Chapter 3
“How?” Daiyu couldn’t tear her eyes off the city beneath her. She had been standing on that street just a few seconds ago, and now she was … She looked around the room once more, her mouth still gaping wide. How was any of this possible?
“Magic.” The masked man watched her and she couldn’t tell if he was grinning at her lack of knowledge and newness to magic, or if he was annoyed. Or anything, really. But the tone of his voice appeared … neutral, perhaps?
“We were just there.” She pointed to the street with wide eyes.
He came to stand beside her by the windowsill. He pointed to another street in a different direction. “Actually, we were closer to there.”
Daiyu frowned. “You know what I mean. We were just?—”
“I’m aware.” He spread his hands out. “Magic, miss. That’s the answer.”
“It’s just so fascinating.” She turned to gawp at the streets once more. She had never warped before and hadn’t even thought it was actually possible. Sure, she had heard rumors or stories of mages warping, but nobody she knew had actually seen it before. And not just seen it—been warped themselves.
“Don’t you have a sister to save?”
Daiyu turned to the man sharply, her awe-filled moment shattering. “Of course I do.”
“Then perhaps …?” He waved to the doorway.
“You want me to get to it?” She sighed and placed a hand on her hip. “You can’t fault a girl for being surprised and interested in magic, sir. Yes, I do have to save my sister, but she won’t disappear if I don’t go this exact second.”
“But the evil emperor might snatch her away right as we speak.”
Daiyu couldn’t help but laugh, the tightness in her chest uncoiling. “Yes, yes, I can’t forget about that.” She headed toward the end of the room. “Thank you, sir, for allowing me inside.”
“How do you plan on leaving?”
“I’ll …” She pursed her lips together. “I’ll figure something out. The first thing is to find my sister.”
He nodded slowly. “And then?”
“I just told you.” Daiyu gave him a look. “I’ll figure something out. Perhaps I’ll sneak out in the gardens?—”
“The guards will find you and execute you if you do that.”
“Then the clothes bin?—”
“And what of the laundresses?” He scoffed. “Once again, the guards will be alerted and you’ll be executed.”
“Then …” She waved her hands. “Perhaps we’ll escape through a window?—”
“The guards would see you and”—he made a scythe-like motion over his neck—“you guessed it, execute you.”
Her eyebrows pulled together and her voice rose in desperation. “Then perhaps we’ll leave when the servants retire for the night!”
The masked mage chuckled. “The servants, dear, live here.”
Daiyu chewed on her lower lip. Truthfully, she didn’t think she’d even get this far. Her plan had many, many holes, and having him point out the obvious was frustrating, albeit embarrassing too. She paced the room, her thin sandals feeling cold against the polished floors.
“Then maybe I can bribe a guard?”
This time, he laughed loudly. “Bribe a guard? With what money? Miss, are you wealthy?”
“Well, no.” She reached for the handful of coins in her pouch and held it up for him to see. “But I’m sure this will … help?”
She sighed, her hopes suddenly dashing away. She didn’t have enough money to bribe the guards. She could see that. And there was nothing else she had that was worth anything.
“You came all this way to the palace without a plan?” The mage chuckled again, and this time it crawled under her flushed skin.
Daiyu shoved the coins back in her pouch under her sleeve and gave him a pointed look. “No need to be rude and laugh at me.”
“Apologies.” His chest shook even as he said that. “But what will you do, miss?”
An idea struck her as she stared at the man. “Well, there is one thing I can do.”
“What is it?”
“You warped me in here, so …” She smiled hesitantly at him. “I’d forever be grateful if you could also warp us out.”
The man crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah. There it is, but, miss, that doesn’t sound like a request.”
“Would you please warp me and my sister out of this palace?”
“What would I gain from this?” His tone shifted from playful mischievousness to tense and grim. He placed a gentle hand on the windowsill and peered at the sprawling city before turning to her, the wind tousling his long, inky hair. “I’m a powerful mage, a wealthy man, and a loyal subordinate to His Majesty. What could you possibly have that I would want?”
Words failed her and she suddenly felt small in that room. In her raggedy robes, with her near-empty purse of coins, standing in the perfumed room of the palace. What did she have that she could offer a mage?
It was true that coming here was na?ve, but a part of her had believed that her hard work, that her stubbornness would somehow pay off—that she would figure something out. But now that she was here, it all felt … utterly na?ve.
Daiyu swallowed and lifted her gaze to meet the mage’s. “What is it that you want?” she asked slowly.
“You tell me. What is it that you have?”
“I have a long life ahead of me.” She placed a hand on her chest. “Take some years off my life. All mages want to live forever, don’t they? Then surely?—”
The man burst into laughter. For a moment, Daiyu only stared at him in shock and then embarrassment.
