Napping for an hour at a time, then working his way around the perimeter wall and climbing trees to look over, Gu Cheng had a good idea of the outside layout of the estate by the time the sky began to darken on the second day. There was no sign of Zaria, or almost anybody the entire day, beyond what he presumed to be guards making the occasional trek around the grounds. Two guards walked together, and another two stood at the front gates, and Gu Cheng was certain that he identified their weapons correctly as swords. Not decorative ones,but full on short swords and even a long sword or two.

He was trying his best to understand what was going on so that he could react calmly. So they had swords. Maybe there were guns hiding under their cloaks. Assumptions could not be made about bad weapon choices.

At the back of the building there was a nondescript door that might not have been noticed at all where it was tucked away on the side of a narrow wing, except there were two guards standing at attention at both sides. No other entrance had guards, and the door was almost invisible against the stone wall. Gu Cheng found a tree with a good line of sight several trunks back from the wall and settled down onto a branch to watch. Not long after what he was beginning to identify as nightfall, a tall figure walked out of an exit at the side of the building. One hand was held aloft at waist height, and the other held a bit out from his side.

Gu Cheng switched on the night vision on his binoculars and waited a moment for the flare in the vision to smooth out. The man walking around the to the back of the building was close enough to the height of the person that he was willing to guess that it might be the same person. A long cloak billowed around him in the rain and, in one hand, was a glass of some sort of liquid, clear so likely water.

Above him was a...Gu Cheng could not figure out what he was seeing. There was no pole for an umbrella, but there was some sort of cover hanging several feet over the man's head. When the tall figure disappeared inside the guarded entrance, the cover vanished outside of the door, like smoke. He blinked several times, pulling the eyepiece away from his face and rubbing his eyes.

Barely half of an hour later, the door opened again, and the man walked swiftly out. The covering appeared above his head again with a wave of his hand, and he stalked around the back of the building to the side door he originally came out of. The glass of water was still full, and he flung the liquid in it to the side as he walked, a look of fury on his face. When his hand touched the door handle, he stopped and turned his head toward the very area that Gu Cheng was hiding. The anger smoothed away from his face, and in the green phosphor glow of the goggles, one side of the thin lips in the narrow face rose in a smirk. Then he was through the door and gone.

Gu Cheng lowered his binoculars, his brow furrowed. If it wasn't for the heavy rain and the near pitch black darkness under the trees where he was, he would have been certain that the man had seen him.

That night and the next day, Gu Cheng spent most of his time changing hiding spots, a different tree every hour, and spent more than half of his attention listening for footsteps approaching whatever tree he was sitting in at that time. His gut told him that the person he was looking for was past that door, and after many years in dangerous situations he trusted his gut. But he needed some sort of confirmation before he would risk barging in.

The next night, around the same time as the previous, the long haired man left the side entrance, another glass of water in his hand. He walked under his mysterious cover, stopping for a moment when he was with an arms reach of the guarded door. His eyes trailed across the space above the rear wall, stopping once more on the very tree where Gu Cheng was hiding amongst the leaves. The same smirk as he slowly raised the glass of water. Something was sparkling against the side of it, and Gu Cheng increased the magnification. Hanging over the tapered fingers wrapped around the glass was a strand of sparkling gemstones, and a small star winked in the green glow.

Gu Cheng did not even wait to see if the man entered. He knew that he had. Far quicker than was safe, he slid down the tree and took off at a run toward the far corner along the back wall where he knew the door would not be visible. Jumping up, one foot planted on a tree growing too close to the wall, and he pushed off and launched himself toward the top of the wall. His fingers fought for purchase on the smooth surface, but he was quickly up and over, dropping to the other side and landing with a splash.

He made quick work of the two guards at the door, letting them drop unconscious into the mud without making sure their faces were not submerged, and opened the door slowly. A long set of stairs dropped down into a barely lit hallway, and he silently moved down the stone steps as fast he dared to go.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

When he turned the corner, there was a flash of metal, and he barely had time to dodge before a sword clanged against the wall next to him. In such a narrow hall, the sword wielder was at a disadvantage with his long weapon, and Gu Cheng disarmed him before smashing his head against the wall.

