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Mulan stared down at the woman in front of her. In death, the witch’s face looked peaceful. The thought brought some comfort to Mulan. Xianniang had been many things, but she had, at her heart, been a strong warrior. She shouldn’t have had to die. She shouldn’t have had to suffer at the hands of B�0�2ri Khan for so long, just so she could feel accepted. But now, at least, she was free.

Getting to her feet, Mulan pushed away the surprising grief she felt. The best thing she could do for Xianniang’s memory now was defeat B�0�2ri Khan and save the Emperor. Grabbing her sword, she raced through the maze of construction. Shafts of light pierced the shadows and the wind blew through the beams and rubble, making a low hissing sound.

Mulan spotted B�0�2ri Khan. The warrior’s back was to her. He stood in front of a large open furnace. Inside, molten metal flowed into a huge tub, filling it with red-hot liquid. Focused on the furnace, he didn’t hear Mulan as she approached. Taking advantage of his distraction, Mulan scanned the area, looking for any sign of the Emperor. Her eyes traveled upward and stopped as she spotted him. He was tied to a pole and bleeding from several wounds, but he was alive.

Taking a deep breath, Mulan tiptoed over to a low beam and hopped on. Then she climbed, using the crossbars that zigzagged over the room to get closer and closer to the Emperor. She was almost to him when a large shadow loomed over her.

B�0�2ri Khan was in front of her, blocking her way to the Emperor. In the shadowy light, he looked larger than life, like something out of a nightmare. His gaze trailed over her body and she saw him sneer. “The girl who has come to save the dynasty,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain.

Mulan knew that to B�0�2ri Khan she appeared nothing more than a young woman. But he was wrong. She was much more. Dropping into the warrior’s pose, she lifted her sword. “If you surrender,” she began, “I will assure you that your death is swift and painless.”

In response, B�0�2ri Khan laughed. And then—he attacked. In a smooth, powerful stroke, he swung his sword down at Mulan. The move was so quick Mulan barely had time to lift her own sword to block it. But the movement knocked her off-balance, and she fell. With a thud, she slammed into a beam below her, the impact knocking the wind from her lungs.

As she struggled to her feet, B�0�2ri Khan came after her. She scrambled backward, jumping out of the way just in time to avoid his swinging sword. Creeping along the beam, she switched her gaze back and forth between B�0�2ri Khan and the Emperor.

B�0�2ri Khan kept coming, his cruel laughter bouncing off the beams. His sword whipped through the air, and Mulan somersaulted to another beam to stay out of the way. The metal clanged as his sword struck the beam where she had been just moments before. Taking advantage of the miss, Mulan raced upward, making her way to the Emperor. She heard B�0�2ri Khan roar with rage as he gave chase behind her.

Beam to beam they went, with Mulan barely staying ahead of the huge, hulking warrior. But stay ahead she did, and soon she had reached the captive Emperor. Turning just in time, Mulan met B�0�2ri Khan’s sword as it once again swung toward her. The sound of metal on metal filled the air as she struggled to hold strong against Khan’s onslaught. But then he swung one last time, and the motion was so powerful that it sent her sword flying out of her hand.

In horror, Mulan watched as the blade fell down, down, down toward the ground and then, with a hiss, dropped into the burning liquid of the furnace. Mulan let out a cry of despair as she watched her father’s sword disappear, melting into nothing.

For a long moment, she stared at the furnace. She had lost her father’s sword. She had lost everything. How could she stand a chance now against the great and powerful B�0�2ri Khan?

And then, from above, she heard a voice. “You are a mighty warrior.”

Looking up, she met the Emperor’s gaze. Even though he was trapped, he looked strong—and calm.

“Rise up like the Phoenix,” the Emperor went on. “Fight for the kingdom and its people.”

Rise up like the Phoenix. The Emperor’s words hung over Mulan. Was this part of why the Phoenix had come to her? Had everything been leading to this moment? She thought back to the despair she had felt as she stood on the mountain cliff, exiled and alone. And then she thought about the strength she had found when she had faced Xianniang, and the power she had felt when she heard Commander Tung accept her. Despite the odds and the obstacles thrown her way, she had overcome. She was a phoenix. She had risen above it all and become a warrior.

Hearing the beating of wings behind her, Mulan slowly rose to her feet and turned. She gasped as she saw the Phoenix appear, wings spread. The bird was no longer the wretched creature she had been when Mulan first met her. She was beautiful. Strong. Magnificent. Her feathers nearly blinded Mulan with their vivid color.

Filled with a renewed sense of purpose and power from the Emperor’s words and the Phoenix, Mulan turned to face B�0�2ri Khan once more. The Rouran warrior hesitated only a moment, surprised to see her resilience, and then he rushed at her.

Mulan raced to meet him. For a moment, it looked as if they were going to crash headfirst. But at the last moment, Mulan leapt. Soaring over B�0�2ri Khan, she landed on a thin bamboo pole behind him. Balancing perfectly despite the narrowness of the surface, she taunted B�0�2ri Khan with a smile.

The warrior roared and swung his sword, slicing through the bamboo. It split in half, but that didn’t stop Mulan. Leaping to another, and then another, she jumped from pole to pole as B�0�2ri Khan continued to hack at the air wildly with his long sword. Reaching the end of the poles, she lifted her arm in the air as one of the pieces of cut bamboo flew into her outstretched hand. Grabbing it, she jumped down to the ground and stood, the bamboo pole in front of her like a staff.

Her breath came in gasps. She was exhausted. Every muscle ached and even her bones felt sore. She had been fighting for so long. First to find her place in the army, then in actual battle against hundreds of fierce warriors—and now against the strongest Rouran warrior of all. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on. But if she stopped, the Emperor would die, and what would become of the kingdom? Unbidden, an image of the tulou came to her. The peaceful village, full of the same families for generations. What would become of her home? Her family? She had to keep fighting. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the bamboo.

Once again, B�0�2ri Khan came at her. Using the staff, she blocked his sword and then spun, her movements fluid. The staff became a twirling blur as she moved this way and that. B�0�2ri Khan tried to follow the dizzying motion but he stumbled. Taking advantage of it, Mulan stopped spinning and whacked him across the face. He let out a cry as his hand went to his cheek.