Immortal

41

The Endless Dawn Palace loomed in the distance, its silver-gray walls of quartz gleaming. Someone called my name, hurrying toward me—Lin, clad in a close-fitting brown robe. As she slung an arm around my shoulders, I stiffened at her unexpected familiarity.

Before I could speak, she muttered through clenched teeth, “Smile. We’re being watched. Lord Dalian wants to know where you’ve been, since you eluded the guard following you.”

A chill slid through me, though I smiled as she’d suggested. “Why don’t you tell me where I’ve been?”

Her eyebrows arched. “We just spent the evening in a teahouse. Eating. Drinking. What else might we do there?”

she said in a teasing tone. “Though you are to my liking, I sense you’re taken?”

As I nodded, a flush creeping over my face, she sighed as she dropped her arm. “A pity.”

“I’m sure you have no shortage of partners,”

I said, adding, “Is Lord Dalian always this on-edge?”

“The void birds reported that an intruder was sighted,”

she said in hushed tones. “Lord Dalian uses them to keep a close watch on us.”

I don’t like the way they look at us. Zhangwei was right; I should have let him kill them all.

“They spy on you too, not just strangers?”

I was trying to test her loyalty, to see if it might be pried apart. From what I’d seen, she didn’t seem to share Dalian’s vicious inclinations, unlike the malevolent Captain Rao.

“Lord Dalian is cautious. There have been murmurs of disquiet recently. As you saw earlier, many don’t want to go to war with the immortals again.”

“You don’t miss the skies? Your past home?”

“If you keep yearning for all beyond your reach, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time, blinding yourself to the good that’s here.”

She spoke with a calm pragmatism. “We were content here, with the Wangchuan River, at least until its powers waned. Here, we can even keep our physical forms more easily—whereas in your world, in our old one, we had to fight harder to retain them.”

“Has anyone tried to reason with Lord Dalian?” I asked.

“Do you think he takes well to ‘reasoning’?”

Her mouth curled. “In the beginning, some tried, but they were harshly punished. And now, when Lord Dalian controls our access to the Wangchuan, we have little choice but to obey.”

I glanced at the wooden stakes along the riverbank, the tips glinting darkly. “Can these barriers be removed? These restrictions?”

“They seem impervious to our efforts—they keep us from the waters, except to feed. Lord Dalian claims this way, no one can tamper with the river to cause mischief.”

Except for him. But I kept it to myself, letting her speak.

“He’s also decreed a harsh punishment for anyone who tries to remove the barriers. According to him, the Wangchuan’s power must be rationed, though he hoards most for the army and those close to him.”

Her eyes flashed with suppressed anger.

“The Wangchuan River doesn’t belong to him alone,” I said.

“Who will dare tell him? Only fools would risk getting their allotment cut—not just for themselves but their families, too.”

Her gaze flicked to the bronze bell by her waist. “I spoke up once, and my sister and I suffered.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Though I wanted to trust her, I had to be careful. We weren’t friends, and it was not just me at risk.

“Because you helped my sister and me,”

she replied. “Not many would have chosen defeat to aid a stranger.”

“You helped me too—not just when he asked you to heal me but for what you didn’t tell him.”

“Many of us keep secrets from Lord Dalian; it’s safer that way. And if anyone valued that little help I gave, it means they were worth helping. Someone who appreciates the gifts of others rather than just seeking to take.”

Her expression turned serious. “Even here, you’re still fighting for your people. You want to help them; you don’t just think of what they can do for you.”

I studied her, trying to decide how far I could trust her. “Why did you stop Captain Rao from attacking us in Tianxia?”

“Something didn’t seem right with the God of War, but it wasn’t a risk I was prepared to take. Needless slaughter turns my stomach. Unlike what you’ve been told, we don’t only want to feed on suffering.”

We walked slowly, nearing the entrance with the guards. There wasn’t much time left. “What do you want of me?”

I asked bluntly.

Her gaze was bright. “Swear that this discussion will remain between us. If you repeat any of this, I’ll carve your tongue out.”

“I’ll tell no one, whether you threaten me or not—as long as you swear the same,”

I said tersely. “I have as much to lose.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you; we’re used to threats here,”

she said with a half-smile. “Threats, bribes, and coercion.”

“It shouldn’t be that way.”

She sighed. “It didn’t used to be. Lord Dalian’s mother was a good ruler, if only her son took her advice. You remind me a little of her—someone who cares, who listens rather than punishing all who question.”

“If I do, it’s because I had the benefit of her advice,”

I admitted—though it was hard to remember how Aunt Shou had once guided me, without resentment or anger.

“So did Lord Dalian,”

she pointed out.

“Why did no one protest his rule before?” I asked.

“In the turmoil of our exile, we grew reliant on our leadership. Those who disagreed were easily silenced, and we became accustomed to obeying.”

She frowned. “But now the stakes are too high. With this invasion, Lord Dalian risks us all. And we don’t even know what we’re really fighting for.”

My pulse quickened. More vital than their discontent was their mistrust—an ember to be stoked, an opportunity to seize. “With the Wangchuan weakening, isn’t the invasion vital for survival?”

