Wugang’s lips twitched into the semblance of a smile. “A chance to alter the course of the future lies before us. Don’t you want vengeance on those who schemed against you? Acknowledge me as emperor, swear to me your fealty and that of your family—and I will grant you dominion over the Four Seas.” His voice softened, growing intimate. “Us of the realm below must cleave together. Who else might we trust? Certainly not those who treated us as playthings for their entertainment, blessing or cursing us upon a whim.”

When my father said nothing, Wugang continued, “Are you not grateful that I reunited you with your wife?”

Beside me, my mother stiffened. “You sent the note?”

Wugang nodded somberly. “It gave me much satisfaction to play a part in your reunion.”

“You did it to further your own ends, to cast my mother into disfavor so you could seize our home,” I seethed, half-fearing that Wugang’s words might resonate with my father—mortal until yesterday, decades of resentment roiling in his gut for being played false by the Celestial Emperor. But even if my father were inclined to form an alliance with Wugang … the woodcutter would remain my eternal enemy.

“I will not join you. I do not care for your methods,” my father said bluntly. “Attacking my wife and daughter. Murdering their beloved friend. Desecrating the resting place of the deceased. Some boundaries should never be crossed.”

“You disappoint me.” Venom slicked Wugang’s tone. “I believed you a great man from the legends—ambitious, ruthless, sharp. A true blade, honed to perfection. And now, I find you blunted and dulled. As pitiful as those mortals you lived among, burdened by false morality and useless emotion. Once you wielded the power of the dragons—you could have crushed your enemies, challenged the Celestial Emperor, seized the reins of the realm. Except you chose a life in isolation, leaving yourself vulnerable. No wonder greatness eluded you then. No wonder it eludes you still. Your name might be known, but do you wield any real power? Love has made you weak.”

Anger seared my veins. I would have lunged forward, but my father’s touch on my arm halted me.

“I fight my own battles.” He faced Wugang, his back pulled straight. “We each choose the path we walk. For myself, I choose my family instead of those mindless troops you surround yourself with. No honest soldier will follow you, for you have the heart of a coward—striking in the dark, afraid of dissent, craving obedience when you did nothing to earn it. You created this army because you cannot win the allegiance of the living. While they will never betray you, neither will they ever respect, honor, or love you.”