The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom), стр. 14
Xisi stuffed her finger into the hole, capturing the butterfly inside, and twisted the attachment shut. Even from this distance, Bingmei caught the scent of jealousy. The sharp lemon of greed.
Quion groaned as he started to revive.
Bingmei gasped and smashed her hand over his mouth.
Xisi turned sharply.
“Are you spying on me again, Husband?” she asked with a cruel laugh. “What form have you taken now? A newt? A scorpion is what you are. Come out of hiding, foul monster. Are you here for the same purpose I am?”
Quion’s eyes blinked open, and he saw Bingmei’s fearful look. She pressed a finger to her own lips before releasing his mouth. He gave a tiny nod, the smell of terror wafting from him as he registered the queen’s words.
“Come out, loathed husband! Do not skulk in shadows. Why gape at me, wretched man? Come out!”
Xisi’s disdain was so strong, Bingmei could smell it from where she hid. The jealousy and greed from earlier had been joined by more complicated emotions. Betrayal and the kind of deep, abiding hatred one could only feel for a former loved one. Had they ever been in love? Bingmei realized Xisi was trying to provoke Echion into revealing himself. She believed he was there, watching her plot his death. And part of her was still afraid of him.
Xisi crossed the frozen pool again, her skirts swishing against the ice. Little cracking sounds accompanied her faint footsteps. Bingmei held her breath, hoping the queen wouldn’t look down. But she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d think to—her chin was lifted high, her eyes on the walls.
“Come, black beast! Where are you? How you adore torturing me. Come out of your shell, snail. Where’s the greasy muck you always leave in your wake? Echion!” Her words became angrier, more venomous.
Then silence. Xisi breathed quickly. Her teeth were exposed by the snarl on her lips. She started toward the boulder, and Bingmei quivered in dread as she took step after step. When the queen finally stopped, her skirts were so close to Bingmei’s eyes, she could see the violet and blue trim at the hem.
“Is my mind frenzied? I heard a sound. Is he here or not?” Xisi stepped out of sight, but Bingmei didn’t dare twitch or cause a sound. Her eyes met Quion’s for a moment before shifting back to the pond.
“He would have revealed himself by now,” the queen whispered. “He cannot help but gloat. No, you heard nothing. Be calm, Xisi. Be calm like a spider. You have poison in your fangs now. You can end his reign when it suits you.” She laughed vengefully. “Even if it curtails your own power. What a bargain we struck. If only I’d known.”
She sniffed, her breathing becoming calmer. “Farewell, wicked tree. Until I have need of thee again.”
The strong reptilian smell returned, and Bingmei heard the flapping of wings as Xisi flew out of the grotto. With a sigh of relief, Bingmei edged her way out from beneath the boulder.
“Bingmei, was that . . . was that Xisi?”
“Yes,” she answered. On her knees now, she gazed across the frozen pond. A strange sensation against her skin made her wince, and she untucked her shirt and shook out a few dead insects.
Quion emerged from beneath the rock, holding his pack in one hand and the staff in the other. He looked at her and then at the tree. A lemony scent began to come from him, and Bingmei saw his eyes glazing over with greed again.
“We’re going. Now.” She gave him an angry look. “The leopard has already left.”
He nodded, and they quickly returned to the chasm leading back to the river. When they arrived, they found the snow leopard pacing at the river’s edge.
“I’m sorry, Bingmei,” he said. “I . . . I lost my mind back there. I wanted to kill you.” His brow wrinkled with remorse. “I’m so ashamed. But I’m glad you stopped me. I’d rather die than hurt you.”
She turned and looked back at the chasm. “I’ve never seen a tree like that before,” she said. “It’s dead . . . yet not dead. I know you weren’t yourself. Let’s get farther away.”
“I’m sorry, Bingmei.”
“I know,” she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “Come on.”
Together, hand in hand, they plunged back into the river that would take them through the canyon maze.
“I couldn’t understand what she was saying,” Quion said after a while. “She was talking to herself, wasn’t she?”
“All I know is this,” Bingmei answered. “Xisi and Echion made an agreement of some kind in order to achieve immortality. Their powers are linked together. Like prisoners on a chain. They depend on each other, which might be why they hate each other so much. I have never wanted to get married, but that kind of union would be a horror to anyone.”
“Really? You’ve never wanted to be married?”
“No,” she answered simply. “This world is too brutal for children. No one should have to see their parents die like you and I did. But I always knew I wouldn’t marry. I have this.” She lifted her hand to her hair. It had been white, once, although it had turned red when she’d become the phoenix-chosen. Both colors marked her as an outcast. As someone who did not belong.
Rowen never looked at you that way.
The thought had teeth. She remembered the smell of Rowen’s love, like baking bread, and the way he’d looked at her. But she hadn’t been able to reciprocate his feelings, not in this lifetime, anyway. Something walled up her heart when it came to that kind of emotion.
For