I breathed out, a little of my tension easing—though something picked at me still. Was it resentment, to have been forced into this predicament? Anxiety for what lay ahead? Pulling out a stool, I sank onto it, my head beginning to pound. The king demanded that we wed, but I had no intention of obeying him. Yet if I refused, he would not aid us. Meanwhile, Wugang was hunting my mother, and soon, his gaze would turn toward the Eastern Sea. The Immortal Realm teetered on the brink of destruction, and our paths were closing rapidly.

“Do you think your father will ally with Wugang, or is it an empty threat?” I asked.

“My father is no fool. The pretense of an alliance will suffice to keep us safe, for now.” He paused. “Father is playing a double game, the type he plays best. Keeping Wugang at bay with hollow promises while working to advance his own ends.”

“Why won’t Wugang attack you?”

“Because he would rather have an ally than another enemy,” Wenzhi said. “The Celestial Kingdom knows better than to underestimate our abilities again; they do not understand our magic. Moreover, our wards protect this place. While Wugang’s soldiers might not possess a consciousness of their own, something exists that enables them to accept his commands—which we might be able to harness, should the need arise.”

I searched his face. “Why is your father set upon this marriage? Surely there are more suitable candidates out there?”

“Few kingdoms in the Immortal Realm would consider a betrothal with us, a circumstance I am glad for,” he said with feeling. “Like it or not, Xingyin, this would be a powerful alliance for us—one which would be mutually beneficial.” He added quietly, “One which could be happy.”

His words reached deeper than I wished—a temptation to accept the aid offered, the easier path. Yet beyond our fractured past, I would hate being bartered in marriage; I would never give such an accursed union a chance. I now understood the strain Liwei had been under when he agreed to the betrothal with Princess Fengmei, and why he was adamant on refusing it this time. I would not marry Wenzhi; I would not be a pawn for the king’s twisted machinations. This was my life—and it was love, or even the promise of it, that gave it meaning.

“Can we delay the wedding, or try to reason with your father again?” My imagination soared. “Disguise someone else to complete the ceremony?”

Wenzhi’s expression shuttered as he leaned against the door. “Once my father’s mind is made up, he will not relent. And I will not bind myself to some stranger, not even for you.”

“That was thoughtless of me,” I admitted, even as my mind still sought a way out. “Could you perform the enchantment instead of your father?”