The Last Dahlia

038

"Mmm, and?"

"The monks suspected that Wudi was wielding dark magic."

"Dark magic? Not that again."

Yuehwa wished they had left this insidious magic behind in the Dahai palace, destroyed along with the bronze guardsmen. Unfortunately it seemed determined to latch onto her—and its footprint was growing. She grimaced, thinking about the mysterious hand that had stolen her brother away from her and the hidden force that was trying to devour the kingdoms.

"If they were right, then Hwang Nanzhe must have discovered a way to combat the dark forces of the Wudi empire in order for him to eventually claim victory. What if the monks of Horanjit were a part of this? What if the answer to defeating the power of dark magic came from right here?"

The strong winds from the mountaintops howled in the distance, as if they carried the voices of the ghosts that still haunted these grounds. Yuehwa took another look at the ruins around her, then at the silhouette of the commander who was still standing vigil for his fallen brethren. She sighed.

The bandits responsible for the Horanjit massacre had already been captured and sentenced to death by Feng officials, a short two months after the horrific incident. An entire clan of thirty-six, dragged out from their mountain lodge and hung in front of city gates as a warning to any others who dared harbour similar intentions. Yuehwa had only been a child then, but she remembered hearing about it from General Han. She didn't know if Ru Fei witnessed the hangings for himself, but she reckoned he would have. For closure.

How would he react if he found out that they had punished the wrong people for this crime?

#

"We can leave at the break of dawn. Ru Fei knows another way down the mountain from here. It should lead us back to the entrance of the Tangshan Pass," Yuehwa said.

She leapt up deftly, joining Shoya on the roof—or barely half a roof, to be precise—of the sole section of the temple compound that still remained partially standing.

He was lying on his back and staring up at the blinking stars.

"They saved some roasted rabbit for you, but I reckon it'll be gone if you don't come quickly," she added.

The rest of their men had returned to the warmth of the cavern, as temperatures in the mountains dropped several notches in the night. A light flurry of snow was falling from the skies, dusting her hair and shoulders.

"It's alright," Shoya replied. "I'm not hungry."

Yuehwa peered down at him curiously. Shoya had said little since their earlier conversation about the first king of Feng and his battle against the old Wudi empire, and it looked as if there were things occupying his mind. This place bothered him—and it bothered her too. The link that Shoya had with the forgotten past bothered her, because it felt like a part of him she could never share.

He reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her down. Her fingers touched the white jade tiles of the roof, and to her surprise, the surface was warm instead of freezing cold.

"One of the mountain's best kept secrets," Shoya said. "Jilin jade emits heat. Would have kept the inhabitants of the temple comfortably warm even in these year-round wintry conditions."

Yuehwa followed his lead and lay down against the tiles. It was one of life's greatest enjoyments, she decided, to be lying here with warmth caressing her back and frosty winds nipping at her cheeks, admiring the tapestry of the heavens above. It had been a long while since she had felt—free.