor started. “A fresh start.”
The Nagi didn’t speak for a long moment. “And what of my people? Did they ever receive a fresh start?”
The emperor hung his head in remorse. “When I think of what the dragon blooded have endured in this empire, I am ashamed. For hundreds of years, they’ve lived in fear. I know I cannot erase that history.”
“Someone needs to pay for what Piao has done.”
“Vengeance is a vicious cycle. It prevents healing.”
“And why should Piao be allowed to heal?” The Nagi’s voice cracked on the last word.
“It is not only Piao that must heal. The dragon blooded are a part of this empire, and they must be allowed to move on from their past.”
“If it’s truly the past.”
A beat of silence passed between them before the emperor rose. Jian and Luca sucked in simultaneous breaths when the emperor dropped to a knee in front of the Nagi and lowered his head.
“I pledge myself to your people, to protect them and help them move into the future as an integral part of this empire.”
The Nagi stared at him. “You need something from me.”
The emperor lifted his head, his young face twisting in sadness. Yet, he did not rise. “The Kou army will be here tomorrow. Our own forces are too far behind them to prevent the attack on Dasha. If we do not defeat them, Piao will be lost.”
Hua’s mind couldn’t quite grasp what he was saying. For so long, she’d focused on defeating the Nagi and regaining herself. But this all started when she left to face the Kou. Images of fire and death entered her mind, but she didn’t know if the thoughts were hers or the Nagi’s.
The Kou were going to destroy them.
The Nagi nodded in understanding. “They wish me to fight for them,” she said to Hua.
Hua wanted to tell them what a bad idea this was. The Nagi couldn’t be trusted not to destroy both sides of the war like she did in Kanyuan.
“Piao is not my home.” The Nagi cocked her head. “I owe it no allegiance.”
The emperor sat back on his heels, his robe fanning out over his knees. “The Nagi of old were loyal servants of Piao, meant to keep us safe.”
“How can you think your mission is to kill this man?” Hua’s voice echoed through the spaces of her mind, twisting with the Nagi’s thoughts. If the Nagi was ever going to leave, she needed to fulfill her purpose, a purpose connected to protecting Piao.
The emperor met the Nagi’s eyes. “Jian, Luca, leave us.”
“No.” Luca crossed his arms.
Jian mirrored his stance, not issuing a word.
The emperor rose to his feet to face the two men. “I am the emperor. Do not make me command you, not you two. Trust me in this. Please. For your love of me, I need you to go.”
Jian’s shoulders dropped. “We will be right outside that door should you need us.” He looked to the Nagi, but Hua got the feeling he looked only at her. “Protect him.” Those words weren’t for the Nagi. Hua used them to strengthen herself. She couldn’t let the Nagi hurt the emperor, not again.
Luca hesitated once Jian left, and the emperor walked to him, putting a hand on both of his arms. “Please. Trust me.”
Luca sucked in a breath, his hand rising to trace the line of the emperor’s jaw. It dropped, and he tore himself away.
The slamming of the door echoed through the room, reminding Hua it was now only her, the Nagi, and the emperor.
The emperor leaned against the window-frame, his gaze drifting to the dormant fountain in the courtyard. “I will do anything to protect Piao.” He paused. “Even if it means sacrificing myself.”
“You will die by no one’s hand but my own.”
The emperor turned to the Nagi, a new fire in his eyes. “That is what I’m counting on. If the Kou take Dasha, they will control all of Piao. I cannot allow that. If I die, someone else will become emperor, but if I let Piao fall, I will have ended a dynasty that has lasted hundreds of years.”
Hua saw where he was going with this as the coming words sliced through her heart prematurely.
“What are you saying?” the Nagi asked.
The emperor dropped down onto the seat and hesitated before reaching over to take the Nagi’s hand again. The sensation wound through Hua. She wasn’t sure how she could feel it, but it only made what was coming worse.
“If you believe your purpose is to kill me to avenge your people, I will not stop you.”
“No,” Hua cried.
The Nagi ignored her as she stared down at the emperor’s hand in hers.
The emperor continued after a beat of silence. “This is the moment I decide what kind of emperor to be. My advisors will not want me to release you. My own brother has advised me against it. And Luca… he will not understand. But I do not matter, my reign does not matter. The people do. And the people need the Nagi to protect them in a way I cannot.”
He closed his eyes. “When the battle is done and Piao is safe, you may complete your mission and send me into the next life.”
Tears built in the Nagi’s eyes, but they did not belong to her as Hua tried desperately to rise, to speak the words the Nagi would not. This was not the way. He couldn’t sacrifice himself.
“And yet, it was okay for you?” The Nagi’s tone held condemnation.
“He is the emperor. I am only Hua.”
The Nagi sighed inwardly. “I must complete this mission, Hua. One way or another. You were willing to face execution to save an emperor you did not know, to save the people from me. It was a noble deed. Does the emperor not have a right to nobility as well?”
Hua tried to tell herself that was different, that her sacrifice was warranted and his was unnecessary. But the Kou were almost at their gates, and she’d seen how vicious they could be.
