The Last Dahlia

049

Shoya raised the jar of wine to his lips, swallowing the final drops of bitterness that remained. He shook the jar vigorously, but nothing else came out. In frustration, he flung the jar away, and it shattered into pieces against the ground. His head was swimming, yet it wasn't enough to wipe away the memory of that final look he saw in Yuehwa's eyes.

She hates me.

Although he knew that the dark magician had done something to remove Yuehwa's memories, a part of him was still deathly afraid. Afraid that the hatred was real.

Maybe he had been wrong from the beginning.

He should never have become the White Scorpion. Never have tried to avenge his mother and regain his birthright. Never have returned to complex, dirty world of court politics and power plays. If he had never done any of that, then maybe he would not have met Yuehwa on that ship—and she would still be leading her carefree life as the Phoenix, eating her way through all the delicacies across the kingdoms.

He was responsible for dragging her into all this, so even if she hated him and wanted to put a knife through his throat, he deserved it.

"Is that all you can do? Drown your sorrows in wine?"

Shoya didn't even turn his head. He continued staring at the dancing flickers of the open fire, and in those flames he thought he could see Yuehwa's silhouette, leaping gracefully as her deadly silks flew from her sleeves.

"You said you would bring her back, you bastard!"

Baixun yanked Shoya up to his feet, shaking the latter violently. When he was done venting, he dropped Shoya back down. Through it all, Shoya did nothing to retaliate. In fact, he didn't so much as have a reaction. All he did was stare blankly into space, like a man who had lost his soul.

"Ru Fei told me what happened," Baixun said, a little calmer this time. "They're trying to use her against us." He picked up one of the wine jars sitting by the side and tossed it into Shoya's lap. Then, he got one for himself and took a swig. "At least that means she's safe for now. They won't harm her if they intend to use her."

Shoya's lips twitched wryly. Trust Baixun to be able to keep a level head despite everything. Maybe that was why Baixun was more suitable to play the role of a king than he was.

"We've received news that the reinforcement troops have reached Muya, which means they should be able to arrive tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will be fighting the final battle for the survival of our kingdoms—and for our lives."

"Can we really win?" Shoya murmured. He turned towards the night skies. The three stars that Xin'ai had pointed out were still hanging up there, burning even more brightly than he remembered.

"I don't know, but I'm not going down without a fight," Baixun replied. "As much as I hate to say this, we need you to play a part too. I can lead an army, but that won't be enough for us to secure victory. You have to take down the dark magician. That's the only way to rescue Yuehwa... and to rescue us all." He took another sip of wine, then set the jar down. "I've asked my commander to prepare a set of Gi military uniform for you. You're too much of a target with this." He gestured at Shoya's white get-up. "Tomorrow, when the fighting starts, try to get a location on Lady Kang. I expect she'll be near the main contingent, yes? As for Yuehwa... I think we should trust her. She is stronger than either of us."

Baixun patted Shoya on the shoulder, then walked away, leaving the latter to his own thoughts.

"... we should trust her. She is stronger than either of us."

Memories of Yuehwa in her fiery red garb and boisterous behaviour cycled through Shoya's mind, fresh as if they had only happened yesterday. Baixun was right. The Yuehwa they knew was strong and highly independent. She needed no one. They were the ones who needed her.