Page 39 of Empire's Curse

Daiyu began walking toward Qian, her stomach sinking further and further into the pits of her feet as she accepted her fate. She stopped by the scarred man. Blood was already crusting over the fatal wound on his neck, and he was holding his throat as if to stem the bleeding. But his eyes were glassy and pinned to the sky. She wondered, briefly, if he feared death before taking his last breath.

“My lady?”

She dropped down beside the corpse and tentatively peeled back his clothes, her hands skimming over his waist. Her fingers found what she was looking for and she yanked back the dragon dagger Muyang had entrusted her with. Blood spotted the hilt of the blade, and the edge of it was filmy with grease—Qian would sometimes use the dagger to eat with.

“I might as well take this with me,” she said, holding the dagger up for Atreus to see.

“He gave that to you?”

“Yes—” She turned around to find Atreus reach down to his boot. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he pulled out an identical weapon.

A grin was spread on his face. “He must like you if he gave it to you.”

“He didn’tgiveit to me.” She rose to her feet, her stomach twisting at the smell of iron pervading the air. “Anyway, we should head out.”

“Of course, my lady.”

They had a long journey ahead of them, Daiyu thought with a long sigh. She had been so close to freedom, and yet … it always seemed to slip from her grasp.

15

Daiyu stretchedher arms and legs out in the wagon as it rumbled forward. Atreus steered the two horses and was silent, like usual. She had lost count of how many days they had been traveling, but she knew they were close to Muyang. She tightened the grimy cloak closer to her body, her nose crinkling at the smell of sweat and blood. They had taken the cloak off one of the lesser mangled corpses, but it, unfortunately, was still stiff with blood and filth and who-knew-what. She wriggled her toes on the floor of the wagon and winced as pain shot through her cut and worn feet. She had bandaged herself up and yanked out the thorns and twigs that had been stuck to her feet during her run through the forest, but the pain remained even after all these days.

“How did you become His Majesty’s spy?” Daiyu asked, sitting upright in the stack of hay to glance over at him. They were currently passing through empty valleys of grass. She had spotted villages in the distance, but Atreus had reassured her that they had enough resources to make it to Fort Xingia without stopping at “suspicious” villages that might be harboring rebel forces.

He didn’t answer for a moment, and the only indication thathe had heard her was a slight tilt of his head. “I met him ten years ago in Sanguis.”

“Oh, so you’re from Sanguis?” That had been her guess—either that or Kadios, the other kingdom that neighbored them. “But why do you serve the emperor of the Huo empire and not your own country, then?”

“His Majesty saved me a decade ago when I was a boy, so I have a debt to repay him. Sanguis may be my home country, but I am not loyal to it. I am loyal to Muyang.”

Her eyebrows rose. He had called him Muyang.SimplyMuyang. Nobody was allowed to call the emperor by his name so casually, unless he allowed them to, and that was only if they had a close enough relationship.

She sat up straighter with renewed interest. The carriage bumped and rolled over stones, and her voice came out with a slight vibration. “You’re close to him?”

“He helped me when no one else did.”

“But ten years ago … How old was he?” Daiyu picked at the frayed hem of the cloak as the blistering wind blew through her hair. Muyang appeared to be the same age as her, but he couldn’t be that young, could he?

“I’m not sure. He looked the same as he does now.”

“Oh?” That perked her interest even more. “So does he use magic to stay young?”

“Maybe you can ask him.”

She slumped back into the hay, her lips twisting into a frown. She could already imagine how that conversation would go—and it wouldn’t be pretty.

When they approached a tall,enclosed fortress with snowy mountains in the background and an ominous, formidable castle looming in the center behind the heavily guarded wall, Daiyu’s nerves jittered and her stomach twisted intoa pit of snakes. Muyang was within those walls; she knew it deep down in her bones. She could feel his heavy presence, could practically choke on the thickness of the foggy air.

She twiddled her hands together and fidgeted with the sleeve of her dress. It would be fine, she told herself. He wouldn’t hurt her for getting kidnapped, right? And it wasn’t like she had been taken advantage of, so there was no reason for him to kill her for sullying his reputation. In fact, she should have been safe when she entered those fortress walls. But still … the image of Muyang’s furious expression, the thought of a cold knife pressed to her neck, wouldn’t leave her.

Atreus stopped the wagon a dozen feet away from the fortress. Daiyu spotted over ten guards on the wall, their arrows notched at them, and her heart thundered even louder.

“Who goes there?” one of the guards boomed. She couldn’t see his expression behind his helmet, but the timbre of his voice made her shudder.

“It’s me, Atreus,” the young man called out, raising his hands defensively. “I’ve brought His Majesty his wife-to-be, who was kidnapped by a group of mercenaries. I wish for passage inside.”

The guard gave a nod to the rest of the archers and they slowly lowered their weapons. “Very well,” he called out. “I’ll confirm it with the commander-in-chief.”

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