With her wings spread on either side of her, Ling ducked her head at Cao, waiting for him to hop on board.

He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of her. Ling’s dragon form was slender and shimmery, those thin wings framing her almost unnecessary because her body seemed to float in the air. “I’m proud of you.” He petted a hand down her long, slim neck. “Giving up your quest for the stones must have been hard.”

The search had driven her for years. Handing it over must sting a little.

“It was, but this is what’s right. I’m confident in them. Besides, this is their legacy, not mine. I’m Chosen, and that has to come first. It’s where I belong.”

He hopped atop her, swinging one leg over the other side to straddle her. Then he seized a handful of plumage and gripped tight. “I couldn’t agree more. Now, let’s go join them.”

Ling trotted off the ledge and glided smoothly into the air, like a pro who’d been doing it her entire life. He loosened his hold, enjoying the ride. The sun beat down on them as they parted from the cluster of floating islands, heading through the wards back toward their realm. He braced for a dragon attack, but nothing shot at them from out of the sky. In fact, nothing bothered them as they journeyed toward Kek Lok Si in Penang, Malaysia, where the Chosen resided.

Ling drifted over the hilltop, swooping to land in the center of an open garden.

“Holy shit,” one brawny dude rang out in an Aussie accent as Ling settled onto the ground. The pretty, girl-next-door brunette beside him smacked his arm, hissing, “It’s Ling.”

The other Chosen flocked toward them from the side tunnels and dirt pathways, circling them.

“Looking good, Ling.” Price jerked his chin at her, grinning broadly.

“Ah, thanks.” If dragons blushed, Ling would be bright red right now.

Cao leapt off her back and waved at the Chosen. They were descendants of the Eight Immortals, his buddies. It was weird observing them and realizing none of them were related to him. He’d never offered up his bloodline for this cause. Had he failed them?

Behind him, Ling shuddered and transformed into her human shape.

“I’m so glad you came back.” Lucy rushed forward, snaring Ling in a suffocating hug.

“Me too,” Ling wheezed, unhooking herself.

“Sorry, Rabbit’s super excited to see you,” Lucy hummed, easing back.

Delun stepped forward. “We were worried about you. After your grandfather went ape-shit, we weren’t sure what to think.”

“Well, about that.” Cao rubbed the back of his neck. “Long story short, we stumbled across some allies and encountered a few issues you should be made aware of.”

“Let’s discuss it over tea.” Lucy waved her arms, ushering them down a stone pathway.

Cao clasped Ling’s hand while they walked. Once inside, everyone grabbed a cup of tea and settled about in a circle on the plush cushions scattered on the floor. Ling settled beside Cao, the sweetly floral jasmine tea calming him as he inhaled the steam.

“Spill.” Price tilted his chin at Ling.

Cao squeezed her hand in reassurance. She blew out one long breath and spewed everything in one exhale. “Cao’s brother Jingzhi is the fourth Demon King, although he claims to be the first. Dì Xīn, Xiaodan, and Xing remain in Dìyù.” She sucked in another deep inhalation. “It doesn’t matter what you did with their souls or their bodies, because the demon part of them has taken over. The only good news is they’re stuck there. They planned to use the shén stone to traverse realms and since we have it, they’re out of luck for crossing over. Which buys us a small measure of time.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Holy shit.”

“Damn, girl.”

Exclamations echoed around the chamber.

Sheng leaned forward, those piercing eyes trained on her with Tiger’s precision. “Time for what?”

Cao jumped in. “To unite the stones and rally the dragons. Because let’s face it, if the dragons leave, they take their magic with them, and we’re fucked.”

“Rally the dragons?” Lucy angled her head at them, wriggling Rabbit’s fuzzy nose.

Ling nodded eagerly. This was her specialty. “They came here following a stone. This stone, or rather, these are a part of it.” She withdrew the shén and jīng gems from her pocket. “It broke into pieces thousands of years ago and no one has reassembled it. I’m going to. Once it’s whole, the dragons will have a reason to stay. To fight. To save us.”

Delun whistled low. “I may not be a dragon by nature, but damn if Dragon inside me isn’t on the edge of blowing flames.”

Price produced the violet stone they’d stolen from the Dragon King. “Let me guess. Qì.”