“Did I say something funny?”
“No, no—” The man slapped the windowsill and shook his head, his body trembling from the laughs. “Not at all, but, but you think I want your life? Miss, mages aren’t like in the fairy tales. We don’t chase after youthful maidens to steal their lifeforce and turn them into shriveled hags. Think of me as an ordinary man.”
A blush crept up her face and ears. Well, how was she supposed to know that? She had never met a mage before, and she only had tales to go off on. “How about you tell me what you want from me? Since I clearly have no clue what an ordinary man like you would want.”
Once his laughter subsided, he leaned against the wall beside the window and crossed his lean arms over his chest. “What about a favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
“You help me when I need you to, and in exchange, I’ll warp you and your sister out of here.”
Making a deal with a mage was a stupid, stupid idea. But she had nothing else to grasp onto, so she bobbed her head. “All right, then. That seems simple enough, so long as your favor doesn’t entail me degrading myself in any way.”
Another chuckle. “Miss, I’m a perfectly behaved gentleman, I’ll have you know.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“Then we have a deal.” He nodded. “When you’ve found your sister, come to this room and call out my name. I’ll warp you both out.”
“All right.”
“Good luck.”
Daiyu headed toward the doorway but then realized she didn’t know the man’s name. “What’s your?—”
But when she turned, the room was empty and the man had disappeared.
Daiyu walked down the hallways with her head low. She carried a basket of dirty linens she had found outside one of the rooms and pretended like she was a servant. Maidservants brushed past her without stopping or giving her another look, and the guards were the same. So long as she looked like she was busy, they ignored her. They didn’t seem to notice that her clothes were too plain, or that she stank of sweat and grime from her travels.
She peeked inside one of the sliding doors in the hallway, but it appeared to be an office. Another doorway led to a library, and another to an empty room. She hurried down to another corridor, sneaking around and taking a peek into the rooms she passed.
She needed to hurry.
Her luck would eventually run dry and somebody was bound to notice that she didn’t look like a servant.
Right when she touched the handle to the door closest to her, a voice boomed from behind.
“What are you doing?”
Daiyu jumped around to find a young man in his twenties scowling at her a few feet away. He was dressed in long, red robes with fitted black pants and boots to match. Chainmail armor covered his chest and a long sword was strapped to his waist. His dark eyes narrowed at her, and Daiyu swallowed the bile clawing up her throat.
Beside the man was a young woman dressed in bright yellow and pink. Gold, ornate, dragon-shaped hairpins adorned her hair, showing her wealthy status.
Daiyu smiled, trying to ease the panic from her face. “I’m new here,” she said, clutching the woven basket closer to her chest. “I’m a bit lost.”
“That’s my office.” He pointed at the door she had just been about to open.
“I’m sorry.” She lowered her head. “I meant no offense. I’m actually looking for the women for the royal selection. I’m supposed to gather their laundry.” She held up the basket for emphasis. “Perhaps either of you can point me in the right direction? I would very much appreciate it.”
The woman beside the man grinned. “The women for the royal selection are located upstairs in the Lotus wing. Would you like me to show you the way?”
“Jia.” The man turned to the woman with furrowed brows. “A servant can help her.”
“Nonsense! I’m not doing anything right now.”
“But—”
“Come! I’ll show the way!” Jia pointed to the end of the hallway and waved Daiyu forward. “Fang, I’ll be back in a bit. You’re probably just going to do some boring paperwork anyway, right?”
The man, Fang, frowned. “Hurry up.”
Daiyu released a breath as Jia grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down the hall.
“I’m sorry about that. He can be a bit rude. Are you okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m a bit … overwhelmed. This palace is enormous.” Daiyu tried to smile, but it came out strained and unnatural. Her heart was still racing. “Who was that man?” When she peeked over her shoulder, the man was still standing there, his arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving scowl on his face. She quickly looked away. “Is he someone important?”
Jia blinked. “Oh, you mean Fang? Yes, he’s, well, he’s a general.”
“A general?” Daiyu’s eyes nearly bugged out. First, she had met a palace mage and now a general? Her luck was either unlimited, or it was running low because she had just survived two encounters with two powerful people and had left them unscathed.
“Yes, General Liang Fang.” Jia smiled. “You didn’t realize who he was?”
“No, I’m new here.”
Jia nodded as they went up a flight of stairs. Chatters filled the next hallway they entered and they stopped outside a paper sliding door with pink and white cherry blossoms painted on them. She motioned to the door. “This is the place.”
“Thank you, lady Jia.” Daiyu smiled at her, relieved.
“No worries.” Jia waved to her before leaving.
Daiyu breathed out deeply and touched the handle of the door. She prayed Lanfen was inside.