Page 13 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

His eyes remained on her. Xifeng realized she must have blood on her mouth still, and on her cheek where she had touched it. But he said nothing as she wiped her face, as nonchalantly as she would wipe away crumbs after a meal. “May I carry them back for you?” he asked courteously. Whether he had noticed the mutilated rabbits or not, he took them without comment and did not inspect them, as Wei would have done. Wei would not have had his tact.

Xifeng wiped the dagger on her tunic and sheathed it quietly.

“Rabbits are a delicacy, where I come from,” Shiro said, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “We don’t have many of them on our island.”

“But the seafood must be delicious,” she replied in the same calm tone, clearing her blood-coated throat. “My Guma and I could never afford very good fish or prawns.”

“I grew up in a region famous for its pearl oysters. Divers retrieve them from the depths for hours on end, resurfacing only a few timesfor air. They are always women. So I’m no stranger to having a lady hunt and provide for me,” he added, smiling. His eyes on her now held nothing but friendly admiration. Perhaps he hadn’t seen anything odd after all.

The tension eased as they made their way back. “I’ve read stories about the pearls of Kamatsu,” Xifeng said. “Does the queen truly have hundreds of them sewn into her clothing?”

“She does. And the princess used to weave them into her hair.”

“Used to? She does so no longer?”

“She’s dead,” he said shortly, and Xifeng made no further comment.

Back at the encampment, the men had all risen. Hideki was building a fire, all the while cursing and brushing ashes from his beard. Wei and Isao were feeding the horses, and Ken was packing his belongings. Their eyes moved to Xifeng immediately, moths to a flame, faces brightening at the sight of her. Wei frowned at the bloody rabbits in Shiro’s hand.

“The young lady has kindly provided our morning meal,” Shiro announced, and the men’s admiration changed to astonishment.

“Why so shocked? Don’t I look like someone who can hunt?” Xifeng asked, both amused and irritated. But she could see it in their eyes: clearly they thought her beauty, or the fact that she traveled with hulking, protective Wei, meant she couldn’t do anything for herself. They thanked her politely and returned to their tasks, but as she predicted, Wei wasn’t happy.

“You killed those?” he asked in a low voice, the crease between his eyebrows deepening. “You know I don’t like it when you kill. Let me do it, or one of the other men.”

“When it’s so easy? Let me contribute. I’m not useless.”

“You used to cry every time Guma made you kill. It upsets you, evenwhen done for food. Doesn’t it?” He scanned her face, eyes lingering on her unblemished cheek. His fingers hovered over her skin. “The wound is gone,” he said, his tone too close to suspicion for her liking. “How...?”

Xifeng braced her hands on her hips. “I healed it with plants I found in the forest. And killing two small rabbits is certainly nothing to be upset about.” Wei glanced behind her at the other men, who were surely listening. “You’re determined to think me weak and fragile. I don’t need your permission to help if I want to. You’re not my husband.” She felt a pang of regret as soon as she had said it.

Wei turned away, his voice so quiet she had to lean in to hear. “You used to feel pain whenever you took a life. She’s stripped you ofthatas well?”

Xifeng came close and rested her head against him. “I’m still the same person,” she whispered. But he moved away without another word.

The rabbits tasted delicious, seasoned with herbs and salt Hideki had brought from Kamatsu. Wei ate in silence, not joining in the conversation, and it hurt Xifeng to see him sad. She crept close to his side, hating herself for the unkind words she had chosen. He loved her so much and believed in her goodness. Every flaw, every mistake she made, was Guma’s in his eyes. So she wrapped an arm around him and tried to understand. He shifted beside her, and gruffly handed her the best piece of rabbit meat.

Meanwhile, Ken was raving about the Dragon Scales, his face alight with excitement. “There was no time to go through the mountains, and we aren’t properly equipped. But how I would feel if I made it through alive!”

“It’s not a game,” Shiro told him, chuckling, and Isao added tartly,“You can go by yourself on the way back, and tell us about the Crimson Army... if they let you go alive.”

“They don’t exist. It’s a myth,” Hideki told Wei and Xifeng.

“It’s one I haven’t heard,” Xifeng admitted.

“How do you know it’s a myth if you refuse to go?” Ken asked indignantly. He turned eagerly to Xifeng. “They live in caverns among the peaks. They serve no king, not even Emperor Jun, and owe their allegiance to no man. But they can be persuaded to fight for you if you have what they want.”

Isao snorted. “Like husbands? Marry them all off and they’d stop their nonsense.”

“They’re women?” Xifeng asked, blinking.

“Every one of them, and they’re the deadliest killers on the continent.” Ken ignored the others’ scoffs and drew a finger across his lips. “It’s said that they paint their mouths bright red with blood when they go to war. That’s why they’re called the Crimson Army.”

“Or perhaps they’re called that because they’re only stirred to anger once a month, when the moon is high and their own blood is flowing,” Isao added crudely.

“Enough,” Shiro said in a sharp voice. “We must be on our way. We’ll arrive at the main gates of the Great Forest in a week’s time, and the Imperial City is several more days beyond that.”

Wei rose and adjusted the bundles on the old gray horse, then mounted, giving Xifeng his hand. She swung up behind him and held him close, this man who wanted so much to think her perfect—who gazed at her like she was the brightest star in the sky. He had tied himself to her without any hope or promise in return.

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