Jade Fire Gold by June C. Tan

Author:June C. Tan [Tan, June C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2021-08-09T00:00:00+00:00

Journey to the East

21

Altan

It doesn’t take long to get to the outskirts of the capital. Just before dawn, we switch horses as planned in a small town. The streets are quiet, but I sense the rest of the town waking. Low murmurs, the creak of doors and windows, the shuffle of feet . . .

We should leave. It won’t be long before the guards from the palace wake from the sleeping draughts I foisted on them. Once the alarm sounds, both priests and soldiers will be looking for us.

Ahn pokes a hand over the wooden door of the public bath and waves wildly. I reach over, and she snatches fresh clothes from me. A minute later, she appears, wet hair dripping over her shoulders. Out of politeness, I avert my eyes, wishing the water from her hair wasn’t turning parts of the pale blue fabric translucent.

She shrugs on her navy outer robes, secures everything with a chiffon sash, and marches right up to me. Keeping a deathly glare on me, she wrings her wet hair and flicks the water from her hands at me like a slap.

“I held back my questions like you told me to.” She speaks finally. “Now that we’re away from the palace, I want answers. First, who are you?”

“I told you my name,” I say, wiping my face.

“Who knows if Altan is even your real name?” I don’t react. “And how are you related to Leiye? I thought he’d be the one who’d get me out of jail. Are you friends? Are you a priest?”

“No,” I say, insulted.

She continues firing questions at me before I can explain. “But you have magic.” Her eyes widen. “A Tiensai? Why would you be working with Leiye? Everywhere and nowhere, that’s what you said. Do you wander around busting people out from jail—oh gods—” She jumps away from me. “Are you a vigilante or an assassin?”

I hold up my hands. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” she yells. Her hair unravels as she flings her dirty old robes in my direction. I dodge neatly. “Do you have any idea what I’ve gone through in the past few weeks? I . . .”

She takes a deep breath and turns around. Her shoulders heave and I panic a little. I won’t know what to do if she cries. But when she faces me again, her eyes are dry.

“Tell me what’s supposed to happen next. Does Leiye have a plan?”

“We’re going to find the White Jade Sword. My associate has gone ahead with preparations to procure a ship to get us across the Emerald Sea.” It isn’t Leiye’s plan. Not exactly. The fool should have known that I’d never go along with his scheme.

Ahn scrunches up her face in distaste. “Your associate . . . procure . . . Who talks like that? Never mind. How much did Leiye pay you to get me out of the dungeon and onto that ship?”

I pause for a beat before deciding to play to her assumptions. I quote a random number and she curses.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.