CHAPTER TWENTY #2
“Turn him down and you’ll rouse his fury anyway—except this way, you won’t be alone. We’ll help you escape. Once you leave the palace, you won’t ever have to return. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“I need my ring.” Jin doesn’t realize my life is bound to it. Right now, it’s the only thing keeping me here… edging me into bad bargains.
“I’ll retrieve it whether you win or lose; all I ask is that you try.” He adds with cunning, “We’ll steal your ring during the tournament, when everyone is distracted. That way no blame will fall on you, and you’ll be safe.”
Or dead.
But I don’t refuse again. I think of the future he’s offering: the freedom to travel the realm, to search for the home and family the carp spoke of, to make my own decisions without fear.
“Are you doing this for the starfire?” I ask. “Why is it so precious to you?”
His eyes flick away. “A promise we are beholden to. Some things are safer to not know.”
A sliver of cold pierces me, my earlier impulse to confide in him vanishing. If he keeps his secrets, so will I. “If I do this, I’ll want something else too.”
“More than your ring and the fulfilment of your debt?” he drawls, his mouth curved like he enjoys the negotiation, getting the better of others—just as I do.
“You’re asking far more of me now. I’ll be risking my safety, my home here,” I remind him. “I want your word that you’ll help me get away from the Iron Mountains, for good. You will bring me someplace safe and give me enough money to start a new life—wherever I wish.”
“What about the creature I asked you to find?” He’s pushing for more, as I did. Except I know he’ll settle for less.
“You’ll do all this for me, as long as I become the champion of Thorn Valley—whether I find the creature or not.” I won’t relent. “It’s my life in danger, you can’t ask me for more. Find another way to retrieve your pet.”
A pang strikes me at the memory of the creature’s misery, concealed beneath my harsh words.
I want to help it, to tell Jin—but not until I find out more, and who this creature really belongs to.
Sharing what I learned with Thorn Valley could enrage Prince Zixin more than my refusal of his offer, an irrevocable betrayal I’m not brave enough to stake myself on.
“If you learn anything—”
“I’ll tell you.” I smile. “For the right price.”
He inclines his head. “I agree to your terms.”
When he scowls, I grin at him. This feels good, and I’m going to relish it because with Jin, I don’t always come out on top. Yet as I stare at the tower in the distance, reality hits like a punch to the gut.
“What if they don’t let me participate?” I ask, partly hoping it’s true.
“You’ll be masked, so they can’t stop you. They won’t know your identity until it’s too late.”
I imagine myself lying at the foot of the tower, my limbs twisted, blood soaking my clothes as the general looms above. My throat closes, doubt settling over me like a dank fog. “If I die, I swear I’ll haunt you,” I tell Jin fiercely, almost angrily.
“I’ll let you—if you die. But you won’t.”
He speaks so seriously, so sincerely, I almost believe him. “General Xilu is the greatest warrior here. My skills are nothing to his.”
“Yes, in fighting. But as I said, you just have to be quicker.” He adds, “If you only imagine your opponent’s strengths, it will just breed fear. Think about your strengths, their weaknesses, and how to bring them together.”
I must stay calm, to think as he does. “General Xilu expects victory. We can catch him off balance.”
“We’ll use the general’s vulnerabilities against him, even those that have nothing to do with fighting,” Jin says with deliberate emphasis, pulling out a withered flower from his robe.
“The peonies.” I recall how General Xilu reddened and sneezed, how he berated the attendant earlier. “They affect him, don’t they? Disorienting his senses?”
He nods, his eyes bright as they meet mine. We’re a pair of schemers, thriving on the plotting.
“What if I need to defend myself against the general? What if… I’m not fast enough.”
“Let me see how you fight,” Jin suggests. “Name a prize. If you can take it, it’s yours.”
I study his brocade robe, the ornaments by his waist, then point at his pouch that sags with coin.
Before he even nods, I snatch at it—yet Jin steps deftly out of reach.
As I move toward him, he keeps his distance.
The moment he stills, I lunge at him—but he twists aside, one foot circling the other in an intricate pattern until I’m weaving to catch my balance.
My face is flushed as I sweep the loose hair from my face. “Why can’t you climb the tower? You’re quick enough.”
“I’d be useless up there; such heights make me uneasy,” he admits.
I lunge at him, but he throws an arm up to block me.
As my leg slams into his, he staggers beneath the impact.
We teeter—then fall—his arm circling my waist as he rolls under me, his body bearing the brunt of our crash.
I land against him, an elbow digging into his gut, trying not to think of how warm he feels, how quickly my heart is pounding.
I reach for his pouch but his hand snaps around my wrist, holding me fast—then captures my other, clasping them behind my back, flipping me around till I’m trapped beneath him.
Anger simmers, along with a growing awareness of his body pressed to mine.
Our faces are so close, my reflection looks back at me from his pupils.
Frustration swells, an idea forming. As I part my lips, Jin’s gaze flicks toward them, his throat convulsing.
Eager to win, I smile, raising my face to his.
He blinks, hesitating—does he think I’m about to kiss him?
I almost laugh as I wrench free of his hold, seizing the pouch from him as I roll aside.
He stares at me, his mouth arching into a slow smile.
Heat sparks. I want to tease it, to see how bright it can flare.
As he rolls off me, I straighten my skirt, tangled between my legs. My chest rises and falls unevenly as I stand, the pouch in my hand. “I won,” I declare with a surge of triumph.
“You did.” His voice sounds hoarse, as he clears it. “I’d rather you not try that tactic with General Xilu.”
The back of my neck reddens. “I wouldn’t want to.”
“You did well. Your move was certainly unexpected.”
“General Xilu isn’t you. He would’ve slammed my head against the floor and cracked a few of my ribs.”
“He will treat you a lot rougher,” Jin agrees. “You need to stay out of reach; you can’t let him catch you.”
His hand draws a lock of hair behind my ear. When Prince Zixin did this before, it had rankled like a mark of ownership. Now, a tremor glides through me, a flicker of loss when he pulls away.
“I must go to Lord Chao. Can you find your way back?” he asks.
“Yes.”
As he turns and strides away, I stare after him until he’s vanished between the trees.
My discovery hovers in my mind: the creature in the forge, that strange light spilling forth.
Magic that doesn’t belong to the Iron Mountains…
yet is it Thorn Valley’s? I owe Jin nothing yet, so why does my silence feel like betrayal?
But we’ve struck a deal. I have to look out for myself; I won’t give him anything until he’s fulfilled his promise to me. The real danger in making deals like ours is if one starts wanting more than what’s offered.