The next morning, Ling awoke, curled against Cao’s chest, his brawny arms wrapped about her. He slept, the steady beat of his heart rolling through her ears. This was bliss.

Although, last night had been bliss, too. Cao had taken her body on a wild ride and she’d experienced sensations she hadn’t even known existed. He’d done things to her she’d never dreamed of enjoying. But she had. Oh, she had.

The intimate ways he’d penetrated her had made her become both vulnerable and at his mercy, the trust between them growing exponentially.

Not to mention the level of comfort. There wasn’t a part of her she was embarrassed about sharing with him. Cao’s confident attitude suggested he felt the same. He’d even encouraged her to put Mr. Blue inside him. Now, that had been hot as hell. Observing him embrace his sexuality and every imaginable act of pleasure.

Being with Cao was so liberating. He was the perfect mate for a dragon.

For me.

Even now, the dragon inside her didn’t care to admire the precious stone on her finger. Which was saying something. Sighing, she smoothed back the locks falling across his eyes. Her gorgeous, incredible fiancé.

Wait until she told Jade.

A smile crept onto her lips, but as she studied him, her eyes narrowed. What was that? Tiny folds crinkled around the corners of his eyes and across his forehead. Those were new. “You look older,” she murmured.

His eyes flashed open and those creases deepened. “Huh?”

“You look older,” she repeated. “That must feel strange.”

“Older?” He furrowed his brow even more. “What do you mean?”

“Your eyes.” She trailed her fingertips across the corners of his eyes and along his forehead. “You have wrinkles, my love.” Lazily, she combed through his hair, revealing stands of white. “And white hairs.”

“Wrinkles? White hairs? The fuck?” He sent her a quizzical frown before bolting to the bathroom.

Ling sauntered into the bathroom after him, cocking her head. He gawked into the mirror, prodding his face. “No no no.”

She play-punched his shoulder. “Look who’s vain now.”

He pressed a hand to his chest, and she detected his racing heart beats. Something was wrong.

“It’s not that.” He hunched over the sink, his breathing heavy. “All those times I should’ve died, those old wounds… It shouldn’t be happening this quickly.” He whipped his focus back into the mirror, grasped his hair, and scowled at the abundance of white highlighting his dark locks. “Bloody hell.”

“Whoa. How did your hair turn white so fast?”

Instead of answering her, he stared as his reflection, as though watching himself age.

“Cao? I don’t understand. What does this mean?” Ling’s worried whispers echoed through the room.

He bowed his shoulders and glanced at the floor. “It means I was wrong. I calculated we’d have decades together, a good fifty plus years. Yet, if in one day I’ve aged this much…” He flipped around and peered at her in desperation. “I’m dying, Ling. I don’t know how much time I have left, but it isn’t enough.”

* * *

Desolation sank through Cao. Fuck. He’d promised Ling a lifetime, and he wouldn’t live long enough to deliver it.

How long did he have? A week? A month?

For him to go from youthful to hairs bleeding white before his eyes… That was a bad sign. Even worse, his body hurt. His bones ached and creaked. He glowered at his left knee which squeaked like a door demanding to be oiled. Rolling his shoulders, he grimaced at the stiffness in his muscles.

This bloody sucked.

His body had never failed him before, and this seemed like a betrayal. It was his own damn fault. He had no one else to blame.

The worst part was having promised a future to Ling. Head lowered in defeat, he twisted to gaze at her.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but fire blazed in her eyes. “No. We’ve been through too much to give up. Han said Xi Wangmu has more Peaches. We’ll go there and demand another one for you.”

The determination setting her chin was so admirable, but he shook his head. “It’s not that simple. She didn’t hand out Peaches to just anyone, and that was before they’d become an almost extinct commodity. Plus, I don’t have anything to trade like Han did.”

Ling planted her hands on her hips. “We have the stones.”

“Hell, no.” He jerked upright. “Don’t even say that again. The fate of the world isn’t more important than mine.”

“To me it is.” She pursed her lips, and he didn’t like the obvious churning of her mind.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Ling. Promise me.” He puffed out his breath. “Look, if it will help, we’ll visit the Queen Mother. See what she says.” Though he kept his shrug light, his shoulders collapsed, heavy. Burdened. Utterly lacking hope.

