Chapter Eight
The very first thing Weiyu wanted to do after waking up from his over-exhausted state was launch to his feet and search for his mate.
But instead, he found himself thoroughly inspected by Ye-Ye.
After deemed healthy enough to get out of bed, he was promptly shoved into a meeting room to discuss the growing tension between the blue and red phoenix clans.
Weiyu impatiently tapped his fingers on the table he occupied with six other clan advisors and elders. He squirmed in his seat, unable to hold still when his Aquatic Core warmed off and on like a slow pulse of embers within a fire.
His core was in a constant flux of connection with Zahra, which meant she continued to wear his gifted necklace around her neck.
He felt her lifeforce. Her presence. An echo of the emotions flitting through her body.
Although the connection to those was faint, he found himself able to pick through her confusion, wariness, and even hope.
What must she feel in return? Was she able to feel the antsiness worming through his mind? Or the giddy excitement rising in his chest?
His parents had shared the Aquatic Core as mates, but they’d died long ago. He didn’t remember them, nor was he certain what their connection had been like in comparison to his and Zahra’s. All he had were accounts from Ye-Ye about what it might have been like.
The rest?
He supposed he might have the chance to figure it out for himself.
As one topic blended into the next, one of his advisors handed him a loose stack of papers. The man explained, “The griffon king of Duneshard has replied to your request to meet to speak further on alliances. But he has...specific terms.”
Weiyu gripped himself beneath the knees to keep from jumping up and storming out of the meeting room. The only thing keeping him from doing exactly that was his connected Core reassuring him that Zahra was safe.
“What are the terms?” he asked, quickly leafing through the pages. When he realized he spoke through a tight mouth, he loosened his jaw and forced himself to take long, slow breaths of patience.
“He wants to meet in Duneshard. He will not travel here. Not with...” The advisor cleared his throat. “...certain tensions creating an unsuitable environment for negotiations.”
He frowned and absently pulled his long ponytail over his shoulder to run his fingers through the silky blue-black strands. “And the red clan?” He glanced between each advisor to find them, too, shifting in their seats. “Have they traced the incident to us?”
Zahra’s rescue was inevitable, and he refused to apologize for it despite the disgruntled expressions of a few of his advisors.
“They have been circling near our territory,” a voice said behind him.
Weiyu turned in his chair to find Yinyu a few steps away, always ready to protect and defend when necessary.
He hadn’t even seen his friend enter the meeting house, as occupied as his mind had been lately.
Knowing Yinyu, he’d probably entered only a few steps behind him to begin with, as silent as a shadow.
“So, they may suspect but they can’t prove,” Weiyu supplied after a few moments of silence.
Yinyu nodded silently.
“Then we’ll wait it out. Zahra said herself she was no one important to the red clan. They just don’t like that we took something from them at all.”
He ground his teeth after the words slipped from his mouth.
Saying anything other than Zahra was spectacular and brave, important and downright beautiful, left a terrible taste on his tongue.
But he needed to speak the facts from an objective point of view.
The red clan had no reason to waste time and resources on someone they had not deemed important.
Behind him, Yinyu nodded. “We’ll maintain an eye on the situation and keep you informed of their position. They may back off within the week.”
“I hope so,” he murmured, mostly to himself. Because if they didn’t back off, they’d have bigger political issues to deal with than a stolen servant.
The council discussed a few more mundane topics that left Weiyu burning with impatience. His fists clenched and unclenched beneath the table. After about an hour of ridiculous posturing and unviable solutions making their rounds, he felt like his mind was going to explode.
His Core churned within him, coursing with warmth as it reached out to his chosen mate.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over him as he reminded himself of his station.
He was the phoenix king. These people looked up to him.
They trusted him to keep them safe. Although being king was all he’d ever known, he knew he couldn’t stop shirking his duties just because a pretty face was singing his name like a siren calling a sailor into the ocean.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing he most certainly was getting distracted by a pretty face. He could think of little else.
Finally, when the meeting ended, Weiyu bounded out of the room before anyone could catch him in an unwanted conversation.
He followed the Aquatic Core’s pull to its mate down the winding wooden ramp, through a maze of trees, houses, and people, and found himself standing on Zahra’s doorstep with a smooshed handful of wildflowers pressed between his fingers.
He raised his hand to knock, but before his fist made contact with the wood, the door swung open to reveal a surprised shock on Zahra’s face.
His gaze darted from her face to the basket she held on one hip to the inside of her new home. He couldn’t see much from his vantage point, but the house appeared mostly empty.
