“Tao,” I told her. “His sister is the Keeper of Mortal Fates’ apprentice, but she is ignorant of this matter.” I did not want to implicate her. All I wanted was the elixir, and I hoped it was not too late.

“A known troublemaker.” A speculative gleam shone in her eyes. “I have heard of this one.”

She had agreed too readily. I searched for something to bind her as irrevocably as she had done to me. Liwei was whom she loved the most, but I could not ask her to swear on his life. So, I would hold her instead to what she most despised.

“Do this, and I will honor my promise to you. However, if you break your word to me, our deal is void and I will be free of my vow. I will be free to marry Liwei, to take your place as the Celestial Empress.” She would hate the thought of me upon her throne as much as I would; she would do anything to prevent it from happening.

Her chin jutted out. “I will keep my word. You are a fool for ever imagining that you are good enough for him. You will never be the empress.”

“I have no desire to be one, especially seeing the joy it gives you.” A brutal jab, but she had taken enough from me already. I had driven the hardest bargain I could, and still she had won.

Her face went pale, then flushed darkly. “Are we agreed?”

“Yes.” The word left a bitter tang in my mouth.

It was done. Her lips stretched wide like those of a well-fed hyena. “Tomorrow evening. I will weaken the wards and you can enter the palace without fear of discovery. You may mask yourself in invisibility, do whatever you need to get to Liwei. I will keep my husband and Wugang occupied, but you must dispatch the soldiers guarding my son. I cannot dispose of them without suspicion. Be warned, I will offer no aid should you be caught. No one will take your word over mine.”

Her gaze shifted to the back of the teahouse where Wenzhi sat. “The Demon must not accompany you into the palace; I can do nothing about the wards against his kind, for those are crafted by my husband. Moreover, he cannot be linked to my son; they will accuse him of treachery and worse. You must take no chances with Liwei’s life, nor can there be any doubt that this is your doing.”

I forced my mind to clear, to untangle it from my emotions. “Where will Liwei be?”

“He has been moved to quarters east of the palace. I will ensure the thief will be placed with him. You must move swiftly, plan your escape well; you won’t have much time once the alarm is sounded.” Her tone pulsed with warning. “If anything happens to my son, you will pay a hundred times over.”