Free Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon Page A

told?”
    “No. I sent for some willow bark to ease her pain,” Silver Phoenix replied. “I said that she had a bad headache.”
    He could have swept her into his arms, he was so relieved. She was smart. He spontaneously reached for her hand, and she didn’t mask her astonishment. “This doesn’t change my plans for your mistress. We can still rise together in the Emperor’s eyes. If you’ll listen to what I say.”
    “Haven’t I always?”
    “Yes. It’ll be your task to ready her for the Emperor’s bedchamber—”
    “She just lost her child!” Silver Phoenix met his gaze unabashedly. Two spots of color flared on her cheeks.
    “The Emperor enjoys your mistress’s company. He has asked for her consistently these past months. It’s not a time to disappear.”
    He released her slender hand, still feeling the warmth of her skin. “There are thousands of other women to choose from. You understand me? And this court runs on ambition alone.” He knew she understood perfectly. “Help her heal. Prepare her to be called again by His Majesty.”
    Silver Phoenix gave a slight shake of her head. “I won’t have you hurt her, Zhong Ye.”
    He swallowed, surprised to hear her speak his full name. “If you wish to see your mistress rise, you’ll do this.”
    “She’ll need at least a month. This is no small—”
    “We don’t have a month. I’ll make certain the Emperor is occupied with his usual choices. It’s been four days since he saw Mei Gui last. I can give you four more.”
    She blanched, opened her mouth, then closed it, pressing her full lips into a line. “I understand.” She walked back to the bedchamber panel, but before she slid it open, she turned to him. “Know that you need us as much as we need you, Master Zhong.”
    He inclined his head, hiding a half-smile. There were many concubines to choose from, if the Emperor’s interest in Mei Gui waned or if she took too long to become with child again. But no other concubine had Silver Phoenix as her handmaid. Zhong Ye, unsettled by the revelation, straightened when she was gone.
     
    It was well past the thieving hour. Zhong Ye’s shoulders and neck ached from crouching over The Book of the Dead . Yokan had food brought to them, but Zhong Ye had eaten very little, his appetite robbed by the demons and monsters he read about. The alchemist sat opposite him at the wide blackwood table, rolls of parchment littering its surface so it looked more white than ebony.
    Yokan dipped his quill in the inkpot again and nodded,indicating that he was ready for the next passage. Zhong Ye took a sip of dark tea before speaking. “Between the peaks, where the sun never touches but the moon glows, grows the empress root. Named after the Mother Goddess and shaped like a woman, the empress root burrows deep in wet earth. It grows to the length of a palm and smells of almond fruit when sliced. The empress root’s ability to give life is unrivaled.”
    Zhong Ye paused and cleared his throat. “What does it mean, ‘ability to give life’? A fertility herb?”
    Yokan continued to write with neat strokes, then finally set his quill down. He pinched the high bridge of his nose, obviously worn by the long day’s work as well. “This empress root is what we need to help create the spell for eternal life.” His smile was tight, his face made even more pale by the flickering lantern light.
    Zhong Ye stretched his arms overhead. He needed fresh air; he needed to practice his shuen forms until he felt the warmth of his own blood pumping. “I’ve never heard of it. Or seen it in any herbal shop.”
    “This is the problem and the challenge.” Yokan rose from his stool and began pacing the study. “According to the research I did back in Paan, the puzzle always leads me to the empress root, which can be found only somewhere within Xia. But there is bare mention of thisroot here and no indication of its location. Does any place come to mind from that riddle?”
    Zhong