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Xianniang gave Mulan a small, sad smile. “With one difference: they accept you, and they’ll never accept me.” The witch’s words were full of emotion, and as Mulan watched, a tear dropped down Xianniang’s cheek.

Mulan’s heart ached for the woman in front of her. She had, only a short time ago, felt there was no place for her, either. Yet, ironically, it had been Xianniang who had given her strength to embrace her true identity. If only now she could make Xianniang see there was another way.

“All along, you told me my journey was impossible,” Mulan said, softening her voice as she approached the throne. “Yet here I stand, proof there is a place for people like us.”

“No,” Xianniang replied, shaking her head, then bowing it in defeat. “It’s too late for me.”

Mulan sheathed her sword. She came to a stop in front of the throne, unarmed and vulnerable.

For a long moment, warrior and witch watched each other. Mulan didn’t move, her breathing steady as she watched Xianniang struggle to pick a side. “Please,” Mulan said, breaking the silence. “I need your help.” Her voice, strong and proud, bounced off the walls of the throne room.

Mulan could not read the witch’s expression. Then Xianniang took a deliberate step forward. Mulan’s breath hitched.

What was she going to do?

In answer, Xianniang let out a piercing shriek. Mulan’s hands went to her ears as she watched the witch drop her dagger and run down the throne stairs—straight toward her. Just before she slammed into Mulan, Xianniang let out another cry and transformed into a hawk. Flying up and over Mulan’s head, the witch disappeared through the doors at the end of the room.

Racing after her, Mulan burst into the hall and followed the hawk as it flew down the palace steps and out into the air above the Imperial Square. Her head arched back, Mulan tracked the bird as it continued out over the city and then turned, flying in the direction of the New Palace.

Mulan gave chase. Below her, Commander Tung and his men fought, pushing back the Shadow Warriors. Mulan clambered up onto a roof above the square. Her eyes locked on the hawk as she ran over the tiles. When she reached the end of one roof, she leapt onto another, making her way out of the palace and onto the tops of the nearby houses. Her steps were confident despite the uneven surfaces and the buildings’ great height. In no time, she reached the construction site of the New Palace.

Only then did she slow. Leaping down onto the ground, Mulan stood catching her breath as the hawk swooped into the west watchtower. The faintest of smiles tugged at her lips. In her gut, she knew. Xianniang had answered her call for help. Somewhere amid the construction was the Emperor—and B�0�2ri Khan. Now Mulan just needed to find them.

“Why are you here?”

B�0�2ri Khan’s voice boomed with anger as Xianniang flew through the window of the tower. Scaffolding covered the inside of the unfinished 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 fierce resistance,” Xianniang said.

B�0�2ri 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.”

B�0�2ri 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 B�0�2ri 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 B�0�2ri Khan’s face contort in rage. He looked out the unfinished 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,” B�0�2ri 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. B�0�2ri 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,” B�0�2ri 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 fly.

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 B�0�2ri 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 flap 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.

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