chapter seven
Sung Lam made it five feet down the hallway, following My Nuong’s beckoning to come with her to her father’s office to discuss business, before something slammed into his chest.
All the air whooshed out of his lungs as his back cracked uncomfortably against the lacquered wooden walls of the hallway, pain rippling throughout his chest. He coughed, raising his eyes to meet the positively furious gaze of Au Co.
She had shoved him to the wall, letting servants titter and scurry by. She wasted no time leaning in, teeth bared, eyes glowing with some fearsome preternatural power. She pressed the heel of her palm into his chest, crushing his bones with a force that would have caved his entire ribcage in if he weren’t a Mystic himself.
Her golden eyes blazed alight with magic, setting the meridians of her irises a-glow. “You fucker,” she hissed. She was close enough for him to smell her shampoo- jasmine, with hints of something fresh and green, a bit like the mountains after the rain. Something cleansing and refreshing.
He caught his breath, trying hard not to further inhale her intoxicating scent. “What did I do?”
He glowered back, letting his dark gaze meet hers. Letting the Dragon part of him shine through, his pupils slitting, dark brown merging into blood red.
“Did you know this? That your grandfather would put her up to this?” She pressed her other elbow to his throat. Their bodies lay flush, and despite the circumstances, Sung Lam found it surprisingly intimate. He could feel the bulk of her muscle, juxtaposed with the soft rotund generous curves of her body, pressed against his chest.
“No.”
Her lips were ever so slightly rouged, he noticed. The soft candlelight of the corridors illuminated her face in its sharp planes, the subtle carmine of her lips so… alluring. He could see the appeal of kissing such lips, he could feel the urge to slant his mouth over hers and see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled. Which was… absurd.
Something warred in her eyes. Repentance? Guilt? But a moment after holding his gaze, it vanished quick as mist in the morning only to be replaced with her blazing fury once again. “You swear it?”
“I do. On my honor, as Crown Prince.”
With an exhale, she stepped back. Her gaze dropped, lashes fluttering as she examined something at her feet. He rubbed his throat, trying to bring air back into his lungs.
“We almost died,” she whispered, sounding surprisingly fragile. “She- she’s important, to me, but to also so many people. If something happened to her…” She didn’t need to finish the sentence for him to see the shudder that gripped her shoulders, suddenly shrinking her into nothing else but a girl worried sick for her friend.
Something caught in his throat. In this moment of vulnerability, there lay something sacred, something he was afraid to screw up in this strange space that stood between their bodies. This woman, girl more like it, so normally full of fire and spite, seemed deflated, extinguished in front of him with anguish for her friend. It was a wholly human thing to behold from someone who had, so totally, eschewed humanity and its mundanity.
More gently, he continued. “I did not know he would ask this of her. But he was not lying when he said I can give you full disposal of the Crown’s resources. We will catch Thuy Tinh, alive, with My Nuong, unharmed.”
He paused, thinking of other consoling things to say, when My Nuong peeked her head around the corner. Her eyes widened, the tension between Sung Lam and Au Co palpable, and cleared her throat, as if that would dissipate the air between them.
“Hey, what’s taking you guys so long? We have a criminal to catch. Stop flirting!”
Sung Lam choked. Au Co turned a violent shade of red.
“We are not flirting,” Au Co hissed testily, her arms folded across her chest crossly.
“I assure you, Lady Le,” Sung Lam said, struggling to channel composure, “our relationship is nothing less than professional.”
“Right,” she deadpanned looking less than nonplussed. “Sure. Just get your butts into the study. And keep your cooties to yourselves.”
“My Nuong!” Au Co protested, too loudly for it to be anything but awkward, but at that point, the princess had vanished beyond the corner of the corridor.
“Well,” Sung Lam extended his hand, ever the courteous prince, to the tien, “Shall we?”
She stared as his hand. Stared at him, something he couldn’t discern in her eyes unveiled, and without another word, she took his hand.
xxxx
The study was everything he had expected it to be- sumptuous, but classy and comfortable, but with an air of propriety and power. The east side of the office had latticework windows exposing the cool night-darkened landscape of the compound’s internal courtyard, exotic birds and animals prowling about the manicured gardens. Burgundy, silken drapes hung over the windows for privacy, but they were pulled back to let in the fragrant night air.
Bookshelves, reaching well above two meters, spanned the other edges of the room, filled with tomes and scrolls he was sure of immeasurable value, with the odd calligraphy piece hanging from spaces between the mahogany wood shelves. In the center of the room, there sat a traditional desk- low to the ground, paulownia wood engraved with mountains and spiraling swirls of clouds, with an antique lamp bestowing its golden light upon My Nuong’s face. She sat on the cushion on the ground primly, ever the lady, on the lord’s side of the desk.