Ling bobbed her head and accepted the stone from Price. All three stones glowed and trilled on her palm, drawing together like magnets and, in a flash of brilliance, fused.

Wicked cool.

Silence filled the air while everyone stared. After a moment, Ling shifted, stowed the Three Treasures rock within her spirit, and cleared her throat. “Well, now that you know, I’m afraid we have to leave.” She rose, her teacup teetering in her hand. “I kind of pissed off my grandfather and don’t want him to trash your place looking for me.”

“Fuck that. Of course, you can stay. We’re protected from that kind of shit here.” Kassian stood, the big guy crossing his arms over his chest.

“Thanks, but we have somewhere else to be.” Cao leapt to his feet and addressed the group. “We’ll keep you posted on how the stone search goes.”

Sheng inclined his head at them. “Please do. Next time we meet, let’s hope we have better fucking news.”

* * *

You sure about this?” Cao whispered to Ling, for the seven hundredth time.

She sighed. “Of course.” He wasn’t too happy about her plan to fix things with her grandfather, but this was the only solution she saw. As distasteful as it was.

Ling flapped her wings harder, swooping to land on the sandy beach of her father’s island. What should have been her home. She exhaled low and brushed off the longings of her childhood, scanning the beach. A manicured path led further inland.

Cao leapt off her back and approached the path.

A quick shake of her head and she transformed into her human shape, then rushed ahead, grabbing Cao’s arm. Hastening her steps, she towed him onward. No sense in dragging this out.

The massive, columned marble villa ahead appeared exactly as she remembered it. The chiming fountain in the middle of the manicured lawns trilled as it always had. She could have sketched this place from her memories. Nothing had changed, which wasn’t surprising. Her father wasn’t a man who embraced adaptation.

From the open glass doors, a male figure emerged. Tall. Athletic. A closely trimmed beard accenting his square jaw. Dark eyes, slanted in disapproval. His hair hung long about his shoulders and he wore a simple black robe.

“Ling.” Her father’s expression didn’t change from its indifferent mask. “Why are you here, Princess?”

“Hello, Father.” She cringed beneath the term of endearment but then steeled her shoulders. “I’ve come to borrow your flute.”

The briefest flicker of avarice crossed his eyes, before he clamped his jaw tightly. “I no longer possess my flute. I broke it and tossed it into the sea, after I lost your mother.”

Hell if she believed that. “We both know you did nothing of the sort, but it’s a nice story to keep the flute to yourself.”

The man scoffed. “It won’t bring you what you wish.”

“Actually,” she smirked, “I think it will.”

“Han, just give it to her.” Cao stepped forward, hands held in placation. “You owe her that much at least.”

Instead of focusing on Cao, though, her father regarded her with narrowed eyes. “How did you learn of its abilities?”

“Oh, I’ve known for a very long time what it does, but I haven’t had a reason to care before.”

Han hadn’t been as careful as he’d concluded when he’d taken out the instrument and practically fondled it. More than one of Ling’s connections had reported back to her about the flute’s existence.

Not that she was tattling on anyone. Doing so would be bad for business.

“Fine.” Han didn’t even put up a fight as he extracted the flute from his robe pocket, handing it to her.

Stepping close to him to accept the flute sent chills down her spine. The young girl inside her no longer sought his affection or approval. The trust had been broken and couldn’t be mended. Not since she grasped what he really was.

Selfish bastard.

Ling seized the flute and flipped it in her hands. It was fashioned of an intricate metal, light and solid at the same time. The flute reflected light like the surface of the ocean, ranging in hues of blue, gray, and green. She raised the instrument to her lips, placing her fingers over the holes.

And then she blew.

* * *

Cao tensed, but it was too late. The eerie, high-pitched notes whirled around them in a blast of air before falling silent on the ground. Han had turned his back while Ling played the flute, as though he couldn’t bear to have another touch his precious object.

The flute Han kept was an object of manipulation, and Cao prayed it performed for them now.

Some water entity the Dragon King had pissed off had fashioned the instrument and handed it to the immortal. Han had played the flute. Tasi had been nearby, and the flute’s powers had beckoned her. That was its magic. It called forth the sea dragons, casting them beneath the player’s spell.

