Page 13 of The Dragon Wakes with Thunder (The Dragon Spirit Duology #2)
Ten
After the war, they were brought over by sea to serve as forced laborers.
Thus their bodies were buried on foreign soil, where they haunted the capital city until Emperor Wu declared they were to be given a proper burial.
Their souls have now gone to rest, but on a particularly windy night, one may hear them singing in the old language, singing of a land they can never return to.
“Your Highness,” said the third prince with spurious humility, “I have it on reliable authority that the seventh prince has been openly defying the Imperial Commander’s edicts.
Prince Liu Sky has engaged in black market dealings to amass an extensive collection of banned texts.
His actions are intended to spread the wickedness and corruption of black magic, deliberately undermining the Imperial Commander’s efforts to eradicate such evil. ”
My pounding migraine had returned. I studied the crown prince’s reaction; he listened silently, his only tell in the deepening fatigue on his face. Perhaps rumors of his sickness had not been exaggerated.
“Why does he do this, you may ask,” said Yuchen, with an actor’s flair for the dramatic. “He does this for her ”—he whirled on me—“because she is a black magic practitioner.”
He strode toward me and grabbed my wrist. I struggled against him, but in my weakened state, he easily restrained me, raising my arm in the air so that my trailing sleeve fell back.
“Why do you think she wears iron at all times?” asked Yuchen, his hand squeezing my wrist hard enough to bruise.
“That’s not exactly particular to her, is it?” said the crown prince, before coughing into his sleeve. “Half the city wears iron these days.” He glanced down at his left hand, and I noticed the thick iron ring on his middle finger, out of place beside the sparkling gemstones he wore.
“And where is proof of this supposed collection?” Keyan asked, after taking a long sip of his tea. From the way he grimaced, the tea did not seem particularly appetizing.
Yuchen’s smile widened as my ears began to ring. Of course Yuchen would make his move while Sky was away, leaving me to defend him. And how could I, when in the palace I was regarded as a fallen woman at best, a demonic spirit at worst?
“Your Highness, allow me to show you—so you can see with your own eyes.”
As the third prince led the way, he spared me one glance—his smile sweet as a sated viper’s.
As we entered the now-familiar reading room, I sensed rather than saw Lotus trying to catch my eye. Aware of the intense scrutiny upon me, I resisted meeting her gaze, not wanting to do anything that might implicate her.
The crown prince showed no particular surprise as Yuchen led him and our entourage through the secret passageway. He made sure I went last, lest I somehow tamper with the evidence.
As I entered the secret library, my focus was drawn not to the books, but to the third prince. He followed his older brother like a dog eager to receive a treat, practically wagging his tail as Keyan removed a scroll at random. Lifting a brow, he opened another scroll, then another.
“What joke is this?” Keyan demanded at last, before descending into a coughing fit.
“Your Highness?” Yuchen asked.
With disgust, Prince Keyan dumped the three scrolls he’d skimmed into Yuchen’s arms. Yuchen wasn’t ready to receive them, and only managed to catch one. From my vantage point, I caught a portion of the title. “ Household Proverbs for the Venerable Wife: On Marriage, Children, and —”
Yuchen dropped this text like a burning coal. “No,” he breathed, grabbing another scroll off the shelf. “ Ways to Mitigate Monthly Bleedings —”
I restrained a smile as I now glanced at Lotus out of the corner of my eye.
On my hunch, Lily and I had stayed up long past midnight clearing the banned texts from Sky’s library.
That had been my first priority. Once the banned scrolls had been removed and safely hidden, I had tasked her with going into the city and buying all the women’s literature she could find.
I had no idea how she had accomplished this feat so quickly, but from the glint in Lotus’s eye, I figured she’d had help.
“How can this be?” Yuchen demanded. “Ge—I was just here the day before last, I-I have proof…”
I bowed deeply, choosing at last to speak. “Your Highness, given the gaps in my early education, I have endeavored to further my understanding of the ways of womanhood, so that I might better serve the imperial family. If you find any aspect of my studies objectionable, I will seek to amend—”
“You—you demon!” Yuchen lunged at me, but the crown prince stopped him.
“That’s enough, Brother.”
Yuchen sputtered with outrage. “She—she used her black magic to warp our vision! Our eyes—we can’t trust our own eyes!”
Keyan’s exhaustion had deepened, his complexion appearing wan and sallow under the torchlight.
