Even though I know it is due to the pain, I test Ruyi’s pulse to be sure. Weak, fluttering, but still there. I have to work fast, against her body, which is slowing down. All blood will run to the heart, carrying the poison with it. I’m running out of time.
“I can draw the poison out, but I don’t think she will survive without something to strengthen her body,” I tell the princess when I scrutinize the extent of the wound. “I need help.”
“What do you mean, help?” she asks.
“I need another shénnóng-shī, or at the very least, a shénnóng-tú,” I say to her.
She shakes her head. “I can’t … I can’t involve anyone else. It’s too dangerous. The poison…” She hesitates for a moment before continuing. “It leads to someone in the Ministry of Rites, perhaps even the council itself.”
I could almost shake her, force it out of her, but the terror in her expression is real. The way she clutches Ruyi, smoothing the hair away from her face. I decide to go with the truth.
“You have to choose: your plan, or her life?”
She looks down at Ruyi, the conflict clear, but then her expression smooths, as impenetrable as the wooden mask the Shadow dons.
“Who would you suggest?” she says. Only the barest quiver of her cheek betrays her true emotions.
“Lian. The daughter of the Kallah ambassador.”
The princess nods. “Only her. No one else.”
* * *
I bring Lian back to the inner palace through the hidden tunnels as directed, making a brief stop at the kitchens along the way for more ingredients. Lian keeps glancing over at me during our trek through the tunnels, muttering to herself. It was easy to convince her of the urgency of the matter, with my disheveled hair and the blood on my tunic.
The only thing she says to me when we approach the princess’s residence is: “All that time spent at the library, huh?”
“I promise you”—I usher her through the door—“I will explain everything after.”
The princess looks up when we enter and greets Lian with a nod.
“I require your skills.” I gesture toward the figure on the bed. “You say your mentor specialized in strength. Do you think you would be able to fortify her body and keep her alive while I draw out the poison?”
Lian chews on her lip, considering this. “Poison?”
“Yes. An arrow dipped in crow’s head.”
“Ah.” She recognizes the name. “I’ve seen it done, but I haven’t tried it myself.”
“Y? lí cè h?i,” I mutter to myself. Our task is like trying to measure the sea with a single gourd. Nearly impossible with the limitations of my age, my lack of knowledge.
Lian snorts. “No wonder you need my help. All we can do is try.”
At least one of us is optimistic about our chances of success.
Lian gets to work on her tonic, using the tray of ingredients we collected at the kitchens.
“I wouldn’t call myself a healer,” she says as she pinches this and pulls out slivers of that and places them into a pot. “But my teacher knows how to push the physical limits of the human body. Perhaps this will help hold her together.”
I glance at her ingredients to make sure my choices will not counteract the effects of her tonic. Lian has chosen mugwort to improve circulation, crimson mushroom to strengthen the heart.
“Usually I would brew this overnight,” she says, shaking the herbs. “But we don’t have time.”
Definitely not, with the dampness of Ruyi’s skin, the black rings around her eyes, and the black veins creeping ever closer to her heart.
The herbs steep in the hot water, then Lian pulls the bag out of the pot and squeezes it over a bowl. Cupping the bowl in both hands, she takes a deep breath, then blows across the surface. I can feel the infusion of magic, the spicy scent of cinnamon, even though I know there was none in the mix.
“Sit her up,” Lian says, a subtle shift in her voice. A commanding tone, like someone else speaks through her. The surface of the bowl ripples.
The princess adjusts her bodyguard’s position so Ruyi is sitting between her legs, supported against her.
“Open her mouth.”
The light in the room begins to flicker, even though there is no breeze. Princess Zhen looks like she is about to protest, but I give her a shake of the head. She nods in resignation and tips Ruyi’s head back. The liquid goes in, but Ruyi coughs, and the tonic trickles out the corner of her mouth.