Han had mistaken her enthusiasm for attraction, or maybe she actually had liked him, but either way, their romance was cut short when the King learned of the deception.

The Dragon King imprisoned his cray-cray daughter, enacting his revenge against Han.

Now, Ling played the flute, calling forth her dragonly grandfather. Once under her spell, he had to grant her anything.

Or so Cao hoped.

Otherwise, they were fucked.

He shifted his feet, surveying the endless sea, waiting for the Dragon King to heed Ling’s call.

Something didn’t feel right.

Shit.

Cao slanted his gaze toward Han. The other immortal seemed cool as a summer breeze. Unmoving. Unconcerned.

Even though he was about to meet his lover’s father. His enemy.

“Ling, give me—” Before Cao snatched the flute from Ling’s hands, a thunderous crash rocked beneath their feet, sending them both collapsing to the ground. He rolled to his feet, but Ling remained on the ground, the flute fisted in her hand as she stared at the massive dragon towering over her.

Bloody hell.

The Dragon King hovered above Ling, his long, forked tongue flicking out. Slyly, he swung his head to Han. “Well done, Immortal. You’ve finally proven useful.”

Cao clutched the sword at his back, drawing it in one fluid slice. He braced the weapon in front of him, gripping it tightly. He was a fucking idiot for trusting an immortal like Han to have his back.

“Father, what did you do?” Ling ground from between clenched teeth, shooting him a glower that could burn him to a crisp.

“You didn’t really presume I’d let you have it, did you?” The immortal smirked and produced an identical flute from his inside pocket. “You should be happy, Princess. After all, because of you, your mother will at last be free.”

Free? The fuck?

“As we agreed.” The Dragon King dipped his head and stepped aside, revealing the slender female behind him clad in a pastel lavender gown. Her curling dark locks brushed her knees, accentuating the paleness of her skin. Guess centuries of being locked underwater wasn’t great for her tan.

Silver eyes like Ling’s blinked in dazed confusion at them. The King gave her a nudge forward and she stumbled, like she’d been drugged by something.

And by someone.

Sonovabitch.

Han rushed forward and snared the princess in his arms, murmuring, “Oh, my darling, you’re safe with me.”

Tasi stood, stiff in his embrace, eyes glassy.

Was she crazy, or had these men made her that way?

“Mother?” Ling extended one hand toward Tasi.

Slowly, the woman pivoted. “Oh, who are you?”

* * *

No. Every inch of her childhood heart crushed beneath her mother’s vacant expression. Ling sank into the sand, fighting tears.

This woman didn’t know her. Maybe she didn’t even know herself.

Ling had anticipated as much, but damn, it still hurt.

Han was a monumental screw-up, but a part of her had carried the hope of one affectionate parent. What a fool.

“It’s done,” her grandfather declared in a booming voice.

She gaped in dread at the fake flute in her hand. Ominous shivers trickled across her skin. “Wait. What’s done?” Ling peeked back at Cao. The same panic clouded his features.

“Our deal.” Her grandfather fixed his slithery smile on her. “A trade. You for your mother.”

That would mean… “No!” She scrambled backward, but it was no use. Invisible bindings seized her wrists and ankles, locking her to the ground. Then, they lifted her into the air, unrelenting against her struggles.

Cao latched on to her leg, but as she twisted toward him, he frowned and let go. “Trust me.” He nodded firmly.

The force spun her around and whipped her into the air. “Cao!” she screamed, unable to even twist to look at him.

“Ling!” he bellowed from somewhere below, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t save her. The only thing that could be done was…

Wait. Where was the fake flute? Grimacing, Ling examined her empty hands.

Already, her grandfather had plunged beneath the surface, sending her hurtling into the waves after him.

They blasted through some sort of portal, but Ling popped out on the other side alone. Breathing heavily, she staggered to stand and glimpsed around her. Several tunnels led away from the round chamber she occupied. Chirping birds filled the air with their melodies. Glowing flowers cascaded down the walls.

She’d never been here, but she recognized the location. Kadence and Lok had described this room perfectly, down to the last detail. It didn’t appear to be a prison, but there was no mistaking its purpose. Or its previous occupant.

This cavern had housed her mother for centuries. Had kept Tasi locked away, where she couldn’t disobey the Dragon King.

Now, it was her prison, too.