Page 71 of Song of the Heart Scale
“Let this be a lesson to those who defy the crown!”
The palanquin rolled forward, the soldiers marching behind it with renewed vigor. The crowd bowed even lower now, trembling as the palanquin and guards walked over the dead body.
I remained hidden, my heart pounding. My hands were clenched so tight, my nails dug half-circles into my palms.
He was sending a message.
And I got it loud and clear.
“Let’s get out of here,” I whispered to Maeve. “Before the next brave soul decides to have a death wish.”
We slipped away from the market with our heads down, invisible among the fearful crowd.
But inside me, something boiled.
Because now, it wasn’t just about getting back home.
It was about burning his throne to the ground.
We didn't speak much as we hurried through the winding alleys back toward Royal Prince Bai’s mansion. The silence around us was unnerving, as if the entire district held its breath. Once we were safely inside the mansion walls, I turned to Maeve.
“Did you see the look in Thorne’s eyes? That wasn't power—it was desperation.”
Maeve slowly nodded. “He fears what people know. That’s why he silenced that man. He’s not securing peace—he’s squashing the truth.”
I pushed open the doors to the inner courtyard and stepped into the gardens, inhaling deeply. The air was warm, but my skin crawled.
If Thorne was willing to kill in broad daylight in front of hundreds of his new subjects, what else was he willing to do?
I glanced at the darkening sky. Still no rain.
Not yet.
But a storm was definitely coming.
The stormthat brewed in my chest still hadn’t cleared. It clung to me like the humidity in the air, sticky and restless. I needed to move. To breathe. To get away from the suffocating thoughts of emperors and portents and thunderless skies.
So, I did what any self-respecting, emotionally frazzled woman would do in my situation—I went to the gardens. What else was there to do around here?
“Are you sure this is wise, my lady? If they—” Maeve asked for the fourth time, trailing behind me like a shadow, her eyes constantly scanning the tree lines.
“Exactly,” I cut in, not letting her finish. “After what we saw this morning, I need some fresh air before I implode. Besides, we’re in Royal Prince Bai’s gardens. What couldpossiblygo wrong?”
Maeve frowned, ever the worrywart, but didn’t argue further. She stuck close beside me as we walked beneath the shaded arches of the meticulously groomed estate. The hedges weretrimmed to geometric perfection. Flowers bloomed like they’d been hand-painted by some obsessive god of symmetry.
It was peaceful here. Deceptively so.
“You’re too easily seen from the outside, my lady. If the emperor passes by, I worry…”
“Relax,” I sighed. “I doubt he’ll be passing through here,” I mumbled.
We were walking past a bed of violet thistle and lavender when the unmistakable screech of a raven sliced the air. I turned my head, shielding my eyes from the blistering afternoon sun, just as a black-feathered messenger swooped down and landed neatly on a marble bench.
It cawed once, shook its feathers, and dropped a sealed scroll into Maeve’s outstretched hands before flying off.
“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” I muttered.
Maeve turned over the scroll and examined the seal. Her eyes widened. “It’s from Garrick.”
