Page 82 of Empire's Curse

Seconds later, two guards with their hands closed tightly around their spears appeared from where the woman had come from. Another young woman trailed behind them, the front pieces of her hair tied in small buns on the sides of her head, while the rest of her billowing, thin hair fell down her back.

“Princess Biyu!” The guard, a salt-and-pepper bearded man, narrowed his eyes and huffed loudly in exasperation. “You can’t run off like that. You know that?—”

“I know.” The woman hugged the cat closer to her body, her thin shoulders folding inward. “Sorry?—”

“You’re not allowed to go astray from the path,” the other guard said sharply.

“Biyu—” The other woman’s sour expression stilled when she took sight of Nikator, and all the color promptly drained from her face like she had seen a blood-sucking demon. She hastily averted her gaze.

The younger of the two guards stepped forward and grabbed the young woman, Biyu, by her bicep and yanked her forward roughly. “Come on, keep walking?—”

“Let her go,” Daiyu interrupted, a steely edge to her tone. “There’s no need for you to be so violent with her.”

“She’s not supposed to be here,” the man replied with curled lips. As if to emphasize his point, he pulled her even harder, making the young woman grimace. “It’s best if you don’t interfere?—”

“I said,let her go.” Daiyu balled her fists together. She didn’t like the way this man was pulling Biyu around like she was an item. Or that he was being so rough for no reason. “She said she would go with you?—”

“Listen—” he began.

“That’s enough.” Nikator suddenly had a dagger in his hand,a dragon body coiling around the hilt. He pointed the silver edge of the weapon toward the guard, who peered up at it in thinly veiled disdain. “Let the woman go.”

The guard hesitated, looking between the dagger and then at Nikator before finally releasing her.

“She may be a prisoner,” Nikator said, his own eyes narrowing at where the guard had been grabbing the woman, “but she’s still a princess, and you’re not allowed to touch royalty, unless you have a death wish. And if that’s the case—” He waved the tip of the dagger near the man’s throat, an angelically cruel smile twisting his lips. “I can most definitely oblige.”

The guard licked his lips and stared down at the blade. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to.”

“This is actually perfect.” Nikator jerked his chin toward the two women. “Both of you, come with me. We have business with you two.”

Daiyu looked between the two women. So these two were the princesses? Just by their appearance alone, she could tell there was something different about them. Something regal. Something … noble. They were both beautiful, with pale, creamy skin, inky hair, slim figures, and midnight-like black eyes. But that wasn’t what made them appear … ethereal almost. Daiyu could just tell right off the bat that there was something special about them. Magic, maybe? Or perhaps because she now knew they were the infamous princesses—one of the last of the MuRong dynasty.

The two guards exchanged troubled looks, and the older of the two finally cleared his throat and strained a smile. “Uh, we’re supposed to be guarding them?—”

“You can join us, but keep your distance,” Nikator said with a noncommittal shrug. But he wasn’t paying attention to the guard—no, he had his gaze locked on the princesses like they were prey. There was something about the way he was looking at them that made Daiyu shiver and realize that no matter how kind he was to her, he was still a warrior, and he viewed the princesses as a threat.

“We don’t have time for any business,” the other princess said quietly. “So if you don’t mind?—”

“No.” Nikator jerked a thumb to the path he and Daiyu had been walking on just minutes ago. “Follow us.”

Daiyu cringed at the rough manner of his speech. “It won’t take long,” she said with a hesitant smile. Neither of the two women appeared to be involved in anything sinister by the looks of it. And Biyu was practically shivering from being so close to the red-haired warrior. Daiyu didn’t have it in her to interrogate them, but the one thing she had learned from the royal palace was that looks were deceiving.

Nikator led them down the winding paths of the gardens and Daiyu walked beside him, glancing every so often at the shuffling women following a few feet behind. The guards did as they were told and were a dozen feet behind them.

“Is this a good idea?” Daiyu whispered to him.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He lifted his brows at her.

She frowned, eyeing the terrified young women one more time. “They seem absolutely frightened of you.”

“I was there when His Majesty killed their father and usurped the throne.” He stared straight ahead and for a moment, he didn’t look so young and innocent anymore. The polished veneer of a cheerful young man seemed to chip and unveil the groomed, cruel warrior who served the ruthless emperor. “Imighthave enacted a few scenes of violence in front of them. Notatthem, but they may have witnessed it.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say to that. Guilt gnawed at the bottom of her stomach and she hated that she was making them go through something traumatic like this with a person they feared and hated. But … she needed answers, and they might have them. The softer side of her wanted to relent to the guilt and toss away the whole idea, but another part of her that was emboldened by the multiple death threats against her steeled her resolve.

29

All four of them—PrincessBiyu, Princess Liqin, Nikator, and Daiyu—were seated around a circular wooden table with clouds and dragons engraved along the surface, and with carved snakes climbing up the legs. The chairs were similarly designed. Beside them, cherry blossom trees swayed with branches heavy with pink blossoms, their petals and sweet cherry scent carrying over to the somber mood hanging over the group.

Princess Biyu hugged her cat to her chest and petted her from time to time, while Princess Liqin picked at a loose, silver thread in her periwinkle-colored sleeve. Neither met Nikator’s steely gaze as he bored holes into them. The guards were a dozen or so feet away, close enough to spring into action when necessary, but far away enough that they couldn’t eavesdrop.

---