Page 22 of Empire's Curse

“Oh!” The maidservant squinted at the paper. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I missed it in my haste, but yes, we do have a Yin Lanfen here.”

Daiyu couldn’t even breathe in relief because the emperor hadn’t eased his blade from her. He blinked as if not expecting that answer, and then he retracted his blade ever so slowly. And even then, she didn’t relax—she couldn’t.

“Which village are you from?” he asked.

“H-Hanzi.”

Again, he turned to the servant, who bobbed her head in confirmation as she read from the scroll.

Muyang sighed as if disappointed and slid his black dagger—with a curling dragon over the hilt—into its sheath. “Well then,” he murmured, reaching forward for his cup of tea and taking a sip casually. “It appears you’re truthful.”

Daiyu’s shoulders trembled and she bunched her hands together on her lap. No matter what she did, she couldn’t stop herself from quivering. She had never felt such raw, primalpressure before. Such closeness to death that she could taste iron in her mouth.

“Eat.” He motioned to her food and Daiyu stared at him dumbly, unable to make out what he meant. “Come now, we haven’t finished our meal. Soeat.”

She picked up her chopsticks numbly, and the shaking grew so bad that she couldn’t pick at any of her food. Muyang watched with mild amusement and continued his meal as if he hadn’t tried to kill her seconds ago.

“It suits you,” he said.

“H-Huh?” Daiyu looked at him and wished she hadn’t. There was something cruel about his cold, vicious beauty. She had once heard her mother say that evil sometimes cloaked itself in beauty to entice its prey—and in this moment, she could see that he was the embodiment of that statement.

Muyang reached forward and she flinched when he touched her neck, but she didn’t dare lean away from him. He dragged his finger along her throat and teased at the neckline—as if he would trace even lower—before pulling his hand away. A streak of her blood smeared his digit and he brought it to his mouth.

She watched with mounting horror as he licked her blood. “Red suits you.”

The rest of the meal continued painstakingly slow, and Daiyu could barely choke down her food. It wasn’t until the emperor dismissed her that she could finally breathe. When she nearly ran out of the room, she could feel his gaze lingering on her back, and she felt even more vulnerable.

But there was one thing that was sure in her mind—surer than anything she had ever felt in her life—she needed to escape from this palace and his clutches. Because if she remained here, she was certain she would not survive.

8

Early the next morning,Daiyu paced her room hastily, the rug muffling her steps. She was dressed in a beautiful powder blue dress with a pale-yellow sash that washed her out, and although the clothing was beautiful, she felt like an imposter. Like she didn’t belong, and she truly didn’t.

When she caught sight of herself in the mirror—of the gauze wrapped around her throat—she shuddered to think of Muyang and the cruelty he had displayed. Her hand touched the hollow of her throat and she suppressed another shiver.

She still hadn’t seen Feiyu and these past few days—especially after yesterday’s disastrous meal with the emperor—showed her that she badly needed an ally. But the masked mage hadn’t made an appearance at all, and she felt utterly alone.

She needed to find an escape plan. Muyang knew which village she was from, so he could very easily find her family and murder them if she fled now. Which filled her with more anxiety and anger at herself. Yesterday had shown her that Muyang didn’t knowexactlywho she was, and that meant if she had left with Lanfen a few days ago, he wouldn’t have been able to track her. But she had fumbled her plan, and now she was stuck here.

What could she do to escape? Fake her death andflee? Make the emperor grow bored with her? But the latter seemed dangerous—what if he killed her because she didn’t interest him anymore?

Her mind grew more tangled and she kicked the corner of her couch’s leg in frustration. A jolt of pain shot through her ankle and shin, and she hissed in pain. Flopping down on the cushions in frustration, she covered her face with a perfumed pillow, wanting to scream into it but holding herself back.

Tears burned the back of her eyes and she blinked them away quickly. She was just a simple farmer’s daughter. How had she gotten caught up in all of this? She wasn’t even the type to aspire for greatness, or to have ambitions like wooing the emperor, but here she was, plopped into a position that many women would kill for. And yet it appeared like she would diebecauseof it.

For a while, she just lay on the couch, staring up at the square coffered ceiling of her room—each sunken indent containing a design of a dragon curling within itself. Everywhere she looked, something reminded her of the emperor’s reign, whether it was the ceiling with his dragon symbol, the polished tiles beneath her feet that showed the luxury of the palace, or the platters of fruit with dragons etched around the rims.

Daiyu finally pushed herself into a sitting position. She couldn’t remain here and feel sorry for herself. She didn’t know when she would see Feiyu—or if she would ever see him again—so she needed to have a backup plan for when she would escape this place.

She jumped to her feet and hurried to the doorway. She placed her hands on the ornate doors but hesitated when she imagined Muyang’s beautiful face twisted in suspicion at her. What if he thought it was strange for her to be loitering around the palace like a common thief? What if he still thought she was a spy? Would it be better to stay here?

No, she thought. If she remained, there was a good chance she would never leave this place. She needed a plan, and she needed to act, even if it meant drawing the emperor’s suspicion.

Her mind made up, Daiyu pushed open the door and slipped into the hallway. The guard who was assigned to her door straightened and gave her a surprised look.

“My lady,” he said, blinking at her like he hadn’t seen her before. “You’re not allowed?—”

“Can’t I wander the halls of the palace if I’m to be the emperor’s wife?” Daiyu asked with a small smile, hoping she appeared innocent. When the guard frowned, she continued, “Surely, it won’t hurt to walk for a bit so long as I have you by my side? I doubt His Majesty will care if I decide to cease my boredom by exploring this grand place. Don’t you agree?”

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