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Your Siwang

When I was done reading, I almost crumpled the paper up and threw it.

“You don’t get to blame this war on me,” I whispered. “None of you get to blame this on me.”

When the horses were untied and saddled, I took a sword and a dagger from Luyao—hidden in the under-compartments of the carriage, in case we were attacked.

I rode as hard as I could. When Caikun punched me, he had knocked me out and left a bruised cheek, which throbbed with pain with every leap and gallop of the stallions, like I was getting punched all over again. I bit down the pain. I bit down everything.

You will not blame this war on me, Rong Siwang. You will not blame your selfish wants on me.

55

Please let us reach camp in time,I thought as the sun rose higher and higher like it had in my vision.Please let the vision be tomorrow, or tomorrow’s tomorrow. Let it be another day, be another dawn.

But as we neared camp, it was clear the battle would not occur another day.

Because war drums were beating.

I kicked the horse into a gallop.

“Slow down!” Caikun cried. “This is no place for you! Get back to camp, Fei! I will pass the message to Siwang!”

“He won’t listen to you!” I cried. Though Siwang didn’t listen to me, either, I could make him listen. I would make both him and Yexue listen.

I rode into the field where the armies were gathered just as Siwang raised his hands in the horizon, a motion for his armies to attack.

“No!” My voice carried through the silence before the storm. “Stop!”

“Fei!” Despite the distance, Yexue heard me, and his hand paused on his sword.

“Stop!” I cried again.Please, don’t kill him.I had seen this moment before; I knew what Yexue intended to do with that sword.

“You traitor!” someone cried as I rode toward the rear formation of Lan soldiers, kicking my horse harder, hoping to reach Yexue before—

Someone jumped out in front of my horse, scaring it to a stop. As it reared onto its hind legs, I grabbed tight to the reins to keep myself from falling.

“Little Li is a spy working for the Lans! Arrest him!” Someone ran up and tried to pull me from my horse.

“Stop!” Luyao cried, drawing his blade. “Li is not the enemy!”

In the background, a violent tempest of galloping hooves and clashing swords sounded.

Siwang. I need to protect Siwang.

I tried to turn and look for him, but all I saw was chaos. Flashes of crimson and deep blue, and earsplitting screams.

“Get back to camp!” Luyao hissed from behind me; our own comrades had us encircled now. “Caikun will tell Siwang to surrender, but you need to get back to camp! It is not safe here—”

Luyao never got to finish. Because the next thing I heard was his limp body hitting the ground.

Something sticky and hot sprayed the back of my neck, then my cheeks, then my eyes.

No.

“Luyao?” I turned to see Luyao clutching his throat where a blue-feathered arrow had lodged itself and blood was pouring out in thick, heavy torrents.“Luyao!”

Running over to us was a group of blue-uniformed soldiers. I recognized one of them as a guard who had accompanied Yexue and me to Xiangxi.