Chapter Twenty-Three.

Suyin rode behind Jun in the saddle, clinging to youth's waist so tightly that her arms ached. The forest rushed by on either side of her in a flood of browns and greens. This time, the blind fear came not from the horse or from the speed of the ride. Her fear came from the inevitable drip of time.

She held her breath in a useless attempt to hold back the minutes. Her heart beat out each second, one after another. She urged Jun to go faster, but she didn't know whether he heard her. The rush of the wind swallowed her shout and swept it away.

Li Tao was somewhere close, ready to plunge a dagger into Gao's heart. A cold sweat broke out over her brow and an odd sensation caught in her throat. She fought down the wave of nausea. Whether it was from the motion or from pregnancy, she couldn't tell.

She had to stop Li Tao. She had to.

A red bridge appeared ahead, with the tea house beside it. The ornate building stood over the river in a deceptively tranquil welcome. An Ying knew of the meeting place between the two warlords. Their spies seemed to know everything.

Jun dismounted just outside the tree line and helped her down from the saddle. Her legs wobbled as her feet hit the earth. She tried to centre herself, inside and out. Success. She'd only think of success, and not failure.

The boy steadied her with one arm awkwardly around her shoulders. Jun wasn't merely a boy any more. He didn't appear so young and vulnerable when she looked at him now.

'Be careful, Lady Ling,' he said, before pulling himself back on to the horse. 'You're going?'

The corner of his mouth lifted in a rueful smile. 'You forget how I betrayed Governor Li.'

'I didn't forget.'

'Neither will he.' He nodded toward the tea house in the distance. 'Go quickly, Lady Ling. They're already inside.'

She turned to the river and spied the horses beside the bridge. Beside them, Li Tao's guards stood in a silent watch. They faced away, their attention focused on the opposite bank, in the direction of the approaching armies.

When she looked back, Jun had disappeared. She heard nothing, not even the stamp of hooves to signal his retreat. The woods were silent and shadowed as she searched the dark patches between the light. Was the clan hiding in there, watching and waiting to report on Li Tao's failure or success?

She hurried to the tea house and slipped in through the side entrance. The echo of voices floated through the deserted structure. She heard two, both resonating down to her very bones. One was Li Tao's, deep and familiar, curling around her and tugging her forwards.

He was alive. She quickened her step.

The second voice was one she hadn't heard in years. One she'd hoped to never hear again.

Suyin came to a halt in the main room. Li Tao's back was to her. He was stalking forwards with deliberate purpose and she caught sight of a long-forgotten face over his shoulder. Gao Shiming. The man who wanted her dead, who wanted Li Tao under his control.

Li Tao's fingers flexed at his side. It was going to happen.

'Governor Li.' Louder. 'Tao, I'm here.'

He swung around and glared at her with black eyes devoid of light. Her heart skipped dangerously.

'Ling Guifei?' Gao sputtered.

The old warlord was startled. His guards, confused. And Li Tao was angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him. The muscles in his jaw wrenched tight.

Of all of them, Gao recovered first. 'Please join us.' His smile was welcoming, his gaze keen.

'You have no place here,' Li Tao growled.

He angled himself to shield her from Gao as she stepped forwards. The fluidity of the movement shocked her.

'But Lady Ling must stay! We need something more engaging to look at than our own frightful faces.'

All the smooth charm that Li Tao didn't possess. Gao looked at the two of them with growing amus.e.m.e.nt. He didn't know how close he'd come, how close he still was, to death. All three of them dangled preciously close to it.

Lao Sou had his men take her to the meeting place. They'd left her to disappear into the forest, but they would be waiting. The leader of the a.s.sa.s.sinations would demand her obedience now, as well as Li Tao's. But she couldn't think of that now. The immediate danger was before her, gesturing politely for her to sit.

She brushed past Li Tao to take one of the chairs at the table. He had no choice but to seat himself rigidly beside her. He was there. He was alive. Her heart ached at the sight of him and she wanted so much to touch him, but there was no opportunity. Gao was watching.

'The last time I saw Ling Guifei was at the banquet hall in the imperial palace. These old eyes still remember the sight.'

'It has been a long time, Governor Gao.'

