“We did find such a tree. There was no fruit,” Bingmei said.
“Of course not. The fruit only appears once every thousand years.” She gave Bingmei a condescending, mocking smile. “You have to go into the future to get it. Do you know that Immortal Word? Hmmm?”
Bingmei did, but she didn’t reveal anything. She stared at Xisi, feeling helpless and furious. If the queen harmed her child, Bingmei would find a way to destroy her, immortal or not. Her hands trembled with pent-up energy.
An idea sparked to life inside her. A final gambit that might save them. “How do you like your immortality?” Bingmei asked, her mind suddenly sharp. “Do you enjoy your husband so much? You’ve killed him before. Let’s stop him now.”
“An alliance,” Xisi said smugly. “Yes, I thought you might try such a trick. I would only consider such a thing if we made a bond of Xieyi. An unbreakable pact. But you would never agree to my terms, little Bingmei. So we cannot have a truce. I would prefer for you to die anyway. Your purpose is fulfilled.”
Bingmei’s heart beat faster. “Why not offer the terms? Quit toying with me. Would you kill your husband again?”
“You know how much I hate him,” she said airily. “I would enjoy another season of the Dragon of Dawn without his meddling. A season where I rule. I would be willing to make him mortal again so that you can actually kill him. But his death will always be temporary. He must be killed within the Grave Kingdom to make it permanent, and that would invoke the Reckoning. No, that wouldn’t do at all.”
“What do you want?” Bingmei asked, dreading the answer.
“What do I want?” Xisi said. “You know as well as I do that our world runs on balance. I must rule with a counterpart, but I am sick of having a husband who lords over me. I want a son to rule by my side. One that I have trained in all the arts of subtlety and revenge. Someone I can mold into the true ruler of Fusang. One strong enough to extend my dominion further than Echion ever could. I want a son, Bingmei. I want your son.”
The words filled her with horror. The thought of giving Shixian over to this woman, to be raised as her heir, to be corrupted and manipulated, filled every part of her with loathing and agony. She’d brought him into this world to liberate it—to destroy Echion and Xisi for good and free the souls trapped within the Grave Kingdom. This . . . this was an abomination.
I consent. Make the pact.
The whisper in her mind shocked her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The Greatest Sacrifice
Bingmei knew the voice that had spoken to her. She’d heard it enough times to recognize it, but the message still made her doubt. She loved her child, felt more protective of little Shixian than she had of anything else in her life. To hand over the baby, willingly, to Xisi seared her mind and heart at the same time. Anguish gripped her, tormented her, ripped her souls apart.
“I knew you wouldn’t do it,” the Dragon Queen said. “That is why we are enemies. Our wills oppose each other. Your blind obedience to a dead bird prevents you from thinking for yourself.”
I consent. Agree to the pact.
Bingmei’s throat bulged and tears burned in her eyes as she gazed at her baby.
“I will,” she whispered, forcing the words past her throat. Her insides recoiled.
“What?” Xisi’s brow arched with suspicion. The smell of it wafted from her in waves, a dampness, like grass after a storm.
Bingmei squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. The pain was awful. So much worse than the agony with which she’d brought Shixian into the world. She’d only had her baby for a short time. Now she had to give him up. There were no words to describe the smell of her own grief.
“I consent,” Bingmei said, looking at Xisi.
“Is this a trick?”
Bingmei wanted to weep but squeezed down her emotions. A memory flickered in her mind of when she had tried to cross the Death Wall. Echion and Xisi had fought over her, each determined to be the one who devoured her, neither willing to grant the other their wish. Their selfishness was stronger than their self-interest. It compelled their every action, even now. Xisi would not back down from her demand, and Bingmei needed her help to stop Echion.
Everything in the world felt misshapen and grotesque at that moment. Why was this being asked of her?
Because I knew you had the courage to do it. Because I trusted that you would.
The world seemed to hang in the balance in that moment. A nudge either way would make it fall.
Bingmei looked into Xisi’s eyes. “You leave me no choice. Echion must be stopped before he destroys everyone. His Iron Rules do not work, Xisi. They will never work. He will continue to fail until every last soul is trapped and no one is left in the mortal world. That is our fate if this cycle continues.” She felt tears drip from her eyes. “He must be stopped.”
Xisi held her gaze, her smell distrusting but now hopeful. Had she demanded a price she’d assumed Bingmei would never consent to?
“Let us make the pact,” Bingmei said, stepping forward. Mieshi still lay on the floor, blinking, unable to move. The paralysis reminded Bingmei of the Dongxue caves when Liekou had struck her with a dianxue blow. Zhuyi rose to her feet slowly, cradling her side but posing in a martial stance.
Bingmei lifted her arms in a protective guard. “Don’t make me hurt you again, Sister,” she warned.
“I serve the queen,” Zhuyi declared dispassionately.
Bingmei knew Zhuyi’s spirit-soul was walking the long passageways of the Grave Kingdom, lost. She wouldn’t be able to
