The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom), стр. 37
“Your father died in this place,” said the man who’d killed him. “Only fitting that his son should take his place. You will die here as well. Maybe as an old man, like your father? Or perhaps you will be devoured.”
She heard the other guard snort. They clearly enjoyed tormenting Rowen, making him feel powerless and wretched.
“I wonder if it hurts being eaten by a dragon,” sneered that other guard. “I imagine it does. At first.”
Both men laughed, and Bingmei wished she could will the hummingbird down to soar into the building and strike at both of them with its fragile beak.
Rowen lifted his head. “Is there a dianxue blow that can stop me from hearing? I may be blind, but I wish I were deaf.”
The killer bristled with hostility. “Brave words from a soon-to-be eunuch. I’ll enjoy watching them spoil you.”
Only then, as she waited for Rowen’s reaction, did she realize she couldn’t smell emotions in that form. Perhaps because it was merely her consciousness in attendance. Stripped of that sense, she could only observe the scene as it unfolded before her and guess at what people were thinking and feeling. If there was any worry or dread from Rowen, he showed none of it. “I’ll still be more of a man than either of you.”
The other guardian’s face knotted with anger, and he took a step forward, but the killer held out an arm to stop him. “The master forbids it. For now.”
“He acts like a prince still,” said the other in a rage. “He can lick my bare feet!”
Rowen folded his arms. She could tell he’d enjoyed riling them, whatever it cost him. “Fetch me some medjool, will you? I tire of your conversation.”
“You will eat dung!” shouted the other man, clearly losing his composure.
“Let him taunt,” said the killer. “He will lose his bluster soon enough.”
“I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when the dragon comes.” Rowen stretched out on the couch, hands clasped behind his head.
The hummingbird felt a surge of powerful hunger, and it could no longer keep still. It zipped away from the window, toward the eastern gardens and the flowers it knew would be there. Bingmei felt powerless and wanted to go back to Rowen, but there were no other birds around the hall. She reached out and caught another strand, this one stationary, and pulled herself there.
She found herself inside a cage, trilling sweetly as a finch. She was in Xisi’s chambers. She recognized it, and terror filled her as she saw Echion and Xisi in their human forms, each of them standing. Their stench was undetectable.
“A drink of wine?” said Xisi, offering Echion a goblet made of gold and jewels.
“You seek to poison me so soon?” he snapped, knocking the cup from her hand and spilling the contents on the floor.
Xisi only shrugged and moved away. “To what purpose? What will we do now? She’s gone to the other side.”
“We fight!” Echion roared, his face livid. “I won’t give up the Grave Kingdom so easily.”
“I wasn’t suggesting surrender,” Xisi said calmly. “But you were defeated at Sihui. The spies told us General Tzu is gathering ships. He plans to attack us here. What if the other kingdoms begin to revolt?”
Echion’s laugh had a bark to it. “I don’t fear General Tzu. He’s clever, but he hasn’t fought as many battles as I have over many lifetimes. The only reason he met with any success was because he found the old symbol of protection from the fog. That was luck. It won’t happen again. And with my spy at Zhumu’s court, I know his plans. He’s not a threat.”
“Your pride blinds you, Echion,” she said darkly. “The phoenix will be reborn through her. We’ve stopped all the other phoenix-chosen who tried to make it to the shrine. She succeeded. She’ll learn the truth, and if we’re not careful, the child will be born this time.”
“But how?” Echion snarled. “The princeling was there when she died. He won’t be there when she revives. How can he sire a phoenix egg once I’ve castrated him!”
“She’ll choose another partner. The . . . the fisherman boy. He’s still there in the mountains.” Xisi’s expression of disdain for Quion made Bingmei furious. And yet, she was grateful for the little bird hosting her. Echion and Xisi both seemed completely oblivious to her presence in the chamber.
“That fisherman is of no consequence whatsoever. She won’t choose him. It’s the prince she wants, and we control him. If we keep them apart, we’ll ensure she doesn’t rise to her true power. What does it matter if she discovers her true purpose? We can defeat the phoenix again and delay the Reckoning. We will win as we have in the past.”
Xisi pursed her lips and turned away. “I don’t have your confidence. Your reckless ambition. I don’t want to lose all this.” She gestured to the finery around them. “Not after we’ve come so far.”
“It’s your fault.”
“Is it?” She turned on him, eyes blazing. “Was it not you who persuaded me to join your mad scheme?”
“Hush. The servants will hear,” he snarled.
“Then I will kill them and start over,” she shot back. “Tzu is a threat. Assassinate him. Now. Or have one of the men in your murderous ensign do it.”
“If I kill him, someone else will lead his army. I want to defeat him, Xisi. The only reason Tzu won at Sihui was because we were hunting that pitiful worm in the mountains. Let his ships come. They have no meiwood weapons, or not enough to make any difference. The fog would kill them anyway. I’ve already changed the sigil. They cannot win, but it amuses me to let them think otherwise. They can conquer the shores and march on the palace, full of dreams of glory. And then our dragons will feast on his men. I will cut out Tzu’s