My King of Flowers
14. Peony

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Yinuo!” the voice called out. Darkness surrounded her, a numbness that she couldn’t explain. But even in the void, she saw before her the back of her childhood form—the little girl with a broad smile who turned to her before rushing forward. She collided with the back of a little boy, hugging him deeply, her giggles filling the world. Slowly, the two children faded away, leaving only the man who watched on the other side.

“Dehai,” she breathed, clutching her hand into a fist. Her eyes rose to where he stood, dressed so finely and just a few steps away. His bright blue eyes were a beacon against the void, threatening to overwhelm her. As he came into view, she sensed something different about him.

From Cuilin, an energy haloed his form, casting a subtle glow. He wore a red vest layered over blue, accentuating the color of his eyes. Beneath those robes, a collection of gauze-like, fine sheer silks fluttered in the invisible wind. Every inch of the silks was embroidered with the most delicate golden peonies—some mere outlines, while others detailed into every intricate petal.

His hair, styled in a high ponytail and caught by an invisible wind, was secured with both a matching ribbon and an organic hairpin made from spring stalks. A large peony, placed at the side of his head, balanced his appearance, while his ears were adorned with strands of silver and crimson beads, ending in blue tassels.

He cast out his hand, and the head of a red peony with a golden center blossomed in the air above it. The flower was suspended over his palm, and petals fluttered around it, bursting into glittering lights, all encased by a symphony of red swirls.

She should have been fearful; she recognized the power he wielded, the elegance that announced his presence. Yet, the ache in her heart and the deep-set longing within her soul were stronger. For the briefest of moments, she worried he might disappear, that the heavens would once again be cruel to her.

But it was the thought of losing him that truly languished within her, overshadowing all else. She wanted to be with him—to hold him once more, to accept the peony as a token of his love, presented with such grace.

“Thank heavens, thank heavens you’ve said it,” he spoke. Yinuo took her chance, reaching through the void, pulling and willing herself to live. She grasped his hand and breathed relief as his presence enveloped her; from the mild warmth to the sweet scent, it consumed her being and dulled the pain. They stilled.

Cuilin brought his warmth to her as he wrapped her in his arms, and then everything, everything radiated perfection. Right where she stood, no matter what happened, Yinuo knew what her heart desired, but she also had questions she had never been given answers to. “Where have you been?” she asked.

He brushed the tears from her face. “Trying to get back to you.”

“I saw…I saw you die,” she choked on her words. Gently, he stroked away another tear, still embracing her in warmth.

“I am whole,” he replied. “I saw you dying…I thought that I would lose you again.”

“You’re not hurt?” she choked.

“I have obtained my true form, so no, I am no longer in pain,” he explained. Yinuo brushed his arms and then took his face in her hands. She sought his eyes and traced the faint white lines that bared the scars of his life. Delicately, she placed her thumb to the one on his chin.

“Is it really you?” she uttered.

“En. It’s me,” he replied, cupping her hand and turning his head to kiss her palm. “I’m staying, Yinuo. I can finally stay.”

“I don’t understand, and I’m scared. What is all this? What has happened?”

He held her at length, searching her eyes and watching as the tears disappeared into the nothingness. “Don’t be frightened. I’ll explain everything to you. I can finally say it.”

“Start with something recent. Tell me why you were beaten and bloodied in that yard,” she said. He rubbed her shoulders, carefully forming his words, but not withholding them.

“Magistrate Lei betrayed me,” he explained. “He’s been conspiring with my earthly step-brother to break the treaty. Magistrate Lei left the interrogation so that a Zhou assassin could take my life and line his pockets. By doing so, he could earn favor with your father, ensuring his engagement to you, but you…you stood before the arrows meant for me. If not for you,” he tucked her hair behind her ear, “That is not important now. I have no purpose in the world of men now that I have what I’ve always desired.”

“And that is?”

With one hand, he carefully stripped the tears from her face. “Yinuo, do you know what I am?”

“You’re a peony,” she said.

“Close enough. I am a Peony Spirit,” he replied. Her brows furrowed, and he continued, “I wasn’t always a spirit; I can remember being the son of a gardener and his love and care for the plants he cultivated. I was innocent when they took that life.”

Yinuo shuddered, pressing her head against his chest.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered, “Can I explain?”

She slowly nodded.

