Page 83 of Immortal

The Wuxin were near.

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We must go.” I grabbed Zhangwei’s arm, tugging at him, but he pulled my hand away gently.

“They are too close; I’ll draw them to me.” His magic continued to spill forth in a glittering stream, as he dipped his head to mine. “You have to go now. Think of Tianxia. If they find you, if they open the gateway—your people will be the first to fall.”

My chest squeezed like a fist was wrapped around it. He was ruthless to make this argument, the only thing that could make me leave him. As Zhangwei drew his sword, a tremor ran through his hand that was abruptly stilled. How hard he fought to hide these symptoms; how long had he been suffering? How could he keep up this pretense against a pitiless foe?

Taking my silence as acceptance, Zhangwei handed the reins of my horse to me. “Head south; I’ll lead them further up north. Your soldiers shouldn’t be far—those your First Advisor sent—find them if you can.” He looked away like he didn’t want to see me leave. “I don’t want you to be alone.”

Something splintered in my heart. He was going to sacrifice himself . . . he was going to die.

“Not today,” I whispered.

His brow creased. “What do you mean?”

My gaze slid to his. “You will not die today.”

I pulled out my dagger, the scar throbbing at my chest, a heat building within as though it sensed what I was about to do—like it was craving this too. I silenced the last whispers of doubt in my mind, of unfulfilled promises and unpaid debts. I was done weighing the stakes; I would give him what he wanted of me.

It was the only way we’d all have a chance. Right now, the God of War was the only one who could protect Tianxia. With the Divine Pearl Lotus, he could hold the Wuxin back until the skies were opened once more. But beyond the safety of my kingdom, beyond any debt or obligation—the simple, shattering truth was, I wanted him to live.

I clutched the hilt of my dagger, pressing its tip against my chest. He’d spoken once of opening a connection with it. This time, no token was needed because it was me wielding the blade. This time, it would work; the Divine Pearl Lotus would be his . . . gifted of a willing heart.

“Wait.” His hand closed around mine, halting me. “Are you sure?”

How different from the first time, when he’d sought to seize it from me. Back then, if he’d succeeded, I would have cursed him and hated him forever. Had he changed? Had I? Maybe nothing remained the same, even in the realm of immortals.

“I want this,” I said clearly.

He looked at me searchingly, not letting go. “Do you know what could happen? You won’t die, but you won’t be as strong as you are now—”

A sliver of cold speared me, but I’d known this already. A price I would gladly pay to save us both. “I know.”

“Why are you doing this?” He spoke intently, his voice ringed with a clear resonance.

I thought of the way his face filled my mind, how his words slid into my heart, of the heat he stirred so effortlessly inside me . . . and how I yearned for him, even when I should hate.

“Because I’m a fool.”

His eyes blazed like fire and moonlight. “Then I am one too, since the day we met.”

I caught his hand with my other, wrapping his fingers across the hilt, pressing down until the dagger pierced my chest. A sharp sting, blood trickling from the wound.

Silence thickened, my breathing growing harsher. Even now, fear and doubt still gripped me. “Remember your promise,” I told him fiercely.

His other hand touched my cheek, tilting my face to his. “I remember all my promises to you.”

“Then take it from me. I . . . don’t know what to do.”

“Say it,” he whispered, leaning closer until his breath curled into my ear. “Mean it.”

“I give this to you of a willing heart.” My chest ached, something struggling inside—then giving way like part of me was coming undone, a bond unmade. The Divine Pearl Lotus was detaching itself from me because I’d yielded it. Because I loved him . . . even if he didn’t love me back. Even if he never knew it.

Light flared along the dagger, coursing over the hilt—the glittering flecks of the lotus scattering like starlight, arching away from me, toward him. The warmth in my chest subsided, leaving a hollow that gaped a little wider with each breath. My teeth sank into my tongue, the salt of blood spilling into my mouth. I slumped, fighting to keep standing, like the strength had fled my limbs.

Zhangwei’s arm swept across my waist to steady me, our hands clasped around the dagger that was still pressed to my chest. His touch was warmer now, no longer glazed with the chill that had become so familiar to me. I smiled with relief, though I was afraid to move, to do anything that might break the spell.