A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea #1) (49)

“Your third challenge honors the virtue of wisdom. You will continue to the next round in pairs,” she states. “Choose your partner.”

I’m surprised she would permit us to form our own alliances. Lian and I step closer to one another without hesitation. The others do the same, having already formed their own bonds.

“We will—” Elder Guo’s eyes narrow as her words break off. The floor beneath our feet begins to shake. Her head swivels to the door. In the distance, there is the sound of drums.

Wenyi is the one who jumps forward first, throwing the windows open, revealing the courtyard below. Rows of soldiers march in time, sending tremors throughout the grounds of the palace. The air is suddenly filled with the sound of beating wings, the caged birds attempting to take flight, sensing danger.

Someone wails, the words ringing clearly across the rooftops, bringing everyone to their knees:

“The emperor has ascended! Long will he be remembered! The emperor has ascended! Long will he be remembered!”





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


We are escorted out of the Hall of Reflection, directed to return to our residences. But we quickly enter into chaos, the gardens teeming with soldiers. I’m separated from the other competitors, trying to get my bearings, but I’m refused entry to a gate that appears familiar, then I’m funneled down another corridor until I am lost again. I’m gripped by the same panic as in the market, the drums beating a frantic beat in the distance, causing my own heartbeat to quicken.

“Clear a path!” Soldiers bark at a cluster of servants, many of whom are weeping.

My head turns and I see another group of people dressed in the finery of nobles, but one seems to have collapsed into a faint. I follow another group of servants, hurrying past, hoping they will lead me back to the servants’ wing where I belong. But someone bumps into me, then I’m grabbed by an arm clasped in armor, pulling me in another direction.

“Wait!” I protest. “You’ve got the wrong person!”

The soldier who has ahold of me stops and bends down toward me, lifting his helmet up slightly to unveil the face beneath.

“Kang?” I half gasp, then, realizing my mistake in uttering that name in the open, I speak quickly, hoping no one else overheard. “You didn’t come last night.”

But I immediately regret those words. It sounds like too much wanting, too much of myself revealed.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me again,” he says. I catch a glimpse of a smile before it is once again hidden beneath the helmet.

Before I can say anything else, another shadow looms over us: a soldier with jutting wings of gold rising from his black helmet. The fine designs of his shoulders and the etchings of the grimacing demon on his chest plate indicate someone of a high rank. I freeze, certain he has seen through Kang’s disguise.

“Servants are to return to their residences,” he barks. “Upon order of the chancellor.”

“Acknowledged, Marshal.” Kang quickly clasps his hands into a salute, and his hand returns to my elbow. “Let’s go.”

We hurry together as fast as we can, my steps keeping time with his, until we are through the gardens and past another moon gate. We have returned to the Scholar’s Garden, next to the black spire of the library pagoda.

“Down this way.” He gestures, and we turn the corner onto the Path of Contemplation. With a jolt I recognize the stone lions, the black and white pebbles. The instructions of the princess loom before me: Discover what he has planned.

I suddenly feel like I am wandering through a maze of brambles, every turn a threat.

When he is certain there is no one to overhear us, Kang pulls off his helmet. “When I heard that the news about the emperor had been released, I knew it meant the window for her to make a choice about me was swiftly closing,” he says, too close and too earnest. Ever so casual for a man who is speaking about his possible execution. “But I don’t want to be remembered by you as a man who does not keep his word.”

I’ll see you again. A promise as soft as petals falling.

“What do you think she will decide?” I ask. “To lift the exile or…” I cannot even say it.

He inclines his head. “At least I will die having fought for my people.”

It reminded me of his sincerity when he said he would ask for leniency, not for himself, but for everyone back home. Silver Needle has already told me the truth. If what I can find from him can ease the princess’s suspicions, perhaps his life will be spared.

“Do you know a way out of the palace?” I ask.

There is a flurry of footsteps on the other side of the wall, and he pulls me into another alcove, this one housing a small bamboo grove and a wooden carving of flowers.

“Why do you ask?”

To spend more time with you. To find out more of your secrets. To save you … or expose you.

I know I need to choose the rest of my words carefully. “Our paths run parallel, in a way. Soon you will face the judgment of the princess, and my future will be decided in the next round of the competition.” My finger runs over the smoothness of the bamboo, marveling at how nature still grows here, stifled in this small plot of dirt and limited circle of sky. “But you mentioned our day in Jia, and I’m reminded how happy I was that day as well. Freer than I’ve ever felt before. I wonder if we can return to that, even for an hour.”