Page 21 of The Nightblood Prince

I wasn’t a divine token capable of changing destinies; I had watched Siwang die too many times in blistering dreams to believe my faithless prophecy was of any worth. Even if I had magic and the mark of a phoenix between my brows, I wasn’t the fallen goddess the world wanted to believe I was.

“There is a second choice, Fei. You can just leave, and not lookback.”

I laughed. “You want me to run away, like you?”

“Run away like me…or maybe run awaywithme? I can get you out of Rong. I can take you to Lan and hide you where no one will find you. When the storm passes, you’ll be free to do whatever you want, go wherever you want. You said you want freedom, Fei. I can give you that freedom.”

“Are you out of your mind? If I ran away with you, the Rong emperor would hunt us until they reach the edge of the skies and the ends of earth; they would not stop until they found us. Rong would start wars to get me back.”

“I’m not scared of him, or his empire,” Yexue said. “If you are set on disobeying fate, I don’t think the Emperor of Rong will let you live. I think if you don’t marry his son, he will make sure you never marry anyone at all.”

“Siwang won’t let anything happen to me.”

“?????:our hearts are separated by skin and flesh.How can you know that for sure?”

“It’s a risk I will have to take. I can’t run away with you and put both you and your people in danger.”

“You have no idea what I’m capable of,” he said, gazing down at his hands. “You are not the only one who wishes to defy fate. Have you ever met the stargazer who first spoke your prophecy?”

“When I was younger, yes. I don’t remember her well, just that she was tall, had long dark hair like the night sky and wide-set amber eyes. She was pretty and gave me sweets.”

Yexue laughed at this last part. “Child Fei had her priorities straight.”

“She was kind, but the older I grew, the more…frightened she became of me.”

“Do you know why?”

My worst instincts pricked. “I had no idea you were so interested in the stargazer.”

He smiled. “Like I said, you are not the only one who wishes to defy fate. And I imagine you are not the only one who wants answers for being…different? I had looked for the stargazer when I arrived in the capital, but I never found her. Some say she retired to the countryside,while others say she either was exiled or ran away. Do you know where she has gone?”

“I don’t.” A lie. I lay down and turned away from him before he could say anything else. “Good night, I am tired now.”

I heard the shuffle of clothes as Yexue moved to the other side of the fire. “Good night, Little Goddess.”

10

Hooves thundered after me, riders chasing prey.

I’ve been caughtwas my first thought.

I won’t go down without a fightwas my second.

I reached for my arrows by instinct, bow already sliding from my back.

But when I turned, arrow nocked and bow drawn, fingers at the edge of a deadly shot, all the air vanished from my lungs, because I was not staring into the eyes of a predator or even prey. I was staring into the wide eyes of the one boy I could never hurt.

At my heels wasn’t a small army of guards and soldiers, or captains with brandished swords here to capture and return me to that sweltering palace.

It was Siwang.

My stern, beautiful Siwang with his bronzed face and moon-carved eyes, lips exquisite and plush like blooming petals. His face of immaculate angles, as if molded by the creator goddess Nüwa herself. A haunting sight that always stopped me in my tracks.

When our eyes met, I expected his face to soften from vicious bloodlust to the tender benevolence I was used to.

It didn’t.

A snap of the reins, and his stallion charged forth with all the might of a thoroughbred raised for the battlefield. Siwang drew his weapon. If the bow he’d used yesterday morning was reserved for stags and wolves, then this was something else entirely.

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