Dawn in the palace193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUjZlfYN6N
—a held breath before the storm.
The candleflames tremble in the corridors,193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Jk1JqTVwC
as do I.
Chen Qing’er’s warning coils in my gut:193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pgxK4Mm1K
"Does the Crown Prince truly trust you?"
A question that now blooms thorns193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNWE3geKiD
in every glance he gives me,193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0qJg3MSfH
every silence between words.
The Summons
Zhang Feng arrives like a shadow,193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnpDTzB0e5
his voice devoid of inflection:193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd8Lzdx2RC
"His Highness requests you."
I follow, counting my heartbeats—193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiVlN72PS9
each step a precipice.
The Audience
The Prince’s study smells of ink and iron.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFq9jsE8eo
He doesn’t look up from his documents193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5h8LTLRfj
when he says:
"You spoke with Chen Qing’er last night."
A statement, not a question.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡME5AxiMTVc
The blade hidden in the scabbard of courtesy.
I keep my voice steady:193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9ZR1mIU9T
"Nothing of consequence passed between us."
His fingers pause on a parchment edge.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75sDMOQCqE
"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,193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbkK3xPeLV
backlit by a dawn he cannot yet see:
"Chen Qing’er is the true threat now."193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2F2TovUXA
"Are you prepared to face her?"
The unspoken words hang heavier:193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEM1pNAZsd
Are you prepared to betray me?
I give the expected answer.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1jE6yuozs
He smiles—
—a flash of teeth in the gloom,193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8BgWJC1pE
more warning than approval.
"Remember: we play this game together."193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak3ecXV4MX
His fingers brush his dagger’s hilt.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LC47VWO0V
"Cross me, and you’ll wish Chen Qing’er had killed you first."
The Aftermath
Alone again, I press my palm to my chest—193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6NOG4Jl0B
feeling the thing that frightens me most:
Not the Prince’s threats.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWd7wxWBfi
Not Chen Qing’er’s schemes.
But the traitorous whisper in my own pulse:193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRunbIYWzn
What if I want to choose neither?
