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Jin steps forward and bows. “Your generosity is unmatched, Honored Duke. May we see this prize?”
“Do you doubt my word?” Duke Yuan snaps, though his eyes dart around uncertainly. Some of the courtiers are glaring at Jin, but the warriors are looking at the duke.
“His Highness Prince Zixin requested that we ask this,” Jin lies smoothly—astutely—as the prince’s name is the only one that might bear weight here.
Silence descends. At last, the duke sighs. “The starfire was taken along with my daughter,” he admits. “I gave it to her on her eighteenth birthday, and she wears it always. I ask your discretion not to speak of this. If word gets out, it will attract fortune hunters and reckless adventurers. The Death Swamp sits on precarious land; it cannot be stormed, unable to bear the weight of many. We believe my daughter is trapped in the tower there, and any collapse will endanger her life.”
Jin’s eyes are bright. There was always the fear the duke would revoke his promise once his daughter was returned safely—but this way, he has no choice. Cunning, to offer what is already lost, but unsurprising for one who governs as he does.
“Did the magic-wielder make any demands?” Jin asks.
“The negotiations appeared to be a ruse to delay our efforts,” a stocky warrior replies, his armor’s gilded cuffs revealing him as one from the Amber Forest.
“Perhaps the magic-wielder wants the starfire, Captain Gao,” a minister suggests.
“Then he should have released Lady Ruilin after securing it.” The captain’s brow creases as he looks at us. “Are you from the Iron Mountains? Where is General Xilu?”
“He is not here.” Jin inclines his head toward me. “Miss Yining is the champion.”
“Impossible,” the warrior from the Amber Forest declares, scratching his chin. “I sparred with General Xilu once; this girl is not his equal.”
Everyone turns to stare at me, even Duke Yuan. I try to speak but my throat clogs. “I am,” I say at last, despite the quaver in my voice. “I challenged General Xilu, and I defeated him.”
The duke frowns as he examines me. “Your attire isn’t that of a warrior’s.”
“Not all warriors wear iron.” I sound steadier now, my mouth slanted into a hard smile. “I don’t need armor to kill a magic-wielder.”
General Suilan from the Pearl Ocean nods at me, then turns to the duke. “We have little experience with magic-wielders. What weapons or artifacts can be provided to aid us?”
The duke gestures toward the attendants, who approach, handing us each a fat pouch embroidered with the duke’s symbol of twin trees. “The coin is for your expenses. I have no tools or weapons to counter magic, hence our desire to seeks the champions beyond our borders,” the duke says.
As he rises and leaves the hall, the other ministers follow him. Last to leave are the warriors, their steps brisk, their faces alight with urgency. All eager to set out and save the duke’s daughter—all vying for the same prize.
Outside the duke’s manor, I rummage through the pouch given to us. “Silver and copper. The duke is cheap despite his grand house and clothes.”
“We have enough for our needs, we don’t need his coin,” Jin assures me. “Let’s gather the others and leave at once.”
I’m not eager to plunge into danger, yet worried to fall behind. “This will be dangerous. Not just the magic-wielder but the swamp too.”
“The hardest part will be to approach the tower. There’s a reason the magic-wielder chose it—easier to defend, especially with his abilities.”
“He will be expecting an attack,” I say, as we walk together. “What if we dress as messengers? Maybe we can get close enough to lay a trap.”
Jin nods. “We’ll hire seamstresses and pay them well to make haste. We won’t have much time with the others setting out soon.”
“It will be expensive,” I warn. “When tradesmen smell urgency, they’ll rightfully demand a higher fee.”
“Let them charge what they want, as long as they deliver what we need,” he replies. “I will make the arrangements.”
“With your fine clothes and profligate manner, they’ll charge us twice the price.”
He leans against the wall, tilting his head back. “As you did when we first met?”
“And yet somehow, you’re now in my debt.”
His eyes shine in that enigmatic way that makes me want to edge closer, to unpeel his layers. The danger of him lies not just in the sharpness of his mind, but how I’m drawn to him, how we work together to hone an idea into a blade.
The garments take the better part of the day to complete. But while the head seamstress has the heart of a robber, her skills are excellent. When we leave the city, I’m dressed as a young man, my hair coiled into a topknot. I’ve also bought herbs from the market—those that will hopefully dull the magic-wielder’s senses and cloud his mind. But for this to work, we’ll need to be quick, clever, and above all, lucky.
