vial, the intensity of its light making my fingers glow.
The hardest part was over. Once we got to the Autumn Palace, I’d have to sew Amana’s children into three dresses: a challenge that had once agonized me, but not anymore. Now I couldn’t wait to thread the magic of the sun and moon and stars through my fingers, to sew it into three magnificent gowns worthy of the gods, and finally be done with this quest.
Edan returned with Opal and Rook, and Opal cantered toward me. I ran to hug my horse. She nuzzled me back, but she was more focused on the wildflowers brushing against my calves. As she bent her head to graze, I stroked her neck fondly. How good it felt to be back among the living.
I reached for my canteen and took a long sip. “It’s very warm here.”
“No, it’s not,” Edan said, frowning.
I exhaled sharply. The tingling in my body hadn’t stopped. Now it rose, creeping up to my neck. How my skin burned there, so hot it hurt just to breathe. Dread curdled in my stomach. “I don’t feel so well. I feel…feverish.”
He touched my forehead and took my hands. My knuckles were pale, almost white. “Maia, look at me,” he demanded. “What happened to you on the isle? Did you…”
“Not the ghosts.” I wavered. “But the demon…touched me…just before I stabbed him.”
Edan pushed aside my hair. Whatever he saw on my neck made his jaw tighten. “Damn it! We need to get you as far from the islands as possible.” He pushed me toward the horses and lifted me onto Rook’s saddle before I could protest.
Dazedly, I leaned forward. “I thought we were out of danger.”
“Not far enough.” He leapt behind me onto Rook. “It’ll be best if we stay off the Great Spice Road. I know a shortcut to the Autumn Palace.” He pressed two fingers to my pulse. “If you start to lose feeling in your limbs, tell me at once.”
I gulped. “All right.”
Thunder boomed above us, and a storm spilled from the sky in a relentless shower. Edan tucked my head under his chin, but rain still streamed down my cheeks. I pressed my ear against his chest, listening to his heart beat steadily against the counterpoint of Rook’s hooves.
We rode in the rain for hours. The horses galloped at a valiant pace, over hills and valleys, until we finally reached a canyon where the Leyang River curved through the walls like a ribbon. We had to stop for the horses to rest. Edan reined them into a shallow cavity in the rock, barely big enough to fit all of us. By the middle of the afternoon, the rain finally weakened, but I still heard it dribble down the cliffs.
“A-are my dresses in the trunks?” I asked, my lips moving even though I couldn’t feel them. I shivered. “They c-c-can’t g-get wet.”
“They’ll be all right.” Edan cupped my chin, sweeping rain from the side of my nose with his thumb. His own face was slick with rain, but he didn’t bother wiping the water from his eyes. “You will too. Just rest.”
“I can’t sleep,” I said. “My body feels stiff. Hurts to move.” My teeth chattered uncontrollably. “T-tell m-me what’s h-h-happening to me.”
Edan threw his cloak over me and I waited for him to explain. He seemed reluctant to.
“He has marked you,” he said. “It means he has a piece of your soul…and until he chooses to devour it, he can follow you.”
Even in my state, I knew that was very, very bad. “F-follow m-me where?”
“Anywhere,” Edan said woodenly.
The tingling reached my lips. “I thought…I thought I’d killed him.”
“Demons are difficult to kill.” Edan wouldn’t look at me. “I blame myself. I thought I would be enough to distract Bandur….” His voice trailed off, and he turned to me. “No harm will come to you. I swear it.”
The horses neighed, and Edan straightened, his body tense and alert.
I didn’t hear anything, other than that the rain had stopped. “What is it?”
A beat. Then Edan replied gravely, “We’re not alone.”
“B-b-bandits?”
Edan put a finger to his lips. “The shansen’s men. They must have been tracking us.”
“What do we do?”
Edan was already taking out his bow. “You do nothing. They’re not after you.” He threw a blanket over our trunks. “Go east. Get out of the forest as fast as you can. If anyone follows you, don’t hesitate to use the dagger as I taught you.”
I tried to protest, but