How had this happened? My mind spun, the pieces falling into place: Queen Suihe’s strange words earlier, Wugang’s efforts to malign Liwei, to isolate the Celestial Emperor from his other advisors, assuming control over the Celestial Army. I had thought he was maneuvering himself to become the emperor’s sole confidant, his chosen heir—not to usurp the throne from the Celestial Emperor whose position had always seemed unassailable. Wugang’s carefully cultivated loyalty had blinded all to his true intent. He had orchestrated everything, not on the emperor’s behalf, but for himself—to seize my home and the laurel … along with the power it could bestow.

Wugang had never forgiven the Celestial Emperor and the immortals for the humiliation wreaked upon him. He had waited all this time to exact his vengeance, just as he had done with his wife and her lover. And while I could understand his pain, while I cared little for the Celestial Court—Wugang had drawn those closest to me into the vicious web of his schemes, destroying our lives with the same callousness as the immortals had ruined his.

“You are nothing but a fraud, a vile traitor, and coward.” Liwei was almost shaking from anger. “My father trusted you, he gave you everything, and this is how you repay him?”

“He trusted me because I did his bidding without complaint. His loyal servant. He gave me all I have here because he had taken everything else, forcing me from the Mortal Realm to this accursed place. I will never forget how he tormented me when I was at his mercy, and I have long awaited the day to repay him in full.”

“He honored you beyond any mortal,” Liwei said.

“By making me immortal?” A laugh erupted from Wugang’s throat. “Such arrogance among your kind. Not everyone wants to live forever. I was content with my lot: my wife, family, and work—insignificant though it may seem to you. I had everything, until it was snatched away by one of your kind. Ruining our lives upon a whim, a moment’s lust. My wife was just a diversion to him, but the damage wrought was eternal—turning my loving spouse into a despicable cheat, all my dreams into nightmares.”

His breathing came shallow and uneven. “I lost interest in everything. Consumed by despair, I even thought of ending my life. Except why should I suffer for their crimes? If I no longer cared whether I lived or died, what did it matter if I challenged the gods themselves? I could avenge myself for this dishonor, make them pay. That would make life worth living. It was the finest moment of my life to sever his immortal head from his neck. Me, an unworthy mortal.” His fingers clenched around his flute as though he was reliving the past. “You think immortality is a gift? When you care for nothing, it’s a curse.”