Mulan finally looked at him. She knew the price. To seal the alliance and end the slaughter, Wentai—revealed now to be a Prince of Wei—would have to marry the Rouran princess. The love they had fostered in the shadow of death would have to be buried there.

"The war is almost over," Wentai said. "The Rouran princess wants peace. But it comes with a price."

She turned and walked toward her father's hut, leaving the General behind. Behind her, the Prince stood alone, watching the woman who had saved a nation but could not save herself from the duty that defined her.