weren’t alone. The unfamiliar voice and the underlying threat in it sent her pulse skittering. There were two men standing behind Jun.
‘This must be An Ying,’ she said evenly.
Jun’s eyes widened at the mention of the secret name. The bearded man grabbed him by the shoulder, yanking him back before he could respond. Water flung from the cup and the droplets splashed over her.
‘Your job is done, boy.’
She squinted listlessly at the shadowed figure, exaggerating the effect of the drug. She recognised the unruly beard and the thick eyebrows. It was the ragged stranger they had encountered on the road. His gaunt companion with the pointed, badger-like face stood behind him. At first she thought Gao had abducted her, but he didn’t need to employ such guile. Old Gao would have killed her immediately. ‘Ling Guifei,’ the bearded man pronounced her title speculatively. His tone sent a shiver down her spine. ‘Li Tao is a lucky man.’
‘Don’t touch her, Zheng.’ Jun tried to force himself between them. ‘Where are the others?’
‘Dead,’ Zheng declared.
Her heart stopped. For a second, she thought he was speaking about Auntie and the servants.
‘The boy didn’t tell us the swordsmen with you were the Shining Guard.’ Zheng took hold of her chin, lifting her face to his. She had no choice but to let him. ‘We sacrificed many of our men.’
Wang and the rest of Li Tao’s guards had put up a fight. She prayed that Auntie and Cook had escaped. The brutal calculation in Zheng’s eyes knotted her stomach, but she stayed silent, afraid to goad him. She had faced death before and survived. That knowledge and the need to see Li Tao again gave her strength.
Jun continued to lunge forwards, ignoring Zheng’s greater size and strength. ‘We are to bring her back unharmed. My orders come from Lao Sou.’
The Badger pulled Jun back. ‘We have orders too,’ he said calmly.
The mention of the Old Man made Zheng hesitate, but it was clear the two of them not only outranked, but could overpower, Jun. Zheng had no intention of taking orders from the boy.
He scrubbed a hand over his beard. ‘All I want is a taste of what Ling Guifei gives Li Tao so freely. No harm at all.’
Choking back a cry, Suyin wrapped her arms around herself protectively. She wouldn’t show any fear. She wouldn’t show any emotion at all.
‘Li Tao will find you and kill you,’ she promised.
Zheng loomed over her and her bravado faded. She shrank back, turning her face aside. He leaned close enough that she could feel the swipe of his breath against her cheek.
‘I will be waiting,’ he said with a mock intimacy that made her blood go cold.
He hooked his fingers into her bodice and wrenched downwards. Her robe split at the seam, the rending of silk deafening. She bit down on her lip and willed the pain to take away her fear.
Jun struggled free, only to have Zheng swat him back. His meaty arm connected with the boy’s jaw. She cringed at the sharp impact. All she could think of was Li Tao and their baby. A surge of protectiveness seized her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She would survive this. No matter what they did to her, she had to stay alive.
‘Is that all you have, Ling Guifei? No fight left in you?’
Her eyes flew open. Zheng was breathing hard, aroused. This went beyond lust. He was savouring his power over her and, more importantly, his power over Li Tao. There was an old grudge there. She was certain of it.
A cry rose behind them. In a whiplash of motion, Jun snapped forwards, a knife gleaming in his good hand. Badger staggered backwards with blood seeping through his fingers.
‘We have orders,’ Jun snarled.
This could be her only chance. She shoved at Zheng and scrambled to her feet. The ground lurched unexpectedly and her vision blurred. Her skirt clung like a net about her ankles when she tried to run. A trace of whatever Jun had put into her food remained in her.
A hand grabbed her roughly, tugging on the silken robe. It was Zheng again. He forced her to the ground and threw himself on top of her. His knee wedged between her thighs. She tried to claw at him, but he pinned her arms against the jagged ground.
‘Hold!’ It was Badger that spoke. ‘Back off, Zheng. You saw it.’
Zheng’s grip tightened defiantly on her wrists. ‘It means nothing.’
‘She’s been marked,’ Badger insisted.
Zheng returned his