“I said, that’s enough. You’ve wasted my time, Yuchen, and at a particularly important juncture.
Do not think I will forget—” He broke off abruptly, coughing into his handkerchief.
When he removed the cloth from his mouth, I noticed a spot of red on the silk—blood.
“Your Highness,” said Princess Yifeng gently. With her newly adopted air of diffidence, I’d forgotten she was present. “Should I call for the physician?”
Keyan nodded. “Lady Hai, may we meet again under more favorable circumstances,” he told me, before leaving. Curiously, he did not look me in the eye.
Lotus accompanied me to my quarters, glowing with triumph.
As soon as we were reunited with Lily in the privacy of my bedchamber, she burst into speech.
“You should’ve seen the look on his face!
And the books you chose. I’ll never forget the sight of Prince Yuchen reading about how to cure cramps,” Lotus giggled.
“I was wrong about you, my lady—you’ll do wonderfully in the palace.
” She sighed, collapsing on the sofa. “We can rest now.”
“No,” said Lily adamantly. “We can’t rest until all of them are deposed.”
They began bickering as I returned to my desk.
I was relieved, yes, but I couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that I had just woken the sleeping beast. Prince Yuchen would not let this moment of humiliation pass.
And I could not forget the calculating glint in Princess Yifeng’s eyes when she’d contemplated me in the library. More danger was surely on its way.
I could not afford to alienate anyone else. My enemies had multiplied in a matter of minutes, and still I was no closer than when I’d begun. I needed to understand the dragon’s ulterior motives, to see if we could form a truce of sorts. But to do that, I had to find my mother’s diary.
I knew the key to retrieving it; I was simply reluctant to learn its cost. Because I knew Cao Ming Lei, and I knew he would never agree to anything without exacting a favor in return.
What would be his price this time?
“See if you can locate where the Ximing hostage is being kept,” I instructed Lily that evening. “I’ll also see if I can find any leads.” Perhaps Winter knew where Lei was under house arrest.
No sooner had I relayed the order than a mysterious note arrived for me. Bemused, Lotus told me it had been concealed within my supper tray, implying that whoever sent it had access to Sky’s personal servants.
But when I opened the letter, I found myself unsurprised by the sender’s extensive reach. It was from Lei himself. How he managed it, I had no idea, but I had long since learned not to underestimate his cunning.
It is no secret that your enemies at court are many, while your allies are few and far between , he wrote.
You too are discontent with the ruling regime.
I believe our underlying goals align, and that together, we can prevail in achieving our shared objectives.
If you are amenable to an alliance, meet me at the moon-viewing pavilion at midnight. Cao Ming Lei.
I burned the note, my heart pounding at the audacity of his request. Form an alliance with him—a prisoner of war? To do so would be to commit treason.
And yet Lei knew me. He’d suspected how dissatisfied I was, with both the current regime and life at court. I needed alliances against Sky’s family, who were intent on removing me. And most importantly, Lei possessed my mother’s diary.
“What does it say?” asked Lotus curiously.
I colored, and she mistook my blush for shyness. “Oh!” she said, giggling. “Is it a love note from the prince?”
I nodded, though I knew which prince she’d been referring to.
The wrong one. Lei had always done this to me—forced me to lie, to deceive, to turn traitor to my own convictions and values.
But if I were being truthful, I couldn’t blame this on him.
Because while he’d stoked the flames, the spark had long lived within me.
I was the one with this selfish ambition that could not be sated no matter how much I took, and took, and took.
After all, Qinglong had chosen me for a reason, hadn’t he?
Because I was hungry—for life, for freedom, for power. He had been drawn to that hunger.
Lei would remain here in Chuang Ning until the Three Kingdoms Treaty was finalized.
If I allied myself with him now, I reasoned, he could provide me with valuable leverage against the other princes.
One by one, I could take them down, until Sky was the last heir standing.
Then Sky could ascend the throne—and I with him.
From the throne, I could rework any rule. I could punish those who had wronged me. Most importantly, I could rewrite my legacy, so that everyone would know I was the one who saved the kingdom.
“My lady, are you all right? You’re white as a ghost,” said Lotus, her voice coming from someplace far away.
“Are you having another panic attack?” asked Lily. “Should I bring out the irons?”
“No!” I screamed, seizing her by the arm.