Page 27 of The Nightblood Prince

The room cleared without anyone’s being asked, including my sister.

“Fangyun.” I tried to call her back, but she gave me a subtle shake of her head.

“Are you okay?” Siwang moved closer, sitting in the spot Fangyun had vacated.

“I feel fine.” It wasn’t a lie. Aside from the heaviness of my limbs and the slight lethargy, I felt normal. “A little tired, maybe. That’s all.”

“I’ll ask the cooks to bring you some bone broth. You’ll feel better after you’ve eaten something.”

I nodded, awkwardly averting my gaze. “Thank you.”

Siwang glanced at the entrance, then leaned close until his lips almost grazed the shell of my ear, and I felt his hot breath tingling against my icy skin. “You killed that Beiying tiger, right?”

My breath hitched. Then I gave a small nod.

“Do I want to know why?” Siwang was too smart not to understand why the future Empress of Rong would risk her life by venturing into the perilous mountains to hunt a predator at midnight.

“You already do, my prince.”

Siwang pulled away. “I thought…I thought we’d agreed to at least try? I’ll hold off my father’s pressure for us to marry, and you’ll give me a chance to earn your heart.”

We did make this promise, a few years ago on our birthday when it became clear the emperor’s patience was wearing thin. I was so scared that Father would finally yield and set a date for our wedding that I did the only thing I could to buy myself time: enlist Siwang’s help.

It was a hollow promise, one I knew I wouldn’t keep.

I turned away. I couldn’t bear looking at Siwang’s half-parted lips, almost quivering as he looked at me with misty eyes, brimming with tears, with heartbreak. He loved me, and all I ever did was betray him and push him away. I didn’t deserve him. I had never deserved him.

My sister was right. Siwang was everything a girl should want from a match. If we were different people in a different life, I would hold on to him as tightly as he held me, and never let go.

“I don’t want to be your empress, Siwang.”

He flinched, and I could have sworn I heard something breakinside him like a snapping bone. “Is it Lan Yexue? Do you love him? Is that why?”

My breath caught at the mention of love. This was the first thing that came to his mind. Love. Not the prophecy, and not the title of emperor of all emperors. “No. I barely knew Yexue before our paths crossed in the mountains. He’s been at court for, what, two years? You know I’ve been trying to get out of this betrothal for far longer thanthat.”

“Then—”

“The two of us found each other by pure chance, nothing more,” I assured him. “If I wanted to run away with Lan Yexue, then I wouldn’t have stabbed him to save you.”

His eyes lowered. I gave him a brief recounting of what had happened, again taking caution to leave out the part where I had almost died and Yexue had saved me with his blood.

“I had no idea that Yexue was capable of such monstrous things. When he started killing your men, I…I never thought I’d put you in danger, Siwang. You have to believe me.”

Siwang’s jaw was hard with restraint. “Lan Yexue is the least of your worries right now.” A heavy exhale. He was no longer looking at me. His disappointment rippled the air, and I couldn’t blame him. I had used him and broken our promise.

A promise that I barely remembered.

A promise he had kept close to his heart.

“My father would never let you break our betrothal. Not for tradition and certainly not for a mere tiger’s pelt. You are playing with fire, Fei. If you choose this path, it won’t end well for you.”

“I’ve come too far and sacrificed too much not to see this foolish plan through,” I murmured, resisting the urge to touch the place on mychest the tiger had torn open. “This is the path I’ve chosen, and I will walk it even if my feet bleed dry. If you love me, you will let me choose my own fate.”

“You are wasting your time.”

Without thinking, I grabbed both of his hands and squeezed tight. Siwang’s breath hitched. “Help me convince your father. He might not break the betrothal for me or for the pelt of a Beiying tiger, but he will foryou.”

The light dimmed in Siwang’s eyes. “You can’t ask this of me.”

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