For Ling, he’d fake it.

Not that she bought his nonchalance. She stepped to him and cradled his cheek in her hand. “We’ll find a way. Together. Like we always do.”

After a curt nod, she headed into the bedroom. He followed and got dressed.

Ling zipped up her jeans, already wearing a shirt. “How do we get there?”

“Good question.” He tapped the side of his head. “When she used to throw parties, magic clouds always arrived and brought us to her.”

“Magic clouds.” Ling laughed, tossing her head at the same time as a bird squawked on the balcony.

Huhn?

They frowned at each other before approaching the balcony. He typed in the code and opened the door, tilting his head at the gray-speckled homing pigeon.

“Only one person uses those,” Ling intoned.

“Yeah, I know.” He regarded her. “M.”

She treaded to the bird and plucked the note from its leg, reading aloud,

Before they deciphered the message, the bird flew off and a fluffy cloud sank toward them, hovering a foot above the balcony.

“You were saying something about magic clouds?” Ling glanced at him.

“Yeah, I was.” He clasped Ling’s hand. “Hop aboard.”

* * *

Floating on a magical cloud had been fun, even though Ling’s wings had itched to be freed. The dragon part of her preferred to be her own transport.

A second ago, they’d landed on Mount Kunlun, in the midst of a lush orchard, the fruity tang of peaches drifting through the air.

“Do you think these are the Peaches of Immortality?” She peered at the fruit-laden trees. “Rumors claim smelling them alone can grant you long life. Feel any different?” She studied Cao, but he tossed his head.

“If it sounds too good to be true…”

Right. She sighed and followed him through the dense grove toward the trilling of voices. They emerged into a meadow, but it was more like stepping into a painting. Wildlife flocked about in the background, only they weren’t typical animals. These were mystical creatures. Like the pair of qilin—the Chinese version of unicorns—lapping at the edge of the lake. Dozens of figures in silk robes of varying hues halted their conversations and veered to face them. In their midst, the last one to circle around was a tall, matronly woman in a blue robe with perfectly porcelain skin, ribbons of inky hair flowing about her shoulders, and features fierce like a tigress.

The Queen Mother of the West?

“Xi Wangmu.” Cao dipped his head, confirming her suspicions.

The woman cracked the barest hint of a smile as she glided—upon a floating cloud half a foot off the ground—toward them.

“Cao Guojiu,” she surveyed him up and down, “I have not seen you for many years.” Her assessment grew concentrated, measuring him—and his gray hair? “You’ve chosen mortality?”

Well… Ling clamped her tongue against clarifying. Better to take Cao’s lead on this one.

“I did.” He snared Ling’s hand, extending their linked hands. “May I introduce my fiancée, Ling Tse.”

Ling started to smile, but the Queen Mother’s solemn perusal cut straight through her.

“I know who you are. Chosen of the Sheep.”

A simple statement, and Ling couldn’t tell whether it was friendly or not.

“Ah, exactly.” Cao released her hand and seized one step forward. “I traded my immortality to free her, but now, time is tearing us apart. So, you can guess why I’m here.”

The woman’s strict scrutiny passed between them. “Indeed, I can, yet, I’m afraid I cannot aid you.” She slanted her head to the side and raised her voice. “Whatever rumors you may have heard, my beloved Peaches no longer grow. The fruit you see here is merely that. Fruit.” Xi Wangmu clapped her hands twice and a rush of servants came to her beckoning, bearing silver platters. “Even so, I cannot let you leave my presence without a gift of hospitality.” She angled her head, hummed for a moment, and selected a perfectly round red apple from one of the platters.

“Divine Mother, please.” Cao frowned at the apple in her hands. “I’ve surrendered everything for the woman I love.” He glanced at Ling, love and frustration in his eyes. “You’re the only person who can help us be together. I can’t lose her. Whatever you wish to trade for, I’ll do it. Please. I beg you. Don’t turn us away.”

“Let me be clear, Cao Guojiu and Ling Tse. No one cherishes true love more than I do. I can also sense how pure and honorable you both are. Yet, I am not able to provide you with the aid you seek. You will have to tread another path.” She thrust the apple into his hands and gave a firm nod. “Look inside.”

