Dawn in the palace58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlKUATg1VJ
—a held breath before the storm.
The candleflames tremble in the corridors,58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFY2eoclLM
as do I.
Chen Qing’er’s warning coils in my gut:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahXhhAwCIj
"Does the Crown Prince truly trust you?"
A question that now blooms thorns58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCeDPcxCMf
in every glance he gives me,58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2DWcmUS2i
every silence between words.
The Summons
Zhang Feng arrives like a shadow,58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygBzZI20Ij
his voice devoid of inflection:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVYmE6bE7Z
"His Highness requests you."
I follow, counting my heartbeats—58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCrFoJ4zPz
each step a precipice.
The Audience
The Prince’s study smells of ink and iron.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGMTaId7ix
He doesn’t look up from his documents58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbjdZwSzST
when he says:
"You spoke with Chen Qing’er last night."
A statement, not a question.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttPs1GES4D
The blade hidden in the scabbard of courtesy.
I keep my voice steady:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYYBlLTPNv
"Nothing of consequence passed between us."
His fingers pause on a parchment edge.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEisCytsLiF
"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,58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAIfAHfkpr
backlit by a dawn he cannot yet see:
"Chen Qing’er is the true threat now."58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQHpTpLadl
"Are you prepared to face her?"
The unspoken words hang heavier:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhU7IuBS6kw
Are you prepared to betray me?
I give the expected answer.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX1cCZEtwv
He smiles—
—a flash of teeth in the gloom,58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJznSsK1w6
more warning than approval.
"Remember: we play this game together."58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5T6asg9OU
His fingers brush his dagger’s hilt.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iNa0VP2uO
"Cross me, and you’ll wish Chen Qing’er had killed you first."
The Aftermath
Alone again, I press my palm to my chest—58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNujrabprr
feeling the thing that frightens me most:
Not the Prince’s threats.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZZ8ByFNyZ
Not Chen Qing’er’s schemes.
But the traitorous whisper in my own pulse:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEk3vULKAXX
What if I want to choose neither?
