Third prince Xiong Guangfeng paced back and forth in front of the tiger statue in the main hall of the shrine with his hands behind his back and an impatient expression. “How long is this going to take?” he grumbled. He had been waiting for Yuelan to come out for several hours and she still hadn’t made an appearance, causing him to worry. The sun had set long ago.

Yun Cai sat nearby with his legs crossed underneath him and shrugged. “As long as it takes. There’s no standard to measure by, so all we can do is guess. We don’t even know what it is that she’s supposed to be doing. Being impatient won’t do any good. If you have other things you need to be doing then perhaps you should go do them, Your Highness.”

“Where’s the entrance?” Guangfeng demanded, looking over at Camphor. “I’m going to go check on her.”

“That would be ill advised,” Yun Cai warned before Camphor could say anything. “What if your presence distracts her and she ends up injured or dead? She has two of the highest ranked spirit beasts with her and one of them is massive. If there really was a serious problem this shrine wouldn’t still be standing because the dragon would have destroyed it just from taking to his natural form.”

“Lord Long and the white tiger were adamant,” Camphor adds. “They said my presence would only hinder what needed to be done. Please, Your Highness, continue to be patient for the sake of Miss.”

Guangfeng let out a frustrated snort and continued pacing. “Fine, but if she’s not out before dawn…”

“Then we’ll just have to keep waiting,” Yun Cai said firmly. “I’d rather not be forced to fight you, Your Highness, but if I have to in order to keep you out of her way then I will.”

The prince gave Yun Cai a threatening look. “You would fight me? That is a serious crime punishable by death.”

The information broker shrugged. “I serve the dragon priestess. According to the ancient laws, I cannot be charged unless the evidence is presented to her and she agrees that what I have done is deserving of punishment.”

Guangfeng’s hands clenched into fists inside his long sleeves. He shook his sleeves in frustration and went back to pacing.

***

Yuelan continued detangling and then weaving the shining threads into the tapestry in her mind until she could no longer ‘reach’ the other holes. Her eyes slowly opened and the glow receded as though it were being absorbed by the large, forest green crystal. While she’d been meditating Yuelan had remembered the name of the crystal: moldavite.

As Yuelan’s eyes opened, Byakko removed his head from her lap and shifted to his human form while Long He did the same thing on her other side. Once they had both moved Yuelan’s body started to lean sideways and she collapsed on the ground.

Byakko bent down and lifted Yuelan into his arms to carry her out of the room and back through the underground maze to the ladder that they had come down. Long He didn’t say a word and neither did the tiger as they climbed the ladder and resurfaced.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The shrine had changed while Yuelan was in the secret room. The broken flooring looked like it had all been replaced with fresh wooden flooring. The chipped paint had been repaired. Everything inside looked like new.

Yuelan felt very weak and could barely turn her head to look around, but her eyes widened in shock. “What...what happened?” she asked in a scratchy, weak voice. She hadn’t yet noticed Yun Cai sleeping in one corner or Camphor standing by the tiger statue looking anxious. Guangfeng had been forced to leave to deal with other matters and was gone.

“You finished what you needed to do, so the shrine repaired itself,” Byakko explained. “This is a shrine of the dragon priestess and was built by a divine beast. Of course it will be magic.” He shrugged. “The shrines reflect the state of the balance of magic in their area.”

Yuelan nodded. “Alright. I suppose that explains it then.”

The sound of voices woke Yun Cai and he smiled. “Welcome back, milady,” he said cheerfully. “Your fiance was here for a while, but he had other things he needed to do and had to leave first.”

The exhausted-looking priestess only nodded again.

“How long were we in the secret room?” Byakko asked.

“Three days,” Camphor sighed. “His Highness had to leave after the second day.”

Byakko nodded. “Get some food and water. Mistress has had nothing to eat or drink in all that time.”

Yun Cai pulled a waterskin and some crackers out and offered them to the white tiger, who set Yuelan down with her back against the pedestal that the statue of the tiger was placed on. Byakko handed them to Camphor, who carefully helped Yuelan take a few sips and eat a couple of crackers.

Once Yuelan had finished the crackers and half the water skin Byakko picked her up again. “Let’s get back to the posthouse. She needs proper rest and food. We’ve finished what needed to be done here.”

“The first part is completed anyway,” Long He sighed. “Until all five shrines are repaired there still won’t be enough magic to support this world.”

The white tiger only shrugged and headed out of the shrine and toward the posthouse, still carrying Yuelan in his arms.

When the group arrived back at the posthouse Guangfeng was just returning from meeting with Zhongshu’s emperor in the palace. As soon as he saw Yuelan in Byakko’s arms he hurried his steps to reach them. “Is she alright? What happened?”

“She’s just sleeping,” Byakko answered calmly. He shrugged. “After all, she spent three days in a deep meditative state. She’s exhausted and needs food and rest.”

Guangfeng let out a sigh of relief. “It’s good that she’s alright. Give her to me and I’ll carry her to her room.”

The white tiger raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. You’re her fiance, so you should keep an appropriate distance. Long He and I are her contracted beasts. Caring for her is our responsibility.”

“You’re also men,” Guangfeng argued.

Byakko shrugged. “Technically speaking, yes, we are both male. Practically, we’re not even the same species as Mistress. There’s nothing wrong with a beast being in the same room as a human of the opposite gender. Our presence won’t harm her reputation in the least.”

Guangfeng looked grumpy, but was forced to concede. “Fine. I’ll have a physician come make sure there aren’t any problems.”

“That’s not really necessary. She only needs rest,” Long He cut in. “Just leave her care to us. If we need anything we’ll inform you.”

The third prince sighed, nodded, and started away.