Dread traced its spidery touch along my skin. Another entanglement between Liwei’s family and mine. Would we ever be free of them?

My father rubbed his fingertips against his brow. “The emperor summoned me. He brought forth the most respected elders in the kingdom, who swore the Mortal Realm faced a grave threat and that only I could save them.”

“The sunbirds,” I said slowly. “They were the cherished kin of the Celestial Empress. I thought the emperor allowed them to roam free to avoid angering her, but what if this was his ploy to trap and weaken you? To seize the might of the dragons?”

He nodded. “Such schemes would fit his nature, both cunning and grasping.”

“Why did you believe him, knowing what you did?” I asked.

“Fool that I was, I did not ask too many questions—my pride stroked at so noble a cause. I believed those respectable Celestials who told me that to protect the mortals, I had to become one of them. Perhaps the emperor tricked them too—there is no better liar than those convinced they speak the truth. The emperor vowed he would protect me, that he would grant me the elixir once I fulfilled this quest. A sacred and unbreakable oath, sworn upon his honor and the lives of his descendants.”

He drew a heavy breath before continuing, “And so, I accepted. I returned the pearls to the dragons—the last thing I did before drinking the tea of oblivion, which erased my memories before I was cast down to the Mortal Realm.”

“How do you remember this if you drank the tea of oblivion?” I asked.

“A drop of elixir remained in the bottle. After your mother left, I swallowed it—though sometimes I wished I had not. It’s no blessing to have such memories restored. Rage and grief are pitiless beasts that devour the heart and mind.”

Something jarred me. “The dragons’ ruler has been gone for centuries, while the sunbirds were shot down just a few decades ago.”

“That was the depth of the emperor’s deception,” he seethed. “I was sent down far too early, living one mortal life after the other. Until finally, the foretold calamity arose, the ten sunbirds taking to the skies. An immortal appeared, gifting me this bow and a jade pendant to protect me from the sunbirds’ flame. Even emperors must keep their word, especially those sworn upon the lives of their kin. Moreover, the dragons were no longer a threat to him, nor was I.”

My fingers brushed the pendant around my neck, pulling it out. It was cracked, its power gone, though I wore it out of sentimentality. He stared at it, his throat working with sudden emotion.