Night had fallen over the imperial palace.
The palace was quiet.
Too quiet.
After the events of the previous days, the servants had become accustomed to speaking in whispers. Guards walked more carefully through the corridors, and even the usual laughter from the courtyards seemed to have disappeared.
Inside Shin Gu's courtyard, however, every lamp was still burning.
Shin Gu sat alone beneath the window.
She had been sitting there for nearly an hour.
She had not touched the tea in front of her.
She had not opened the books beside her.
She had not even noticed when the incense burned down to ash.
Something was wrong.
She couldn't explain what.
But every instinct inside her was screaming.
Something was coming.
Something she couldn't see.
Something she couldn't control.
She slowly raised her eyes toward the darkness outside.
The courtyard looked exactly as it always did.
The trees were still.
The flowers moved gently in the night breeze.