“I must ask,” My Nuong faced Sung Lam who sat, rather stiffly, on the cushion across of her. “I may sound presumptuous, but may we dispense formalities? If we are to work together on this case, as well as future comrades in court matters in the future, may it please Your Highness if we dispense honorifics in private?”
Sung Lam nodded. “If I may be frank, I prefer it when we speak informally. It has, certainly, been an adjustment to be referred to constantly so obsequiously.”
A smile quirked the edge of My Nuong’s pink lips. “Very well… Sung Lam.”
It was hard not to match her smile. He felt one pulling at the corners of his lips, too. “It’s been a while, My Nuong.”
Au Co looked rather alarmed. “You know each other that well?”
My Nuong nodded. “We went to galas and met each other at parties a lot… um, before.”
The rest of her meaning was left unsaid. Au Co looked rather uncomfortable, sneaking a glance at Sung Lam who chose to ignore the pang in his chest. Instead, he opted for reminiscing.
“Last I saw you, we were barely the height of your father’s knees, you hated dresses, loved chocolate at the gatherings, and threw a platter of hundred year eggs at Son Tinh because he wanted a kiss from you.”
My Nuong turned a rather violent shade of red, and Au Co hid her laughter behind her hand. “Yes, well,” the princess stammered out, “he wasn’t nearly as handsome then as he is now. There was no way he was getting a kiss from me.”
“And that Thuy Tinh nearly started a fist fight with his brother because you preferred Son Tinh over him-” he stopped, the air in the room suddenly shifting to something more grave as they were all acutely reminded of the elephant in the room. Au Co looked positively murderous at the utterance of Thuy Tinh’s name, whereas My Nuong just grimaced.
He cleared his throat. “I must ask… are you alright?”
Something dark flitted over My Nuong’s eyes. “Yeah, I am. It’s just- it’s a bit shocking, to be honest. It was… violent. I don’t know what I would have done without Au Co.”
The other girl looked begrudgingly mollified. “You know I don’t like you doing this.”
My Nuong took in a deep breath. “I know. But it’s true, if he’s after me, I have more incentive than anyone else to catch him. And I can’t say no, when the godsdamned emperor himself asks me to find him.”
“I know that,” Au Co said gently, “I just want you to be safe.”
Affection crossed My Nuong’s face. “Oh, I know. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for. I feel much better doing this knowing I have your help.”
Au Co nodded.
“Are you… implicated?” Sung Lam directed this question toward Au Co.
The fairy’s cheeks puffed out as she exhaled. “That’s a tricky question. We don’t know. I might’ve just been there at the wrong place at the wrong time. At any rate, Senator Le has security detail all over my apartment… and I’m living here, for the time being.”
She didn’t look particularly pleased about that, and he didn’t bother pressing the issue.
He cleared his throat. “I must say, My Nuong, I want to help you… beyond my grandfather’s wishes. I too am looking for Thuy Tinh. It was actually why, well, I was in the Crimson Lotus district.” He canted his head toward Au Co.
Her pink eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. “So how did you going to only the seediest part of town end up with you bleeding out over my backpack?” She glared at him. “You still owe me money for my laundry bill.”
He waved his hand, money was inconsequential. “I promised monetary rewards and you shall receive it. I have wired money to your account.”
Au Co’s gaze sharpened. “How much?” A greedy glint shone in her eyes.
He resisted the urge to roll his own. “Enough. But to answer your question, I was at the Jade Empress. Looking for Thuy Tinh. I had some unfortunate luck leaving the club.”
All three of them in the room grimaced simultaneously.
“Well, for what it’s worth, Sung Lam,” My Nuong said his name cautiously, as if she were testing it out, “I’m glad you’re alive.”
She placed her hand over his on the table. His hand dwarfed hers, but he was grateful for her warmth.
Au Co’s eyes bugged out of her head, but to her credit, she said nothing.
“I’m also very glad I’m alive. I imagine it would cause my grandfather headaches heading another war of succession.”
“Did… did you just tell a joke?” Au Co side-eyed him warily.
“Maybe,” he sniffed.
My Nuong stifled a small smile. “I guess I’ll bite the bullet- why are you after Thuy Tinh? And so why does that mean you’ll help us?”
Sung Lam stiffened. “That- I’m afraid, I cannot reveal this to you yet. But rest assured, I am going to help you. I’ll keep you safe. And we’ll catch Thuy Tinh.”
There was a set to Au Co’s jaw. Something that belied more than just the ice-cold fury in her eyes. Something that promised retributive justice.
“Yeah.” She looked steadily at My Nuong, then Sung Lam. “And we’ll make him pay.”