Page 83 of The Nightblood Prince

Yexue laughed and handed her the money, then offered me his hand. “Tie it for me.”

An order.

“You don’t strike me as someone so superstitious,” I grumbled, but did as he asked.

“I believe what I want to believe in.” Once I was done, Yexue took the red string from my hand. “May I?”

I held my hand out, expecting him to tie it around my wrist like I had done for him. Instead, he tied one end to the third finger of my left hand and the other to his finger. “Those from beyond the western seas say this finger holds a vein that is linked directly to our hearts,” he said casually. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. “Caughtyou.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks; I was suddenly too aware of his imposing stature and broad shoulders, the cold of his touch and the hardness of his body. “People are watching.”

“Let them.” He gripped my hand tighter and continued to guide me through the city as the people all but knelt for him like he was some kind of god. “I’m not the man you see on the battlefield,” he continued as we ascended the stone steps that led up the city walls. “I’m good to my people. I offer every city the chance to surrender, and I don’t abandon them in ruins in favor of the next conquest. I take the time to mend the infrastructure of every city I capture. I want every person who lives under my rule to be happy, their bellies full and their homes warm.”

From atop the city walls, I looked out at the bustling streets andjubilant citizens, then at the soldiers stationed on the streets at regular intervals, still on alert.

Yexue’s eyes followed my mine. “These people look happy, don’t they? They will thrive under my reign; I’ll make sure of it.”

“And if they don’t want to be ruled by you?” From the buzzing streets, it appeared that many had knelt for Yexue and surrendered in the name of peace. But did they really have a choice?

Yexue could rebuild on the ashes of these claimed lands all he wanted, but the damage was already done. Each conquered city was a shredded painting: no matter how hard he tried to piece it back together, it would never be whole again.

“When I was a child, my father told me that good emperors are the good men who rule by respect, not fear. But if the end result is the same, does it matter how we got there?”

I whirled to him. “In other words, your main objective is still more land, more resources, more power.”

He shrugged. “In history, no kind man has ever amassed the sort of power and respect it takes to build an empire, regardless of how hard they pretend. A dragon will die without a head, and society will crumble without a leader who upholds law and order. I want to be a good emperor, but a good emperor does not necessarily mean a kind emperor.”

“Every emperor is a tyrant, deep down,” I grumbled, and Yexue chuckled. He watched me with that same amusement and curiosity he had a year ago in the northern mountains.

“Do you include your beloved Prince of Rong in that list of tyrants?”

I straightened.Yes, I do,was the answer I kept to myself. However, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being compared with Siwang.

“Do you know that he sent men into my cities disguised as refugees, fire powder hidden in their clothes?” he added after a beat of silence. “With cries for Rong, they threw firebombs at children before setting themselves alight. That is the real reason we are still tangled in this gods-forsaken conflict. Not because of my greed, but because of Rong Siwang’s pride.”

“You are lying,” I said without thinking. I refused to believe we were talking about the same righteous Siwang I had known my whole life. But my eyes drifted down to the scorched streets below us. “Your soldiers aremonsters.How do you explain that?”

“Is that what your prince has told you?”

Not my prince.“I’ve seen them with my own eyes. I watched them raid a village and—”

“Not everything that appears monstrousismonstrous, my goddess. Yes, while some of my soldiers are humans, some are…not.But neither am I, technically. And neither are you.”

I stilled. On the horizon, the sun was beginning to set, painting the skies in brilliant hues. Below us, children’s laughter could be heard as parents herded them home. “Say what you mean, Lan Yexue.”

Yexue leaned against the wall, watching me admire his city. “Have you ever wondered why I risked my life to heal you when I knew Siwang would have an ambush ready?”

The prophecywas my first thought. But if that was the reason, he would have taken me that night instead of telling me to run.

Yexue’s fingertips grazed mine. He watched me with bated breath, waiting to see how I would react.

I didn’t pull away. When he had touched me a year ago in that cave, his skin had been warm. Now it was so cold that it sent shivers up my body.

“We are the same, Fei,” he said. “Born with magic in our veins, and prophecies marking our fates.”

“Prophecies?”Plural.

“You didn’t think you were the only one whose fate was written in the stars, did you?” His smile faltered, the light in those eyes dimmed, just a little. “The empress of all empresses. Your prophecy was echoed by many across the continent, not just by those who worshipped different gods but also those who worshipped the land and the sky.”

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