The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin

Author:Jeannie Lin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Han was up with the sun the next morning, ready to search for Li Feng for the rest of the day if needed. He shouldn’t have been so worried. He found her a few streets away, walking down the street and absently browsing the morning market stalls.

The grey robes of the Taoist priestess were gone, traded for a cotton robe dyed in the warm colours of a spring peach. The skirt was shortened, falling just past her knees. Her hair was pinned carelessly and she was turned away from him, but he still recognised her. The sight of her locked into him as it always did.

He could sense her through distance, through crowds. He didn’t need to see her face or hear her voice. He was aware of her beyond sight and sound. Han would have liked to boast that it had something to do with superior thief-catching instincts, but it was nothing like that. He was always finding her because every part of him was always searching for her.

She turned and saw him. They met in the middle of the street while the crowd flowed by on either side of them.

‘Li Feng,’ he greeted.

‘Hao Han.’

‘I was looking for you.’

‘I was looking for you too…for once.’ Her faint smile was for her own benefit, not his.

He should have been relieved that she hadn’t once again disappeared, but the tightness in his chest remained. One day he would no longer be able to find her. She would be lost to him for ever and the thought of it left him gutted.

‘What…’ He paused, looking at the dark circles under her eyes. Her ivory complexion was as pale as milk. ‘What happened?’

She didn’t answer, but her expression appeared haunted. Searching amongst the food stalls, Han selected one with benches where they could sit and settled in opposite her, folding his legs beside the low table. Li Feng watched listlessly as a steaming bowl of chicken and ginger soup was set before her.

Usually Li Feng was a joy to watch. There was a perpetual fire in her eyes and she was like a hummingbird, never holding still. This morning, her usual spirited manner was locked away. Something had changed.

‘I went to the prefect’s residence last night,’ she confessed. She spooned some of the soup into her mouth, her colour returning a little as she ate.

‘What were you hoping to find?’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, her tone sharpening. ‘I didn’t go inside.’

Li Feng spooned soup into her mouth. For a while, he just watched her.

‘Not hungry?’ she murmured, seeing how he hadn’t touched his food.

He’d been stalling, trying to work out the best way to tell her what he’d learned. ‘I never asked you what you planned to do after you found what happened to your family,’ he said, still stalling.

She regarded him for a long time before answering, ‘I don’t know. I haven’t thought of it.’

The search had consumed her. It was the reason behind everything she’d done, right or wrong.

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