Silver Phoenix by Cindy. Pon Read Free Book Online Page A

mother cooked them in sugar.” She passed some to Chen Yong.
    He popped one in his mouth. “Delicious. Walnuts are a rarity.”
    “They were a special treat. For my birthday.” Had it really been less than a week ago?
    “How many years?” Chen Yong crunched on another walnut.
    She sipped her tea before replying. “Seventeen.”
    “Seventeen years? And wandering on your own?” He raised his dark brows.
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    Ai Ling felt anger and guilt rise within her. “I am searching for my father. There’s no one else but me. My mother remains at home.”
    “It’s dangerous for a girl to travel alone.” He studied her, not having to mention how he had found her.
    “I do what I must. Just because most girls are sequestered within the inner quarters does not mean I have to be.” What was she saying? She had abided by the rules like every other girl until two days ago, when she’d decided to leave home.
    But Chen Yong’s admonishing tone irked her.
    “You speak as if I made the rules of decorum,” he said, and did not reach for another walnut, as she clutched the bundle to herself now.
    “No, you didn’t make the rules. But I would wager a silver coin that you think a girl’s place is sweeping the front courtyard and spoon-feeding her husband dinner broth each evening.” She glared at Chen Yong, not caring that she spoke so forwardly.
    His eyes widened, and then crinkled with a wry smile. “I admit that doesn’t sound so bad right now.”
    Somehow his confession didn’t feel like a victory.
    “Are you not betrothed?” She couldn’t stop herself. Anything to provoke a reaction.
    The humor was wiped from his face. “No.”
    She allowed herself a small sense of triumph. It was short-lived.
    “Are you?” he asked.
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    Chen Yong waited, vexing her with his deliberate silence.
    “I ran away to avoid a betrothal,” she said after a few moments. There was nothing to hide. She had made the right decision.
    Chen Yong paused for a moment before speaking, the surprise obvious on his face. “Our first duty is to our parents.” His words brought back the hissed accusations from the dark abyss: selfish, ungrateful, useless daughter. She blinked, unwilling to shed more tears in front of him.
    “My father would not have wanted it. Nor my mother.”
    She stood, pulled the knapsack over her shoulder. Chen Yong rose with agility. He stood a hand taller than she.
    “I should go,” Ai Ling said. She owed him thanks. He had saved her life, after all.
    He remained silent, looking down at her, his face never betraying his thoughts. His golden eyes were tinged with green. She dropped her gaze, hating herself for noticing.
    What was he thinking? Without conscious effort, she cast herself toward him, threw an invisible cord from her spirit to his. She felt it waver like a drunken serpent, fumble, and then latch. The sudden pulling and tautness within her navel surprised her.
    She remembered watching her father fish once. He’d offered her the bamboo rod when a fish took the bait, tugging so hard against the line she was afraid the rod would break. It felt like that.
    She felt an irresistible draw toward her hooked target, 48

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    followed by a strange snap sensation. She was within Chen Yong’s being.
    Ai Ling noticed his higher vantage point immediately. She had always been told she was tall for a girl, but she didn’t look so from his eyes. His body was more rested than hers.
    There were no knots of anxiety in his shoulders; no soreness in his neck. A power and strength unfamiliar to her coursed through his limbs, a litheness coiled within him.
    She stared at herself. She stood in a stance of defiance, arms folded across her chest. Did she always look so child-ish, so stubborn?
    Was that Chen Yong’s thought or her own? She quieted her spirit, eavesdropped within his mind. Feisty. She plucked the one word that flitted to her from his thoughts. It emerged with a