Page 71 of The Nightblood Prince

I could still atone for my mistake, showing Lan Yexue mercy when I should have driven my blade through his heart and ended his tyranny before it could begin. But by protecting Siwang, and helping him win this war however I could, it was still possible to prevent my nightmares from coming true.

Fate had given me my powers for a reason. If I could wield them and foresee the future, we might have a chance at achieving the impossible.If not by defeating Lan once and for all, then at least by reminding them that Rong was not an empire they could conquer so easily.

I took in the hollowed faces of those who were paying the price of this war.

They were the people these supposed “heaven mandated” emperors and armies should be fighting for. Not to conquer, but to protect. Instead, they waged wars for pride and greed, and passed these human lives from one rapacious hand to another. Lan might claim these lands from Rong today, but someday someone would claim these lands from Lan. As was the way of life.

Empires rise, empires fall.

However, the ones whose hunched backs built these empires were always the first to suffer. The collateral damage, seeking refuge in any city that would take them, praying for the amity that might never come and a bounteous son of heaven who might not exist.

When would these borderlands know peace?

If I condemned myself to a life behind palace walls, would that buy the continent a few decades of peace?

…Or could there be another way to fulfill the prophecy and become empress of all empresses?

I pushed the thought away before it could take root.

To become an empress, I had to first rescue my prince from certaindeath.

40

When the stench of rotting bodies hit the back of my throat, I gagged.

I saw the dying before I saw the battlefield.

A scene torn from my nightmares.

A path soaked in blood, covered in corpses and the injured. Even Beifeng, who had no doubt seen more than his fair share of violence, flinched upon the harrowing sight. His hooves hesitated at the scattered limbs and chunks of torn flesh.

I caught glimpses of some familiar faces. Men with whom I had eaten and laughed with around campfires, whose families I had met through their well-worn stories.

Something inside me shuddered, and my better instincts begged me to turn back. To run from this place as fast as I could.

I kicked Beifeng into motion, followed the crimson trail despite my wrenching stomach. It was too late to save these men, but it wasn’t too late for Siwang.

I shifted the bow from my back, arrows already in hand.

Siwang.His name was the only thing that could drown out the terror in my bones.

Siwang.

Siwang.

I thought of his name like a chant, hoped Fate’s magic would lead me to him.

Dread clutched me tight until I heard the screams. In the distance, I saw blurry shadows of men who moved faster than what should be possible—though not as fast as Yexue. Red-eyed soldiers in bloodstained twilight-blue uniforms—the color of the Lan dynasty—circled what should have been a mighty battalion of elite soldiers, now dwindled to just dozens of men, being picked apart one by one.

Still, the Rong soldiers remained united in formation, forming a wall around Siwang, ready to protect their prince until their dying breath.

I snapped the reins to prompt Beifeng into a full charge, nocked an arrow onto my bow, and waited for Fate’s magic to guide me. But I saw nothing,feltnothing. There was no hand of Fate guiding me. I touched my forehead. Nothing was covering my mark.

No.I willed a vision to come, but there was nothing. Another cruel reminder that I couldn’t do anything right. My only skill was not even mine to control.Fine, I will do this the old-fashioned way.I fired the first shot, but the vampires’ instincts were sharp and their bodies were fast. My target dashed out of the way before the arrow was anywhere near it. I wasn’t even close, however I wasn’t shooting to kill. I wanted their attention, and to buy Siwang time to run.

“Oh, look, another fool!” one of the vampires cackled, and I was stunned by how human he sounded.

“Run, Siwang!” I cried.

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