The stunning emerald and marble city of Nagon was laid out before Rakesh in the glistening valley below.

From his perch on the high bailey of the extravagant Nari Clan palace, he viewed the white marble structures lining the clean cobblestone streets. The Hundred Blossom Path surrounded the city, ringing it with bursts of color from rare, exotic flowers found nowhere else.

Everything built in the Anpu nation shimmered, and held an air of easy elegance. But what held Rakesh’s gaze the longest was the gardens for which the Nari clan was known.

The elegant gardens of Nari offered elegantly shaped bonsai trees, carefully tended flower patches, and clear, trickling streams. All this resulted from decades of manual labor, and the utter devotion of the Nari people.

Under Rakesh’s feet, the palace’s rare azure crystals glittered in the sunshine. Although he stood too close to the crystals to be able to glimpse it for himself, he knew the pattern of the crystals created the intelligent face of a nine-tailed fox, his bushy tails splayed out behind the attractive face.

The sound of a grunt diverted Rakesh from these thoughts. Giving into his instinct, he ducked. A leg whizzed through the air above his head. He reached out, slamming the heel of his hand into the back of a knee. The soldier fell, but used his momentum to shove the butt of his sword into Rakesh's shoulder. He grunted at the sudden pain, but dodged the sharp blade and straightened up to stomp his foot on the soldier's wrist. The sword clattered to the ground.

Rakesh loomed over the soldier. "Close, but not close enough. Good work getting one hit in, though. At least you can boast that against me, unlike the others."

The other soldiers who formed the fighting circle laughed. Rakesh grinned, then held out a hand. The fallen soldier – a young recruit who showed promising talent for hand-to-hand skills – accepted it with a wry smile. Rakesh pulled him to his feet and clapped him once on the back.

"Next time."

The soldier stepped off to the side, where the others congregated in a loose grouping. A bead of sweat trickled down Rakesh's back. The warm sun had turned hot, although he didn't mind the friendly burn on his shoulders.

"Lunch!" called out a voice. "More afterward."

One by one, the soldiers sauntered toward the edge of the roof. They disappeared down the stone steps, each one etched with gems. Rakesh lingered behind, as he always did, to clear up the area.

Silence followed in the wake of their departure. He paused, soaking it in, then gathered his wrap, wiped his face off – and froze.

A familiar face appeared from the far stairs, peeking just above the roof with a playful, mischievous grin. Rakesh sucked in a breath when its owner crossed the rooftop with small, graceful steps, her silk dress billowing behind her in the gentle breeze. The lass moved quietly, quickly skirting out of sight of all those who might see her–  except for Rakesh.

She stopped within arm’s reach of Rakesh, a smile dancing on her lips. When she reached up to touch his cheek, the touch of her fingertips burned his skin.

"Rak," she murmured, smiling.

He lifted a hand, grazing her cheek with his knuckle. He clasped her hand in his own and pressed his cheek into it. "It has been too long."

She grinned. "It has only been two days!"

"Two days too long."

"You act as if you were weak."

"For you, I am."

A scuffing sound caught their ears. They both froze.

Rakesh’s eyes darted around as he grabbed her wrist. "Come," he said. "Over here. Let us have a moment of privacy. At least one. It will get me through to the next one."

He tugged her to the other side of the roof, hiding them behind the base of an elegant spire that rose into the sky. Behind it sprawled a lush garden bedecked with emerald plants and vibrant flowers with petals as broad as a hand. She laughed when he hurried her through the paths and past a tinkling waterfall.

"Rakesh!" she cried quietly, stepping over a short, burbling section of stream. "Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere quiet."

"But it's quiet up here!"

He winked at her over his shoulder. "And not nearly private enough."

They slid behind a drape of ivy studded with white blooms. She paused, taking it in. "This is beautiful. How have I not seen it before?"

"It's a secret. The gardeners prepare it for the greatest of lovers."

She lifted one eyebrow. "You're teasing me."

"When it comes to true love? Never."

Rakesh pulled her into his arms, savoring the feel of her soft, lean body against his. She tilted her head back, smiling at him through the delicate white blooms that drifted from the peach tree above. He brushed a petal off her cheek, wondering how he ever smiled without her in his arms. "I've missed you."

"And I have missed you," she whispered, relaxing within his arms. He relished the feeling of holding her up, and holding her close.

"I've been busy," he said. "There have been more drills than ever before. Sometimes I don't even get a chance to eat lunch.

"You are always busy!"

"So are you!"

She laughed. "It's true. But never too busy to steal away and see you."

He glanced behind them when some leaves rustled, then stilled. "Let us hope that continues."

"No. I can be as sneaky as a fox. They will never catch us."

He tilted his head back and laughed, tapping her once on her elegant nose. "Yes, yes you can, you fierce Nari woman. No fox can sneak up on you."

Her expression faded into concern. "Has anyone suspected what we're doing, do you think? My father would be furious if he found out."

"Not that I have seen or heard, no, and I will keep an ear out if I can."

