104 第20章 仙娘的成全（4）

第20章 仙娘的成全（4）

“Why are you here?” Böri Khan’s voice boomed with anger as Xianniang f lew through the window of the tower. Scaffolding covered the inside of the unf inished building. The Rouran leader stood on one of the raised wooden platforms, the Emperor tied to a pole behind him. Transforming back into her human form, she approached the Rouran warrior, ignoring the daggers he shot at her with his eyes. 
The Rouran leader had no power over her anymore. 
“The attack has met f ierce resistance,” Xianniang said. 
Böri Khan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “From who?” he snapped. 
Xianniang almost smiled, but she kept her expression stoic as she responded, “A young woman from a small village.” 
Böri Khan laughed. “A girl?” 
Walking toward the edge of the tower, Xianniang looked out over the construction site. On the ground below, she could see Mulan racing toward the tower. She was calm, composed, her face a study in focus. Turning back to Böri Khan, Xianniang shook her head. “No,” she said. “A woman. A warrior.” Her voice was strong and proud. “She leads a band of brave and loyal soldiers. The army is not far behind.” She smiled as she saw her words make Böri Khan’s face contort in rage. He looked out the unf inished window of the tower as if he might actually see the army. Instead, he saw Mulan making her way toward them—the warrior who threatened to ruin his plans. 
“A woman leads their army,” Xianniang continued, each word slow and deliberate. “And she is no scorned dog.” 
“You led her here,” Böri Khan accused, turning back to Xianniang. He sounded surprised. 
“You shouldn’t have trusted me,” she said. The moment was an echo of their earlier conversation. Only now it was she who held the upper hand. Because she no longer needed him. And he knew it. Böri Khan’s face grew red and his hands, hanging by his sides, shook as rage enveloped him. He reached behind his back and grabbed his bow, notching an arrow and aiming it right at the witch. 
Xianniang didn’t move except to lift one perfectly arched brow. “What makes you think you can kill me?” she asked. 
“I can’t,” Böri Khan replied. Fast as lightning, he turned and aimed the arrow away from Xianniang—and toward Mulan, who had made her way inside the New Palace gates and stood on the ground below. “But I can kill her,” he said, letting the arrow f ly. 
Xianniang watched the arrow move through the air as if in slow motion. Looking down at Mulan, Xianniang knew she could not let the girl die at the hands of Böri Khan. The Rouran warrior had been the last in a long line of people who had made Xianniang feel trapped, afraid to embrace the power within herself. 
Xianniang had been right. They were alike. Mulan had hidden who she was, perhaps not in the form of a bird, but under the armor of a man. Yet she had ultimately embraced who she was and allowed others to see her true self. Mulan had done what Xianniang could never do: she had become free. If Mulan were to die now, everything she stood for, all that she had fought for, would be for naught. 
Xianniang knew what she had to do. 
Leaping into the air, Xianniang transformed into a hawk. With a f lap of her wings, she put herself right in the path of the arrow. 
The arrow slammed into her body, knocking her out of the scaffolding. Wind whistled in her ears as Xianniang felt herself fall. Just before she hit the earth, Mulan’s arms reached out and caught her. As Mulan lowered her to the ground, Xianniang transformed back into her human form. She looked up at Mulan and gave her a weak smile as she felt the life draining from her body. 
Her head grew heavy, and Xianniang let it fall back. As she did so, she met Mulan’s eyes, which were full of surprise and compassion. “Take your place, Hua Mulan,” she whispered. And then, with one last breath, her chest grew still.