He nodded warmly, as if they were co-conspirators, but they had never been anything of the sort. He had held all the power and she had feared him. Gao pinned her with his gaze. He was a.s.sessing her, planning for this sudden change.

Her old fear remained, but it had grown like a wound that had festered over time. She was no longer in the palace and no longer the expendable concubine, but she had so much more to lose. A child grew inside her, a tiny thing that held more power over her than Gao Shiming ever had.

Li Tao remained tense, ready to strike. She was here beside him, unharmed, yet he still refused to back down. If he murdered Gao, there would be no escape for any of them. Li Tao would be denounced and executed. Her stomach lurched and she forced out a breath. She knew what had to be done.

Gao Shiming had used her and tried to kill her, but now she had to keep him alive.

She lifted the ewer to pour with poised hands, supple wrists, practised grace. Courtesans were brought to such dealings to be beautiful diversions. It was akin to being a mediator used to keep the peace.

'You do look very well, Lady Ling.'

'The governor is kind. I am well.' She glanced to Li Tao as she handed him his wine. 'Well and safe.'

His hand paused on the cup for a heartbeat, his fingers just shy of hers.

'It's been a long time since I've poured for such ill.u.s.trious company,' she said.

'An art form,' Gao acknowledged appreciatively.

Li Tao scowled. Everyone was playing the part but him.

'The rule of the August Emperor was a different time, wasn't it, Governor Li?' Gao lifted his wine cup in tribute. 'It was.'

'A great time, blessed by Heaven,' Gao remarked.

Li Tao finished his wine and set his cup down. 'Say what you came to say.'

A low rumble hid beneath those words. The old warlord laughed. Showing impatience was a sign of weakness. Someone else was in control and you were not.

'I forget who I'm dealing with,' Gao crowed.

'I doubt that.'

Gao took his time sipping from his cup, enjoying the game too much. Her heart pounded, and she could feel her palms going damp. Gao was oblivious, overconfident in his advantage. His guards wouldn't be able to stop Li Tao.

'Don't be so impatient, Tao,' she scolded with a sweetness she'd never affected for him.

Li Tao stared directly at Gao. 'I don't think anything said here will change my mind.'

'But one must always consider alternatives,' she argued hastily.

If Li Tao would only look at her. She was no longer hostage. Yet he still believed killing Gao was the best solution. Nothing could sway him. She groped for his hand beneath the table and brought it to her midsection. To the place where a tiny part of them rested, innocent and unknowing of any turmoil beyond its haven. She was shaking inside and out as she closed her hand over his.

Li Tao grew deathly still.

Would this child mean anything to him? Or had he already resigned himself to death? The knot at his throat lifted as he swallowed. His gaze was still pointed at Gao, but his hand tensed beneath hers.

'One must always think of the future,' she went on. Her throat was suddenly parched, but she didn't dare drink. She didn't dare to do anything but wait for Li Tao's response. If one soul could ever cry out to another in silence, she did it now with all her being.

Please, Tao. Please.

Endless heartbeats pa.s.sed between them. She willed him to choose the right path. Only a slight sharpening of the lines around his mouth told her anything. Her true adversary wasn't Gao or Lao Sou. It was Li Tao and he was more difficult to negotiate with than either of those scheming old men.

Gao chuckled. 'Why, Lady Ling, you should do all my negotiation for me!'

She shot the elder warlord a warning glance. His presence was as welcome as a disease. 'Perhaps you should speak quickly, Governor,' she said.

Her challenge brought back the Gao Shiming she had feared all those years ago. He shed all civility and charm and fixed his attention intently on Li Tao. She became nothing. She was below nothing. An instinctive shudder slid down her spine.

She held her breath and prayed.

The earth stood still. The heavens revolved around it and he was nothing but a speck beneath the sky. Suyin's fingers twined gently over his.

He knew. He knew deep in his flesh and blood what she was telling him. On the heels of the knowledge came true fear.

Across the table, Old Gao stared at them with a shrewd look. Li Tao never felt anything when he was asked to kill, but this time-this one time, he wanted nothing more than to remove this smiling demon from the world. A quick sword through the tangled weeds and Gao would no longer be able to threaten them. Now that he had the crafty warlord before him, Li Tao could sense the truth of the Old Man's taunt.

It would be easy. One knife, one death. This was what he was meant to do.

