The next morning, Hou sat under an apple tree in the gardens. He pretended he didn't hear me coming, but I knew better. He wore his illusion, the one that was all man, no monkey, except for his tail. Two fairies, smiling, passed the handsome young man, who ignored them.

  “Sun Wukong,” I said.

  “So formal, Jiang Li?” he said, studying the apple in his hand before biting it.

  I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, uncertain of who we had become. Agreeing to Guan Yin's restrictions had left me questioning everything, including my own identity.

  I leaned toward him and whispered, "I didn't know that you were made to help me."

  He shrugged. "I would have done anything to escape that prison under that mountain, even if it meant helping you."

  I sighed, overwhelmed by the situation. "Will you help me?"

  "Why ask when I have no choice?" he replied, looking up at me before taking another bite.

  "I don't want you to do anything against your will."

  He gestured to the circlet on his head, shining in the light. "Then remove it for me."

  "What?"

  "Guan Yin said only you have the power to free me from it."

  Without flinching, I met his gaze. "I promise to release you once we’ve rescued my parents."

  He snorted and tossed the apple core over his shoulder. “Why should I trust a stupid human?”

  I clenched my fists; the words exited my mouth before I could filter them. “Why should I trust a stupid monkey to following through on his word? You’re always so angry about things you’ve brought upon yourself, and you have never stuck true to anything. Not even friendship.” I stood over him, glaring into his shocked face. “You’re so damned impulsive and selfish that they dropped a mountain on you to keep you in line. A mountain.” My breath was heavy as I annunciated each word. “Without that circlet you’d betray me and my parents.” I shook my head. “Who would be foolish enough to trust you, Sun Wukong?” I spat his name then turned and stormed away.

  I felt his eyes on my back, thought I heard him mumble, “You did once.”

  That morning Trac and Nhi took me to the quiet lake that lay at the far edge of Guan Yin’s gardens. They didn’t speak of what happened in Wei Jei, which told me they understood the sting of humiliation. The sisters stripped down without hesitation and dove beneath the water while I slowly disrobed and waded in. Lung Nue joined us a few minutes later. Her dive so smooth into the placid water that the surface did not ripple.

  “We need to be ready for anything,” Trac remarked. “You must be capable of surviving, even in water.”

  I was about to object, but Nue silently signaled me not to mention Hou Zi. So, I kept quiet, determined to rely on myself or not need rescuing at all. I definitely didn’t want any help from that annoying monkey.

  Nue vanished under the water for long periods before resurfacing, while Nhi showed me basic survival strokes. I struggled not to flounder or choke. After two exhausting hours, I was starving, but the sisters urged me to continue. Nue moved around us gracefully, never seeming to tire.

  “How do you manage it?” I asked as we returned to the palace, my legs trembling with fatigue.

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  “My father is the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea,” she admitted shyly. “I’m half water dragon.”

  “Oh,” I responded, feeling embarrassed for not realizing sooner. “Why aren’t you teaching me how to swim?” I inquired.

  “I can’t teach you. I don’t know how to teach it. The water is a part of me, but it’s not a part of you. I can’t teach you to swim just as you can’t teach me to be human,” she explained.

  I spent the afternoon learning music, science, and history. Lao Shi was unusually grumpy, and when I asked about his health, he mentioned that a young man had been very rude to him earlier.

  Hou was sharing his resentment with everyone and I decided to avoid him unless necessary. As the evening descended, I went to the ponds to visit the sprites and watch the night- blooming lilies open.

  “May I join you?” Muzha asked.

  I nodded, surprised at his sudden appearance. It would have been foolish to deny a god. He sat at the opposite end of the bench, at a polite distance.

  “This must be your favorite place in all of heaven,” he said. “Whenever I am looking for you, I always start here.”

  “Why would you be looking for me?” I asked. There was tension in the space between us, though it wasn’t uncomfortable.

  “I like being near you,” he said. “You’re different than the fairies.”

  A blush spread across my cheeks as a blue sprite landed on my shoulder and wriggled beneath my hair. I didn’t look at Muzha.

  “Do you mind my company?” He asked, there was hesitation in his voice.

  I glanced at him while gently tugging the sprite from my hair. “No. I appreciate the effort you put in to being my friend.”

  His smile and scooted a fraction closer to me. “Are we friends?”

  Hear spread through me. I opened my mouth to answer when there was a crash in the trees behind us, followed quickly by a howl. I didn’t turn around. Muzha glanced over his shoulder before scooting another inch closer on the bench.

  “I heard that your old friend was back.”

  “I don’t have a lot of friends,” I said simply, uncomfortable talking about Hou.

  “Is Bi Ma Wen no longer your friend?”

  “Why do you ask?” I asked. Muzha’s proximity was beginning to make me uncomfortable. I slid an inch away from him.

  “I remember you defended him when you were younger.”

  “I was a child then. I am not one any longer,” I said. The sound behind us quieted.

  “I can see that. Anyone can see that, Jiang Li.” He leaned toward me, brushing a lock of hair from my cheek. “You are growing up well.”

  The touch made me rise onto my feet. “I should go back to the palace.”

  “May I escort you?” He stood before me, tall and handsome with broad shoulders and an easy manner. I understood why the fairies and ladies swooned over him. When he flattered me, it felt as if I held all his attention. When he looked at me, he saw nothing else.

  We moved slowly along the path, the sky darkening above, until we reached the palace entrance. He scuffed his toe on the ground before meeting my eyes.

  “I’d like to see you again, as friends,” Muzha said.

  I gave a small smile. “As friends.”

  I skipped into the palace, heading towards my room when Guan Yin ushered me into one of her smaller chambers.

  “You’re going to Constantinople tomorrow,” she said. This was how it was, never knowing when the information would come, we relied on a secret informant who wished to break the emperor’s curse, and we had to be ready at any moment.

  “War?” I asked.

  “Riots, which can be just as dangerous as war and even less predictable. You’ll be there for a week or more. The political and social factors driving this chaos won’t be easily remedied,” she said. “Sun Wukong is going with you.”

  I bit my lip. “A week with him? Will it take that long?”

  “There’s no way to know, but it’s better to be prepared. They didn’t know exactly when your parents would die, or which event would entrap them.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Even with a thousand eyes and arms, I cannot pull you out of danger. I am relying on him to bring you home from now on.”

  A week in a strange city, speaking their strange tongue, eating their strange food. A week running, hiding, and fighting. All of that I could endure, but a week with Hou Zi? We might kill each other. Actually, he was immortal so he’d be just fine. It was going to be a long week.

  “I will wake you early, it’s best if you turn in now,” she said.

  I slipped beneath my blankets, covering my head and shutting my eyes. Every horror I had witnessed came rushing back. The bloodshed of the Kalinga War. The young boy in Corinth, the atrocities against the women. The terror of the Jewish Roman Wars. The Yellow Turban War—more blood, more corpses. The soldier at Ye city who should have ended my life. Amidst all this horror, the eyes of my father and stepmother haunted me, dying repeatedly at each turn. There was no time to grieve their brutal deaths before I was forced to relive it. Each battle, each death felt like a personal failure.

  I was failing.

  I lay awake for hours, trying to see beyond the chaos and violence to uncover the underlying patterns. Yet, my thoughts persistently circled back to Hou Zi. Though we were forced into this alliance, I would have to watch him carefully.