Chapter Six
“So you didn’t kiss her?” Kai hissed, followed by Weiyu’s shushing as he glanced anxiously toward the women a short distance away. Each stood in the shallow waves of the reef, Shanmei with her trousers pulled up to her knees and Zahra with her skirts tucked into her belt.
Weiyu stood blinded by the woman’s joyful, carefree smile in the morning light as Shanmei taught her how to catch fish with her bare hands. Of course, Zahra missed every time, but that didn’t stop her laughter from escaping her pretty pink lips as if all her burdens lay buried beneath her feet.
Kai continued, “Then you didn’t tell her about what she wears around her neck either, huh?”
Rubbing his collarbone, Weiyu released a sigh and pressed his lips together in discouragement.
Last night, he’d connected with her soul through the Aquatic Core.
He could have claimed her right then and there, as he’d sensed she would have willingly submitted to him.
But something held him back. Perhaps it was that they didn’t know one another well yet.
Or maybe because he hadn’t quite made his intentions clear.
But how could anything make his intentions clearer than breaking her out of the most dangerous place for the phoenix king and ensuring a safe journey back to his home?
However, he hadn’t told her the truth about his gift to her.
A part of him didn’t want to force pressure on her to marry a king nor make her feel as if she owed him a debt.
But to genuinely take the time to win her heart.
He’d find a much greater reward if he were to succeed.
“She might not even like me,” he finally answered truthfully.
Down the beach a short distance away, Yinyu snorted where he sat meditating with his eyes closed, circulating his inner magick through his body.
Kai nodded in agreement. “What Yinyu said.”
Weiyu glanced toward the women in the reef, and his stomach flipped pleasantly when he caught Zahra glancing in his direction. Her accompanying smile caused his magick to ripple across the ground to the sea. The waves surged backward, greeting the red phoenix servant with the faintest splash.
No, not a red phoenix servant any longer. The mate he had chosen. His future bride. No longer a servant but the—hopefully—soon-to-be wife of the phoenix king.
Zahra giggled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as his water magick wrapped around her wrist like the tug of a playful child, spinning her in a full circle in the water.
His lips curved upward as he easily fell even more for that laugh and that smile.
For the natural beauty in the glow of her face, in the grace of even the simplest of movements.
He dropped his magick, his fingers itching to capture her wrist himself and dance with her in the sun-lit waters. But his friends’ knowing glances stopped him in his tracks. Or rather, Kai’s devious grin kept him from stepping foot in the ocean.
“Clearly, she doesn’t like you,” Kai teased quietly, pushing his shoulder.
Weiyu pushed back and rolled his eyes. Perhaps there was something there. And he wanted to explore their connection further without the scrutiny and watchful eyes of his friends.
A sudden rush of blood entered his head.
His ears started ringing from pushing himself too hard too soon, and the world around him became too bright.
He placed pressure against his collarbone with his hand to try to hide his discomfort and fatigue from everyone else.
He knew he needed to drop his magick and allow his body to recover.
But if he dropped it, then it placed everyone at risk of being discovered by the enemy.
“Let’s keep going,” Yinyu said in a gruff tone. “We still have a tail.”
“Mn,” Weiyu replied, trying to still his spinning surroundings with slow, deep breaths. “Best if we get into blue phoenix territory as quickly as we can.”
Zahra waded out of the water toward them, untied her skirts, and slipped on her shoes. “Do you have horses? They would make for a quicker escape.”
Kai nodded. “We had to enter red phoenix territory on foot to attract less attention. But horses are waiting for us a couple hours from here.” He gave Shanmei the side eye. “If only someone could turn into a polar bear and carry a couple of us, we could have been back already.”
In a blindingly fast movement, Shanmei pulled out one of her daggers and pointed it toward Kai. “No one gets to ride on my back. Especially not you.”
Kai snorted, unbothered. “If you could actually shift, I’d rather walk a thousand leagues than ride on your back, anyway.”
“I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
“It’s not proving anything to shift when the situation demands it. But as it stands...” He lowered his voice mockingly. “No one here believes you can actually shift.”
Shanmei repositioned her wrist, indicating she might lash out with her weapon.
Weiyu hurried to step between them, lifting a hand toward each of them in a pacifying way.
“Stop, stop. Both of you. If you want to wrassle it out back home, be my guest. But I need everyone’s heads on straight right now. ”
Another wave of fatigue crashed into him.
The only indication he gave of his discomfort was a twitch of his eyebrow.
It was enough for Yinyu to take a single step forward.
Weiyu subtly lifted his hand at his side for him to back down.
He was strong enough to keep his magick erect until they crossed the border.
He had to be. There wasn’t any other choice.
But he’d kept up the illusion for so long now...
Yinyu held a finger to his lips and pointed toward the sky.
The five of them fell silent as they stared at the red phoenix wings circling overhead.
Weiyu counted six phoenixes in total, his lips pressing tightly together with the sudden severity of the situation.
Six wasn’t many. But where there were six, at least two dozen followed.
He subconsciously stepped in front of Zahra, his stomach flipping when she leaned closer to him as if to accept his protection.
Although noise shouldn’t be able to be detected from outside the illusion, Weiyu was tired. Something might slip through. Therefore, Yinyu silently led them forward with a gesture of his hand with Shanmei taking the rear.
Each step Weiyu took felt as if he were dragging boulders with each foot. Energy rushed out of his body with each passing minute. His magick screamed for air as if each breath were filled with smoke. Little by little, he felt the threads of his life snapping like the frayed ends of a taut rope.
They were almost there. Just another hour. He could hold on for another hour.
Just as the thought entered his mind, his surroundings spun.
A deafening ringing clogged his ears. Black dots danced at the edge of his vision.
He toppled to one side and tried to catch himself on sluggish feet.
He failed and nearly crashed into the sand if not for the pair of strong arms that caught him.
“Your Highness!” Yinyu wrapped his arm around Weiyu’s shoulders, taking the brunt of his weight. “You’re still recovering. Don’t push yourself.”
“I have to,” he grunted, his head spinning. “My magick...”
He was the only one able to create the illusion barrier, but holding it up for so long took an enormous toll on his body.
“We’ll do without it.”
“If I drop it...” He inhaled a labored breath. “They’ll see me. They’ll know what we did. What I did.”
“And if you don’t, Ye-Ye said you could die again if you exert yourself too much before you’re ready.”
Weiyu gripped onto Yinyu’s wrist, a desperate plea in his eyes as he glanced toward Zahra, who flitted at the edge of his vision with worry in her amber eyes. He lowered his voice. “I can’t lose her. I can’t...lose...”
His head spun ceaselessly, his vision growing darker. His friend pinched his cheek to keep him conscious. “Aside from you, Zahra is our number one priority. We won’t let anyone take her.”
He trusted Yinyu’s word. He still hesitated. However, the longer he kept the barrier up, the more he felt the threads of his life growing taut, ready to snap.
“Drop it.” Yinyu’s arm tightened around his shoulders. “We’ve got her.”
For several long moments, he stared into the light gold of his friend’s eyes. This was the person he trusted with his entire being. Yinyu never broke his promises.
Finally, Weiyu nodded and released his magick. It snapped back into him, his Aquatic Core claiming it like an animal nursing its wound. The remainder of his consciousness faded until each of his limbs grew weak, and he collapsed.
The last thing he remembered was a gentle, feminine hand against his cheek before the world turned dark.