“Would be angered to hear that I was delayed in such a vulgar way,” Lady Meng said, her voice the hypnotic sound of ocean waves. “Don’t you think you’d better let me through?”

The guards looked at each other, confused.

Like a flying arrow, a small dark blur darted toward the guards. It was the swallow! It pecked at their helmets, twittering and flapping. Pinmei gave a small shriek of surprise, but the sound was lost as the guards yelped and clattered, waving their arms like crabs about to be dropped in a pot.

Lady Meng did not hesitate. With a quick command, BaiMa jumped through the gates and galloped into the Inner City.

CHAPTER 22

Yishan’s laughter echoed across the empty courtyard. Pinmei craned her neck to see if the guards would follow them, but all she saw was a mist of snow. Perhaps the guards would think they were a dream.

When they passed a second courtyard, BaiMa slowed and Lady Meng looked up into the sky. Yishan and Pinmei followed her gaze until they finally saw what she was looking for. A small black dot circled above them.

“Thank you,” Lady Meng said to the swallow. “Now the king, please.”

The swallow led them to another empty courtyard, then over an arched stone bridge of the same color as the frozen water beneath. BaiMa’s steps made a hollow, mournful echo, and when the swallow stopped in front of a red carved door, they heard the unmistakable sound of weeping. Lady Meng hesitated, but pushed open the door.

They were in the throne room. Even though they were out of the wind, the room did not feel much warmer, and Pinmei was surprised by its starkness. The row of windows cast a cold white light, making everything within look like a shadow puppet. A tearful queen was being led out of the room by frozen-faced women, and the king sat stiffly on his throne, his eyes fixed on a paper clutched in his hands.

But the creaking of the door forced the king to look up, and when he saw the visitors, his face lit with surprised recognition, melting his stiffness.

“MengHai!” the king said, standing and reaching to pull Lady Meng up from her low bow. “What are you doing here?”

“KaiJae,” Lady Meng said, grasping his arms in greeting. She glanced at the floating silk swirls of the departing women. “Why is the queen upset?”

“We just received some bad news. The emperor has conscripted the men of a village north of here and we”—the king hesitated and glanced around warily—“and we… have friends there.”

Those must be some close friends, Pinmei thought. She felt she shouldn’t be listening, but how else would they know when to ask about the dragon’s pearl? She bit her lip and glanced over at Yishan. He, like her, had kneeled in a bowing position. He shrugged at her. They were unnoticed and forgotten, but this was not the time to interrupt.

“But it matters not,” the king continued, shaking his head as if to clear it. His face took on an expression of alarm. “You must not be here. MengHai, you must leave right away!”

“Leave?” Lady Meng said. “I cannot leave until I know what happened to Wan. Tell me, how did he die?”

“He is dead?” the king gasped. “I thought the emperor took him to work on the Vast Wall…”

“The Vast Wall?” It was Lady Meng’s turn to gasp. “Why was Wan working on the wall?”

“You did not get my message?” the king said.

Lady Meng shook her head. The king looked around again at the room, empty of all except them, and beckoned her closer. “Your husband was right about that meeting of kings. He said the Tiger King could not be trusted and insisted on going in my place,” the king said in a fierce whisper. “The meeting was a trap. All the other kings were killed. The Tiger King made all his men the new kings, killed the old emperor, and then made himself the new emperor—the ruler of all.”

“But what of Wan?” Lady Meng pressed.

“Wan was not killed,” the king said. “For some reason, when he reached Wan, the Tiger King dropped his sword, grabbed your husband by the collar, and ripped his shirt. Then the Tiger King held a piece of the shirt in his hands, laughed, threw Wan to the ground, and told his men to take him away.”

“Ripped his shirt,” Lady Meng whispered, and Pinmei thought about the dragon shirt Lady Meng had sewn. It had failed to protect her husband.

“And then, not long after, he became invincible,” the king said, scowling. “The Tiger King had always been a fierce warrior, but suddenly swords bounced off him and he could toss trees.”

“And boys,” Yishan added grimly to Pinmei. She grimaced. Was Amah with this emperor now, a man who didn’t sound like a man at all? Pinmei swallowed and pressed her hand over Amah’s bracelet as if she were hiding it.

“Now that he is emperor, the mountains bleed red where he has whipped them to make room for his Vast Wall,” the king continued, either not hearing Yishan or ignoring him. “And men like your husband toil for him there night and day.”

“Then I must go to the Vast Wall,” Lady Meng said without hesitation. “I will find him, alive or dead.”

“Wherever you go,” the king said, “you and your friends must go immediately. It is not safe here, MengHai.”

“But we just got here,” Yishan said, lifting his head with indignation. Pinmei frowned in agreement. They still needed to ask about the dragon’s pearl!

The king looked directly at them for the first time, and Pinmei’s protests were temporarily forgotten in her surprise. The king’s face was white and gaunt, and the deep shadows of his eyes looked as if they had been painted with smoke. He looked more like a ghost than a king.

“You don’t understand,” he said. “This is no place for children or friends. The emperor…”

The door to the throne room burst open, and with a biting gust of cold air, a servant flew to stand before the king.

“The emperor is here!” the servant girl gasped.

CHAPTER 23

“How close?” the king demanded.

“Just arrived at the gate,” the servant girl said, breathing heavily. “Probably coming through the first courtyard now.”

“Quickly, Yanna,” the king said to the girl. “Take Lady Meng and these children to the Hall of Distant Clouds before the emperor or his men see them. They are friends and they must stay out of sight until after…”