Dawn in the palace57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK87xzPNz6
—a held breath before the storm.
The candleflames tremble in the corridors,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZXG6m7SVq
as do I.
Chen Qing’er’s warning coils in my gut:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfYgxQQbND
"Does the Crown Prince truly trust you?"
A question that now blooms thorns57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5vdqwdIyk
in every glance he gives me,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QReHn0f3t
every silence between words.
The Summons
Zhang Feng arrives like a shadow,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJsskXznHG
his voice devoid of inflection:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWJj9T7NwT
"His Highness requests you."
I follow, counting my heartbeats—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfq8WhZw054
each step a precipice.
The Audience
The Prince’s study smells of ink and iron.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj93zjhTDS
He doesn’t look up from his documents57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcz3GxmPSWf
when he says:
"You spoke with Chen Qing’er last night."
A statement, not a question.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rk5L2yLZH
The blade hidden in the scabbard of courtesy.
I keep my voice steady:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzRJwzJ7D2
"Nothing of consequence passed between us."
His fingers pause on a parchment edge.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxJivbFL4q
"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,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDuAhTk7AS
backlit by a dawn he cannot yet see:
"Chen Qing’er is the true threat now."57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NlqaXwqm2
"Are you prepared to face her?"
The unspoken words hang heavier:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Z5jpubaYX
Are you prepared to betray me?
I give the expected answer.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4fre4Tppz
He smiles—
—a flash of teeth in the gloom,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7l5682n7c4
more warning than approval.
"Remember: we play this game together."57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLa4uiqzyIq
His fingers brush his dagger’s hilt.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDQcawqhXA
"Cross me, and you’ll wish Chen Qing’er had killed you first."
The Aftermath
Alone again, I press my palm to my chest—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmOVuxQQdZ
feeling the thing that frightens me most:
Not the Prince’s threats.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7j03hkRpu
Not Chen Qing’er’s schemes.
But the traitorous whisper in my own pulse:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhQb2B0Z2F
What if I want to choose neither?