Then the Queen Mother floated away, followed by her parade of servants. Leaving Ling’s hopes crushed, and the man beside her, still dying.

* * *

Damn it all. Cao clutched the ruby red apple in his hands, fighting the urge to lob it into the distant lake.

“We’ll figure this out.” Ling pressed her hand to his arm. “They both said the same thing. Look inside. It has to mean something. That there’s hope.”

Hell. He wished she were right. Groaning, he juggled the apple. Together, they headed back into the grove and hopped onto their cloud to go home.

While the cloud floated them away from Mount Kunlun, he glowered at the apple, then shrugged. Might as well eat it.

He bit into the apple, but the acrid juices made him grimace and spit it out. What the hell? This was disgusting. Inside, the fruit didn’t resemble anything like an apple. Gloopy honey dribbled from where he’d bitten into it. Curious, he peeled aside the white flesh, flinging it to the ground, and examined the core.

This was no apple.

Look inside. Ha. It wasn’t some philosophical or psychological bullshit. It was literal. Look inside the damn apple, Cao. He almost heard the Matchmaker’s mocking tone in his mind.

“Um, Ling?” He tapped her on the shoulder and showed her the inside of the pseudo-apple.

“What?” She pounced on his hands, poking at the fruit. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but not an apple. Believe me, Xi Wangmu meant to give me this.”

“Well, dig in.” She jerked her chin at the apple.

Here goes nothing. He swallowed hard and pried away the remaining sponge-like flesh. Sticky sap clung to his fingers, and as he brought them to his mouth to lick them clean, the sap tasted like…nectar.

Sweet. Ambrosial.

And a whole lot of immortal.

“Holy shit.” He rubbed the thick substance off, revealing a dark, rough stone.

No, not a stone.

A pit.

“Sweet gods.” Ling gaped at the peach pit on his palm. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Pretty sure, yeah.” He flicked his gaze to hers.

“She said she didn’t have any left.” Ling bit her lip. “Which was a lie meant to protect the Peaches. Just like this apple shell.” Those silver eyes of hers widened and sparkled. “Cao…”

The air around them whooshed and a force knocked them into each other, and off the cloud.

Cao gripped Ling, hoping his body would absorb the impact and save her.

Please, gods.

A second later, he was upright again, and riding atop Ling’s dragon.

Fucking hell, yeah.

Before he could cheer, he whipped his head around, scanning for whatever had knocked them off.

“Really, Ling? Not even a text?” A fuming female voice snapped from above them. He twisted to observe a rather long copper dragon soaring several feet overhead. Liem?

Ling flapped her wings and twirled around. “I’m sorry, Jade. It’s just been bad timing.”

Cao arched his brow at the male dragon. As he was about to utter some masculine bonding type of retort, the other guy extended his claws, displaying a rather familiar pit.

“Drop something?” Liem smirked, baring his fangs.

“Hey, mate, you’d better—”

“Be careful? Maybe, not drop it?” He dangled the pit between his talons, weaving it between them. The prick.

“Hand it over.” Cao decided against leaping into the air and pinching it. If he plummeted without the pit, there’d be no recovery.

“Oh, we might. You see, my Jade is quite upset and—”

“Is that a ring?” Jade screeched, gawking at the jewel wrapped about one of Ling’s talons. It was pretty cool how the ring expanded during transformation.

Not cool was Jade’s pout and Liem’s consequential scowl.

“Look, why don’t we discuss this on the ground?” He eyed the city streets hundreds of feet below them.

“Liem,” Ling snapped, “don’t be such a jerk. Give Cao the pit.”

“Why?” Jade intoned. “So the two of you can disappear together again?”

“Yes,” Cao huffed.

“No.” Ling sighed.

“What she said,” Cao muttered. This must be a friend thing.

“Fine.” Liem grumbled something to Jade and then tossed the pit toward him. Cao braced to snatch it, but a gust of wind blew Ling off-course, and the pit sailed through the air, right past him. You’ve gotta be kidding me. No way would he let this chance go.

Cao leapt off Ling’s back, diving straight for the pit.

Toward immortality.