The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom) by Jeff Wheeler

Author:Jeff Wheeler [Wheeler, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Fate Accomplished

As Bingmei watched her baby sleep in the reed basket that Quion had woven for him, she stared at the tiny face, tiny fingers, the little puckered mouth that showed contentment, and she wondered whether her heart would burst from the feelings of love she had for her son.

Eight days had passed since the ordeal of childbirth, but already Bingmei’s memory of the event had been muted, stripped of consequence compared to the wonder of her child. She couldn’t stop staring at him. This little thing had come from her, and as she gazed at him, she found herself imagining her own mother and father kneeling by her cradle. And their parents before them. And their parents before them, backward in time, generation on generation, until the feeling swelled in her again and made tears prick her eyes.

“Have you thought of a name for him yet?” Quion asked, bringing her a ladle with water from the pot they used to melt snow near the fire glyphs.

She accepted the ladle and drank from it, sipping the water and quenching her thirst. She was always thirsty now. Her body continued to shift and retract from the experience of carrying a child, but she had begun doing deep stretches again and meditation, recalling the forms she’d learned and preparing herself to begin training again.

“I’ve considered so many,” she said with a sigh, leaning her head on her arm. “I could name him Shulian after Rowen’s father. Or Juexin after his brother. Or Jiao after my grandfather. Or my father’s name. But none of those feel right, even though they are all honorable people.”

“So you haven’t decided yet?”

“No, I think I have. My mind keeps coming back to it, but I’m unsure of myself. I worry about what Rowen will think. Would he want his son named after him?”

Quion pursed his lips. “You’re the one who did most of the work, Bingmei. And he’s not here to offer a suggestion. Do you think he even knows?”

“He knows something,” Bingmei said. “He never shared all that he’d seen in his dreams. Maybe he already knows our son’s name.” She smiled at that thought.

“What is it?”

She gazed down at the face of her child. He’d been a very calm baby. Only whimpered when he was hungry or needed to be changed. They kept him wrapped in furs and extra clothes, and he seemed full of starlight when he opened his eyes and gazed somberly at her while suckling.

“When I went beyond the Grave Kingdom,” she said, stroking the edge of her finger lightly along the babe’s cheek, “I learned the Immortal Word for the concept of time. The word is Shijian. The glyph representing it enabled me to travel into the future, to go to the palace of Fusang when Rowen is king.” She remembered a moment she and Rowen had shared on the ensign’s first voyage to Fusang. He’d asked her to serve on his ensign when he became king. She’d thought he was speaking about the throne of Sajinau, and yet .

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