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"No, no. I wa…" I blew out my breath. "I've overexerted myself, that's all. A lack of sleep. It's fine. I'm fine."

"If you say so." He still looked concerned. "What have you been up to?"

I answered with a half-truth. "I've been studying with Master Lo Feng. Do you remember? You told me to seek him out."

"Ah." My father's worried expression eased. "The Ch'in physician, yes. And has he helped you find your destiny?"

"No," I admitted. "But he's teaching me to breathe."

"To breathe," he echoed blankly. "This I must hear."

I glanced up at the oculus of the dome and gauged the position of the sun. In my excitement, I'd forgotten all about my lesson. "I can do better," I said. "Would you like to meet him?"

"Very much so."

It was a wonderful meeting.

A light dusting of early snow had fallen, frosting the barren branches and the evergreen shrubs in the courtyard. The embers in the little brazier glowed cheerfully, sending up curling tendrils of fragrant smoke. We were only a little bit late. Master Lo Feng was there awaiting me, his hands folded in his sleeves. Beside him, Bao leaned idly on his staff.

Not much surprised those two, but I saw their eyes widen at the sight of my father in his crimson robes.

"Master Lo Feng." I bowed in the Ch'in manner. "Forgive my tardiness. This is my father, Brother Phanuel Demarre, only just returned to the City. Father, this is Master Lo Feng and, um… Bao."

"Filial duty takes precedence." Lo Feng waved away my apology. He bowed to my father. "It is an honor."

My father clasped hand over fist and returned his bow as gracefully as though he'd been doing it all his life. "Well met, my lord. The honor is mine. I understand you're teaching my daughter to breathe?"

Master Lo Feng's eyes crinkled. "You find it strange?"

My father smiled his lovely smile. "I find it unfamiliar. But I am eager to learn more if you are willing to suffer a novice's presence."

Unexpectedly, my mentor chuckled and stroked his two-pointed beard. "Your path chose you long ago, Brother Phanuel. I do not think this humble scholar has much to teach you. But I would be honored by your presence."

My father inclined his head. "And I grateful for your forbearance."

There were only three mats. After a discussion fraught with insistence and demurral, my father accepted one, thanking Bao for his sacrifice. Bao shrugged and didn't reply, but his face was softer than I'd ever seen it, except for a few unguarded moments when he looked at Master Lo Feng.

I sat cross-legged on my mat, emulating Lo Feng. My father knelt on his, sitting effortlessly on his heels and tucking the folds of his robes beneath his legs. Bao stooped over the brazier and blew on the embers, making them flare to life, then retreated to keep watch over us.

"So." Master Lo Feng tucked his hands into his sleeves. "The Breath of Embers Glowing…"

I listened.

I breathed.

Mostly, I stole glances at them. And it seemed to me that day that there were so many kinds of beauty in the world. They were all so very different, these three men from three generations. My father's presence seemed to illuminate it.

When it was over, Master Lo Feng chided me for my inattentive-ness, but he did it nicely. And then he asked to have a few private words with my father.

Bao and I withdrew to the far side of the courtyard and stood together in awkward silence. I tried to think of something to say, but between my lingering weariness and sudden happiness, my mind was a blank.

"He's nice," Bao ventured at length in a grudging manner.

I was just pleased that he'd deigned to speak to me. "He is, isn't he? I liked him as soon as I met him."

He frowned. "You never met him before?"

I shook my head. "Only a little while ago. I grew up in Alba with my mother."

"Huh." He leaned on his staff and stared at the two men conversing.

Well, it had been a promising start. "Where did you grow up?"

Bao screwed up his face. "I do not know the word. People who do…" Unexpectedly, he tossed his staff