Page 72 of Never Ever After

“Get out of my way before I hurt you,” she orders him. “Don’t you want answers?”

He doesn’t move. “Not this way.”

She ignores him, looking at me. “Clever, to cook the night-root with the stew; I didn’t taste it. But I planted it, I know its secrets and have its antidote. You should never have been able to even harvest it.” Her voice hardens. “I decided to let Ruilin rest while Lord Jin-Yong and I dispose of you.”

I struggle against the binds, trying to slash at them with my dagger, but the witch strikes it from my grasp with a sharp blow. As she raises her arm again, Jin grabs it, keeping her from me.

She twists free, her pupils mirroring my petrified face. “You carry a weapon of the Palace of Nine Hills. You’ve been bought by them, no matter what Lord Jin-Yong believes. Tell me why I shouldn’t snap your neck right now.”

“Because I’m not a spy,” I rasp, though it hurts to speak. I yank at the vine around my neck, forcing it to loosen. “Because I’m not trying to hurt any of you—I just want to save myself.”

“As much as I dislike the heir of Thorn Valley, he deserves better than you,” she says scathingly, one of her poisoned knives glinting in her hand.

As her blade descends, my hand flies up to cover my head—a coolness gliding across my skin, suffusing it with light. Is Jin shielding me, using the power he spoke of earlier?

Yet the witch’s blow never lands. She’s dropped the knife, standing utterly still, staring at my palm—the one I’ve been hiding all this while. The imprint of the flower is a deep red, as are the streaks around it.

Her gaze bores into mine like she’s picking me apart. “Night-root isn’t commonly known outside the Land Beyond. How did you learn of it?”

“I heard a storyteller describe it once.” For some reason, I feel compelled to answer her. “When I saw it and touched it… I just knew. I’ve always been good with plants.”

“Your age?” she barks at me.

“Nineteen.”

As she grabs my hand, rubbing at the mark with her thumb, I gasp from the pain. “What is this?” she demands.

Jin pulls her away from me, his expression grim and furious. “Enough.”

She ignores him, staring at me, though not in the same murderous way as before. “How did you get the mark on your hand?”

“I’ve had it since birth—”

“Liar.”

Yet there’s no venom in her tone as she raises her hand to my face. The jewels on her fingers sparkle, and something else—something I’d somehow overlooked, like it had concealed itself from sight: a ring of luminous stone with a carved flower in the center. The twin to mine, though hers lacks the shining stalk.

“Your ring,” I choke out. “I have one like it… except with a bright green stalk around the middle.”

“Where is it? How did you get it?” Her urgency matches mine.

“A spirit, in the form of a carp, gave me a flower like the one carved in yours.” I glance down at my hand. “But soon after, my ring was taken from me… and this happened.”

The pain in my head intensifies, a wave of dizziness striking me. If she attacks me now, I can’t fight back—but I don’t think she wants to kill me anymore.

“What is this about?” Jin asks, looking from her to me.

“Everything,” she replies.

The witch raises her hand, her fingertips aglow. At once, the vines restraining me loosen. As I stumble, she catches my arm. “You bear the mark of our rings. My herbs yield to your touch.”

A shaft of light falls upon the witch’s face, the wind pushing the hair from her brow, her neck, revealing a scattering of moles along its curve—just as on the little girl with braids in my dream.

It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time, a warmth stirring in my chest, the feeling I’ve been chasing all this while. “You’re the one I’m looking for.” I speak with wonder, with knowing and shock. “Your face was hidden when I first dreamed of you; I only saw Lady Ruilin. But now, I see you.”

“I’ve been looking for you,” she tells me. “It’s why I left home, why I’m here.”

“Who are you?” I ask.