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Lancelot was certain by now that it was no longer tea, though he didn’t test it himself. He needed all of his wits about him.
“The Jade Emperor has countless children, who in turn, has countless more children,” she said.
He was tired just hearing her talk of those innumerable offspring. What must it be like to actually be a guardian to them?
“Every living being is descended from or created by the Jade Emperor. Pantheons of gods have come and gone. Each rulingbody comes into power by destroying the one before it. None has lasted more than a few thousand years—a mere drop in the endless stream of time.”
“I am not as familiar as my friends are,” Lancelot ventured carefully, “but I’ve heard of the Pure and Dark Goddesses. Haven’t they existed tens of thousands of years before the rise of human civilization?”
The Lady huffed a small breath.
Lancelot felt as if she was close to rolling her eyes, but was still too controlled and polite to do so.
Perhaps the drink would loosen her further.
“Those two…”
The Lady shook her head and downed some more “tea.” But that was all she said on the subject.
Lancelot sensed that she was closing up. If he didn’t find another angle to get her to talk, she would reveal no more.
“Why did the Jade Emperor send Erebu the Black Dragon on these quests?”
She did not answer this time. She simply stared at him, her mysterious eyes swirling.
He tried a different route.
“Why is the Jade Emperor trying to amass both celestial and earth-born dragons? He must know that we will never rest until we are reunited with our Destined Mates. And they will never rest until they find us as well. It is only a matter of time.”
Again, she didn’t answer, still staring unblinkingly at him.
Almost as if she was expecting him to deduce the answers himself.
Lancelot frowned.
He didn’t know the answers. He’d hit a wall—she wasn’t going to reveal anything more.
“Why did you tell me all this? And if you tell me this much, why not tell me everything?”
The Lady tilted her head and a spark of…fondness appeared in her gaze. After a long while, she said:
“Parents are supposed to love their children equally, but in their heart of hearts, they have…preferences, do they not? No love is the same, no matter the kind of love. I suppose I have always found your character soothing, for you have many…relatable aspects. As do Rui and Cloud. Divina, on the other hand, a dragon you have not met, is soothing in a vastly different way. She is like the human’s bubbly champagne. She is lightness and effervescent joy.”
The Lady’s words weren’t exactly an answer, but Lancelot got the gist—shelikedhim.
She looked back out at the gorgeous landscape.
“Burdens are heavier to carry when you cannot share them. Perhaps I should not have revealed so much, but…”
Lancelot bit his tongue to prevent pointing out that she really hadn’t revealed much of anything!
“…I wanted you to know that the Jade Emperor is not the enemy.”
“But neither can he be called a friend?” Lancelot asked.
“Is he the one sending shadow assassins and dragons to attack us? Why?”
The Lady regarded him silently for a long time, as if memorizing his face. He felt her gaze almost like a mother’s caress, though she’d never been that to him. She’d only ever been distant and stern, though fair.
