“I was glad to assist you.”

  Those words echoed in the mind of not only Anna but Lady Shian. She stood stock-still amid the crowd of fireworks onlookers, a statue among the greenery. Her eyes were fixed on the small group of people near the edge of the pond. One of them was Lord Eastwei, and the other two were those hateful people from Fanshe Hall.

  Shian clutched her hand over her heart and unbidden tears swelled up in her eyes. Lord Eastwei’s reply had seared itself into her memory and she couldn’t stop it from playing over and over again in her mind. Dadan had never favored her like that before. How could this new goddess earn his gentle words? She had only been among them a few months. What right did she have to his attentions?

  Damn her she hissed as she stomped down the sidewalk. She hardly noticed the compliments from sightseers who admired the lights.

  “You have done a wonderful job, Lady Shian!”

  “I look forward to seeing your plans for the next fair, Lady Shian!”

  “My gate has never worked so well, Lady Shian! Thank you for having those men come and repair it!”

  Shian smiled and bowed to each of the compliments but her shattered heart wasn’t into it. She didn’t even realize where she was until someone grabbed her arm.

  “There you are!” Lady Bidao scolded her. It was she who had latched onto her friend’s arm. She leaned down and examined Shian’s face with a wrinkled brow. “What is the matter? You look as if you have lost all purpose in life.”

  Shian sniffled. “I. . .I believe that is just what has happened.”

  Lady Bidao pursed her lips and looked about them. “Hold your words until I get you somewhere less crowded.”

  She scooted her friend through the crowds and onto one of the smaller islands. The earthen plot was just a wilderness of trees and grass. A gazebo had been constructed to give visitors a place to rest. Bidao guided Shian under its refreshing shade and seated them on one of the benches connected to the walls.

  Bidao grasped one of her friend’s hands in hers and looked Shian in the eyes. “Now then, tell me what has happened.”

  Shian closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You watched the scene at the pool? Where that brat spoke with Lord Easwei?”

  Bidao nodded. “I did, but what of it? And what exactly happened there?”

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  She hung her head and her thumb brushed against Bidao’s hand. “I cannot say completely, but when he had finished lending his magic to the girl Lord Eastwei, he. . .he. . .” She sniffled. “He said he was glad to assist that woman in helping the girl.”

  Bidao leaned back and lifted an eyebrow. “Is that all?”

  Shian whipped her head up and glared at her friend. An icy tinge of blue light flashed across her eyes. “Is that all? He has never given me such a favor! I who have known him for thousands of years!”

  Her friend pursed her lips and turned her face to one side. “I see. Did he say anything else? And how did the woman reply?”

  Shian dropped her gaze to the bench and shook her head. “I cannot say. I was in such a state that I knew little of what happened around me. I do know that Eastwei left her shortly after speaking.”

  Soft hurried footsteps caught their attention and a goddess hurried across the bridge. It was the bulky Miss Fann and her swift movements were hampered by her hoarse wheezing. She reached the short steps of the gazebo and grasped one of the uprights.

  Bidao stood and frowned at her. “What in the world are you doing?”

  “I. . .I have found you at last,” Fann wheezed as she gulped down enough air to fill fifty balloons. “Have. . .have you ventured to look at the lights Lady Roberts set up in Fanshe Hall? There is such a sight as you would not believe!”

  Shian’s heart skipped a beat and she stood. “Show us.”

  Fann led the group at a much slower pace back to the white streets and to Fanshe Hall. The thickest of the crowds had left but three dozen people still lingered. They noticed Lady Shian approaching and bowed low to her.

  “Have you come to see the wondrous lanterns as well, Lady Shian?” one in the crowd asked her.

  She plastered a tense smile on her face. “Of course. I have heard they are most unusual.”

  “Most unusual and most wondrous!” another chimed in.

  “Then how could I not come?” Shian replied as she sped past them before another could compliment her rival.

  The trio strolled through the arch and beheld the dancing silhouettes inside the balloons. Shian stopped ten feet from the string and watched the animals hope, slither, and tumble about. Her sharp, dark eyes examined each one in turn until they fell on the salamander. She couldn’t fail to recognize the same creature that Eastwei had crafted for the brat.

  “I wonder how she was able to create such magic,” Fann spoke up as she more closely examined the balloons. “If I had to guess I would say it was fire magic, but that is impossible.”

  Bidao cast a worried glance at her old friend. Shian stood as stiff as a statue and her smile was frozen in place. “Perhaps she conjured up something from her old world and placed them inside these strange containers.”

  “Good evening.” The greeting came from the house and Anna made her appearance with Arian close behind her. Their hostess stopped and bowed low to her guests. “

  “Ah, there you are!” Fann replied as she scurried up to Anna and grasped her hands. She pulled the hapless hostess back to the walk and pointed at the balloons. “However did you make them glow like that?”

  Anna managed a shaky smile and stared at the ground. “I, um, that is, I. . .I made them.”

  Fann nodded her head. “Brilliant! You must show me how to make them for next year!”

  Shian was anything but congratulatory to her hostess. A dark, icy look had slipped into her eyes as Fann fawned all over the beautiful lights.

  This fresh evidence settled her decision. Shian lifted her chin and stiffened her jaw.

  Anna Roberts had to go.