Page 60 of The Nightblood Prince

She wrote: I was a child, but I was with my teacher the night she foresaw your fate, and I have never seen her so shaken by the stars as shewas that night.

“Why did she leave the palace? Did she know something that the emperor didn’t want her to know? Did he try to 杀人灭口 , kill the person and silence the lips ? Is this why he tried to kill you as well?”

Ping’s brush hovered over the paper until a drop of ink splattered onto the stark white, staining the words before it. I was suddenly struck with guilt at how many questions I was asking her.

“You can tell her, Ping,” said Peizhi. “She won’t hurt you. No one will ever hurt you again.”

Yes, she wrote. The emperor tried to kill my teacher.

My world came to a stop. “Why? And is she still alive?”

I don’t know, she wrote.

It took me a moment to realize that this was her answer to both questions.

Again, she hesitated before she dipped the pen back into the ink and wrote: My master told me once, a long time ago, that you are our best hope of a better tomorrow. Of peace. Your fate is the answer to everything. It will either bring the ruin of the continent, or save it.

My breath caught at that last part. “But they say I am the empress of all empresses; I am to wed whoever unites the continent. The prophecy never said anything about me saving anything.”

Ping was still for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts.

“If I become the empress of all empresses and marry the emperor who will unite the continent, will that finally bring peace?”

If Teacher was right, then I believe yes, it will.

“Did your teacher ever say anything about who that person mightbe?”

Your true love, she wrote.

I laughed. “How am I going to know that?”

Follow your heart.

“I don’t trust my heart.” Considering how dangerously close Yexue and I got last night, I didn’t trust myself to make any decisions.

If you choose wrongly, then I guess we will all die. I should say that I hope I don’t live to see that day, but I already can’t see anything anymore, so I guess it doesn’t matter. Ping smiled as she wrote the last part.

Despite the tragedy she had endured, she still had a sense of humor. I liked her.

I believe it would do everyone a great deal of good if you would stop running from your fate, she wrote. Then, a second later, she added: I have heard about how you ran away from your betrothal to Prince Siwang. It seems he is not your true love. Why don’t you give Prince Yexue a chance?

I glanced over at Yexue, grinning at this. “Did he pay you to writethat?”

Yes. A whole chest of gold and a manor at the heart of the city.

“A manor?” I gasped.

He is very generous; you should give him a chance, Ping wrote, her lips pinched as if holding back giggles.

“You weren’t supposed to tell her that,” Yexue groaned.

Peizhi only told me to say good things about you, not lie for you.

Yexue rolled his eyes, and Peizhi was looking at the ground. “Tell her to lie next time, Peizhi.”

Peizhi nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Ping was biting her lips to hide her grin. Even I couldn’t help but smile. “Did your master know about Yexue’s prophecy?”

From the corner of my eye, I noticed how Yexue stood a little taller at this question. Be careful, I reminded myself, conscious that Ping was living within Lan’s borders and she couldn’t afford to upset the prince regent. Her every word could be influenced by Yexue’s wishes.

“It’s okay,” Peizhi reassured her.

Yes, she did.

“Do you know if our prophecies are intertwined?” Yexue asked.

She never said. I remember only that she argued with the emperor the day it was announced that Lan had sent you as a ward, and she disappeared not long before you arrived at the capital.

I looked over at Yexue. “What if she ran away because of you?”

“Don’t blame me. I have never met her,” Yexue replied. “And Ping has said that she ran away because of the emperor. Read carefully, Fei. Weren’t you taught by the best scholars Rong had to offer?”

“The scholars were always too focused on Siwang to pay me any attention,” I shot back. “Ping, can you read the stars like your teacher?” If Yexue and I couldn’t find the stargazer to decipher our fates, maybe Ping could help?

I can, but losing my eyes has made that difficult.

Peizhi helps me. He describes them, and has built a table of moving blocks that follow the pattern of the stars through these tiny dots.

But it is not the same. Even if I figure out a way to read the stars as I did, I was only ever a disciple.

If you want real answers, you will need to find my teacher.

“I’m trying to find her, but she has left us almost no trace to follow.” I glanced at Yexue. “Did the prophecy ever say anything about what would happen if I don’t marry anyone?”

Ping shrugged. The continent continues to fight?

“And if I don’t find my true love?”

Ping pursed her lips. Again, she wrote: The continent continues to fight?

“And if I marry the wrong man?”

She giggled before she wrote again: The continent continues to fight?

Surprisingly, I giggled, too. “What if I just married every warlord on the continent?”

“Then I will have to kill everyone and become the last warlord standing,” Yexue put in.

He’s persistent, Ping wrote. Then: Peizhi told me that Prince Yexue likes you.

“Likes me or my prophecy?”

She shrugged. I would love to look into it for you. Perhaps one day, when I relearn my abilities without having to see the stars with my own eyes. In the meantime, why don’t you try to see the future for yourself? Ping smiled and touched the spot between her brows.

I was struck by a sudden coldness. “Who else knows?”

Teacher told only me. She specifically instructed that the emperor could not know about your abilities.

I could not imagine what would have happened if the emperor had learned that I possessed the magic of Fate, and that I could see the future, even if it was brief glimpses. “Thank you.”

I never told anyone about your gift, Ping added. But I did confirm it to Yexue when he guessed it.

“Nothing is going to happen to you under my watch, Fei,” said Yexue. “You don’t have to worry.”

But I don’t want to live my life under your protection. That familiar hunger crept back in, though this time not for Yexue’s lips or his skin, but for his power and his status. There had to be more ways for girls to obtain power in this world than through marriage.

I didn’t want to be the water that reflected his light. I wanted to be the light itself.

The prophecy said I was the one destined for greatness, not my lover and not my husband. Me.

And what would happen if I killed the love of my life? I bit my tongue. “What else do you know about my magic and why it stems from the mark?”

Your magic is an extension of you, but you are not your magic, Ping wrote.

I wish I could answer your questions about your prophecy and your phoenix’s mark.

However, the will of the gods is not for mortals to know.

All we can do is guess and steal glimpses from the stars.

Or in your case, steal from Fate herself.