'You and me,' Gao proposed.

'Why would I even consider it?'

Li Tao removed his hand from Suyin. She was trembling, though her expression showed nothing but cool tranquillity.

'You and I want the same thing,' Gao continued.

'Which is?'

'To honour the memory of the August Emperor. The true imperial line. The only claim Shen holds over the empire is the strength of his army. He's a usurper and a barbarian.'

'I'm surprised that you've decided to act so openly,' Li Tao countered. 'A man who usually thrives on rules and laws and pet.i.tions before the court.'

'Times are changing.'

He regarded Gao sceptically. 'Who will rule, then? You?'

'No.' Suyin's response startled everyone. She faced her old enemy with all the poise the years in the court had given her. 'The revered governor never acts directly. He's found some puppet. Some distant relation with a blood tie to Emperor Li Ming. Your family claims imperial blood, does it not?'

Gao wanted to use Li Tao's army to face Emperor Shen on the battlefield, while Gao would continue to fight political battles in the capital. This was shu gun: endgame. A time for bold moves and decisive measures.

Li Tao had come here committed to action. The bitter taste of death hovered on his tongue. After years of scheming and politics, he welcomed the quick efficiency of this solution. This was familiar. Certain.

He looked to Suyin. Grace and beauty, even now. Her poise never broke in the face of her longtime enemy. She hadn't faltered before Lao Sou either, not until he'd been threatened. He wanted to embrace her for it. Hold her fiercely to him. Hide her away from all this. He could never have peace, but she could. Their child could.

He had decided.

'You spoke of loyalty to our August Emperor and to the dynasty.' Li Tao folded his hands thoughtfully before him, the daggers beneath his sleeve easily within reach. He had a clear line to both of the guardsmen should it come to that. 'Laughable, considering that you owe Emperor Li a debt of blood.'

Gao's focus darted to Suyin.

'Don't,' Li Tao warned.

The sharp reprimand brought the older man's gaze back to him. No one was smiling now, feigned or otherwise.

'I would advise you not to look at Lady Ling. Do not do anything to convince me you have any intention of harming her. We will talk now, like civilised men as you so desired. But if I think for a moment that she's in danger, I will stop talking.'

The guards tensed, but Gao wisely held them back with a raised hand. The coldness of his gaze showed that he, too, could show no fear in the face of death.

'There was a list given to me by the August Emperor,' Li Tao began. 'The names of the men who had conspired against him. I recently learned that there was one name left off the list.'

'You're jiedushi now,' Gao replied smoothly. He was skilled at the art of confrontation. 'You command thousands upon thousands. I would think you would look beyond revenge.'

'It was never for revenge.' Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Suyin shuddered at his cold words. She should know what was required to become who he was now. 'There was never any emotion to it, for me or for you. You supported the August Emperor, yet murdered his Empress after he was taken down in battle. Loyal to no one.'

'What does loyalty matter to you?' Gao sneered.

'It matters to Shen.' And it mattered to the other n.o.blemen and warlords who revered the imperial line. The same families Gao strived to bring under his control. 'It seems that you, Shen, and I have come to the same conclusion-balance can no longer be maintained. My army, my captains and the entire Rising Guard have been sworn over to the Emperor as of this morning.'

Gao took in the blow impa.s.sively. His shrewd expression wavered, but not in defeat. Already he was rea.s.sessing and coming up with a new plan. A simple knife in Gao's chest could stop those treacherous thoughts for ever. It was the only way to ensure that Suyin would be safe. Li Tao considered it. His hands itched from considering it.

'So you must ask yourself, why did I come here when there was nothing left to say?' he posed calmly. 'Why did I come here alone to meet you?'

Gao's jaw worked silently. A drop of sweat beaded over the old warlord's brow-his first sign of fear. Suyin froze in her seat. Her knuckles were white against the edge of the table. He could see the jump of her pulse beneath the pale skin of her neck.

'It is bad form for men like us to hack at each other like butchers,' Gao said through his teeth.

Death would have been easy to accomplish. His knife would cut through the two guards. He'd wring Gao's neck with his hands if he had to. He was fast enough and more ruthless than any of the other men in the room, but Suyin's presence and the secret she'd revealed to him changed everything.

Li Tao exhaled slowly. 'I agree.'