Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Author:Sue Lynn Tan
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

21

Cracking my eyelids apart, I squinted at the brightness. Sunlight streamed through the windows, mingled with a salt-laced breeze. My body was heavy with that limpness which comes after a long slumber, each movement a struggle. I shivered, cold, except for the warmth over my hand. A strong grip, but whose? Someone sat beside me, the face a blur as I blinked to clear my vision. I did not mind the touch. It was a comfort through the memories which curled at the edge of my consciousness—of blood, of pain and terror.

I jerked upright. My eyes locked onto Wenzhi’s, softer than I had ever seen them before. My skin heated as I tugged my hand away. How long had he been here? How long had I slept? I swung my legs over the side of the bed, trying not to wince from the ache.

He frowned. “You’ve been asleep for days. Take it slow.”

“I feel fine.” Despite my bravado as I lurched to my feet, I was light-headed, swaying where I stood. Pride alone kept me from sinking back down on the bed as I gripped the wooden frame to steady myself.

He slipped an arm around me, his hold light yet firm as he helped me to the nearest chair.

“Prince Yanming. Is he safe? What happened?” My questions fell out in a rush.

“You’d do better to worry about yourself next time.”

He lifted the teapot and poured out a stream of reddish-brown tea into a porcelain cup, pushing it toward me. Pu’er. I inhaled its rich and earthy fragrance before taking a long sip, the liquid sliding down my throat with a reviving warmth.

“Prince Yanming is well and has been demanding to see you.” He paused to refill my cup. “After Governor Renyu’s death, the merfolk surrendered. Their punishment is yet to be determined.”

Memories flashed through my mind—of the sick pleasure the governor had taken in tormenting me, his haunted expression as Wenzhi’s sword plunged through his chest. The crimson blood which had pooled around his body, sunken in the terrible stillness of death. I was glad for it, I told myself, even as my stomach churned. The governor would have killed me, as viciously as he could. But I still found little triumph in this moment. And though he had gone, the scars of his deceit remained; the lives he had stolen, those irrevocably destroyed.

“The merfolk may not be to blame. The governor had a strange power that helped him gain their trust. His voice, his pendant . . .” I frowned, trying to make sense of my fragmented memories. “He used it on me, too.”

His face darkened. “How did you resist?”

“I sealed off my hearing.” I grimaced. “Stupid, perhaps. It made fighting him much harder, but I couldn’t think of anything else.”

His hand clenched on the table, until his knuckles were white around the joints. “Fortunately, the governor’s powers were weak, coming from the pendant, as you guessed. A true Mind Talent could have bent even your will in seconds. Once in thrall, he would have held you till your end or his.

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