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Something in my chest splinters. But I keep silent, looking down. It’s all too new, too sudden. It doesn’t feel real.
“Where is your ring now?” she asks.
“Prince Zixin has it.”
Dian’s lip curls, baring her teeth. “Why does the Prince of the Iron Mountains have your ring?”
“He doesn’t know what it is, what it means—just that it’s precious to me, a leash to ensure my obedience.”
“The ring will disguise itself,” she says.
“Let’s hope Prince Zixin remains ignorant.” Jin closes the distance between us until he’s standing just a foot away. He doesn’t touch me, yet the warmth from his body grazes mine. “Why didn’t you tell me your life was in danger? That you needed the ring to live?”
“It would give you far too great a hold over me.” I raise my head to meet his gaze. “Just as you had your own secrets.”
“Keep your distance from my sister, Lord Jin-Yong,” Dian interjects, “or I’ll have another reason to hurt you.”
Sister. The word feels foreign and unfamiliar. I can’t banish the awkwardness between us, nothing like the effortless warmth I’d imagined with family. Our bond lacks remembrances, they were all stolen from us.
“Enough with the threats, Dian,” Jin says tersely. “And stop calling me ‘Lord Jin-Yong’ like it’s an insult.”
“I can think of many other names I’d like to call you,” Dian hurls back. But then she sighs. “We should return. Ruilin could be waking.”
We head back to the campsite, making our way through the shadowy paths in the forest. Some parts of the trail are scuffed, twigs and stones scattered—marks of my earlier flight. Jin stalks ahead of Dian and me, maybe wanting to give us this time alone, a chance to learn more about each other.
“Do you remember me? Anything of our home?” Dian asks as we walk.
“No… just the dreams I had of you,” I tell her haltingly. “Once as you are, though your face was obscured—and then, when you were a child with braids.”
She breathes out slowly, a hand going to her hair. “I haven’t worn braids in a long time.”
“I wish I remembered more,” I say with feeling. “It would make this more real.”
I’d always known I was adopted but never imagined this. During the lowest times with my step-aunt, I’d dreamed of finding my family, conjuring up fantasies of being a princess in hiding, the daughter of a brilliant scholar or brave warrior. Silly dreams, foolish ones, a brief respite from the reality of my existence.
“What about Mother?” Dian asks. “Do you recall anything about her?”
“I want to,” I admit, my voice raw.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t.” She speaks like she’s trying to console me. “It doesn’t change who you are—one of us.”
Something wrenches in my chest. I’m one of them, of Mist Island—those I was taught to fear. My emotions are tangled up: dread knotted with longing, with tenderness for a sister I’ve never known, grief for all we lost. And running through it all, a bright thread of hope.
We walk in silence for a while, Dian making her way effortlessly through the dark, while I’m struggling not to trip. There are so many things I want to ask… I don’t know where to start. “Tell me about our people?” I say at last.
“We are descended from flower spirits who took mortal form after cultivating their powers for centuries.” She pauses like she’s searching for the words. “The water surrounding our island is clear, our sand as fine as snow. The Radiant Sky Trees flourish throughout our land, their six-petaled flowers blooming in all colors. The flowers in our rings are their gift—through them, we can channel our powers. The stalk you mentioned is a sliver of the Radiant Sky Trees’ roots, which enable us to find our way home.”
“It sounds beautiful.” A flicker of excitement sparks. While I grew up in the Iron Mountains, I never felt I belonged. Maybe I could belong in the Land Beyond—though the idea is jagged and unfamiliar.
“It is.” She speaks with pride. “Twin dragons perch upon the trees—”
“Dragons?” The word slips out, infused with wonder as I imagine them soaring through the night.
“They aren’t like the dragons you might have read about, who hoard pearls and cause floods. The twin dragons of Mist Island live in the sea and eat the fruit of our trees. Their size shifts depending on their strength and mood—some days they loom over the land, other times they fit in one’s palm. The Moon Dragon shines like pearls and silver, and the Sun Dragon glows like golden fire. Together, they form the heart of magic in our realm.”
“I want to see our home, to meet our family… to see the dragons.” I want this so much that for a moment I can’t breathe.
Dian’s face clouds as she glances at Jin, keeping ahead of us with his long strides. “It’s not like that anymore. Over fifteen years ago, the Iron Mountains soldiers entered our realm. They laid a trap and stole the Sun Dragon, also taking Mother and you. Now the Moon Dragon has gone into seclusion. Our trees and flowers are withering, along with our power. We’ve been searching for the Sun Dragon for years but found no trace.”
