Page 40 of Empire's Curse

He then disappeared along the bend of the wall, likely down a flight of stairs. Daiyu anxiously picked at the tattered end of her sleeve, her gaze darting between the back of Atreus’s head and then to the archers, who were watching them suspiciously.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the giant door to the fort slowly grinded open. Atreus urged the horse forward and Daiyu clung to the edge of the wagon as they entered the fortress. Beyond the walls, dozens of soldiers were milling about the courtyard, busy with either sparring or sharpening their weapons. They watched the wagon roll to a stop, and Daiyu caught a few curious glances sent her way.

She must have looked like a bedraggled rat, she thought withflaming cheeks. Nothing like the esteemed fiancée of the emperor sheshouldhave looked like.

Atreus leaped off the wagon and came around the back to unlatch the back door for her. He held his hand out to her, but she shook her head and climbed down herself. A cold, mighty wind blew through her stringy, greasy hair and she pushed it behind her ears hastily. She didn’t look appropriate at all. She didn’t have any shoes, she was dressed in an oversized, dirty cloak, and her hair and face were grimy and caked with travel. What would the emperor say when he saw her? Would he be horrified?

“Atreus!” a loud, cheerful voice called out from the throngs of soldiers.

The crowds parted and a man with light brown hair and honey-colored eyes approached them. He was dressed in dark-red leathers and light armor, and there was something familiar about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Had she seen him at the palace?

“Bohai,” Atreus said with a small, growing smile.

Bohai, who appeared to be in his late twenties, clapped the young man on the shoulder and grinned at him widely. “I didn’t think I’d see you this early.”

“My mission came to an unexpected halt,” he explained, smoothing down the front of his heavy cloak.

Daiyu shifted on her feet uncomfortably. The cuts and scrapes on her flesh stung and she hated that she hadn’t taken one of the dead bandit’s shoes—Atreus had advised her to do so, but all the boots were more than double her size, and she had trouble walking in them, so she had opted out. Now, though, standing on the chilly pavement with nothing on but dirtied bandages, her feet felt too bare.

The light-haired man shifted his attention to Daiyu, and his eyebrows rose. “I’m shocked that you’re here, Lady Daiyu.”

She blinked at the man. “Oh. Yes. I’m surprised myself.”

“Forgive the late introduction,” the man said, placing a hand on his chest. “I’m the commander-in-chief, Yao Bohai.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Yao,” she began, but then stopped as she registered his title. The commander-in-chief?Thisman? Her mouth nearly dropped open and she didn’t know what to say as he spoke to Atreus. She hadn’t expected him to be so young, nor to even know her name.

“His Majesty will be very shocked and very displeased,” Bohai murmured to Atreus, shooting Daiyu a pitying look as he assessed her up and down. “Can you walk, Lady Daiyu? Or do you wish for one of us to carry you inside?”

The thought of Atreus or Commander Yao Bohai carrying her inside sent a new wave of embarrassment rolling over her. “I can walk,” she said hurriedly, clasping her hands together to busy them. She could feel more and more eyes on her the longer she stood there, and she didn’t know what to make of the stares.

“Very well.” Bohai waved toward the castle, which appeared even taller up closer, with more than five levels that she could see. “When were you taken from the palace? I’m shocked that we haven’t received any word from the palace, especially since our mages are usually top-notch in communicating with us.”

Uneasiness grew in the hollow of her stomach as they entered the castle walls. The polished wood was icy beneath her feet, the cold seeping down into her bones. “Well, it happened … maybe two weeks ago?”

“Hm, strange,” he murmured, continuing down the hall. The passing soldiers lowered themselves to a bow as he passed them by. “I wonder if the mages didn’t consider it important enough to inform His Majesty.”

Daiyu flinched, unable to hide her surprise. Was she so insignificant that nobody cared to evenlookfor her? More apprehension built in her chest and she struggled to keep up with the two men. She wanted to pause, sit down somewhere, and wallow in self-pity forat leastan hour. Enough time for her to reflect on how meaningless and unimportant she would be if she became Drakkon Muyang’s wife.

She could feel Atreus staring at her, but she ignored him andsilently walked behind Bohai, who was already talking about something related to their next move in the north against General Keung—the major general for the rebel army. Daiyu stared at the geometric windows and the latticed metal screens covering them. She could make out the snow-encrusted mountains in the distance, and she longed to be far away from this place.

Finally, they stopped at a set of red painted doors with slithering dragons carved into the frame. Bohai knocked, and without waiting for an answer, strolled inside the room, beckoning Daiyu and Atreus forward.

Daiyu scrambled behind Atreus. They likely were going to wait to see Muyang, she decided, poking her head over Atreus’s large body to peek inside the room. There was no way Muyang was inside here, especially since Bohai didn’t even wait for him to answer?—

Her breath caught in her throat.

Muyang was leaning his hip against a desk casually, a yellowed scroll in one hand and a cup of tea in the other as he scanned the parchment. Unlike at the palace, where he had been bedecked in royal regalia—in shimmering gold earrings, gold bracelets, and fancy hair crowns—he was clad entirely in menacing, black leathers. His hair was bound at the crown of his head, and his hair crown was blood-red and black, making him look all the more like a terrifying general than an emperor.

He lifted his head, and his black eyes flicked from Bohai, to Atreus, and then landed on her. For a moment, time froze, and Daiyu sucked in her cheeks as she took in his clean-shaven appearance, the hard planes of his wicked face, and his dark eyes that reminded her of a starless night sky.

He slowly lowered his steaming teacup on the desk behind him, his eyes never straying from hers. “What,” he said, his voice cold and clipped, “are you doing here?”

That was all Daiyu needed to snap out of her trance. She lowered her head and dropped down to her knees in a low bow. Her hands trembled as she pressed them into thefloor. “Greetings, Your Majesty. Forgive my insolence. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Atreus shifted on his feet but didn’t bow down like she was doing. He must’ve been closer to Muyang to forgo such a formality, she realized, keeping her head low.

“Atreus, explain what happened,” Muyang snapped, and even from her peripheral vision, she could see the young man wince.

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