The Nagi removed her hand from the emperor’s and stood to look out across the courtyard, where the entrance to the temple shone like a golden beacon of righteousness.
The emperor got to his feet and walked toward a painting behind the desk. “Sometimes the truth is difficult to see.” He looked back over his shoulder. “And sometimes, it is all one can face.”
“I will help you,” the Nagi finally said. “We will defeat your enemy because you speak true. The Nagi have a loyalty to Piao no matter what the emperors or the armies have done.” She paused. “I do not need revenge on the people. I feel… remorse for what happened in Kanyuan. That will not happen to Dasha. I do not need to destroy the empire to fulfill my mission. Once the battle is over, what is left will be between you and me. But you must make me a promise. I am entrusting my people to you with this vow. Your successor will not return to the ways of old. They will be safe.”
Acceptance shone in the emperor’s gaze, not unlike what Hua had felt upon making the decision to turn herself in, to face her own death. She realized then how alike she and the emperor were. Maybe that was why Luna had put her faith in them both. She hadn’t known the fate of Piao would one day lie at their feet, but maybe she’d known they’d do the right thing if it did.
The Nagi and the emperor remained locked in their gaze, an agreement passing between them.
The emperor nodded. “I have chosen who will rule once I am gone, and you can trust in his heart.”
“I will
not leave until I see it is so.”
When the battle was won, they would face each other once more, the tentative alliance nothing more than blood on their daos.
33
Jian
Bo wouldn’t talk to him. After Jian and Luca waited for him outside the study, their hands on their daos ready to charge back into the room, Bo walked right past them, stopping in front of one of the guards.
“Hua Minglan is to be taken to a comfortable room,” he’d said. “Wake some servants to attend her.”
For a few brief moments, Jian wondered if Hua had come back to them, but the look in her eyes spoke true. The Nagi still had control and had struck an accord with the emperor.
When Bo walked away, Jian and Luca tried to follow him, but two guards stood in their way, instructed by the emperor to not let anyone pass.
Jian knew where he went, where he always went to still the turmoil inside him. But the temple would provide none of the answers he wanted.
And now, after a few hours’ rest, Jian stood at the top of the palace steps, looking out into the city square as the guard fanned out, winding through the streets to call on the few men who hadn’t joined the army months ago. Most of them were older, but they had experience that could not be taught.
Piao had been through many wars, and each time, the people came. Fighting for their homes was important to them.
“This city does not know what is coming for it.” Prince Duyi stepped up beside Jian, a wisdom in his words that belied his young age.
“No, my prince. I am very much afraid it does not.”
Duyi crossed his arms over the embroidered forest green robe. “Commander, you are my brother’s brother. That makes you family. I am not a prince to you.”
Jian smiled at the defiance in his tone. “Then I am not a commander to you. Though, your mama will not like it.”
Duyi pushed out a breath. “Mama likes few things.”
Empress Yanyu had made herself scarce along with the three remaining consorts in the days since Jian returned. She’d never had a taste for war, despite urging her sons to fight for their right to rule the empire.
The elder princes held estates throughout Piao, but not one of the four men had sent their forces to fight the Kou. Prince Dequan gave them sanctuary in his home, but if the fight hadn’t come so close to his lands, he wouldn’t have involved himself.
“I want to fight.” Duyi’s words were quiet, like he feared the way they’d shake the earth.
How could the youngest prince who was raised by the same woman differ from his own brothers? Jian looked to him out of the corner of his eye, taking note of the stubborn tilt of his chin, the courage flashing in his eyes that spoke of Bo’s influence on the young man rather than his mama’s.
“You are too important to the empire.” Jian put a hand on his shoulder. “But your bravery is admirable.” He turned to walk back inside and out of the cold.
Duyi’s voice called him back. “And if there is no empire? What then? It won’t matter if I’m a prince when Batukhan Altan sits in our brother’s place.” Duyi was the first member of the royal family other than Bo himself to acknowledge Jian’s relationship to the emperor. Our brother. He turned back to face the young man, wondering how he’d grown so much in such a short time.
Where was the little boy who hid behind his mama, who let her speak for him in all things?
“The empress will never allow it.”
Duyi stepped toward him, the sun flashing in his eyes. “My mama is not the commander.”
It was Jian’s job to keep the royal family safe, to make sure they didn’t walk too close to the flames. Bo. Duyi. Even the old empress herself. They did not belong on a battlefield bloodying their blades.
But as he stared into the eyes of the prince, he saw a boy who wanted nothing more than to fight alongside his people. He saw himself. Jian and Luca had been Duyi’s age when they joined the army.
“Duyi,” a voice snapped behind him as Empress Yanyu stepped around a column and into view. “Come inside. Now. You do not belong among soldiers.” Her eyes swept the square where men had started to gather around the palace guards handing out weapons.
Duyi sighed and looked to Jian once more. “You can’t stop me.”
“I know.”
“Duyi.” Yanyu grabbed his arm, yanking him behind her as her eyes fixed on Jian. “Stay away from my son.”
Duyi’s shoulders hunched as he followed her through the doors.
