Page 103 of For Ever More

“She is undeniably more powerful after merging Lady Shufang’s starfire into the crown. And now, the Lord of Thorn Valley is her faithful servant.”

The thought sickens me; I wrap an arm around my stomach. “I’ll get him back.”

Prince Zixin watches me with a hooded expression. “What will you do? I learned too late you’re not the type to surrender to fate.”

“As you’ve surrendered to yours? Do you like the destiny before you now?” I cast the bait to hook his aid.

“To be wed to someone I no longer trust?” His mouth tenses. “Serving the traitor who stole my crown? Every time my sister looks at me, she is weighing whether her reign is safer with me dead.”

“Then help me stop her.” I watch him carefully. If he calls for the guards, I’ll stab him for real.

“I will be risking my newly regained position here,” he says with calculation. “What do you offer?”

My insides knot at the prospect of another bargain with the Prince of the Iron Mountains. “What do you want?”

“I want what I cannot have.”

His black eyes pierce mine. Despite the new lines on his face, he’s as striking as always—but I’ve seen the monster within, his desire to cage those he claims to love. Regardless, I don’t have to like him. We are once again bound by circumstance and necessity.

“Then ask for what lies within reach,” I reply evasively. “You always prized your crown, your throne, and power above all—above anyone.”

“You are right,” he tells me. “And yet, you are wrong.”

Once, he made the offers, tempting and threatening me in turn. Now, neither of us have anything to bargain with but wisps of dreams, fragments of an uncertain future.

His fingers tap the table. “For my help, I want the return of my throne. If you defeat my sister and end her reign—it will be enough.”

“I accept.” How strange to speak this way with the prince… to be on the same side.

He inclines his head. “Today, the court was rife with rumors that my sister has secured another piece of starfire,” he informs me.

My stomach plummets. “From an Elder of Mist Island?”

“Yes, though I did not believe it at first,” he says disdainfully.

I curse Lord Hairong. As it turns out, monsters here don’t just wear crowns but circlets of flowers too. “When will your sister merge this piece?”

“She is impatient to secure its power. It will be presented at her birthday celebration tonight, a grand display of her might.”

I touch the locket around my neck. Until midnight tomorrow.

“Tonight then—bring me to her.” I suppress a surge of fear. If I fail, I will have yielded the last starfire to the queen. Yet this is my only chance when her guard is down, her greed at its zenith.

“It will be closely guarded,” he warns. “My sister will anticipate trouble.”

“I expect no less,” I reply. “But before the crowds, she will be mindful of their attention—more reckless.”

“What do you need of me?” Prince Zixin asks stiffly, as if unused to making such an offer.

If he were Jin, I’d tell him everything. We’d pick over the plot, prying out the weaknesses, figuring out the challenges together—my heart aching at his absence.

“Tell me how the starfire is joined.” I’m trying to remember, the details blurred in the past chaos.

A cloud settles over his face, a difficult memory for him to recall. “The pieces need to be placed together, the dragon’s blood used to bind them. Chunlei hoarded more than she needs of the Sun Dragon’s blood, not caring whether he lived or died after. She was always good at discarding things once they had served their purpose.”

I suppress my anger to ask, “The Sun Dragon’s blood—where is it kept?”

“Chief Advisor Mai—the double-crossing swine—carries it with him always, in a bottle secured in a hidden pocket of his sleeve.”