Page 120 of A Forgery of Fate

“How could I forget? You drilled those silly rules into me for an entire month. No details. Business is business.”

“Very good,” he said. “I stand by the third rule.”

I wanted to smack him on both sides of his blasted face. “You’re impossible.”

“Wait, Tru.” Elang caught my sleeve before I turned away. He hadn’t meant to sour the mood. I could tell by the twist of his lips that he wished he could take back his words. Gaari had been the same.

“You asked if any of it was real. My name was real.”

“Your name?”

“My human name—the name I was born with—was Gaarin, but my mother called me Gaari.” A deep breath. “When I met you, I chose it so it’d feel less like a lie. I knowit won’t make up for what I did, but I would have told you everything from the start, if I could have.”

“You made up the third rule so I wouldn’t ask questions.”

“I made it up so we couldn’t become too close.”

“Because of your curse.” I understood. “You don’t want me to break it. Why?”

He shook his head. He wouldn’t tell me. He couldn’t.

“Damn it, Elang,” I said, throwing up my hands. I rose and twisted away to leave, but blast my foolish tongue. “Are you in love with me?”

That question changed the air between us. The line of his mouth went taut, and the beleaguered look in his eyes washed away, his dragon nature taking primacy as he let out a low, vexed growl. “Do you remember the promise I made you on the day we were married?”

My thoughts drifted back to that summer day in Gangsun, to the rain and the hanging red lanterns. It felt so far away, yet I could practically smell the smoke from the firecrackers, the horses outside Elang’s carriage, when I was about to receive his brusque instruction:

“ ‘If I show you kindness or favor,’ ” I said, “ ‘it means nothing. If I give you a gift, or bestow upon you praise, it means nothing. Everything is for appearances only, and should you occupy a place in my thoughts, it is only to facilitate the mission we have agreed upon.’ ”

“And there you have your answer,” Elang said. The light in his eyes was gone. “This Luminous Hour is over.”

He was right. The pearls were sweeping away, and the golden cast that had illuminated the sea faded. I let myself sink, feeling as hollow and gray as the waters around me.

“Make your preparations,” he said, putting distance between us. “We depart for Jinsang at darkest tide.”

He spun back for the castle, leaving me behind.

Once he was out of sight, I yanked the waterbell out of my hair. So much for fates bound across lifetimes.

Yet as the flower sat on my palm, petals falling one by one, I thought of the other promise he had made on our wedding day:I bind you to me, Tru Saigas. Until the end of our days upon this earth, under this heaven, and across the seas, our fates are one, our destinies entangled. Whatever course you may wend, I will follow.

Too late, I wondered if he’d remembered the same.

Chapter Thirty-Four

That night, Elang and I left the Westerly Seas. We told no one of our departure, and only Shani joined us, adopting her stingray shape and soaring through the water. I rode on her back as we quietly pierced the castle wards and trailed the pearls toward Jinsang.

The seas grew rougher the farther we traveled, and more than once, we encountered Nazayun’s patrols. Elang had prepared a drowsing potion, and whenever he could, he fired little darts at the sharks so they would sleep instead of pursuing us. Half the time, it worked. The other half made for a long night.

At dawn I saw the Floating Mountains. They levitated in the sea, tall and rounded like a series of camel humps. It mystified me, how there was nothing underneath them. No roots, no base. Only vast and empty sea.

Jinsang was on the other side of the mountains. Patches of verdant seagrass started appearing among the rocks, hatting the bald mounds, and the water turned bluer by the second.

Elang took my arm as we ascended to the upper seas. All night he had been quiet, only speaking to warn of nearby patrols or update me on our progress. His jaw was set, and his lips were pale. I wondered what was on his mind.

“We’ve arrived,” he said softly, once we could see an emerald green valley beyond the gray plains. “Welcome to Jinsang.”

I smelled the sea flowers first. They turned the water sweet, and I moistened my lips as I lifted my gaze. I’d expected the heart of Ai’long to be dazzling, even in comparison to Nanhira. Even then, I wasn’t prepared. I gasped.

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