Page 20 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

“That’s all? Isn’t that everything?” The queen’s fathomless gaze took her in. “You interest me. You are divided. I knew it as soon as I saw you.”

“Divided?”

“Look at yourself in the water, and perhaps you will understand better.”

Slowly, Xifeng bent over her reflection in the pond, her hair spilling over one shoulder. In the moonlight, she could only see the right half of her face. The other half lay in shadow, the eye dark and wild as the night.

“You have two faces. Two beings live within you, struggling for control. One has a heart that thrives in darkness and feeds on the pain of weaker souls. The other longs to stretch a hand to the light, to live and love as others do. Have you never sensed this?”

Xifeng stared into the star-scattered water at her own face: one half bright, the other hidden, unknowable. Sweat bloomed on her forehead as she placed a hand below her heart. The creature was still and silent now, but she knew how it could come alive, writhing within the prison of her body.

“Warriors kill every day.” She pictured the bloodshed on the forest path: Shiro stabbing the scythe-wielder and Wei beheading him with one sweep of his arm. “Why are they not divided, as I am? Why is itmyfate to have this creature? The cards tell me I have a destiny beyond all others, but...”

“It isnotan honor,” the queen said sharply, and Xifeng turned to her, startled and chastened. “Your...aunthas done more harm than good in filling your head with this destiny. No, it is not a lie. Youareindeed bound for the glory she foresees, if you choose that path. But isn’t it better not to know? Isn’t it better to wake up each day, living for the present rather than waiting for the future?”

Xifeng released a breath, her shoulders slackening. Though a part of her had doubted Guma, the truth was undeniable from the mouth of the queen. But her overpowering joy was tempered by the painful weight of what such a future would mean for her and Wei. “It is a secret I must continue to carry, then.”

Thetengarutossed her majestic head. “You will be Empress only if you are willing to take the dark road there. But you are not the only exceptional one, and you are not alone in being favored for greatness. The sooner you understand that, the better your choices will be.”

“I was annoyed with Shiro for assuming the attackers had come for him,” Xifeng confessed. “You are right to scold me. I told myself I questioned Guma’s prophecy, but all this time I wanted her to be right. I want... Ineedto be more than what I am.”

“You can be,” the queen said, her eyes gentle. “You can be, without taking this murky passage set before you. Your Guma wants wealth and power, but that’s not whyyouwant to be Empress. What is your reason for wanting such a cage?”

“A cage protects. It sets apart what is inside.” Xifeng hesitated. “I want to mean something to a great deal of people. I’m tired of being no one. As Empress, I would have the right to choose for myself. Guma could not command me, and Wei would not own me.”

“But another man would.”

“I would sit on a throne,” Xifeng argued. “I would be feared and respected, not weak and powerless like Guma or my mother. I would raise up the ones I love.” She imagined her aunt well fed and resting instead of hunching over her sewing, and Wei in a high station in the palace. She could even find a husband for poor little Ning. “I would be Empress for them as much as for myself. My life would have a purpose, and I would doanythingfor that.”

The queen’s mouth twisted. “How quick you are to throw aside the blessings you already have. But you are young. You will learn and regret, as we all do.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Xifeng said, her confidence slipping. “What blessings do you speak of?”

“The truest love and friendship rarely come to those in power.” The demon queen bent her head into the pond, and when her horns met the surface, a beautiful pattern of ripples shook the night sky. They skimmed over the pond in the direction of the second bridge, the one leading to the apple tree, whose branches glistened. “That tree is the most valuable treasure on Feng Lu. I have guarded it all these ages on behalf of one for whom it is meant.”

“The one destined to unite the kingdoms and bring peace to the continent?” Xifeng’s heart thundered as she considered the possibility ofbeingthat one. Perhaps, as Empress, that was the glorious fate Guma had envisioned for her.

“The waters speak of a pair of great destinies, intertwined. One will lead to Feng Lu’s salvation—the other, to its ruin. That tree could be meant for you... or forher.”

Her.One word, filled with so much meaning.

The first meaning:It may not be for you.The second meaning:There is another woman.And the third:Her destiny may be greater than yours.

“The Fool,” Xifeng said flatly. Her vision blurred, as it had the day she’d seen herself destroying Ning. Every nerve in her body tingled with the sudden powerful desire to burn the tree down, to raise a torch to its branches and watch the flames weep crumbling ashes. One moment, a great relic protected by thetengaru,and the next, a mound of embers as fleeting as the seasons of the world. Then, they would see if the Fool—that beautiful, long-lashed, stargazing Fool—would be able to thwart Xifeng and fulfill that greater destiny.

But when her mind cleared, her anger faded as quickly as it had come. As Xifeng envisioned the pink-white blossoms withering away, never having lived, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. “If it is meant forher,I hope she finds it.”

“Ah.” Indescribable grief shaded the corners of the queen’s smile. She placed a paw on Xifeng’s hand. “I’m afraid life will always be a battle for you, butthatis the part of you that you must never forget. Let it help you fight that darkness within, and perhaps you shall be the one to save us all.”

“I don’t know how to fight it,” Xifeng whispered, her eyes stinging. “How can I destroy this creature... thismonsterwhen it is inside me,alwayswith me, no matter where I go?”

“You must choose.” The demon’s stare on her was fierce, wild. “You wish to be Empress to have control over your life, but you already do. You have both the poison and the antidote, and you can choose not to give in. But it will be a bitter struggle ifhehas anything to say about it.”

A movement caught Xifeng’s eye. The water was still rippling on the surface of the pond, and a spot of darkness had formed. It resembled the yawning mouth of a cave, and someone waited for her inside—someone she sensed had been waiting a long time. She turned away, knowing and fearing who lurked within.

“Who is he, this Serpent God?” she asked, and the trees themselves trembled.

“He means more to your Guma than she will say. Beware, Xifeng, of magic that comes too easily. There is a price for everything, as she learned and you, too, will learn. Some magic requires blood. Other magic requires a piece of your own self and eats away at your soul.” The queen tensed her paw, the buds of her talons pressing into Xifeng’s skin. “He taught her all she knows, but she has yet to finish paying him.”

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