Page 25 of Dynasty of the Wicked

“He’ll kill me if you leave me in here,” the old man said, pointing back at Feng Mian, and then motioning toward his bloodied missing ear. “See what he did to me? I can’t stay locked in here with him!”

The soldier frowned, staring at the wound, before shrugging. “Sorry. I can’t help?—”

“I need medical help! Can’t you at least take me to the physician?” The old man pressed himself against the bars, his voice cracking. “Please!”

The soldier hesitated, and the old man seemed to catch onto that, because he continued, “It won’t take long. I just need to geta few stitches. I’m already feeling lightheaded because of all the blood loss. What if I die like this? I’m a valuable prisoner of war! It’ll be a shame if I die here while under your watch!”

Finally, the boy sighed and entered the tent. “Fine. I’ll take you to the physician, but I can’t separate the three of you for long.”

Zhi Ruo expected Feng Mian to jump at the boy-soldier when he opened the cage and dragged the old man out, but he did no such thing. And it wasn’t until the door to the cage swung shut and was locked that Zhi Ruo realized Feng Mian wasn’t going to do anything.

When it was just the two of them, she spoke. “Why didn’t you try to escape like last time? That soldier looked so young and easily manipulated. I think we could have taken him out.”

“Now that we’re planning to escape with magic, it would be a waste trying to get ourselves killed in a reckless, unplanned attack like that. We got rather lucky last time that Wyer didn’t cripple either of us.” He frowned and his silver eyes glowed amber in the orange firelight. “We have to get them to lower their guard so that when we do strike, they won’t expect it.”

Zhi Ruo nodded slowly. “You mean whenIstrike?”

“Yes.” The corner of his mouth curled. “Whenyoustrike, because you’ll be harnessing my magic.”

“This is perfect, then, isn’t it?” She waved toward the empty cage, but then remembered he couldn’t see, so she cleared her throat. “I mean, that we’re alone here. We can practice magic.”

A flicker of doubt passed over Feng Mian’s face, so suddenly that she almost thought she’d dreamed it. The nonchalant expression he now wore was like a mask snapping in place, hiding whatever he truly felt.

Zhi Ruo shivered. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I …” He sighed and his breath fogged in front of him. He rolled his broad shoulders and shifted into a more comfortableposition, but Zhi Ruo could read the discomfort in his posture from a mile away.

“What is it?” she repeated, hating the way her voice wobbled. “Are you having second thoughts about marrying me? I understand that I’m likely not someone you would have wanted to be with?—”

“No,” he snapped, and then winced at the loudness of it in the quiet tent. He continued, softer this time, “No.”

In the distance, the wind howled and Zhi Ruo’s chest tightened uncomfortably. “Then why do you look so … guilty? So full of doubt?”

“Is that what you see?” He tilted his head to the side, then sighed again. “I didn’t mean to worry you, it’s just that … I fear you will be consumed by my magic.”

Zhi Ruo’s eyebrows came together and she waited for him to elaborate, when he didn’t, she said, “But this is something I already considered, so what’s the problem?”

“You don’t understand the extent of my magic, Princess.” Feng Mian’s voice dropped to a whisper and his face turned toward her, as if seeking her out. “My magic thrives on evil, on dark thoughts, on violence, on wicked temptation. It corrupts me, it shortens my life with every use, and it will … do the same to you if you try to tap into it.”

It was something she had feared, but didn’t quite understand. A part of her hated that he had kept this from her, but she also knew that even if she knew the extent of it, she still would have chosen this path. “It’s better than becoming Wyer’s wife,” she said with a shudder, remembering the way he had pinned her to the floor and pressed himself against her. How he had threatened to assault her if she tried to escape again. “I will never be his plaything, his war prize.” She spat the word like it was poison. “Don’t start feeling guilty now. I knew your magic was cursed when I decided to marry you.”

Feng Mian grasped the end of his sleeve and slowly rolled it up. The wind blew against the thin walls of the tent, making it shudder and slap against the cage. Zhi Ruo jumped, glancing around the darkening room, and then turned back to Feng Mian. She had just opened his mouth to ask him something, but her thoughts came to a screeching halt and she gasped at the sight of his pale arm.

Black, raised, spidery veins pulsed along his arm, like writhing shadows beneath his flesh, the lines bulging. They faded the closer they got to his extremities, and it reminded her of somethingspreading.

“Is that …” Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. “Your curse?”

His face was made of dark shadows and harsh edges. “Yes. It stopped extending once I had these cuffs on, but eventually, it’ll completely consume me and corrode my soul and body.Thisis the price to pay for my magic.”

“You …” Zhi Ruo didn’t know if she should reach over and comfort him, or slap him as hard as she could. She bunched her fists together, her voice barely controlled. “You didn’t tell me any of this before wemarriedeach other.”

He lowered his head, a shuttered look passing over his beautiful features. “I know.”

She had known that his magic would curse her too, but seeing the manifestation of it, how harsh and painful it appeared, made her realize just how terrible it was. She had foolishly thought that it wouldn’t be that bad. That she would get a slap on the wrist and be done with it after they escaped. But this … this looked permanent.

“So it’s either marry a man who wants to use me as a pawn for his own selfish reasons, who will conquer me, rape me, and treat me like a slave …” She whispered the words out quickly in fear that she would burst into tears if she slowed down to feel the weight of them. Her voice wavered between panic and rage. “Orpractice your magic and slowlydiewhile looking like a hideous, black-veinedmonster.”

He flinched at her words.

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