Chapter 2

Night had fallen, and the Endless Palace blazed with light.

Leonard Vance held me steady and settled me into the seat at the right of the throne.

The place stood only half a step lower than his own, and on the table beside me sat the warming brazier I always used.

The officials passed their cups back and forth, and their sneers came without the slightest disguise.

"The whole Henson family wiped out to the last soul, and she still has the nerve to sit here soaking up His Majesty's favor."

"A wicked consort bewitching her lord. No shame at all."

"I hear she even wounded the Empress today. Utterly lawless."

Leonard sat straight on the throne, turning the archer's ring on his thumb, letting them talk.

Then someone murmured, low, "The Henson survivors ought to be dealt with too, all of them."

Snap.

The archer's ring came down against the table, and no one dared open his mouth again.

Edna Rowe sat in the Empress's place of honor and raised a cup toward me.

"Consort Henson has had a fright today. I had the imperial kitchen prepare a nourishing dish just for her."

She lifted her hand, and an attendant came bowing toward me, a tray held before him.

The silver cover lifted away. On the plate lay a bright red paste of venison and blood.

"Plum Blossoms on Snow."

In the quiet of the great hall, a few soft laughs broke out.

Anyone could see it. The dish mocked the Henson family, the rivers of blood the day they were beheaded at the great south gate.

Edna watched me, her eyes brimming with the pleasure of a vengeance long awaited.

"Consort, taste it. Don't let my good intentions go to waste."

Leonard still said nothing. He tilted his head a fraction, watching me with real interest.

I lifted that plate of paste and carried it to the Grand Tutor, who sat at the head of the officials.

"Honorable Grand Tutor, you know the old texts through and through. There is something I don't understand, and I would beg your instruction."

The old Grand Tutor stroked his beard and gave a cold snort. "A criminal's daughter. What right have you to seek instruction from me?"

His manner didn't trouble me. My voice came clear, each word precise.

"The classical rites say that in all sacrifices, the Son of Heaven uses the great offering, and the lords the lesser."

"But this thing, raw flesh mixed with a paste of blood, is called the blood offering."

I paused, let my gaze sweep the whole hall, and let it settle at last on Edna's face.

"When the last emperor of the fallen dynasty saw his realm broken and his house destroyed, the rebel army used the blood offering to honor their perished sovereign."

"So I ask the Grand Tutor. Today is a joyous rite of celebration for our Great Yuan, and the Empress bestows a thing of such ill omen…"

I let my voice rise. "What exactly does she intend?!"

The hall went silent all at once.

The old Grand Tutor's face turned iron gray. He slammed the table and shot to his feet.

"Preposterous! The Empress prepares a fallen-nation sacrifice. This is nothing short of treason!"

The officials broke into an uproar and dropped to their knees, one after another.

Edna's legs gave out under her in fright, and she crumpled straight off the imperial seat to her knees.

"Your Majesty, see the truth! I never meant such a thing! I only—"

"Enough." The smile left Leonard's face.

"The Empress has breached decorum before the court and bestowed a thing of gross disrespect. Confined to the Empress's Palace for three months!"

Once I was seated again, the chime sounded in my mind:

"Ding. Achievement unlocked: Sole Imperial Favor."

After the banquet broke up, I returned to the side hall, and Leonard pushed the door open right behind me.

He reached back to lock it, backed me into the corner, and dragged the pad of his thumb across my cheek.

Something feverish flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"This is exactly what I like. You, with claws grown in."

He murmured it low, his warm breath spilling into the hollow of my neck.

"Far more interesting than before, when all you could do was cry."

I turned my head aside and slipped out from under his touch.

Leonard reached up and drew the jade hairpin from my hair.

"The claws can be sharper. But you're not to hurt yourself again."

His fingers tightened, and there was a crisp crack.

The hairpin snapped in two in his palm, and the pieces of jade fell to the floor.

"From now on, whoever you want dealt with, come to me directly."

I clenched my fists hard, fighting against this body.

Outside the hall, a scream tore up all at once.

"Mercy, Your Majesty! This servant won't dare again!"

Leonard arched a brow and pulled me over to the window.

In the courtyard, several attendants were swinging their rods, beating a young attendant.

The young attendant was the very one who had carried the plate to me at the banquet.

"Do you see it clearly now?"

Leonard circled my waist from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"In this palace, I will always keep you safe."

The young attendant's cries grew weaker and weaker, until in the end he was nothing but a body of ruined flesh and blood.

Leonard drew his gaze back, satisfied, and pressed close to my ear.

"Tomorrow, I'll go with you to the Ministry of Rites."

He paused, and the tips of his fingers lifted my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"The Henson family genealogy, I'll have it burned."

"From then on you carry no Henson name, and you're no criminal's heir. You are only mine."

He kissed the space between my brows.

"After this, no one will ever dare use the Henson business to shame you again."