I sprinted up the wooden stairs, half expecting to be confronted by guards around every corner. Yet the place was oddly deserted as I reached the highest floor without encountering a single enemy. I wrenched open the thick wooden door at the top, but it held fast. Impatient now, I summoned a blast of air that shattered the lock.
Princess Fengmei leapt to her feet, amid the chunks of wood and splinters scattered on the floor. Her heart-shaped face was pale and her brown eyes wide as she stared blankly at me, as though unsure whether to shriek in terror or weep with relief. Her head tilted to one side as she scrutinized me, perhaps trying to recall where we had met before.
“I’m with the Celestial Army. We’re here to rescue you. Quick, Prince Liwei is under attack!” My voice pulsed with urgency.
She brightened at the mention of Liwei’s name, as she raised her wrists to me. They were bound with black metal manacles, joined by a thin chain. “Could you remove these?”
I drew my sword and slammed it against the delicate chain. The blade rebounded, my arm throbbing from the effort, but not so much as a scratch appeared on the metal. Sawing away at the links did not work, nor did hammering at them make a dent. All the while, my mind raged with thoughts of Liwei below, the arrows flying toward his unprotected back, the blades thrust at his chest.
“Stand still.” I drew an arrow, releasing it at the manacle around her right hand. Crimson fire rippled across the metal, cracks appearing before they shattered. With my next breath, I shot another bolt at her left wrist, the second manacle falling away.
Princess Fengmei’s lips curved into a trembling smile. “You . . . you shoot very well,” she said softly, brushing away the clouds of black hair which covered her face.
Her delicate beauty sent a twinge through my heart. I swallowed hard, bending to toss away the broken links of metal around her feet. They stung like ice clinging to my skin.
“What are these chains?”
Her shoulders slumped. “I have no idea. When they put them on me, I couldn’t draw my energy.”
My stomach churned violently. These chains . . . I had seen the soldiers below carrying them. And in the Eastern Sea, Liwei had told me of the ore from Shadow Peak that could bind an immortal’s powers.
“Hurry!” I pulled her up to her feet. “Prince Liwei is in danger!”
Something whistled through the air; a sound every archer knew by heart. I threw myself to the ground, dragging the princess down. Pain slashed my arm as I stared in disbelief at the blood oozing from the cut. Scrambling to the window, I lifted my head an inch only to see a sharp glint hurtling toward me. I ducked, flattening myself on the floor as another arrow plunged into the room.
I drew a blazing bolt of flame, releasing it through the window. In the next moment, two arrows tore toward me, missing by a hair’s breadth as they clattered on the floor. I ground my teeth. This archer was formidable. It was little wonder there were no guards here when any rescuer would have long been shot dead. The black fletching was familiar—identical to the arrow that had struck my attacker outside. Had I been the target all along? Had the archer missed before? It seemed improbable given this person’s skill—though more improbable still was the idea that this archer had saved me, only to murder me later.
I sucked in a breath, furious at my unseen assailant. Precious time was ticking away. If those chains could seal an immortal’s magic, Liwei would not stand a chance. I drew another arrow, leaping up to gain my first look at my foe. A tall figure—a man—stood on a wide tree branch, a drawn arrow at the ready. His face was concealed by a helmet, but his eyes gleamed silver bright as they bored into me. Taken aback, my fingers slackened on the string, the flame vanishing. I braced myself, expecting an arrow to plunge through me now . . . but the archer lowered his weapon. We stared at each other for a heartbeat of silence, before he stepped backward into the shadows and was gone.
There was no time to ponder this. I grabbed Princess Fengmei’s hand as we raced down the stairs together, toward the fury of battle—only to emerge into the deathly quiet of a graveyard. Bodies were strewn all around, dozens and dozens in bronze armor. My spirits plunged as I counted ten in gold and white, the armor of the fallen Celestials. I raced from one to the next, searching each body for any sign of life. But their eyes were vacant, their auras faded to nothingness.
“Where is Prince Liwei?” Princess Fengmei’s voice shook as she stared at the carnage in horror.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, numb to everything except the dread creeping over me, turning my flesh to stone.