Fortunately, all seemed calm outside. The alarm had not been raised, perhaps because we had left the throne room in such chaos. Yet at any moment, the queen’s soldiers might be rushing forth to apprehend us, or the emperor’s troops might arrive.

“We must be careful,” I warned the others as we approached the passageway. “If the guards suspect anything, they will seal the tunnel—the only way out from here. We would be trapped like fireflies in a jar.”

Four soldiers guarded the entrance, none of whom I had met before. “Who are you? What business do you have here?” one of them demanded brusquely.

“We are Queen Suihe’s guests,” I replied as calmly as I could.

Another studied us, her eyes narrowing. “Her Majesty commanded that the passage be kept clear for the royal guests from the Four Seas. You must wait your turn, until their arrival.”

“Queen Suihe gave us permission to leave today,” Shuxiao said with a smile.

As the guard shook her head, light flared from Wenzhi’s hand, hurtling into the point between her eyes. The other soldiers aimed their spears at us, yet Wenzhi’s power arced wide, striking them swiftly. The soldiers’ eyelids sank shut as they collapsed upon the ground like limp pieces of string.

“Why did you do that?” As I pressed Ping’er’s pearl into the carved creature’s eye socket, the door swung open.

Wenzhi shrugged. “They were rude and suspicious. Better to catch them by surprise.”

I stared at the unconscious guards. “Are they—”

“They are asleep. I know your preferences in such things, Xingyin,” Wenzhi replied.

“You know nothing of her,” Liwei said coldly as we slipped into the tunnel.

“Is that right?” The mocking lilt in Wenzhi’s tone was intended to infuriate. “Xingyin and I spent years together, battling creatures beyond your nightmares, seeing places you have only dreamed of. We have camped beneath the skies, at the foothills of the Mortal Realm, in palaces and in tents. I know more of her than you ever will, sitting in a classroom surrounded by teachers.”

I burned hot and cold at his words, anger rising at his presumption. “None of what we had was real; none of it meant anything.”

“It was real,” Wenzhi said quietly. “Lie to me all you want, just don’t lie to yourself.”

An ache pulsed in my chest. When he spoke to me in this earnest manner, it chipped away at the barrier I had built against him. But I would never relent, I would guard myself better this time—my heart could not withstand more hurt.