I asked, still guarded, even as I wanted to draw her out.

She chewed her lower lip as though weighing her words. Were they treacherous? How I hoped so.

“Where is the proof that it’s weakening?”

she asked softly. “All we have are Lord Dalian’s claims, and those of his trusted advisors. Many of us doubt, but we don’t dare say anything. And even if it’s true . . . if Lord Dalian shares the wealth of the Wangchuan River rather than hoarding most for his select few, there should be enough.”

I glanced at the gold bell fastened by my waist. Guilt pricked that while others were going hungry, I didn’t even need it. “If only the power of the river could be restored, or shared—this war could be averted.”

“If not, many of us will die,”

she said. “If the Immortal Realm unites against us this time, the Wangchuan River will run red with our blood.”

“Are there others who think like you?”

I probed, thinking of the general and captain who’d argued with Dalian.

“Yes.”

She didn’t elaborate, as cautious as me. “However, Lord Dalian has the support of most of the army. Captain Rao is a favorite, as they share the same ambitions.”

“If you weaken his standing in the army, you weaken his position.”

“They will need a firm reason to turn against him. He guards their favor well, ensuring all their appetites are met,” she said.

“It won’t be easy. It will be dangerous,”

I told her.

“Is anything worthwhile not?”

“How can we help each other?”

I asked carefully, thinking that even as I’d been hoping she might be of use to us—she’d been doing the same of me.

“We want what you want; we want the gateway to remain closed. We don’t want this war.”

Before I could protest, she continued: “I saw your face when he asked you to open the gateway. You’re only doing this for the mortal Lord Dalian holds captive.”

I didn’t reply; wary of committing myself. “Is it true keeping mortal form makes him vulnerable?”

I asked instead. “When he captured me the first time, I was surprised I could hurt him.”

“It does, and he was already weakened from opening the crack in the gateway. Sustaining it drains his strength—as did sending the void birds across to seal the skies.”

She added then, “I don’t know how he was able to do all this.”

A thought surfaced, something the mirror in the temple had told me about the Wangchuan River: Before one attempts to restore it, one should learn the cause.

“What if he’s using the river’s power for this?”

I asked slowly.

Her eyes blazed with fury. “It would be a grave betrayal—but not an impossible one.”

A brief silence fell over us. “Don’t open the gateway,”

she said flatly. “We’ll create a diversion so you can escape back to Tianxia, you and the mortal. Once you’re through, summon the immortals for aid. Seal the gateway again. Put an end to Lord Dalian’s ambitions.”

I kept a smile on my face as a guard walked past us. “If you help me, what happens to you afterward? Won’t Lord Dalian unleash his anger on you?”

Her eyes glinted. “Maybe he won’t be in power for much longer.”

Did she intend to kill him? Before I could ask more, Dalian himself stalked around the corner, his guards following close behind.

“Where have you been?”

he demanded of me.

I was glad for Lin’s warning. “I visited the town. Was I not meant to?”

His gaze flicked to Lin, then back to me. “You seem friendly with my personal guard.”

Lin bowed, interjecting smoothly, “Lord Dalian, we met by chance in the town. She was lost and I showed her the way back.”

She added in a low voice, “It was preferable to having her wander unaccompanied.”

As he nodded, she quickly moved behind him, out of sight.

“Why were you looking for me?”

I asked, to divert his attention.

“The fleet has assembled. The gateway must be opened tonight,” he said.

Inside, I was winter and ice. It was too soon; how could I get word to Zhangwei? “Why tonight?”

I studied his pallor, recalling what Lin had told me. Was he strained from sustaining the gateway? Eager to gorge on the mortals to restore himself? I’d never let that happen.

“The enchantment over the skies is waning.”

He raised his voice, letting it carry to the soldiers nearby. “We must strike quickly to secure a foothold in the Mortal Realm before the immortals descend.”

He meant Tianxia; what else lay on the other side of the gateway? Dalian’s promises were worthless. His forces would descend upon my home like locusts, devouring everything in sight.

“Come with me,”

he ordered.

My mind spun, grasping at excuses—but he was not asking, he was commanding me. If I refused, he’d drag me there anyway. Any protest would raise his suspicions, and I had to remain his ally for now. I followed him along the path that led to the pier, my breath struck from my lungs at the sight before us.

The river curled around the mountain like a sleeping serpent, streaked with those glowing bands of green. Hundreds of pale boats were moored along the riverbank, gleaming like the shards of a shattered reflection. An endless stream of soldiers boarded the vessels, armored in red and gold, weapons glinting from their hands. They moved with swift purpose as the void birds circled above, the skies rife with the promise of violence.

I had fallen into a war and ended up on the wrong side.

“Tomorrow, the sun will rise on a new order. The strong will rule, the weak will yield. Such is the way of life.”

Dalian’s eyes bored into mine. “Will you do as I ask?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Captain Rao approaching, his hand on his sword.

“I will.”

I bowed my head, hating this, and hating myself for it.

But victory was not always a straight path, the one of honor and glory. In a storm, one had to bend with the wind to remain standing—to live, to fight another day.

And the storm was upon us now.