With the altercation over, he could make out a voice from somewhere far down the hall, a glow coming out from an open door at the end. The man in the velvet cape exited the room, bathed in a light that followed him as he walked. Gu Cheng began to run toward him, hoping to surprise him with the rush, but there was a flare of light, and he felt his legs go weak as pain tore through his body.

His mind told him that he had just been tazed, and he struggled to get his legs back under himself when there was another flash and his body convulsed with the feeling of electricity ripping along his nerves and setting fire to his thoughts. Then he was being drug through the hallway, his arms trapped against his sides, unable to move even if his muscles would obey him. He was thrown into the room and landed hard against the stone floor, his head thumping as he hit. Stars filled his eyes, and a groan of pain escaped his lips.

He could hear a voice, weak and breathy. "You've already done this, don't you remember? You can't trick me with his face again."

Gu Cheng concentrated on the voice. He could see a small form slumped in the corner, not far away from him. The face was turned to the side, and even if he couldn't make out the features through swelling and bruising, he recognized the curly brown hair and the clothing the woman wore. His words never made it past his lips as pain ripped through his body once more, and his teeth clenched together to keep from screaming.

The man spoke, but Gu Cheng could not concentrate on the words right away. "-bracelet's memories, but who is he to you?"

"I don't know who this is," the young woman breathed out with a pained sigh. "The man who gave me the bracelet is far away. You have already fooled me with his image once, but it won't work again."

"Touch him." The man ordered her. Gu Cheng saw her head shake slightly and then the pain came again. He groaned when it ended but would not give the man the satisfaction of screaming again. "Touch him, and I will let you have something to eat. Would you like to be able to eat something today? Perhaps with some food in your stomach, you could have a little more water as well."

Gu Cheng watched as familiar brown eyes opened up and looked at the man who was still standing in the doorway. There was defiance in those eyes, but there was also pain and exhaustion. Gu Cheng tried to move his body, but his legs would not obey him. He watched as Joseph Zaria fell forward and slowly pulled herself across the floor toward him, every movement labored. When she was right next to him, she dropped her forehead to rest on the ground. She took a moment to catch her breath before lightly touching him with her fingertips. Gu Cheng could see the black bands that circled his body disappear but he could do nothing more than twitch his arms and watch as a tear leaked from the swollen and blackened eye, wetting a track through the dirt on her face.

"How... did you do this?" She whispered. Her fingers moved to lightly rest against the pulse in his neck. "It can't be magic, or it would break when I touch it..."

"I told you he is real. Move your hand off of him now." When her fingers did not move quickly enough he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backward, setting her against the corner she was originally in, and then wrapped the black bands around Gu Cheng's body once more. He settled down against the wall next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his hand and arm against her bare skin.

She leaned limply against him, so weak she could not even move her head away. The man raised the hand that still had the glass of water in it to her lips and dribbled a small amount into her mouth. Her throat moved, but some of the water still trickled from the corner of her mouth. The man sighed and set the glass down next to him, his other arm never leaving its spot around her waist.

"Get off of her," Gu Cheng growled, his voice cracking. The man looked coldly at him and waved the fingers of his free hand, lightning stretching from his fingers. Gu Cheng convulsed, whatever words being said, lost with the roaring in his ears. When his vision and ears cleared, he could make out the man urging Zaria to drink more, but her head lolled backward, and the glass was set down again.

"What have you done to her," Gu Cheng asked when he was able to speak.

"She did this to herself," the man responded. He moved his arm away and leaned Zaria against where the walls met to form the corner of the room.

"She hit herself? Did you do that to her?"

The man sighed impatiently and raised his hand again, but a small hand landed lightly on his arm. He looked down at the hand and then up to Zaria's half closed eyes.

"Please..." she panted quietly. "Stop hurting him."

"So you do know who this is?" The scowl was back, and he pushed her hand off of his arm.

"Don't ... know him, looks like someone I know." She opened her eyes and met his bright gaze. "I will stop fighting you. Just don't hurt him."

The scowl eased, and he stood up, picking the water glass up as he crossed to the door. "I would like to trust you, but you have shown me that I can't with your antics these last two weeks. Show me that I can trust you again. If you can stay here with him tonight and not touch him at all, I will come and get you in the morning and take you back to our room. But if his bands are gone, then I will know you are lying to me and that you have touched another man in my home. And then I will kill him, and you will stay here with his body until you have learned your lesson."

With those words, the door closed, and the two people were left alone, in the dark.