Chapter 20
I didn’t realize I’d dozed off until I was startled awake by the crush of hands around my forearms. My body was dragged off the cart and carried into some kind of building, the air losing its bite when we stepped inside.
“Put them there,” the Wen soldier said just before I was dumped on hard ground littered with small rocks and dried grass.
The sack was ripped off my head, and I blinked at my surroundings until my brain could make sense of where we were.
An old, abandoned barn, from the looks of it.
Open slats in the roof revealed the stars above.
Hay, not grass, dusted the dirt floor. One of the soldier’s companions crouched a few feet away, building a small fire.
“This doesn’t seem like much of an interrogation office,” I said, discreetly scooting closer to Ren. He was still unconscious beside me, though his sack had been removed too.
The soldier scowled. “We’re still in Sian, unfortunately. Once your little prince wakes up, we’ll be able to cross the border more smoothly.”
“You mean sneak across it,” I said. No way the Sian guards on this side of the river would overlook three Wen soldiers carrying a priestess and a prince. We’d have to circumvent the main bridge to avoid being seen.
“We wouldn’t have to do that if you’d just come willingly the first time I asked,” she snapped, looming over me with her arms folded. Her eyes flicked to Ren. “What’s wrong with him, anyway? Why does he still have that talisman on him? I thought it was just a disguise in Wen.”
Worry temporarily subdued my anger. “His qi is weak, and it’s only getting worse. There’s some ginseng in my bag. Give it to me, so I can make him some tea.”
To my surprise, the soldier nodded without argument. She motioned to her colleague by the fire. “Start boiling water.”
Her other subordinate dug through my bag until he found the herbs. But when he began preparing it, I blurted, “No, let me do it.”
The soldier looked at me. “Do you take me for a fool?”
“Do you take me for one?” I shot back. “I can’t trust you not to poison the tea.”
“How dare—” The soldier inhaled sharply, calming herself. Then she ordered her men to angle themselves so that I could see everything they were doing. “There, is that better?”
I reluctantly nodded, burning the soldiers with my stare as they made the tea. I refused to say another word until a steaming cup was brought before me.
“I’ll give it to him,” I said, holding up my bound wrists. The soldier placed the cup in my hands, and I lowered myself to Ren’s head. “Ren, wake up.”
When that didn’t work, I nudged him with my knee and said, louder, “Ren!”
His eyes cracked open, a tired sigh slipping from his lips. “Siying? Where are we? What happened—”
His gaze darted to the Wen soldiers beside us, and I shot them a warning look that clearly told them to step back.
When they did, begrudgingly, I turned again to Ren, shielding him with my body, and said, “It’s all right.
You’re all right. Just focus on me.” I held the cup closer to him. “Here’s some tea. Drink it.”
He was too dazed to object. Shivering against me, he sipped it without complaint. When he finished the cup, I passed it to one of the soldiers for another, then pressed my forehead to Ren’s. A little too warm. His weakening qi was making him feverish.
I made him down two more cups before allowing him to lie back again. He breathed shakily, but at least his eyes appeared brighter, more cognizant.
“Oh, that was truly terrible,” he said, scowling.
Aware of the soldiers watching us but not caring what they thought, I scrutinized Ren’s face. “Do you feel any better?”
“Wait a moment,” he mumbled, squeezing shut his eyes.
I touched my forehead, then his. Still warm. I’d have to check again after the tea soothed his system. For now, it was best he simply rest.
Tilting his head toward me, he murmured, “Siying, forgive me for troubling you again.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
“That’s hard to believe when I keep fainting at your feet.”
“Well, you aren’t the first boy to do so,” I said, adopting his trademark humor and shrugging. That seemed to pull him out of his self-dug pit of guilt.
He laughed softly. “Really?”
“No, not really,” I said with an amused smile.
“The boys you’ve met must be blind, then,” he said, with an affectionate tenderness that made my stomach flutter.
I scoffed. He certainly had a way with words.
“Ever the flirt,” I muttered.
“Only sometimes.” He grimaced as if in pain. “And preferably when I’m not feeling dizzy.”
I was tempted to offer my qi again, but I knew what he’d say.
The last thing he needed was to be agitated and worsen his condition.
So I took his bound hands in mine, hoping it would provide some comfort.
My fingers traced his veins in gentle rivers, feeling his skin warm to my touch.
His knuckles paled as his grip tightened.
He shifted into a more comfortable position, and when he cleared his throat, the sound was startlingly intimate.
