Page 86 of Empire's Curse

A giddiness she hadn’t expected bubbled and frothed in the pit of her stomach, warming her chest. Daiyu hurriedly pulled her hair into a low bun and slotted gold hairpins into place. “Well then, we shouldn’t miss the festivities, right?”

Vita quickly dressed herself while Daiyu slipped on her leather shoes, her heart racing to a wild tune. She shouldn’t have been excited, but it had been months since she had last seen the emperor, and she wasn’t one to miss a party. At least that’s what she told herself. Deep down, she had an inkling of an idea of why she was excited, but she didn’t want to explore those feelings. Certainly not now.

They both headed out of the room and down the darkened hallways. The closer they drew to the main hall, the brighter and busier the corridors were, with servants bustling in and out with trays of food and drinks.

“Why would His Majesty come here in the middle of the night?” Daiyu smoothed down the errant strands of hair that had come out from her hairstyle and cursed herself for not taking more time to fix it before they left.

“They were probably close enough that he didn’t want to wait until the morning, so he likely used magic to have everyone in his immediate party transported here. He’s done that several times before.”

The doors to the main hall were sprawled open and the boisterous sound of laughter, conversations, and music hummed through the lively air. Daiyu hadn’t heard of the rebellion being squashed up north, but maybe they were successful in quelling the rebel forces for now? It was the only explanation.

Crossing the threshold, Daiyu was blown away by the amount of soldiers milling about the hall with drinks in hand, their cups clinking one another, and the array of warriorslounging about or dancing unashamedly. She hadn’t expected such lightheartedness from the warriors, particularly because they were still clad in imposing dark leathers that made them out to be demonic-like, and yet they appeared so carefree in that moment. So unlike the monstrous, soulless soldiers she had thought they were.

At the end of the hall, Muyang was unceremoniously reclined in his black-gemmed and ruby-studded throne, a drink in his hand and his dark leathers and silks appearing all the more foreboding. His hair was pulled back by a glinting gold hair crown, showcasing his wickedly beautiful face.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. It had been weeks since she had last seen him, and seeing him here, bedecked in his dark glory, he looked just like a victorious, villainous emperor returning home—probably because that’s exactly what he was.

It was only when Vita nudged her shoulder that she ripped her attention away from the emperor. Vita pointed at the far end of the hall and said, “I see the rest of thePeccataover there. Would you like to meet everyone?”

“Oh.” Daiyu’s mind reeled to remember all the members and what she had heard about them; so far, she had only met three: Nikator, Atreus, and Vita. She was drawing a blank as to what the names of the other three were. “Yes, I’d love to meet them.”

Vita grabbed her hand and wove through the crowds toward her adopted siblings. Daiyu looked over her shoulder at where Muyang was seated, surrounded by his group of advisors and generals. He probably didn’t even realize she was here, and as much as she wanted to go over and make her presence known, something held her back from doing just that. A shyness, perhaps? Or bitterness with how he had sent her away here without seeing her off? She wasn’t sure what the warring emotions tugging at her chest meant.

“Remus is the youngest,” Vita said, leading them through the thicket. “Thera and Minos are the oldest at nineteen. They like topretend like they’re in charge just because they’re older, but everyone really just does their own thing.”

Daiyu was just about to ask where the group was, but her attention was instantly drawn to a group of foreigners who stuck out like sore thumbs among the groups of soldiers. They were all dressed in similar uniforms—black leathers and black-scaled armor. The one who stood out the most was a silver-haired young man. He had two gray horns attached to his head, curling upward sharply, and his eyes were blood-red while the whites were pitch black. He had a cup in his hand, and even in the distance Daiyu could make out the long, black-tipped, claw-like nails he had.

Beside him were Atreus and Nikator, who didn’t see her yet. And beside them were two other foreigners: a beautiful woman with sweeping, dark brown hair that fell down to her waist, and a handsome young man with dark blue eyes.

“Is that …” Daiyu swallowed, her attention stuck on the horned individual. “Is that ademon?”

Vita slowed in her steps and cast her a strange look. “Did no one tell you? Remus is half-demon.”

If Daiyu wasn’t already shocked by the demon’s appearance, she would have stopped and gawked at her like she had said something outlandish.A demon? A real-life demon served the emperor? She had only heard about demons in passing: about their brutality, their inhumanness, and their depravity. She had never thought she would see one in the flesh.

“How old is he?” she found herself asking the closer they drew to the group.

Vita raised her hand when Atreus spotted her and waved her over. “Fifteen.”

“So young,” she murmured.

She didn’t have time to delve into more questions because they stopped by the group promptly. Thera, the young woman, threw her arms over Vita the second she spotted her.

“Vita! Oh, gosh, it’s been so long since we last saw each other!” the woman squealed, squeezing her sister tightly.

Vita, for all her impassiveness, cracked a smile and hugged her back. “It’s been too long.”

Atreus lowered his head at Daiyu. “Lady Daiyu, it’s good to see you doing well.”

Everyone in the party turned their attention to her and she suddenly felt heat clawing up to her face at the unexpected spotlight. A small, polite smile pulled at the corner of her lips and she gave a nod. “Good to see you all,” she said. “I’ve heard a great deal about you all. I’m happy to see that you’re all healthy.” Her answer sounded stiff and impersonal to her own ears, so she laughed nervously and added, “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to say. You all are so different than what I expected—in a good way! My name is Yin Daiyu, by the way. I almost forgot to mention myself. It’s not like you all would know who I am without an introduction, I imagine?” An embarrassed flush spread over her face. She was well aware that she was rambling at this point. “A-Anyway?—”

“We’ve heard a lot about you too!” Thera said with a broad grin, nodding enthusiastically to the others. “Right? You’re His Majesty’s bride! That’s enough to garner the attention of the entire empire. I’d be surprised if there’s someone here who doesn’t know who you are.”

Daiyu’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, really? I wouldn’t have thought anyone would know who I am. I mean, I’m not very important?—”

“You’re too modest!” the blue-eyed young man said with a low chuckle. His eyes crinkled and dimples formed on his tanned cheeks. “My name is Minos, and I’m the leader of thePeccata.”

Thera raised an eyebrow. “Who died and made you king?”

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