Page 24 of The Dragon's Promise

“Part of me hoped you wouldn’t say that.” He touched my cheek, then let his hand fall back to his lap. “It was worth a try. Hold on to that lordling of yours when they make you drink. They say your last thought is the only memory you keep.”

The elixir! I had almost forgotten about it. “Seryu, how do I…”

Instead of answering, Seryu plucked Kiki off the railing and set her on my collar. His response was so low I almost didn’t hear him. “Stay hidden.”

I didn’t know whether that was meant for me or for Kiki, and I never got a chance to ask.

A distant chime pealed, the sound reverberating around the dome. The ceremony was beginning.

Out of a cloud of shimmering sand, the Dragon King burst into the hall. He still wore the starstroke net, styled into a sash around his waist. It radiated with demonfire, the strands of fate, and the blood of stars—the three magics I had labored for months to interweave.

Under Nazayun’s feet emerged a dais—constructed of whale and shark skulls. Kiki shuddered at the sight.

Why would anyone want to work for him? she whispered to me, glancing at the swarms of sharks and squid patrolling the chamber.

Because they didn’t have a choice, I thought as the Dragon King took his throne.

Lady Nahma had warned me that the rites would be quick, but I was still expecting some sort of pompous introduction. None came, and my cloud rattled, rising until it was level with the Dragon King’s throne.

Beside the king, Lady Solzaya and Lady Nahma waited, poised like mistress and handmaiden. Seryu’s mother held a bowl carved of abalone shell in her long palm, and Nahma held a thin silken cord. The latter was a nod to Kiatan wedding traditions, where the bride and groom were knotted together.

Takkan and I would have been married like this, I thought with a pang. If only I hadn’t run away from our betrothal ceremony, how different life might have been.

“Come forward, Shiori’anma,” Lady Solzaya said, shattering my reverie. Her iron grip claimed my arms, and I floated with her to the Dragon King’s dais. Seryu started to follow, but Solzaya motioned for him to remain.

I could read the anxiety in his expression.

Don’t do anything too reckless, it said.

I wished I could summon a smile. I’ll try.

“His Eternal Majesty has deemed Princess Shiori worthy of taking the Oath of Ai’long,” said Solzaya. “In this hour, she shall leave behind her mortal life and reawaken as the companion to my son, First Prince of the Easterly Seas, Seryu’ginan.”

“Hold out your hands,” Lady Nahma said, “so Lady Solzaya might bestow upon you the elixir of immortality.”

I glanced at her, apprehension roiling in my gut. How far into the ceremony would I have to play along?

She provided no answers. She’d closed her mind to me.

Woodenly, I held my hands out.

Solzaya placed the abalone bowl between my outstretched palms, murmuring words in a tongue I could not understand.

Inside was the elixir. A tiny cerulean bead, small enough to balance on my thumb.

I almost sighed with relief. I’d expected a soup or even a tea, but the elixir was no more substantial than a pill one took for a stomach ailment. It looked like jelly, wobbling as my hands shook.

While Solzaya spoke, I lifted the bowl, pretending to press it to my lips.

Invisible fumes tickled my nostrils, sweet and bitter at the same time. One sniff, and all the doubts and fears I’d buried bubbled high, but I kept my mind focused on seeing Takkan again. On going home.

How are we going to do this? Kiki said, leaping into the bowl and using her wing to block me from accidentally drinking.

Roll it down my collar quick, I said. Can you manage?

Using her wing, Kiki tried to scoop the elixir toward my neck, but the potion was too slippery. It isn’t as easy as it looks!

“Is something the matter, Shiori’anma?” Lady Solzaya asked, floating into my periphery. “Do you need help drinking?”

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