Sacrifice (40 page)

It had been a futile, hopeless wish.

They stayed silent for some time, and an owl hooted in the distance, plaintive and lonely.

Finally, Stone said, “It wasn’t just for the pleasant weather that I had transported us into the future.”

For a moment, Skybright had no notion what he was referring to, then remembered when they had stepped from an oppressive summer into the crisp spring of Qing Chun, that quaint southern town filled with canals.

“I believed six months was long enough for those who loved you to forget,” Stone went on, an ironic smile touching the corners of his mouth. “Human lives are so short, their memories faulty and their emotions fickle. I couldn’t go too much into the future but thought for certain half a year was enough time for them to have moved on, to have given up, to have cast the memory of you aside.” He gave a soft laugh. “How foolish I was to underestimate love.”

“But it did work in a way, Stone,” she replied in her coarse voice. “It only took a few weeks away from everything I’d ever known to truly accept this.” She swept her arm down toward her long serpentine body. “To come to terms with the fact that I could never return to my former life as a simple handmaid.”

“You began that journey long before, Skybright,” Stone said. “And did that realization make you love those you cared for any less?”

She paused and studied his face, hidden in shadows, but not from her keen serpentine sight. He kept his features impassive, reminding her of the aloof man she had met so long ago in the forest. But she wasn’t fooled, sensing the tangle of emotions Stone tried to tamp down. His relief in seeing her again was like a bright lantern lit above him. Skybright shook her head. “I loved them the same. I only missed them more.”

He closed the small distance between them, standing close enough that she felt the warmth that emanated from him still. “Don’t you think it’s time?”

Stone gave a smooth flourish of his wrist, and a sky blue dress manifested in his hand. “You cannot deny your human side any more than you can suppress your demonic one,” he said.

Stone, always logical. Always right.

She shifted and felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, the weight of grief and sadness against her heart. Tears, hot and endless, streamed down her face. Stone said nothing as she slipped into her dress, her vision blurred, feeling everything all at once. She twisted her thick hair into two buns and pinned them against her head with silver clips he gave her. Their fingers brushed. He grasped her hand for a heartbeat, his touch was a solace. Steady. Beneath the overwhelming loss, she felt a sense of hope, of anticipation for what lay ahead. Felt Stone’s admiration of her and his respect, as strongly as she had felt Zhen Ni’s love and loyalty.

Finally, she straightened and met Stone’s dark eyes, holding his gaze. “There is work to be done,” she said.

“Centuries worth,” he replied.

Skybright smiled through her tears, a genuine smile with sharp edges. “I am ready.”

As ever, many thanks to my agent Bill Contardi—our partnership has outlasted most Hollywood marriages! You have been there with me from the start (2008), and I’m grateful! To my publisher Georgia McBride, who has done everything to support me as an author and my titles. I’m so happy that Skybright found a home with Month9Books and that we have been able to take this journey together. It has been amazing. Thank you!

Thank you to my editor Cameron Yeager for your careful reading, thoughtful comments, and taking this novel to the next level. But most of all, thank you for giving
Sacrifice
the perfect title it has!

To my amazing critique group: Kirsten, John, Amy, and Mark; my books would not be half as good if not for your valuable feedback throughout the years. Your encouragement and friendship, I value even more!

To Holly, Delia, and Sarah for taking the time to talk through this novel with me in Mexico. Holly: I’m sorry I didn’t include a sex scene as you had directed. I shall endeavor to make up for this in future writings. Delia: You suggested that it’d be best if someone died. Well. Sarah: Blossom is our love child! Baby demons 4ever! And much gratitude to Cassie for having me!
Sacrifice
got its start in San Miguel de Allende with all of you.

Fuzzy hugs to Malinda Lo for taking the time to beta read and offer insightful feedback.

This novel is inspired by the incredible women writers in my life, who make me laugh, encourage me, and lift me up. They show me what it means to be brave, and take risks in our art, each and every day. Thank you always. Never stop being amazing and being exactly who you are.

In memory of Taru Rivera, fellow Chinese brush artist and troublemaker who loved all the fantastically weird stories that I write. This one’s for you, Taru. We miss you.

And last but never least, for my m, sweet pea, and munchkin. I love you!

San Diego

June 29, 2016

Cindy Pon is the author of
Silver Phoenix
(Greenwillow, 2009), which was named one of the Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Books for Youth by the American Library Association’s Booklist, and one of 2009’s best Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror by VOYA. Her most recent novel,
Serpentine
(Month9Books, 2015), is a Junior Library Guild Selection and received starred reviews from School Library Journal and VOYA. The sequel,
Sacrifice
, releases this September.
Want,
a near-future thriller set in Taipei, will be published by Simon Pulse in summer 2017. She is the co-founder of Diversity in YA with Malinda Lo and on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. Cindy is also a Chinese brush painting student of over a decade. Learn more about her books and art at
http://cindypon.com
.

SERPENTINE

NAMELESS

CLANLESS

EMERGE

IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING

THE REQUIEM RED

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