“The peonies witnessed it. They saw the cruelty. They asked heaven for another chance for me. However, even though I would come into their clan, I could not part with my earthly desires to be loved by you. How would it have been fair to only have been a flower in your garden? I didn’t want that. I rejected it. Though to be washed away to a new life, I was restless, and to save myself from lashing out at the living, I was offered a test.

“I was placed into Prince Cuilin’s life for one purpose: to prove I could earn our love again. Do not fear. I’ve passed—we’ve passed,” he stated.

“So, you’re a form of Dehai and Cuilin together?” she mused. “A second chance, but a new person?”

“Who has always had you in his heart.”

“Even as Cuilin?” she asked.

“En, call me what you wish. As long as you continue to call me, I will be content,” he said.

“There’s only one thing I don’t understand. Why did you keep this from me?” she inquired, not meeting his eyes. She focused at his chest, carefully laying her hand there. She wanted to press her head against it and confirm that his heart beat in her ear.

“Fear,” he confessed. “I didn’t want to hurt you again. I understand what Dehai went through defies logic, and I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I’m not Dehai,” he stopped, pausing for her. “I’m something changed and new. I feared you would deny me, of course, but I feared more losing you entirely. Besides, you told me yourself your heart was as withered as a peony because of me. I cried over that,” he drew her closer.

“No more,” she wiped her face, then smoothed out his clothes, brushing his shoulders. “You always came back to me in the spring.”

“Always,” he said. Yinuo watched as Cuilin presented her with the peony again, but this time, a green glow folded it in on itself, and he curled his fingers around the small bead of light. When he opened his hands again, there lay a carved jade peony ring with a filigree golden band. Yinuo nodded, slipping it around her thumb, admiring the shine that fell over each and every carved petal. The sidebands revealed phoenixes’ reliefs of gold and tiny specks of jade eyes.

She smiled, this time a joy filling her heart. Her tears were spent, and she shook her head, laying it once more against his heartbeat. “I feel tired.”

He nodded, “You can rest.”

“I don’t feel any pain,” she stated, lifting the arm that had been struck.

“This is only a transient reprieve. Will you come with me, please?” he asked softly.

“I’ve only ever had one wish, Dehai, and that was to be with my king of flowers again. Let us walk together,” she replied. He kissed her forehead, drawing her eyelids closed. Opening her eyes to the light, Yinuo stood with the Peony Spirit Dehai, Cuilin, whole and adorned with the garments he’d had in the void.

Pressed against his chest, his arm around her waist, she felt his lips graze the tip of her cheek. The shadows encroaching her space were struggling against the large spires of peony stalks that had created a perimeter around them. They were back, she realized, unable to process everything completely. A numbness that imbued her, but a fear that forced her to grasp his robes tightly.

At that moment, the haze lifted from her senses; she realized who he was focusing on, not the Emperor or his guards, but her brothers—Danbei and Weixin. Weixin had a scrap on his cheek, his blade hacking through the massive peonies that hindered their advance. “Cuilin!” he shouted.

“Thank you, Weixin. You were a good friend,” he replied. “I always knew you’d make a fine general one day.”

Weixin’s eyes widened in fear. “What do you mean! Cuilin!”

Danbei caught his shoulder and shook his head. “Let them go.”

“She’s hurt! Yi’er!” Weixin cried. He fought with the peonies, pushed into the weeds, but the stalks curled, and captured his heels. They wrapped around Weixin’s calves and brought him down to his knees. A sudden heaviness forced Yinuo’s eyes to shadow, and she saw the raw wounds at her chest. It’s okay, Weixin ge, she wanted to reassure him. She’d made her choice. “Yi’er!” he thrashed out, calling in panic and pain.

“I’m taking my bride home,” he replied calmly.

With that final note, the world shifted, red swirls devoured them, and Yinuo clung to Cuilin as he raised to torrent, casting the peonies around them and bursting them into a rain of petals. They disappeared into the mist, Weixin breaking free from the stalks just in time to reach where they had been.

The storm settled, covering the yard with a blanket of peony petals, even on Weixin’s shoulder, as he stood beguiled by the image in front of him. The sun returned, casting a beam through the clouds and onto a single surviving blossom. A perfectly prepared token lay at the feet of the chair where his sister had been just a moment before.

A defiance, stark and beautiful—a peony.

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