At that moment, all I wanted to do was stay beside him until his breathing evened and I knew he was safe in the land of dreams. I wanted to curl up next to him as his body healed what was broken.
But now wasn’t the time.
I finally faced the Wen soldiers again and said, “If you must ask questions, then ask them here. He’s in no condition to travel back to Wen.”
“Convenient,” the female soldier said, frowning. But as she studied Ren, I could sense her hesitation. “You’re Prince Renshu, yes?”
He smiled crookedly. “I’d like to know who’s interrogating me before I answer any questions.”
She narrowed her eyes. “My name is Anshi.”
“Are you a member of the Wen military?”
“Something like that.”
“Anshi is the governor’s most trusted assistant,” piped up the soldier on her left.
She skewered him with a stern look, then returned her focus to Ren. “Enough about me. Confess who you are now.”
“Prince Renshu, as you clearly already know.” He continued smoothly, “What is your goal here? To finish what you started in Ninghe?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t try to have me killed back at the ambush?”
Raw confusion crossed Anshi’s face before she replied, “I’ve nothing to do with that battle, or ambush, as you called it. That’s not my purpose here.”
I observed her carefully. “So you’re not intending to kill us?”
She raised a brow. “Only if I must.”
“If it isn’t me you’re after,” said Ren, “then what is it? The overthrow of Sian?”
Anshi bristled. “We aren’t a bunch of renegades. We just want liberation from a neglectful monarchy, so we can be an independent state. We’re sick of losing our money and resources to Sian while getting nothing in return.”
“And you think kidnapping a prince will get you that independence?” I asked.
She glanced between us, her jaw tightening. “Silence, both of you. I’m doing the questioning from here on out.”
I started to snap back, but Ren placed his hands on my knee to stop me. Surprisingly, he nodded at Anshi and said calmly, “Very well. Ask away.”
“What were you doing in Wen?”
“My unit was sent there on assignment,” he replied honestly.
She cocked her head dubiously. “You were an actual member of the army?”
“Yes. I’ve no reason to lie about that.”
Anshi turned to me. “And what was your role in this?”
I looked at Ren. He smiled encouragingly. I didn’t know what he was thinking, being so truthful with the enemy, but I decided to trust him, as he’d trusted me so many times before.
“I was hired to guide his corpse back to Hulin,” I said.
“But he isn’t dead.”
“He was.”
The soldiers’ confusion was evident.
Ren stepped in to explain. “Mistress Kang suspects foul play. Perhaps someone in Wen planned my death or—”
“Impossible,” Anshi cut in. “I’m the governor’s shadow. I would know if any of our higher-ups planned such a thing.”
I snorted. “That’s awfully reassuring.”
Before Anshi could reply, Ren raised his wrists to the sky. “Ah-ah. Whether it’s someone from Wen or Sian, we haven’t proven anything yet. We’re just saying both are possible, all right?”
Anshi huffed and crossed her arms, reminding me of an angry god in a fairy tale. “Whoever the guilty party is, it doesn’t matter since you’re not dead after all. So I have one more question for you—do you know where the king’s seal is?”
It was the subtlest change, Ren’s pleasant expression still glued in place, but I noticed him tense beside me.
“What do you want with that small thing?” he asked.
“It’s no small thing, at least not to your family,” Anshi replied coolly. “Your father can’t declare an heir without it. The kingdom wouldn’t acknowledge his successor. And if he’s unable to settle his legacy, his rule will be compromised.”
Ren lifted his chin. “So you wish to blackmail my father.”
Anshi didn’t relent. “Do you know where the seal is or not?”
“Are you willing to make a deal with me if I do?”
I stared at Ren, taken aback once again. Would he really give up his father’s seal? For what?
“I don’t make deals with enemy princes,” said Anshi.
Ren shook his head. “I guess the seal isn’t that important to you, then. By all means, let’s waste each other’s time by returning to Wen, where the governor can ask me the same questions again.”
Anshi said nothing, glaring at the wall behind us for a long time. Even I didn’t want to be the first to break the silence. I was starting to feel tired too. How many hours had it been since I last properly slept? Ren was disguising his exhaustion well.
After several more minutes, Anshi finally returned Ren’s stare. “What kind of deal?”
“I’ll take you to the seal if you promise to let us go after,” he said. “That simple.”
“Where is it?”
“In the town of Baimu, hidden somewhere only I know.”
Anshi looked at us, deliberating. Then she nodded and said slowly, “Take us to Baimu first, and then we can talk about letting you go.”