I tried again, desperate to leave. “Your Celestial Majesty. Let me find my mother to explain. Liwei is loyal to you—”

“His loyalties lie with you.” The emperor’s voice broke like thunder. “Liwei, you have been secure in your position for too long. Denounce her now, and prove your loyalty to your family.”

Silence followed, unsullied by breath or whisper. It was as though a spell had been cast over the gathering, transforming everyone to stone. Could any father be so unfeeling toward their child? It was not a command—not yet—but a threat, a line drawn clear in the ground.

I touched Liwei’s arm gently, my turn to caution him against rashness. “Stay here; I will go.” I did not want to fracture his bond with his family, even as dread sank over me that it might be too late.

His hand covered mine, squeezing once before letting go. Sweeping his silver-and-white robes aside, he sank to his knees, folding over to press his palms and brow to the floor.

“Honorable Father, I am your loyal son and subject, but I will not denounce her. She has done no wrong to you or our kingdom.” He rose to his feet, taking my hand—his skin no longer warm but like it had been pressed in the snow.

General Wu’s eyes shone with a keen light, while a muffled cry slipped from the empress, her pale knuckles pressed against blood-red lips. Liwei’s expression was bleak as we turned away, leaving behind the magnificent splendor of the Celestial Court.

Joy and sorrow twined like fire and ice in my chest—a crushing weight, a soaring lightness. While I had wanted Liwei unfettered by his obligations, I would never have asked this of him; his family and heritage were an intrinsic part of who he was. And though fear shadowed me at how the night’s events had unraveled, for the moment, I indulged my wild dream of us living as freely as two cranes soaring into the boundless sky.

Chapter 6

My mother was not home. I stared at the smooth covers of her bed, my slender hope that she had overslept shriveled away.

“Could she be in the forest?” Liwei wondered.

“She’s not there; I searched for her aura as we flew over it.” I turned to Ping’er. “What did Mother say when she left?”

“She asked me to summon a cloud for her. I had done it before and taught her how to ride it.” Her face was ashen as she clasped her hands together. “Is the emperor angry? Surely it can’t be that great an offense, forgetting to light the moon once in all these years?”

“I will light the lanterns in her stead,” Liwei offered, evading her question.