Page 74 of The Nightblood Prince

Beifeng lived up to his name. He was truly as fast as the northern wind. The journey from the capital passed in serene solitude. I arrived as the sun set against a silhouette of Changchun. The ghost city that now marked Lan’s and Rong’s borders.

Where the forest broke into a clearing of camps and half-constructed barracks, a shadow was waiting for me.

“Welcome home, deserter,” he murmured when I approached.

“You shouldn’t be here. Isn’t this a breach of the peace treaty?” I asked as I dismounted.

Though he had been waiting for me, Yexue was not looking at me. “It would only be a breach if I brought an army with me,” he replied, his voice deep.

I laughed. “Did you think I was going to break my promise?”

Yexue shrugged, still turned away from me. “I don’t know. You are a hero of Rong now. You might deem yourself too good for borderpatrol.”

I couldn’t tell if he was mocking me. “I’m not a hero. You won our competition and essentially handed the victory to me.”

“You did do something,” he replied, his tone no longer so haughty.

“Over a year ago, you saved my life when you didn’t have to.

You made me believe that good does exist in this world.

Every time I see you, a part of me wants to be better.

The type of man my mother would have been proud of if she were still alive. ”

“Is that why you’ve now waged war west against Yan, your neighbor?”

“I said I wanted to be kind. I never said I wanted to be a saint,” he grumbled, turning to face me for the first time.

“The stars and the gods gave me the power to create these extraordinary creatures for a reason, and I want to know why.” He stepped forward, took my unoffered hand, and cradled it in his.

“And the more power I amass, the more likely I’ll find someone who knows why we were born with these abilities.

Someone out there must have the answers we are seeking. ”

And someone must know where my stargazer is hiding. “But what if the answer isn’t what we want to hear?”

“Then I will find another answer, then another, until I am satisfied.”

I smiled. “In that case, let’s find the answer together.”