Page 49 of The Blood Orchid

Zheng Sili sighed, then wound back and slapped Wenshu hard across the face.

Wenshu sucked down a sharp breath, then coughed out sand, face turning red. He looked between me and Zheng Sili, then our abandoned horses.

“Shit,” he said, running his hands across his chest as if checking for injuries.

“Don’t worry,” Zheng Sili said wryly, “your sister broke your fall.”

He whirled around to face me, expression sliding into a frown as his gaze immediately locked on my shoulder.

“Just pop it back in for me,” I said airily, far more confident than I felt.

He sputtered, shaking his head. “Just pop it back in?Zilan, I’m not a healer.”

“None of us are,” I said. “You at least have fine motor control that I trust.”

“Popping a shoulder back in isn’t about fine motor control,” Zheng Sili said, scowling.

“How do you even know this?”

“Because I’m not ignorant?” Zheng Sili said, shoving my other shoulder. “Lie down.”

I clenched my jaw and tried not to make a sound as Zheng Sili wrenched my arm up and shoved it in with all the gentleness of a battering ram. I stared up into the desert sky, the sun a bright flash across my vision, and for a moment it was all I could see. I felt so small beneath the bright expanse of white sky, and tears burned at my eyes and I felt thoroughly pathetic, crying in front of Zheng Sili.

The Scarlet Alchemist doesn’t cry, I told myself, sitting up and turning away, clenching my hand into a fist.The Scarlet Alchemist has killed monsters, so she shouldn’t be afraid to get back on a horse. Don’t be ridiculous, Zilan.

“Can we keep going now?” Zheng Sili said.

I wound back and gave him a solid punch to the arm. My shoulder stung at the motion, but at least I could clench my fist.

“The hell was that for?” he said, clutching his arm.

“Just testing out your repair,” I said, standing up. “This will suffice.”

“I’m glad,” Zheng Sili said, shooting me a dark look as he grabbed the reins of his horse.

Zhongwei was the northwest’s last stand against the encroaching desert, the sands sectioned with straw checkerboard barriers to keep the desert from swallowing the city whole. The city had no northern gate, because the world ended in the vast expanse of deadly, sweeping gold. How strange it was that Chang’an had paved its streets in gold, yet couldn’t compare to the vast golden landscape of desert cities like this one.

We arrived at the gates by late afternoon, riding through the gravel fields of watermelon at the outskirts, our eyes scratched red from sand carried along the wind. Our horses seemed tiny in comparison to the camels that people pulled through the streets, spitting white foam, bulbous pink tongues hanging out of their mouths. The city sloped uphill, and just over the crest, I could make out the river bridging the city from the mountains, its water dyed sunset orange from all the red dirt and sand.

People stared at our horses as we passed, perhaps thinking us cruel for bringing them through the desert. I hoped it wasn’t because they recognized Wenshu as the prince. Or maybe it had more to do with Zheng Sili scowling at everyone who passed by.

“You’re scaring people,” I said, shoving his arm. “You look too angry.”

“Iamangry,” he said. “Thinking about anyone helping the Empress does that.”

“Youhelped the Empress,” Wenshu said.

Zheng Sili waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve redeemed myself.”

“You’re not the one who gets to decide that!” Wenshu said.

But his yelling was attracting even more attention, so I tugged a horse between him and Zheng Sili.

Wenshu sighed and snatched the reins from me. “I’m going to find a place to tie up and feed the horses so we stand a chance at blending in here,” he said. “You two figure out some way to use alchemy to find him.”

Zheng Sili wrinkled his nose. “Don’t leave me alone with her! We’re obviously not related, so people will think she’s my wife.”

“You should be so lucky,” I said, rolling my eyes. Wenshu was clearly no longer listening to either of us, holding his hand out for gold coins, which I reluctantly passed him. He pocketed them, then led the horses away without another word.