I stared at her face, those eyes—the same shape as Liwei’s and as dark as midnight. I was a fool to not have noticed before. “She is your sister,” I breathed.

“Half-sister,” she corrected me, turning to Liwei. “Your father is my father too. Ever since I was a child, your mother detested me. It was partly my fault. I was stubborn, and not as respectful as I should have been to my stepmother. You and I weren’t close at first. You were the favored one, the precious heir.” Her words fell out like they had been held in for a long time.

“I must have been insufferable,” he said wryly.

“You were not. I envied you for taking what I thought was mine, for our father’s attention. I was young. Foolish, in so many ways.” She touched his arm. “Only later did I grow to love you. It pained me that I could not tell you who I was.”

“Why did you leave? I searched for you, but no one would tell me where you had gone,” he told her.

She dabbed the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. “Cursed tears, this is a happy day. They did not tell you because of the disgrace. I could not remain in the Immortal Realm after I chose to wed a mortal. Even if Father had permitted it, the Celestial Court would have made life a misery for us.”

“A mortal,” Liwei repeated with surprise. “Are you … happy?”

“More than I ever imagined.” A radiant smile lit her face. It vanished abruptly when she bent her head toward me. “And who are you? What claim do you have on the elixir?”

I pushed aside my reluctance to disrupt this tender moment, my fears for my father roused anew. “Tao and I stole the elixir together, then he stole it from me. Now it is mine,” I said plainly.

Beside me, Liwei stiffened. “You stole it?”

“I did not tell you. I was afraid you would stop me,” I admitted to him.

“I would have tried,” he said grimly. “What if you were caught?”

“I had to do this. My father is ill,” I explained.

As Liwei’s face darkened, Zhiyi shook her head. “I need the elixir for my husband. His mortal years are running out.”

Guilt assailed me, mingled with stark hope. “You have the elixir still? You haven’t given it to your husband?”

“Oh, I tried,” she ground out. “He would not take it, sensing something awry from Tao’s expression. The thief is not quite as skilled a liar.”

“Would you return the elixir to me?” I hardened myself, for my need was no less great. An amicable agreement seemed impossible when neither of us could be impartial, weighing my father’s life against her husband’s. But could I really fight Liwei’s sister for the elixir?

“Why is the elixir not Tao’s if you stole it together?” she countered.