My chest clenched with envy, that I might never be so free. Shameful, for she deserved better. “Nothing?” I repeated with a smile instead. “What does your new friend, the formidable General Mengqi, think of this plan?”

It had been nothing more than a teasing guess. Together, they had orchestrated the rescue of the Celestial Emperor and the prisoners from the Jade Palace. Somehow, the animosity that had sparked between them had morphed into a grudging respect. Shuxiao spoke of the general several times after, in friendship I had thought, if not for this deep flush spreading across the back of her neck. I had never seen her so affected before, and I was both thrilled and afraid for her. Shaking my head, I cast my trepidation aside. Love did not wound all who reached for it.

An answering smile lit Shuxiao’s face. “She will join me, now that … things have changed in the Cloud Wall.”

I flinched. Now that Wenzhi is dead, was what she would have said, had she not suspected I grieved for him still.

“I am happy for you,” I told her as she rose to leave.

She leaned over and hugged me. “Let yourself be happy.”

It was what Wenzhi had told me with his final breath. A wish for my happiness, alone, knowing he could not be with me. Tears pricked my eyes, which I blinked away, the pain in my chest piercing so deep I could not breathe.

Someone knocked on my door, an attendant rushing to slide it open. Zhiyi stepped into the room, the hem of her brilliant green robe almost brushing the floor. Lilac orchids were embroidered on the skirt, along with azure birds that stretched their wings as they chirped.

She inclined her head in greeting. “I am leaving tomorrow and wanted to bid you farewell.”

I concealed my surprise. “That is most thoughtful of you.”

An immortal peach gleamed in her hand. Ripe, with a luminous blush from its stem to tip, a radiance emanating from its skin. “Liwei gave me this for my husband. If a mortal is not suffering any internal illness, this will extend their life. We will have time to wait for the elixir. Liwei has promised it to me, though it will be years before it is ready.”

“I am glad you will have it,” I told her with feeling. It still weighed on me that she had given up the elixir, that my parents’ happiness had come at the cost of hers. I had not forgotten my vow to her—it was one I would keep even though she had not demanded it of me, even though the urgency had passed. The most binding vows were those from the heart.

“I must go,” Shuxiao said, rising to her feet.

“Safe travels.” As I extended my hands to her, she clasped them tight. I did not want to let go, but then she released me and left.