"Is he asleep?" Mai Yin asks.

"Yes." I nod.

I pull the blanket over his shoulders. He's at last asleep. I had worried about it. He's all curled up. I let out a breath. I suppose I should stop worrying for now, but I can't imagine what this must be like for him. To bear a cursed weapon. How much is he not telling me? How much is he suffering?

"I heard what he had asked you." Mai Yin says.

I look down.

"He's not going to die." I say.

"If fate can be bended." Mai Yin mutters.

"What?" I look at her.

"Do you believe in fate?" Mai Yin asks.

"Do you?" I ask.

"Are you avoiding the question?" Mai Yin asks.

"No. I believe fate is your own." I say.

"That's not what the rules of the Lan Clan say." Mai Yin points out.

I look down.

"Fate is ours alone." I say.

"Wise answer." Mai Yin stands up.

She looks at me.

"Have you decided your own fate?" Mai Yin asks.

"Have you?" I ask.

"To fix this madness." Mai Yin says.

I look down.

"So... what's your fate?" Mai Yin asks.

I look down at Wei Ying.

"To protect him." I pull his hair back on his face.