Book 2, Sequel to "The Concubine's Apprentice"
"Are you done?"
Her blood ran cold as she realized she wasn't alone. She looked up and through the reflection, she saw the source of her suffering, the bane of her existence.
Her mentor.
"Ye...
A much simpler, humbler life that of a florist. But one that was decent and honorable.
Hesitating for a few seconds, Kei Lo finally decided to gather his courage and hold Mai's hand. Truthfully, he expected her to either pull away in disgust, or hit him for even daring to do so. Instead, she laced her slender fingers with his.
There was no change in her expression at all, but if one looked closely enough, there was the vaguest hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.
"I still can't believe you wouldn't go out with me until my leg healed..." He grumbled, pouting a bit.
In response, she rolled her eyes. "Casts are so unattractive. And I'm still not over the fact that you keep that girl's autograph in a frame in your room..."
"No, no, that wasn't it! I mean, it took you this long to trust me, like really trust me."
"Maybe, but that's because you don't make sense to me. I don't get why you would betray the New Ozai Society."
"I've told you over and over." Kei Lo stopped walking and faced her, looking into her eyes. "It's because of you..."
"Exactly. That makes no sense!"
He sighed deeply and searched for the words to convey his sincerity. "I joined the society because I wanted to belong to something. I couldn't care less about all that political stuff. I-I lost my parents when I was young... And since then, I've been bounced from one place to another..."
Kei Lo felt her hand reach for his cheek and he opened his eyes. Mai looked at him with half-lidded, searching eyes. "And now?"
"Meeting you made me realize that I don't want to belong to something anymore. I want to belong to someone." He smiled, holding the hand on his cheek and slowly leaning in for a kiss.
A scream broke them from their trance and they immediately sought out its source. Mai trembled slightly when she realized that it came from the flower shop at the end of the road. "Mom!" She ran ahead of Kei Lo, reaching into her robes for her weapons.
With ghost-like movements, a group of dark-clad figures emerged from the flower shop and ran across the rooftops.
"YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!" Mai threw a couple of daggers, but they all missed their intended targets. "What were you doing in our shop?!"
Once Kei Lo had caught up, she used his shoulder to jump onto the roof and chase the cloaked figures. "I said, STOP! Who are you and what do you want?!"
"We already have what we want."
The assailants stopped and so did she. As they turned around to face her, she did not heed the masks beneath the cloaks, nor the distorted voice with which the cloaked figure spoke. Her gaze was focused on the child they were holding.
Her baby brother.
"Tom-Tom!" Mai lunged for them, but she was too late. When she was a few inches away from snatching one of them, they vanished up in thick smoke that made her eyes and throat burn, rendering her immobile.
When the smoke cleared, they were gone, and so was her brother.
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