Just ahead, towered a luminous wall of yellow marble that surrounded the Fragrant Mulberry Grove. Gold spikes ringed the top like the teeth of a comb, a powerful magic winding between the points in gleaming rivulets, seeping into the stone itself. The chariot dashed through the arched entrance, the doors sealing shut after it. Its circular panel was split into two, carved into phoenix wings on each side, the tips of their gilded feathers weaving together in a seamless embrace. Twin bodies arched along the frames, their necks grazing in the middle from where they curved into opposing directions.

As we landed, my flesh prickled with foreboding. A foolish thing to enter the dwelling of my father’s enemy uninvited. Unwelcome.

The Celestial Empress remained on her cloud. “Liwei, let them go on. Come with me to the Phoenix Kingdom. We must convince Queen Fengjin of the threat Wugang poses to the realm. Only with the armies of the Phoenix Kingdom can we reclaim what is ours.” She spoke clearly, intending to be heard. “Queen Fengjin is still keen to renew the betrothal. Our alliance is more crucial than ever. A marriage would bind them to us and we will have a place there, even if we lose the Celestial Kingdom.”

I looked away, trying to calm the erratic beat of my pulse. The empress was shrewd, striking while Liwei was ignorant of the bargain she had forced upon me. He believed I did not want to marry him, that I had given him up of my own will … that another lay in my heart, one whom he despised above all. The empress’s offer would be undeniably tempting: Why should Liwei not marry the princess? Why should he not do what was best for himself, his family and kingdom—as he had done before? I could not be selfish; I had no right to be. What was another loss today?

“No, Mother. I will not barter myself for a crown.” Liwei spoke with such resolve, the tautness in my chest loosened.

“Don’t be a fool,” the empress cried. “You can have it all back—your position, your power. Now that you know what it’s like to be without.”

He drew away from her, his expression hardening. “Don’t ask this of me again.”

“Unfilial child! What about your family? You must do this for your father and me.”

Her desperation shook me. How would Liwei feel hearing it, when she had always been so haughty and unyielding before?

“Mother, I will honor and protect you. I will fight to reclaim our position. I will ask for Queen Fengjin’s aid as our ally, but no more,” he said. “What I will not do is marry someone I do not love.”