The Last Dahlia

048

"What do you mean she's gone? She can't be gone!" Shoya shouted.

He had found Ru Fei and the rest of the confused-looking Firebrands back at the Gi army encampment—without Yuehwa—and for the first time, he was genuinely scared. According to the commander, he had gone back to the cave that Shoya had spoke of, but there was no sign of Yuehwa anywhere. There were also no other signs of footprints or human disturbance in the vicinity, only a peaceful, serene patch of forest. As if the princess had never been there at all.

"I thought you said she had gone to investigate a suspicious sighting," Ru Fei asked, narrowing his eyes warily.

Shoya ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "There was no suspicious sighting. I knocked her out and placed her in the cave because I thought the witch would do her harm. I thought she would be safe there," he said.

He wasn't upset with Ru Fei and the Firebrands. He was upset with himself for being so naïve. How could he have let himself walk straight into a trap and left Yuehwa alone, and unconscious, for the enemy to steal her away? It was clear now that it had all been a ploy to separate him and Yuehwa, and they had succeeded.

"What did you say? What's happened to Yuehwa?"

Baixun marched over, his previously gleaming armour and sword now stained with blood and dust. There was a temporary ceasefire because the Dahai army chose to withdraw—likely because the dark magic used to sustain its undead troops had been depleted.

"They took her," Shoya replied flatly. He hated to admit that he had made a mistake, especially not to Baixun, but it was the truth. He had misjudged the situation, thinking that he was keeping her safe. Instead, he had delivered her to the enemy.

"How did that happen!" Baixun grabbed Shoya by the collar, pointing the tip of his sword at the latter's jugular. "How could you let them take her away?"

"Prince Baixun, please. This is not the time to come to blows with each other," Ru Fei intervened. "If the enemy does have the princess, then our priority should be to locate her and bring her back. The longer we dally, the more danger she will be in."

Baixun glared at Shoya, nostrils flaring, but eventually he lowered his sword and let go. Ripping off his helmet, he threw it onto the ground with a roar of rage.

Shoya closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm his own tangled mind. Ru Fei was right. His priority should be to find Yuehwa and bring her back. That was the best way to atone for his mistake.

"Lady Kang tricked us with a diversion," he explained. "We saw her carriage head towards the mountains and gave chase, but it was only a projection. Her physical body was not actually there. While we were engaged with her, they took the opportunity to kidnap Yuehwa."

"Also, the woman poisoned the mountain stream. I've already sent someone to warn the reinforcement army about it," Ru Fei added.

Baixun paced up and down, his brows furrowed deep in thought. "It makes sense for them to want to poison our water source, but what does she want with Yuehwa? If she was unconscious," his eyes shot daggers at Shoya again, "then they could have just killed her there and then, but they didn't. Or at least, we don't think they did... am I right?"

Shoya knew what he was thinking. They hadn't found any signs of struggle, or blood, or worse—a dead body—in the cave and its vicinity, so that would suggest that they had taken Yuehwa alive. But there was another possibility. That they could still have killed her and then taken the body away.

He pushed the thought out of his head.

"No," he said. "She's still alive." Now that he knew that the feud between them and the dark magician spanned the centuries, he was certain that they would not let Yuehwa die so easily. The woman had something else up her sleeve. Something that she thought would cause them even more pain and devastation.