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A cloud descends over Shenming’s face. “Did he hurt you, Dian?”
“His soldiers. They took my ring at his command.”
Fury carves hollows on his face. “If I’d known, I would have insisted on different terms with the Prince of the Iron Mountains.”
“He is our best chance of making it to the Pearl Ocean safely,” I remind him. “Would you have stopped him from coming with us?”
“No, I know my duty.” Shenming exhales sharply. “But I would have hurt him first.”
Dian tucks her hair behind her ear. “This isn’t like you, Shenming. You are usually steady and measured.”
“Not about this,” he says brusquely.
“Though I’d relish watching you cut him into pieces, my sister would object,” Dian says.
“We need him alive,” I say tersely. “I struck a deal with him to get us to the Pearl Ocean.”
Shenming doesn’t reply, watching Dian intently. I look away, feeling like a spy. He likes my sister, not in the familial way. And he was probably devastated by her refusal to marry him, though he pretends otherwise. Is this why he visits so often, even when it must hurt seeing Dian and Ruilin together?
“How should we cross the chasm?” I ask my sister. “In the Amber Forest, you spoke to a tree that bent, allowing us to cross over it. Would that work here?”
She wrinkles her nose, offended. “I did not ‘speak’ to a tree.”
Shenming laughs. “Your training can’t come soon enough, Yining. Dian would have channeled her magic to open a connection to the tree, where they can sense our thoughts and desires.”
“Can we do this here?” I ask.
“If the trees are positioned right,” Dian replies. “Their choice of whether to help or not remains their own; we cannot force them.”
We ride until the sun drops lower, night chasing soon after. The forest thickens ahead, the pathway narrowing. Trees sway, spindly branches forming a withered canopy above. Cracks streak across the ground, the browned grass reminiscent of the Iron Mountains. It no longer feels like we’re in the Land Beyond, but a place that has been abandoned, where magic goes to die.
The trees rustle though there is no wind. My heart thuds as a sliver of moonlight slips out from a cloud, the horses skittering nervously.
Jin rides toward us. “They do not frighten easily. Stay on your guard.” He gestures at the red thorns crawling over the trunks of the trees. “Be careful. Those can hurt us.”
Dian tightens the strap that binds the Sun Dragon’s crate to her horse. “I thought the thorns of your land only wounded intruders and enemies.”
“To these thorns, we are the enemy.”
A chill settles like winter’s breath, an eerie stillness descending over the forest. My skin crawls, the soldiers exchanging wary glances before several cry out in warning. I spin around as the thorny vines unravel from the trees, rearing back like tentacles, then hurtling out to lash us. Jin erects a gleaming shield swiftly—just in time—the thorns slamming against his barrier.
Shenming shouts orders to the soldiers who surround Dian and the Sun Dragon, and me. Their weapons glint, hacking and sawing at the vines. More spring up, though most cluster closest to Dian as she keeps a tight hand on her horse’s reins. Do they sense the dragon’s presence?
Shiji plunges into the fray with Captain Hong, reluctant admiration flaring at how fearlessly she fights. Yet the vines continue to strike Jin’s barrier, as he strains beneath the force, fighting alongside the soldiers. The pressure against his shield intensifies, the thicker vines ripping a hole in it, spearing through to strike a young man. He cries out, falling to the ground immobile. Another springs toward Dian, but Shenming cuts it down with a sharp blow.
I grip Jin’s hand. “Use my power,” I whisper.
His fingers close around mine at once, my power surging as it’s drawn into him—channeled into the shield, holding steady despite the increasing fury of the attacks. “Can you endure it?” he asks through gritted teeth.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. Captain Shenming and his soldiers continue their onslaught, yet more vines slither forth like serpents, lashing with greater force. Shenming, Dian, and the Mist Island soldiers are trying to channel magic, shimmering from their hands, yet the trees here do not obey. More soldiers are struck down, falling to the ground, their faces twisted in pain.
“We need to end this soon,” Jin says grimly. “We can’t hold out much longer.”
Fire. The dragon’s magic. Fear of discovery grips me, except there’s little choice when death looms. I move behind Jin, trying to conceal myself from the others. “Can you hold the shield alone?”
He inclines his head. “I’ll protect you. Do what you must.”
As Jin releases my power—I grasp the force within. Wilder, without his restraint, rushing like a torrent. Flames stream from my fingertips, engulfing the thorns. The soldiers cry out with surprise, none realizing yet that this comes from me, as I shift farther behind the others.
