One aura sprang out to me, far stronger than the rest—strong and earthy, jangling and discordant. Not from the soldiers, as far as I could tell, instead emanating from the lady who stood before Liwei. Her upturned eyes glittered a rich shade of bronze and while the lower half of her face was covered by a sheer veil, her skin was as fair as new snow. Crimson peonies were embroidered on her vermilion dress, unfurling their silken petals to reveal bright gold stamens. A cluster of camellias was tucked into her sash. As I crouched in the ledge above, I caught a whiff of a floral fragrance, cloyingly sweet with the barest hint of decay.
“I used a bird to snare a dragon.” Her voice was thick with satisfaction. “After all the tales of your prowess, I’m disappointed at how easily you fell into my trap, Your Highness.”
Liwei’s jaw clenched, his muscles straining as though he was grappling with some unseen foe. “What are these chains?” he ground out at last.
“A gift from the Demon Realm. Forged with metal from the mortal world, using the arts forbidden by your father.” As she watched his struggles, she said in a bored tone, “Try all you want, but your magic is useless as long as these are on you.”
“Lady Hualing, why do this? Why ally yourself with the Demon Realm?” Liwei demanded.
Lady Hualing, the deposed Flower Immortal? I thought she had left the forest or vanished through some foul play. Never did I imagine her living in these dark caves.
“You were one of the greatest immortals of our kingdom until you chose to live in seclusion. Do you truly wish to betray the Immortal Realm?” Liwei continued, his voice calm despite his peril. Perhaps he still hoped to sway her with reason.
She laughed then, a bitter and joyless sound. “Me betray the kingdom? Did you think I chose this life? Let me tell you the real story, little princeling. Long ago, your father and I met in this forest. He was newly wed to your mother, though that did not stop him from courting me.”
Liwei jerked up from his chair, but two guards dragged him back down, clamping their palms on his shoulders.
She did not appear to notice, lost in her memories. “Whenever he could get away, he came here. He offered me a palace in the Celestial Kingdom. I refused. I was no lowly courtier grateful for his favor, but one of the most illustrious deities in the realm.” A softness slipped into her face. “One spring evening when the peonies were in bloom, he made a vow to me. That once he grew powerful enough to risk angering the Phoenix Kingdom, he would wed me, raising me to the same rank as the empress.”
Liwei shook his head, the blood from his wound streaking across his cheek. “My father would never have made such a reckless promise.”
“Those in love often make promises they can’t keep,” she snarled. “When word reached your mother’s ears, she paid me a visit, spitting her threats and venom. Before she left, she gave me a gift.” The light in the cavern flickered as Lady Hualing lifted her veil.
In the classic oval of her face, her full lips were a vibrant red, her nose delicately arched. The thin faded scars, one across each cheek, puzzled me—yet so slight they were barely noticeable.
The veil dropped once more. “The scars left by the Phoenix Talons can never be healed. I must live with these hideous marks, forever.”
I flinched, recalling those sharp gold sheaths covering the empress’s fingers which might so easily rake through flesh and bone. But despite what Lady Hualing thought, she was beautiful still. It was the viciousness in her expression that turned my stomach.
“There must be an explanation. What if it was a spirit, taking on my mother’s appearance?” Liwei protested.
“You ignorant child. Who else wears the Phoenix Talons? Who else had I threatened, isolated as I was?” she sneered. “Worse still, your father, the faithless coward, abandoned me. In one stroke I was robbed of my beauty, betrayed by my love, stripped of my title. Of all I cherished most. Since then, my life has been a misery, steeped in wretchedness and regret.”
As she stretched out her fingers to caress Liwei’s cheek, he recoiled from her, as far back as his captors would allow. “So, it is only fitting that I seize from my tormentors the one thing they prize above all. You, their son. The person most loved, by those I most hate.”
“Lady Hualing, consider carefully what you do. This is treason at the highest level. You will be an outcast from the Immortal Realm, hunted by Celestials and our allies alike. They will descend upon this place and—”
Her laughter was shrill and grating. And when she stopped, her smile was that of a sated fox. “I’m no fool, Your Highness. I will not be here when they come. Once I present your lifeforce to the Demon King, I will earn his eternal gratitude. A bridal gift, if you wish to call it so. Maybe then he can defeat your accursed parents, and when he sits on the Celestial Throne it will be I who is beside him. Finally, the empress,” she gloated, lifting a ring set with an oval amethyst that glowed with malevolent light.