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He laughed. “I tried to tell you, but you didn’t listen. I did need your help, however. That poison was preventing my body from healing by itself. If you hadn’t offered me the antidote, I don’t know if I would have survived.” He paused, then added quietly a question I didn’t expect: “Are you afraid of me?”

I watched him closely, observing the way he avoided eye contact and kept turning aside any and all questions about his unfathomable power. “Why would I be afraid of you?”

“Because magic is not a thing we mortals are allowed to possess. Notgoodmortals, at least.”

I felt a pang in my chest. Recollections of me curled under my sheets, crying and wishing for a way to wash away the phoenix’s mark and allthe nightmares it brought, surged behind my eyes.I am not a fallen goddess!I’d cried.I don’t want to be an empress! Just let me go home!

There was a reason I didn’t want anyone to know what I could do. Not my sister. Not my parents. Not the nannies who had raised me.

Not even Siwang.

“Anyway.” Yexue shifted away. “You might be safe from death, but your body won’t fully heal for a while, so get some rest while you can.”

It took all my control not to pull him back and ask himHow did you come across this power?and whether he knew where it came from. Was his forbidden magic the fruit of some bargain with a vengeful god, or was it something that he was born with, like…like me?

Did his family know about his powers? If so, why had they sent him here as hostage, when his blood was so precious?

Most importantly: Did the Rong Emperor know about his magic?

No.If the emperor knew what Lan Yexue could do, he would not let Yexue roam freely.

I swallowed my questions before more curled to life. For even if I asked, Yexue would not answer.

I was just a girl he’d met in passing, destined to become the empress of an enemy nation. Perhaps one who would rule over him one day. If I hadn’t saved his life first, he never would have saved mine. This was a trade, and we were now even.

“Thank you,” I said, finally. “I promise that your secret is safe withme.”

“I trust you.” His eyes were focused on me again, concentrated and burning as he kept staring. As if I were a puzzle he wanted to solve, or a question he wanted to answer.

I turned away, my cheeks suddenly hot. “You know…” I steered theconversation to a safer direction. “When I ventured into these mountains tonight, I thought I was prepared for the probability that I might not walk out alive. I was wrong. Nobody realizes just how desperately and wholeheartedly one wants to live until those final moments.”

Yexue leaned a little closer, so close I felt his tender heat permeating the frozen air. “May I ask you a question, Lifeng Fei?”

Dread crept down my spine. Reluctantly, I nodded.

“Why did you save me when you could have run? That tiger was lured there bymyblood.Iwas its target.Ishould have been the one to get mauled by the beast.”

“I don’t know.” It was the honest answer. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was a mistake. Everything had happened too fast. There wasn’t time to think anything through. “Whatever the reason was, I’m glad I did it. Because both of us are alive.”

“Youcould have died.”

“I didn’t.”

The Prince of Lan looked away, and I swore I saw his cheeks bloom a softer shade. “I’m not someone worth saving.”

I flinched. “Everyone is worth saving, Lan Yexue.”

“I told you the truth back by the creek,” he replied, his voice smaller and more hesitant.

“What truth?”

“I…” He stopped himself, brows furrowed ever so slightly, considering. “Nothing.”

I tried to replay our conversation, but I was tired and my mind was hazy. I also knew men like him. If he wanted me to know something, he’d offer before it was asked of him. If he didn’t, no amount of trickery or pleading would sway him. Princes who were raised on privilege and power. He and Siwang were cut from the same stubborn cloth.

“There’s one thing I still don’t understand: Why would the Crown Prince’s bride-to-be want to annul her betrothal?”

Why indeed.“This isn’t the time or the place to talk about that.”