Page 70 of For Ever More

Pity stirs, a dangerous emotion to feel for the prince. “You saved me once. That’s also why I brought you to Thorn Valley. I hope you’ll find your way back to who you used to be. But I won’t waste my future repaying a debt to a person that no longer exists.”

Attempting to shift the conversation, I gesture at the food. “Lady Shufang has a talented cook.”

“Why do you constantly bring her up? Are you reminding yourself or me?”

“This is her palace; we are her guests, surrounded by her soldiers.” I pry a scallop from its shell, tasting its sweet flesh. “She could sever our heads from our necks should she desire.”

“How obedient you are.” He toys with his cup, his eyes piercing, his hair tousled by the wind. “If I were to reclaim my power, would your disposition sweeten?”

“I am not obedient; I want to stay alive.” I set down my chopsticks. “Whatever your purpose in asking me here, nothing will change between us. This is not about your power or lack of it—it never was. I simply don’t like you, your selfishness and cruelty.” Harsh words, but I came here to sever a bond, not to forge another.

“You liked me once,” he insists.

“The gilded surface of you; I didn’t know you then.”

He reaches across to seize my wrist. “You liked me when you first entered the palace. I have known enough flatterers and pretenders to discern truth from lies. When you kissed me that day, when you saved me from the assassins—you wanted me too. If you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you.”

He jerks to his feet, pulling me from the chair. Losing my balance, I fall against him. Before I can wrench free, his arms band around me—his weight backing me against the stone table. Fear floods me, memories flashing of when I was in his room, the loathsome numbness settling over my limbs. An impulse surges to shut my eyes and fold inward—but I cast it away. The firefly shifts in my sleeve, a reminder that help is near. But if I release him to bring Jin here, chaos will erupt. We can’t risk drawing attention this close to finding the waterfall. I must end this now, on my own.

Furious, I look up at the prince—standing so close, my face is reflected in his pupils. “Let me go. I trusted Your Highness’s assurances, yet your behavior now is both sordid and vile.”

His jaw clenches as though fighting himself. I shove wrathfully against him. Seizing the dragon’s magic, I hold it at the ready. “Release me or you will die—either by fire or poison. You still need the antidote.”

The predatory glitter fades from his eyes. The moment his grip loosens, I yank away. “After what you’ve done tonight, our deal is void; I will leave now. As for the antidote—”

“I know I don’t deserve it,” he says heavily, like he’s angry at himself too.

“You don’t,” I seethe. “But I will send it to you anyway, after we leave the Pearl Ocean. Unlike you, I keep my word.” I add with unflinching honesty, “It shames me to admit it, but back then I was grateful for the attention of the Prince of the Iron Mountains. I came from nothing, dazzled by your face, wealth, and position—the illusion dispelled by the discovery of your nature. After that, I spent most of my time in your palace scheming to get out. As I am leaving now.”

“Wait.” His voice is taut with emotion. “Don’t go this way. Don’t hate me. I don’t want to lose you.”

By the stairway, I halt yet don’t turn. “Your Highness, I was never yours to lose.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

IT IS QUIET AS I WALK TO MY ROOM, STILL DARK. RELIEF fills me, a sense of freedom. My deal with the Prince of the Iron Mountains is almost ended—only the antidote remains. He might hate me after tonight, the cruel truths shared. I open the door, surprised to find a candle on the table—casting its unsteady light against Jin’s unsmiling face. My heart lifts as his gaze searches me.

The firefly slips from my sleeve in a shimmering trail, landing on his knuckles. His fingers curl on the table. “Did he hurt you in any way?”

I ponder my answer. “I think… I hurt him more.”

“I’m certain he deserved it.” Jin’s expression remains somber, yet the tautness eases.

“Once the Sun Dragon is healed, we’ll leave here and never see the Prince of the Iron Mountains again,” I tell him. “Our lives will be free of his shadow.”

A slow smile breaks over his face. “You said ‘our lives.’”

“I mean it.”

“Do you trust me now?” he asks quietly. “How I feel about you?”

Before, I’d told him I wanted him, that I chose him. This is something more profound, more precious… more lasting. “I trust you, Jin.” My voice shakes from emotion. “With my life, with my heart.”

“Both of mine are already yours.” He traces my face, his touch searing. “Be warned that now I have your heart, I will never let go.”

I tilt closer, our foreheads brushing as our fingers twine on the table. “Then guard it well.”

Jin holds me until I fall asleep, too exhausted to wait for Shenming and Dian. Despite the earlier turmoil with the prince, a sense of peace envelops me for the first time since leaving my home. I dream of Father in our kitchen, of walking with Dian in our garden, of the magnolia tree that casts its shade over our home.