The Last Concubine

cheek, stroking down his smooth throat and working his way under the layers of silk to find a nipple, rubbing gently over it to feel the flesh harden beneath his fingertips. He loved watching the muscles in Lan’s throat work, the way his lids veiled his eyes and his lips parted to catch his breath. “We have tonight, and we will have many more nights, my love.”
    “I never thought, when I was brought here to be a concubine, that this could happen to me,” Lan said softly, arching into Hüi’s touch.
    Hüi withdrew his hand and stood up, sweeping Lan up into his arms to kiss him deeply. “The last concubine. I shall never take another, for all that I need I hold here in my arms, princess of my heart.”
    He bore Lan to the bed and laid him gently upon the mattress, sinking down next to him to take his lips in a tender kiss.

Chapter 19

    “I LOOK like a boy,” Lan’xiu said in a voice of displeasure.
    “Good. You will attract no undue attention that way,” Ning replied. “Battles are full of boys.”
    “I like it,” Hüi teased from where he sat observing. “You look very fetching.”
    It was stunning to see how handsome Lan looked in his leather armor and dark trousers. His sword hung from his belt, and he wore gauntlets on his hands. His hair was braided into a long queue at the back, and his bronze helmet stood upon the table.
    “It feels strange,” Lan said. At Ning’s insistence, he also wore men’s undergarments and sorely missed the silk of his corselet.
    “Dressed this way you will blend in with the troops,” Hüi said firmly. “And that will be to your advantage. Can you doubt that if Wu Min comes to fight and spies you, dressed as a woman upon the field, that all his energy will be turned to destroying you?”
    “You are right,” Lan said. “I will wear a pretty dress when this battle is won.”
    “And I shall—” Hüi stopped and looked at Ning.
    “Tear it off her, I know.”
    “Ning! When will you learn to hold your tongue!”
    “Never!” Ning laughed. “That is what you value about me. I shall leave you alone for a quarter of an hour, but then we must be off.” He bustled out of the room and shut the door behind him.
    Lan turned to Hüi with sadness in his eyes. “Why must men fight? Why can they not embrace the beauty of our land and live simple lives in peace?”
    Hüi stood and came to him, taking him in his arms for a chaste embrace. “Men are not made that way. They are meant to strive and compete.”
    “But to the death?”
    “Tell me, my love, if your brother were here, would you let him do what evil he might desire?”
    “I would fight him to the death before I let him give rein to his cruelty and evil!” Lan gritted out between clenched teeth.
    “As all men do when pushed to their limit, good or bad.” Hüi tightened his hold and then released Lan, stepping away from him. “You have a gentle soul. Perhaps it would be better if I forbade you to accompany me.”
    “I would like to see you try, my Lord.” Lan straightened up and smiled gallantly. “To war, my Lord, and victory for us both.”
     
     
    I T WAS a matter of honor to Lan’xiu to ride his horse all the way instead of traveling in one of the supply carriages. He sometimes felt that Hüi forgot what he really was, with all his concern for his supposed delicacy, and he would ride like all the other men. He was glad to see the same mare he’d ridden when they visited the summer palace, and she seemed to remember him too, nuzzling at his fingers.
    After the first strangeness of his new armor and men’s clothing, Lan had gotten used to it quickly. Hüi Wei was much occupied, as a general must be, with directing operations, receiving reports from the scouts, and surveying their approach, and therefore he was not always by Lan’s side, although they tried to sleep near each other on the ground when the column halted for the night.
    Unlike some generals whose sense of condescension required grandiose tents and many servants, Hüi Wei lived as his troops did, deeming speed to be the essence of victory. He could not be bothered to be weighed down with the trappings of rank.
    However, Lan was never left alone. For one thing, Ning stayed close, as he had all of Lan’s life, making sure that he could not make a move without supervision. But now Lan’s personal guard also rode ringed around him. They weren’t obvious, but they didn’t permit any of the other soldiers to come closer than twenty