The wrinkles in her face smoothed out. "Good. For a while I thought my brother suspected, but . . ." She trailed away, glancing behind them. When she pulled out of her thoughts, she smiled. "We are safe, I believe."

"Your brother would be angry?"

"On behalf of my father, yes."

He leaned down, closing the distance between them until she put a hand on his chest. "Wait."

He stopped a breath away. His brow furrowed. "What is it?"

She reached into a small pocket at the side of her dress, extracting something that glinted. She kept it hidden against her palm, studying his curious gaze with a teasing grin, before opening her fingers one by one.

Inside her hand lay a silver pendant in the shape of a flattened tear drop. She peeled it open. Inside, an emerald was flanked by one sparkling, single diamond.

"If you open it, there is a surprise inside."

"It opens?"

She lifted her palm, and he accepted the pendant from her. He pried open the edges, and found a silky lock of her hair inside. Her name was inscribed on the inside of the pendant. The shaky, jagged appearance of the letters meant she had done it herself – no doubt, in the depths of night so no one would know.

Rakesh touched her name with the tip of his finger, and felt a surge of protectiveness for her that nearly overwhelmed him. He studied the pendant, gently closed it, and pressed a hand to her face.

"It's beautiful. Just like you."

It’s yours. You will always carry me with you now."

She grabbed the pendant and slipped the necklace over his head. The pendant dangled just over his heart. He tucked it under his shirt and pressed his palm to it for a moment. "Always."

She slipped into his arms again, her head tilted back. Rakesh tightened his hold on her, memorizing the way her body fit against his. The way her hair fell in long, gentle strands down her back, fluttering over her shoulders in the wind.

Rakesh lowered his face to hers. The warm kiss of her breath caressed his cheek. "I will always love you," he whispered.

Her lips brushed his just as a heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder. Rakesh felt her breath hitch, heard a cry emerge from her throat as he was torn away.

He whipped around, ducking a punch.

"Azuma!" she screamed. "NO!"

Rakesh quelled the urge to fight back as he stared into the livid eyes of her older brother.

"You betray our family!" Azuma raged.

Rakesh held up his hands. "I want no violence, Azuma."

Ren rushed between them, holding her arms out. "Leave him alone, Azuma. I love him. I love him more than anything."

Azuma grabbed her arm, shoving her behind him. Rakesh stepped forward with a growl.

"If you harm her," he muttered, pointing one finger at Azuma, "you will deal with me then."

"No, Rakesh. From here on out, you will be dealing with far worse things than me."

White lights broke across Rakesh's vision when Azuma's fist met his face. Pain reverberated through his skull, sending him into blackness.

* * *

Rakesh awoke to the sound of chanting. The words of an ancient language filled his ears with strange litanies.

He was on his back, surrounded by four men in black robes and hoods too deep to reveal their faces. Metal chains held him tight to a gritty rock face, which ground into his back. Fear and pain rippled through Rakesh. He tried to scream, but his throat did not allow it. He had no energy to fight, no voice with which to call out.

An old man in a wheelchair sat next to the altar, studying him. Rakesh felt the old man's stare upon him from where he lay. A toothy grin arose on the wrinkled face as the elder called out words in the same ancient tongue.

For every sentence the old man spoke, the four men answered. The litanies changed, at once singsong and terrifying at the same time.

"We have a strong life essence here," the elder croaked out, his feeble voice still strong enough to be heard through all the chants. "What a good thing for us! The dark lands of The Nothingness provide all that we need!"

A strange sensation entered Rakesh's mind. His very body seemed to swirl in the air for a moment, drifting on an unseen cloud. His fingers turned numb.

The paralyzing feeling rippled up his arm, creeping through his elbow, to his bicep, to his shoulder. He couldn't feel his toes, his ankle. Then, his knee.

Slowly, one limb at a time, his body became numb, dead.

His head felt lighter. Free. Was he floating now? Did the heavy chains still weigh him down? He struggled to keep his eyes open… No, too much work.

Rakesh's head lolled to the side of his neck. Then an intense pain shot through his body all the way from his toes to his shoulders. His legs twitched. His body spasmed. He groaned from somewhere deep in his throat.

The liturgical chants increased in energy and volume. Rakesh attempted to open his eyes to see the wizened old man once more, but all he saw through his barely parted lashes was a smoky, strange cloud hovering in the air above him.

Blood.

Blood flowed from the cloud, gathering in streams that parted ways and slipped into the men surrounding him.

The old man cackled with glee. The chanting calmed.

Everything was fuzzy…so distant.

Then a heavy hand grabbed Rakesh's wrist, prying his fingers open. With the last of the life left in him, Rakesh jerked his wrist away. The pendant fell, dropping to the ground and opening with a clink. A single lock of bright red hair slipped to the ground, and the three letters inscribed inside were revealed to all who cared look.

REN.

Rakesh closed his eyes, his head turning to the side. One final whisper slipped from his lips.

"Ren . . . "