“How are you adjusting?” he asked at the same time she said, “What brings you by?”
His ears heated with a surprising fluster. Sure, it was easy and fun to flirt with other women. But Zahra was different. Interactions with her felt more...consequential.
“Uhhh...these are for you.” He held out the pitiful bouquet.
“Oh.” Her expression did something funny and unrecognizable despite the way her eyes lit up. Were the flowers not to her liking? Well, he couldn’t say he’d appreciate a lack-luster effort too much either. “Thank you.”
“Mn.” He rocked back and forth on his heels, not sure what to say next.
“I have tea,” she said breathlessly, turning around and entering her house as she smoothed her apron and held the flowers in a delicate hand. “Would you like tea?”
“I...uh...yes.”
As he stepped through the door, the necklace swinging from her neck caught his attention. The piece of Aquatic Core that matched energy and soul with his own. She still wore it. The sight of it pleased him.
Zahra ushered him to one of two seats across from each other at a small, circular table. His burning gaze trailed her movements as she filled a small pitcher with water and settled the flowers inside before placing the pitcher gently in the middle of the table.
She moved quickly and efficiently, her steps light and airy as if she intimately knew her way around a kitchen. That only settled his worries. She was only a servant in the red clan, nothing more. The other clan’s phoenixes would back off soon.
“How are you adjusting to life here at the Roost?” he tried again, attempting to calm his furiously beating heart.
A small smile lifted on her lips as she poured him a cup of steaming tea. He took a cautious sip, surprised to find the flavors foreign and different than what he was used to. Fruity but with a nutty aftertaste. In this part of Sunfire Isle, the tea flavors were more light and floral.
“I’m finding life here vastly different from the Perch.” She sat across from him, her slender fingers wrapped around her cup.
“In a...good way?”
She lifted her chin and laughed. He was struck speechless, as if he’d gotten his first glimpse of a sunrise after years of darkness.
His chest tightened. His throat constricted.
He was absolutely enamored with the beautiful sound, with the way her eyes sparkled, with the sweet way her lips curved upward.
He was still in a dazed rapture when she leveled a stare at him, the smile lingering on her sweet mouth.
“Yes. Definitely in a good way. I really love it here. Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Weiyu,” he clarified. “Or Wei. I would not like you to address me so formally.”
“My station is far beneath yours. I’m not sure that is appropriate.”
On the outside, his expression remained impassive. On the inside, he frowned. Deeply. Of course, he knew winning her over might not be quick or easy, but he hadn’t expected to get brushed off so flippantly either.
Was there someone else?
His attention lingered on the piece of Aquatic Core resting against her collarbone, but before she noticed, he pulled his gaze to his tea. “I hope you are adjusting well,” he said tactfully. “That you didn’t leave anyone behind who you couldn’t part with.”
Quickly, she shook her head, some of the curls coming loose from her bun and brushing against her jaw. “I did not. The only person I needed was myself.”
He nodded, unsure if he should speak of his intention to court her out loud. She seemed...jumpy. Hesitant. Unsure. Easing into a place in her life might take more time. He was willing to be patient.
They spoke only of light-hearted topics, and desperate to hear the sound of her laughter, he made gentle quips and witty comments. She did, indeed, reward him with the sound of her bright, sunshiney laughter.
When the conversation lulled after what felt like hours, he finally decided to tactfully retreat after a successful interaction with his chosen mate. “I shouldn’t overstay my welcome. I’ll come visit again soon.”
“I’ll clean up.” She reached for his cup. He grabbed onto her wrist to stop her.
The contact surprised them both, as their gazes leaped upward and fixed on each other. Her dark amber eyes caught onto his, the color like the sweetest syrup on his tongue. He wanted to gaze into them for hours, to learn of their hope, their heartbreak, their everything.
“Oh, I...” She chuckled as she pulled her hand away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She averted her gaze, but the accompanying blush filled him with reassurance that this affection wasn’t just one-sided. “Thank you for coming by, Your Highness.”
On the way toward the door, he corrected again, “Weiyu.”
“Weiyu,” she murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear for a second time. It took all his strength not to reach out and pull it back out just so he could tuck it in himself, to feel the softness of her skin against his fingertips.
With a final farewell, she shut the door behind him.
Before he left, he placed a blue phoenix feather from his own plumage on her windowsill.
An immortal phoenix’s feathers were worth a fortune, and when given as a courting gift, it symbolized that their choice of mate was worth more than all their feathers combined.
He desperately hoped she would accept his advances. Maybe not immediately. But he could be patient. Just one day at a time.