“I’m sorry.” These words were a thin echo of the sorrow which engulfed me. There was so much more I wanted to say, yet nothing would come, each inane phrase crumbling like sand beneath my feet. How could I ease his pain when I was drowning in it myself? I had loved Prince Yanming for the little time I knew him, while his brother had loved him all his life.

“We must go. Wugang might change his mind and return. We cannot trust so fully in his honor,” Wenzhi warned.

“I will bring him home.” Prince Yanxi slid his arms beneath his brother’s shoulders and knees, cradling him tight, as he rose slowly to his feet. His eyes were dull as they fixed upon Prince Yanming’s face, locked in unnatural stillness, this mask of death he would wear forever.

The urge beat in my chest to follow him, to see Prince Yanming laid to rest in the Eastern Sea. A selfish whim, as I should not impose myself on their hospitality, to add to their troubles when they were a kingdom in mourning.

I drew an unsteady breath, my teeth cutting into my lip. My farewells had been said; I could not ask for more. My fingers instinctively closed around the paper dragon Prince Yanming had crafted for me, its edges still crisp. A keepsake, my mind pleaded. Something to remember him by. Yet I did not need anything to keep him alive in my heart. With trembling fingers, I tucked the paper dragon into Prince Yanming’s limp hand. Bending down, I pressed my lips to his cold forehead … and I wept. Tears surged into my eyes, running down my cheeks. My breaths came ragged and hoarse. For never again, would he fling his arms around me, never again would I hear his bright laughter.

“Thank you,” Prince Yanxi said quietly. “Yanming would have liked that. He talked about the dragons all the time. He loved their stories best.”

The Pearl Dragon glided toward him, its scales shimmering like silvered snow. He was a rare spirit. I would bear him on this final journey. I would bear you both.

Prince Yanxi hesitated before bowing low. “It would be our honor.”

The Pearl Dragon shook its mane, a mist forming around the Eastern Sea princes that lifted them onto its back. With painstaking gentleness, Prince Yanxi laid his brother’s head against his chest. How peaceful he looked; lashes curled like half-moons grazing his rounded cheeks. If only I could delude myself that he was asleep, though even in slumber he could never have kept so still. With a graceful bound, the Pearl Dragon soared into the sky toward the Eastern Sea. I stared after them until they were swallowed by the dark. Had the sun set? I did not notice, the stars shining upon us now.