CHAPTER EIGHT
Back in her room, Jade sat on a low couch overlooking the garden far below and nibbled on her thumbnail. In one hand, she held her dagger, its two remaining gems gleaming like drops of blood. No-one had tried to prevent her from reclaiming it. Li Lei had even returned the small sheath Jade usually kept it in when it hung from her belt. Jade turned the blade over in her fingers, staring but not seeing it at all. She’d been told she couldn’t let Zhudai get his hands on her dagger or amulet, yet he’d had access to both and hadn’t taken them.
What should she do now? Zhudai’s proposition was ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly be able to send her and Phoenix back home. He was the villain. He wasn’t trying to help her. He couldn’t get them out.
Could he?
Doubt crept furt
