Page 4 of Empire's Curse

Never.

2

Daiyu trudgedthrough the streets of the capital, her breath ragged and her feet aching from the travel. Normally, it took two days of horse-riding to reach it, three on a wagon with many breaks. On foot? Almost a week and a half for Daiyu. Tired was an understatement; she was exhausted, sweaty, and her feet were killing her.

Convincing her parents to let her go had been nearly impossible, and her brothers had said they would come with her too, but Daiyu couldn’t let that happen. They were needed on their small farm, and anyone other than Daiyu going would mean less money and more financial burdens. It only made sense that Daiyu would be the one sneaking into the palace to rescue her sister.

How, though? She had absolutely no idea.

Now that she was here, in the dense streets of the capital, with people milling about around her, with the smell of woodsmoke, baked goods, and sweat pervading the sticky summer air, she was lost. She walked and walked, with only a handful of coins in her satchel, one outfit, and a few strips of dried fruit. She could see the looming palace, but the more she racked her mind on how to sneak in, the more she drew a blank.

The palace was heavily guarded, that much she could surmise.And the guards were likely just as vicious as the emperor, so she had to have a solid excuse to slip inside—ifshe even got that far.

Maybe she could find employment inside the palace as an excuse to go inside? She doubted it would be easy sneaking in, and now that she was actually in the capital, her confidence waned.

What could she do?

Daiyu wove through the streets, keeping a watchful eye on the tall stone walls surrounding the palace that scraped toward the skies and the palace guards stationed near the ornate metal gates. She trudged to one side of the palace walls and continued along it. She made sure to keep her distance so no one would notice her inspecting it.

After twenty minutes of studying the walls, she came to three conclusions: there was more than one entrance, each were heavily guarded, and there was no way she could creep inside. The walls were too high to scale, and if she was caught, she’d be killed on suspicions of either being a spy, an assassin, or simply for breaching the palace.

Finally, when she couldn’t think of anything to do, she straightened out her clothes, smoothed down her hair, and approached one of the guards.

“Excuse me—” She smiled politely at the young man.

He peered down at her with mistrusting, dark eyes. “Yes?”

“I’ve actually been recently hired as one of the kitchen helpers?—”

“Your badge?”

“That’s the thing”—her brows crinkled—“I … don’t know where I placed it.”

“Youlostit?” His eyes narrowed further. “So you’re saying that anyone can enter the palace now with your lost badge? Is that correct?”

“Um, no,” Daiyu quickly said. “How can anyone enter with you all guarding the palace? Surely, you’ve seen everyone’s faces before, and you’ve seen me before too, haven’t you?”

He tilted his head to better stare at her. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’ve told you. I’ve recently been hired?—”

“If you’ve got no badge or no other forms of identification, then leave.”

“But—”

“Leave.” He glared at her, and the sunlight glinted off his steel helmet sinisterly as if the heavens were agreeing with him.

Daiyu pursed her lips together and scrambled away from the entrance. That didn’t go well at all. If she had stayed and talked to him any longer, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he decided to skewer her with his spear. Maybe she could try again later? Or maybe …

Her mind became mush as she walked alongside the wall. She leaned her shoulder against it and wanted to slide down to the ground. Her feet were killing her and the constant walking back and forth, along with the tiring journey, made her bone-weary. Tears of frustration stung her eyes, but she refused to cry here, in the middle of the streets, in front of this insufferable palace.

Lanfen was trapped somewhere within these walls. There had to besomethingDaiyu could do.

“What are you doing?”

Daiyu spun around to find a man towering over her. He must’ve been at least a foot and a half taller than her. Satiny green and silver robes fluttered around the man, carrying the wind and the smell of cherry blossoms. A black and red dragon mask covered his face, and his long, midnight-colored hair trailed over his shoulders in silken streaks. He wore no weapons, and the royal insignia of a dragon was embroidered on the front of his long tunic.

The clothes gave him away—the green and silver robes meant he was one of the royal mages.

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