“I hit it!” A raw thrill coursed through my veins.
Liwei clapped, his mouth curved up. “You have a good teacher.”
“Hah! I’ll be better than you soon,” I bragged, shameless in my euphoria.
“Care to wager on that? Three months from now, we’ll have a contest. The loser will have to do the bidding of the winner for a day.”
“Don’t I have to do your bidding, every day?” Somehow, I managed to say that with a straight face.
“Without complaint, without argument, without hesitation,” he added, after a moment’s deliberation.
“But within reason,” I countered, the bow in my grip giving me a newfound confidence. And I could not back down now; he would tease me mercilessly.
“Agreed.” His grin widened. “Are you afraid of what I might order you to do?”
“Far from it,” I told him with an equally broad smile. “I’ll enjoy ordering Your Highness around.”
“You haven’t won yet,” he reminded me, before heading toward the soldiers practicing with swords.
“Neither have you,” I muttered to myself.
I decided to remain by the archery boards. My fingers itched to hold the bow again—to feel the raw exhilaration as the arrow sprang free, the satisfaction when it struck true. Plucking another, I drew it through the bow, trying to recall Liwei’s instructions.
“You shouldn’t have taken that wager. His Highness is an excellent shot,” someone remarked from behind me.
My concentration broke, my body jerked. The arrow flew wide of the target.
I spun around to find a Celestial soldier watching me. She was striking, with light brown skin and a smattering of freckles across her nose, her eyes slightly upturned at the corners. Her full lips were twisted into a grimace as she inspected my arrow, buried unceremoniously in the dirt. “Yes, you definitely should not have accepted that wager,” she repeated.
Was this another Jiayi, concealing malice beneath a veneer of civility? My nod was cool, dismissive, even. “Thank you for your concern. I’ll be fine.”
I thought she would leave, but she folded her arms across her body. Did she intend to watch? Maybe hoping I would humiliate myself?
I turned my back to her, wishing she would go. Drawing another arrow, I released it. It struck the board, quivering from the ring closest to the center. More likely through fortunate coincidence than my untrained abilities, but I couldn’t resist saying, “Maybe His Highness is the one who shouldn’t have accepted.”
“Not bad for your third try.” Her compliment took me by surprise. More so, when she wrapped her hand over her fist, inclining her head to me. “I’m Shuxiao.”
My mind went blank; I was unused to such civility. In the Golden Lotus Mansion, I had never been accorded such courtesy. While here, it was Liwei upon whom all attention was fixed.
She tilted her head to one side, perhaps wondering at the awkward silence. Hastily, I returned her greeting. As I straightened, I thought furiously for something to say. The weather would be too dull. We had no friends in common, or rather I had none to speak of. And I couldn’t ask after her family when I was unable to speak of mine.
“Do you enjoy being a Celestial soldier?” I finally managed.
“Who wouldn’t?” she said with a straight face. “It’s marvelous being ordered around most of the time, expected to obey without question, getting thrashed during training, and feeling lucky when you don’t wind up dead from an assignment.”
I recoiled. “It sounds . . . dreadful.”
“I haven’t told you the best part. Do you see what we have to wear?” She poked at her armor. “It’s heavier than it looks, if that’s possible. And when we walk, we clank like pots and pans. It’s a good thing we’re taught to conceal the sound from our enemies.”
“Why do you do it?” I couldn’t help asking.
She shrugged. “Who wouldn’t want to serve the Celestial Emperor and our kingdom?”
Was that catch in her voice earnestness or sarcasm? I couldn’t tell and decided it would be wisest to remain silent as she selected a bow from the rack.
“I heard you study with His Highness. Do your parents serve at court?”
I shook my head, moving aside to make space for her, hoping she would ask me something else. Anything else.
She raised her bow, adjusting her aim as she inspected the target. Her arrow whistled through the air, striking the board near the center.
“A good shot,” I remarked.