Page 58 of Never Ever After

“Did he ever talk to you?” I want to know.

“He asked the year of my birth, my family name. When he looks at you with those eyes, you’d tell him anything.”

“How did he take the duke’s daughter away?” Jin asks.

“They said Lady Ruilin was on the verge of a betrothal, but she never arrived at the celebratory banquet. She vanished, only seen later outside the city, the magic-wielder’s captive.”

As the innkeeper calls her name, Mei hurries away.

“We must leave to meet the duke soon,” Jin tells me, shrugging on his overcoat.

Dressed in these formal clothes, he reminds me of the stranger I met in the market—the one who seems a world apart from me, who only wants to use me, with secrets he doesn’t share. My mind wanders to how different he looked this morning: rumpled, half asleep, his eyes alight with concern. I’m curious about that Jin, the one who doesn’t think everything through, moving people like counters on the board. He’s someone I’d like to know better.

And I’m curious about this “Shiji” too, though I’d never admit it aloud. However, we’re here for reasons that have nothing to do with each other—he wants the starfire, and I want my ring. And to get either, we’re going to have to kill a magic-wielder.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

T he streets are quiet today, emptied of the crowds from yesterday. A cluster of crows descends over the leftover spoils from the market: stale crusts, rotted fruit, half-eaten meat buns. Jin and I walk in silence toward Duke Yuan’s residence, north of the city. The red rooftiles shimmer in the sunlight, an arresting contrast to the yellow marble walls. Instead of the sprawling courtyards and low buildings of the Palace of Nine Hills, the duke’s residence towers eight stories high, looming over the city like a fortress.

Vast gardens ring the mansion, flowers blooming in riotous splendor: peonies, camellias, and azaleas, wisteria cascading from the trees. The lanterns emanate a gentle heat in some areas, while others are cooler with blocks of ice scattered around—like the seasons are entwined here, winter blossoms interwoven with spring. A different type of magic, the type only money can buy.

An attendant shows us through the entrance, down a long corridor. Portraits are hung along the wall, mounted on brocade. They seem to stare down at us—some old, others young—the duke’s ancestors and descendants across the years.

Toward the end of the hall, a painting of a girl with long brown hair catches my eye. I stand before it, recognition striking like a bolt through my chest. Her heart-shaped face is as fair as the moon, framing large, dark eyes. It’s her, the young woman I dreamed of. I study her, yet there’s none of the warmth I felt before—maybe because this is just a painting.

“Who is she?” Yet as I recall my dream, those shining trees, the hooded figure who’d seized her… I already know.

“Lady Ruilin, the duke’s daughter.” Jin confirms my suspicion.

“The one we must rescue.” I speak quietly to conceal my excitement, trying not to imagine the danger.

“Do you like the painting?” he asks.

I make myself shrug. “Her face reminds me of someone.”

The attendant clears her throat impatiently, gesturing for us to hurry. She leads us through the corridor, then up a flight of stairs. At last, we reach the audience hall, surprisingly empty with just a handful of ministers in official-looking robes. Trees sculpted from copper flank the entrance, their branches glittering with flowers carved from coral and quartz. My fingers itch to pluck one, but too many guards are watching. Cranes are painted on the lacquered pillars beneath skies of turquoise blue. A thick carpet stretches across the floor, leading to the gilded throne at the far end.

A gong is struck, silence stretching in its wake. “All bow to greet Duke Yuan of the Amber Forest,” an attendant announces.

His appearance is as magnificent as his residence. Pearls and amber beads are sewn on his red robe, his headpiece set with jade, gray hair peeking from beneath. Small round emeralds gleam from his wide forehead, arranged in the shape of a small dragon. As he settles on the throne, an attendant rushes to place a cushioned stool beneath his feet.

“All may rise,” the duke says with a sweep of his arm. “Today, only my most trusted ministers are present, along with the valiant heroes from across the realm who have come to aid us. I can’t risk word of this getting back to the magic-wielder; it would endanger my daughter.”

Only now do I notice the group to the side of the duke’s throne, clad in armor, different from those of the king’s guards.

“Duke Yuan, we are keen to learn more about the situation,” a tall woman says, her light brown hair braided with pearls. A large bow is slung across her back, a breastplate formed of silvery scales pulled over her long pants.

“General Suilan from the Pearl Ocean,” Jin murmurs into my ear. “Their women are famed for being powerful warriors.”

“What of the men?” I ask.

“I hear they dance remarkably well.”

“I would like to visit the Pearl Ocean; I think I’d like it.”

Jin smiles at me. “I will bring you there. I’ll bring you wherever you wish.” As he holds my gaze, something ill-advised and rash flutters in my heart.

“The rescue is a delicate quest,” the duke is saying. “Negotiations have failed as the magic-wielder refuses to see reason. While my soldiers have the magic-wielder cornered, my daughter is being held under perilous conditions. We have summoned the finest warriors across the kingdoms, and the one who succeeds in rescuing my daughter will win the greatest treasure in my possession—the starfire.”