He inclined his head. “As I am forever grateful for you, Xingyin.”

My fingers reached into my sleeve, closing around something I carried with me always. The lacquered hairpin, his promise of a future that was no longer ours. I handed it to him, feeling like a knife was sliding between my ribs—or was it being pulled out?

“I don’t deserve this.” I did not mean to be cruel, but it was the truth. I did not deserve his love because I could not offer him mine.

His eyes were ink and shadow. “Keep it, as a gift of friendship. It belongs to no one else. Go to him. Be happy.” His hand reached out to graze mine, his remembered touch sending a sliver of pain through me.

Except it was the good type, where healing lay on the other side.

Chapter 39

Dawn broke across the sky in streaks of gilded rose. I glided to the Mortal Realm upon a cloud, landing by the outskirts of the city. A high stone wall encircled it, a black lacquered plaque hanging above the arched entrance, carved with the words:

银云城

SILVER CLOUD CITY

It was autumn here, when leaves shed their green to russet red, a crisp coolness threaded through the air. Despite the early hour, the streets were lined with stalls, bustling with mortals. Some carried straw baskets, others gripping their children’s hands as they wound through the crowd. Chickens squawked from rattan cages, porcelain jars of wine were crammed onto a table, small wooden toys heaped on another. The savory aroma of crisp sesame pancakes and pork dumplings wafted from a vendor’s stall, mingling with the remnants of food strewn on the ground, tinged with the sourish edge of spoil. Sugared figurines artfully shaped into birds and flowers caught my eye, but I hurried past the merchants hawking their wares.

Perhaps I should have waited until I had the elixir, perhaps I should have left Wenzhi to the peace of his mortal existence—but I could not stay away. My feet quickened along the stone path, though I did not know where I was going. Strands of my hair fell from its coils, curling across my forehead and down my neck. My heart was racing even as I reminded myself that Wenzhi would not even know my name. Not yet, but he would.