Jian looked to the guards by the door and shrugged, not ready to go back into the stifling palace where Bo’s insipid advisors continuously argued over a plan that had already been set in motion. Where Bo avoided his gaze, and the Nagi was free of her cell, roaming the halls in Hua’s body.
He descended the steps slowly, shielding his eyes from the light glaring off the smooth marble. The closer he got to the square, the louder the day became. Guards and would-be soldiers walked by in a hurry with only one day to prepare for a battle for the city.
He lifted his eyes to the northern gates, the arches rising over the flat roofs in the distance. How long would they stand if the battle was lost?
“Commander,” a melodic voice called to him.
He turned to find Lihua, one of Bo’s consorts walking toward him, a stream of armed eunuchs and servants in her wake. A bright smile graced her painted face, pink lips stretching wide.
He bowed as she neared but didn’t speak.
“This is exciting, is it not?” She gestured to the bustle of preparation around them.
“Necessary, consort, not exciting.” He’d once found the thought of battle an adrenaline pumping journey as well, but now, he knew better. There was nothing exciting in war, only too much death.
Her smile fell. “Yes, of course. I just meant that so many have come for the fight.”
“Dasha is a proud city.” He didn’t tell her it still wouldn’t be nearly enough, or that every man in this square might die. When they rode through the gates in the early morning, they’d have a few hundred men to meet over a thousand Kou.
Her smile returned. “Yes. We are.” Her gaze drifted toward the armed men rushing by, and he would have sworn a wistful sigh left her lips. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you from your duties.” She looked to where Alix and Holea were aiding the guards in recording names of the men who’d come. If nothing else, they’d be remembered. “It feels good to be of some use.” She sent him one final smile before leaving to join the other consorts.
Jian had never considered how difficult it must be to join Bo’s harem. He loved them as he loved everyone in his service, but he’d never have romantic feelings for them. They were nothing more than an ornamental hope that the emperor would produce an heir—or many.
Their quiet nature had always struck Jian as a bit eerie, but they were chosen for what they weren’t, not what they were. The council selected girls from prominent families who would cause no trouble. They were calm, safe.
Except Luna.
Jian remembered the day Bo first saw her. They’d travelled to one of the prince’s estates by way of Zhouchang. She’d been in town with her mother and smiled at them with no recognition in her eyes.
He hadn’t fallen in love with her exactly, but he’d wanted her in his life, to make it brighter. It had taken weeks to convince the council, but they eventually decided General Gen Minglan deserved the honor of having his daughter chosen.
No one expected that choice to get her killed.
Commotion at the edge of the square snapped him from the memory. People ran toward the gate. Jian sprinted after them as fast as he could. It was too early for the Kou to have arrived, but still, fear shot through him. Dasha wasn’t ready.
He darted through the streets until he caught sight of the giant black gates swinging open. Guards rushed forward as a handful of bedraggled men rode through. A familiar face caught his eye, and he ran toward the horse Zhao Shi nudged forward, a body draped over the back of the saddle.
/> “Zhao,” Jian called.
Relief flashed across Zhao’s face when he caught sight of Jian. “Commander Yang needs a healer.”
Jian drew closer and recognized the commander despite the blood sprayed across his face. “Follow me.” Jian turned and started running, listening to the clop of hooves to make sure Zhao was still with him. He raced through the square, his muscles tightening in exhaustion. But he didn’t stop until he reached his destination. Unlike the last time he’d come to the healer’s shop, the door stood open. A stream of visitors waited to see the healer.
Zhao pulled the horse to a stop next to Jian and slid down before the two men lifted Commander Yang’s limp body and pushed through the crowd.
At the back of the shop, an older man waited for his next patron. “Sir,” Jian called. “We need help.”
The healer rushed toward them. “Put him here.” He pointed to an empty cot.
They set the commander down and backed up.
“I am Healer Liqin.” The man didn’t look up. “What happened?”
Zhao rubbed the back of his neck. “Our camp was attacked.” He looked to Jian. “We thought we were behind them, that we couldn’t catch up before they reached Dasha, but they attacked on all sides. We weren’t ready.”
“Zhao, what are you saying?”
His tortured eyes met Jian’s. “The army isn’t coming. It has been destroyed.”
Every last bit of faith Jian had faded away just as he feared Piao would in the coming hours. The Piao army wasn’t going to save them. He’d counted on his men only needing to hold off the Kou for hours before relief arrived.
Now…
Healer Liqin straightened. “What happened to this man? I cannot heal the army, but I might be able to help him.”
Zhao nodded and rocked back on his heels, his tarnished armor jangling together. “Trampled by a horse. He saved a lot of the men, but then…” He held his hands up.
The healer nodded. “I do not see any flesh wounds. I will do what I can. You two leave. There is no time for hovering.”
Jian clapped a hand on Zhao’s shoulder and ushered him back into the cool air. He looked to the brilliant blue sky, wondering how such a day could come before the end. “We are alone.” As soon as he said the words, he felt them. Dasha stood as a final resistance to Altan, a final stand. Once it fell, all of Piao was doomed.