The group spent the next few days resting and letting Yuelan recover from the trip and her efforts in the temple. Yuelan did not leave her room at all for the first two days after she finished and spent them sleeping unless Willow woke her up to eat. Guangfeng stayed near Yuelan’s room and either trained by himself outside or, after Leila caught him doing it, with the Hechuan woman.

On the third day, Yuelan finally came out of her room in the early afternoon to find Guangfeng and Leila sparring outside. Guangfeng was using his sword and Leila her whip and they seemed evenly matched. She didn’t want to disturb them, so Yuelan sat to the side to watch.

Guangfeng was the first to notice Yuelan and he stepped back to lift a hand and stop the spar.

Leila lowered her whip and turned her head. She smiled at Yuelan and nodded to her. “Priestess. It’s nice to see you up and out of your room.”

“Are you feeling better?” Guangfeng asked as he walked over to her.

“A little, yeah.” Yuelan smiled at both of them. “At least enough to get up and walk around a bit.”

Guangfeng leaned against a pillar that happened to be next to where Yuelan was sitting on the exterior porch. “I’m glad. It was harder on you than in Zhongshu, wasn’t it? I was worried, since Byakko said the area’s magic was fading.” He didn’t mention their visit to Kilin, but he was remembering it and how she seemed paler and more drained the longer they’d stayed there.

“Thank you for worrying about me. We should head back to Longuo tomorrow.” Yuelan reached out and took Guangfeng’s hand for a moment before letting go again. “You’ve been gone for a while when you were supposed to be named crown prince.”

“Are you sure you’ll be up to it? I don’t want you worn out.” The third prince looked at his fiance with a face full of concern.

“I’ll be okay. I can ride on Byakko and he’s big enough I can take a nap on his back when I need one.”

“She can rest on the boat on the way back upriver, too,” Leila added. “At least to the nearest city where you can get a carriage to go back to your country.”

Guangfeng gave Leila a half bow. “Thank you.”

Leila nodded. “It’s my duty, so no need for thanks.”

“Maybe not, but I appreciate it too, Leila.” Yuelan smiled at the older young woman. “Thank you for showing us the way here and in advance for taking us back.”

“You’re welcome.” Leila smiled back. “I’ll go make sure everything is ready for leaving tomorrow then.” She turned and walked away.

“It will be cold in the capital by the time we get there. Did you bring a warm cloak?” Guangfeng asked Yuelan as he reached a hand out to gently stroke her cheek.

“I brought one for Miss,” Willow answered for Yuelan. “And winter clothing as well.”

Guangfeng nodded. “Well done, Willow.”

Willow dipped into a curtsy to accept the praise.

Yuelan looked up at Guangfeng and smiled at him. “I actually came out to ask if you wanted to go on a walk with me. I need to move around a bit instead of just sleeping.”

The prince smiled and offered a hand to help her stand up again. “I would be happy to walk with you.”

Yuelan took his hand and stood up then tucked her arm through his and started walking arm in arm with him. As she walked, Yuelan looked around. “I haven’t had a chance to take a look at this temple. It’s bigger than Zhongshu’s and it looks really nice.”

“Well, this temple was probably designed to accommodate the magic creatures instead of humans,” Guangfeng pointed out. “And its guardian is the largest. Dragons aren’t small, after all.”

“That’s true.” Yuelan looked from the raised porches surrounding each building to the gardens that were all in various stages of going to sleep for the winter. The trees still had some leaves on them, but they were falling. A nearby bush was covered in leaves so red the bush almost seemed to be burning. “The temple and its gardens are beautiful. And I really like that bush.”

Guangfeng turned to look at the bush in question. “The firebush? It is quite pretty.” He made a mental note to himself to have some planted in his palace garden as a surprise for Yuelan. “What other plants do you like?”

“Irises and peonies,” Yuelan answered. “I like chrysanthemums too.”

He nodded and added to his list. He had plenty of time before their wedding, so he could take the time to redo a section of the gardens and fill it with her favorite plants. He hoped she would like it when it was completed.