Dawn in the palace233Please respect copyright.PENANAKEmvcfGmM1
—a held breath before the storm.
The candleflames tremble in the corridors,233Please respect copyright.PENANAKXkPDNYsJs
as do I.
Chen Qing’er’s warning coils in my gut:233Please respect copyright.PENANAaBwaAWs4ep
"Does the Crown Prince truly trust you?"
A question that now blooms thorns233Please respect copyright.PENANAvuRotAcjn2
in every glance he gives me,233Please respect copyright.PENANAR071exx75B
every silence between words.
The Summons
Zhang Feng arrives like a shadow,233Please respect copyright.PENANA47UWdijGqY
his voice devoid of inflection:233Please respect copyright.PENANA84VgrglYPa
"His Highness requests you."
I follow, counting my heartbeats—233Please respect copyright.PENANAnPzAjZYZiQ
each step a precipice.
The Audience
The Prince’s study smells of ink and iron.233Please respect copyright.PENANASzHiPfoyGm
He doesn’t look up from his documents233Please respect copyright.PENANAv7NfAb06Cs
when he says:
"You spoke with Chen Qing’er last night."
A statement, not a question.233Please respect copyright.PENANABNtWWJV9XQ
The blade hidden in the scabbard of courtesy.
I keep my voice steady:233Please respect copyright.PENANALY920wqdKB
"Nothing of consequence passed between us."
His fingers pause on a parchment edge.233Please respect copyright.PENANAsqzsVcVtNa
"I hear you’ve grown… close to certain officials."
Another knife, poised at my throat.
I parry: "All for the sake of reform."
The Warning
He rises, silhouetted against the window,233Please respect copyright.PENANAi6MaUHfR6t
backlit by a dawn he cannot yet see:
"Chen Qing’er is the true threat now."233Please respect copyright.PENANAE59vh48Lrj
"Are you prepared to face her?"
The unspoken words hang heavier:233Please respect copyright.PENANAHFU3AUteca
Are you prepared to betray me?
I give the expected answer.233Please respect copyright.PENANAUghz4qzk8O
He smiles—
—a flash of teeth in the gloom,233Please respect copyright.PENANA7MLi2yBmIw
more warning than approval.
"Remember: we play this game together."233Please respect copyright.PENANA1hWdNdf4hD
His fingers brush his dagger’s hilt.233Please respect copyright.PENANApV78ogAfcn
"Cross me, and you’ll wish Chen Qing’er had killed you first."
The Aftermath
Alone again, I press my palm to my chest—233Please respect copyright.PENANAhMBZUrZcD1
feeling the thing that frightens me most:
Not the Prince’s threats.233Please respect copyright.PENANAUr7JCvuzMb
Not Chen Qing’er’s schemes.
But the traitorous whisper in my own pulse:233Please respect copyright.PENANAM42TjXL2Gg
What if I want to choose neither?