Page 109 of For Ever More

Except this isn’t the blood of the Sun Dragon.

It slides across the stone, the pieces glittering. A hum reverberates, the air quivering as the jewel glows a deep fiery red. The lines of the six joined pieces flash like lightning, then vanish abruptly—the stone merged, made whole. Incandescent and flawless, except for the tiny dent on the surface from the dagger I plunged there once.

The crowd breaks into cheers, a frantic edge to them, as though fearing silence. General Xilu’s forehead is creased, his eyebrows snapped together. As his wife’s power grows, so does his danger.

“At last, the starfire is united!” Queen Chunlei’s voice rings with elation, with triumph, as she raises the crown over her head. The whites in her eyes have seeped all the way through, her lips parted not in a smile but a dark hollow… as though a silent scream builds within.

The humming in the air snaps abruptly to a shrill, keening sound. The iron crown glows scorching red, like it’s been plucked from the flames of a forge. Queen Chunlei cries out as she releases it, nursing her blistered hands as her gaze widens in horror. Yet the crown remains in the air, suspended by an unknown force. All the while, the stone blazes, flashes of light twisting across it, churning violently through its depths.

I edge closer to Jin, nodding at Prince Zixin in a silent warning to leave the dais. Queen Chunlei, the chief advisor, General Xilu, and even Lord Hairong rush forward to circle the crown, feral ambition stamped across their faces. Lord Hairong lunges first, grabbing the crown—the queen hissing in fury. His mouth splits into a victorious grin, but then his eyes bulge, his body bowed as though brutally struck, white hair lashing his face as he screams—piercing sounds of unfathomable anguish.

“Take it away!” He gasps as he tries to fling the crown aside. But his fingers are welded to the burning metal, no one coming to his aid. Blistering welts streak along his hands, spreading rapidly along his arms, crawling up his throat. His cheeks hollow, his mouth rounding in a soundless wail, glowing veins protruding along his skin—then he shatters, breaking apart into shards, scattering over the ground like embers.

Queen Chunlei and the others stagger away from the crown like it’s poisoned. “What did you do to the starfire?” she rages at me, her hands fisted.

“It wasn’t the Sun Dragon’s blood.” Chief Advisor Mai stares at the bottle in his hand. “She grabbed my sleeve… she must have switched the bottle—”

“You wretched fool.” The queen slaps him, leaving a red imprint on his face. “Guards, take him!”

As he is dragged away by the soldiers, she swings to me. “Give me the Sun Dragon’s blood. Or I will snuff out Lord Jin-Yong’s consciousness like a candle flame.”

Her words roil with threat, yet it’s over. Her magic, gone. From my sleeve, I pluck out the bottle I’d stolen from the chief advisor—then tip it, pouring what remains to the ground. “It’s too late. What is undone cannot be made whole again.”

From above, light blazes from the heart of the starfire in the crown, a thunderous crack ringing out. An immense force erupts—the remaining attendants and soldiers scrambling off the dais. Lady Shufang tugs at Prince Zixin as she flees, but he pulls free. The power of the starfire flares wider, lashing all in its path. Welts appear on its victims, their bodies convulsing, some going limp. A new terror grips me. Those gathered here tonight are not all evil. And I’m afraid too, at what I’ve unleashed… the might of the wrathful gods upon our realm.

The crown rises higher into the air, pieces snapping from it as brittle as twigs, iron shards flying. I duck—one scraping my cheek. Until at last, just the seething orb of the starfire floats in the sky, as dazzling and terrifying as a second sun. Light flows unhindered from the stone, the ground shuddering, deep crevices gaping like a monster’s talons have raked the earth. The guests are screaming, running from the spreading devastation.

Still on the dais, I struggle to grasp my power—hurling everything I can channel at the starfire, before it destroys us all.

“Kill her! Protect the starfire!” Queen Chunlei yells, pointing my way. Even now, unwilling to yield her ambition.

General Xilu remains by her side, studying her as though weighing his choice—but then several soldiers rush toward me. I sprint away, drawing my dagger. Futile, when my strength is divided, my magic still flowing into the starfire. As they lunge at me, I evade, slashing at the closest one. When they attack again, a blade is thrust forward, driving them back.

Prince Zixin stands between me and my assailants, his sword raised. “Zixin, are you betraying me?” the queen rages. “I gave you a second chance! There will not be a third.”

“You sound shocked, Chunlei,” the prince says bitingly. “Just as I was the day of my coronation. Both of us should have known better than to trust family, knowing the blood in our veins.”

The soldiers dive at the prince. My heart is in my throat as he fights them—outnumbered. From the side, General Xilu advances, waiting till a pair of soldiers corners the prince, then he kicks at him viciously, knocking him to the ground. As his sword swings at Prince Zixin, Lady Shufang rushes to him at once, her warriors forming a protective circle around them.

Queen Chunlei hurries to Jin, tugging his sleeve, her gaze filled with malice. “Lord Jin-Yong, I command you to kill the girl.” A vile vengeance.

Jin angles his head in seeming confusion. The queen no longer possesses the starfire, yet its wretched power lingers. It spins as it rises higher, this divine force intent on destruction, streaks of magic spiraling free to strike nobles, courtiers, and soldiers alike, their screams echoing as they are flung to the ground.

Desperate now, I channel more of my power until my skin is slick with sweat, a struggle to remain standing. The scorching magic of the Sun Dragon spills from me—everything he yielded, all that remains—forced into the single nick on the stone, as tiny fissures slowly emerge around it.

But Jin advances with his sword drawn, terror flooding me. I can’t fight him—I can’t stop, this close to destroying the starfire. Looking at him, I shake my head as his gaze narrows. His blade is slung over his shoulder, then he swings it in a wide arc with startling speed—I duck, arms flung over my head—his blow missing me to slam against another sword poised to cut me down. General Xilu’s. In the chaos, I’d missed his stealthy approach.

Their blades clash furiously, Jin hurling the general back, then casting a quick glance over me as though ensuring I’m unharmed. My heart leaps at the keen awareness in his gaze, the brilliant spark muted all this while… the flare of recognition. General Xilu bares his teeth, the veins along his neck bulging as he slams his sword furiously at Jin again and again—but he meets each blow with equal force. I’ve never seen Jin fight this way: brutal, merciless, yet with icy calm, his clenched jaw the only sign of strain. While the general’s face is flushed, teeth gritted with fury, his movements growing more frantic.

Finally, Jin appears to stumble—a feint?—the general’s face alight with triumph as a cry surges from my lips. Jin spins around to elude the attack, thrusting his sword with deadly grace into General Xilu’s chest.

A thin gasp is dragged from the general’s throat. He is looking at the sword embedded in his flesh—that Jin yanks out, stained with blood. As General Xilu falls to the ground, he reaches out to the queen, who ignores his silent appeal.

The last of my strength is fading. I’m fighting to remain conscious, my power rushing out untethered, exhaustion eclipsing my fear of losing control. Another torrent of magic erupts from the starfire, hurtling toward me—but Jin seizes me to swing me aside, yanking me into a fierce embrace. My arms go around him, holding him tight, relief swelling that he knows me at last.

Yet we’re far from safe. My efforts have widened the fracture in the starfire, except it doesn’t break apart. Waves of force surge relentlessly from it, sweeping across the crowd.

“We must destroy the starfire before it kills us all,” I tell him.