Page 122 of The Cinders

None were golden, but all were spectacular; flashes of white and ember orange, blinks of green and silver, the burst of lemon yellow in their midst.A tremendous school of fish; wild and free.

Their numbers reached out in a long line into the heart of the Red River, and the boat slipped quietly towards them.

Following the carp as a sailor might follow the stars.

The wind swelled the sails, and the greatest of all the carp billowed, ever watchful; her golden grace gone but unforgotten.

Xian laid his head on Lim’s shoulder, and the shoemaker wrapped his arm around him.‘Can we stay out here a moment longer?’

‘I will stay here with you forever, if this is where you wish to be.’

Xian blushed — dizzy with knowing Lim spoke from the heart — almost overwhelmed by such honesty.But he was no longer the frightened child who had hidden in a burning room, watching the flames steal his life away.

Now he knew when to run.Knew when to fight.Knew what hewanted.

His fox spirit was free; now, Xian must let his tentative heart follow.

‘All I wish is to be with you, Lim.This day, and all that come after.’

Xian heard the quickening of the shoemaker’s heart.

‘Then consider your wish granted, your highness,’ Lim said roughly.‘And I don’t need magick or a fairy godmother, or even enchanted slippers to make it so.’

He kissed the top of Xian’s head, hugging him in close.

The carp guided them down the Red River; the current strong, the sails taut with the wind, and the huangjiu delivered well before Lim needed a drop.

Beyond the borders of the Middle Kingdom lay great uncertainty.But between a shoemaker and his fox prince, one thing was known.

So long as they were together, they would live happily ever after.