CHAPTER 11: THE WRIST
The gate shut, but the war didn't.
It just moved inside.
Mother hadn't let go of me. Her arms were steel around my shoulders, her breath shaky against my hair. "I sheathed my sword for her. I'll draw it again for her."
But I wasn't looking at Mother.
I was looking at my wrist.
Red marks. Four of them. Finger-shaped. Where CǎiYún would grab me in an hour.
The vision hadn't happened yet. But my skin already knew.
Zhào YìChén was still there. No wine flask. No grin. Just watching me. Then his eyes dropped to my wrist. To the skin that had no marks yet.
He frowned. "She's got spine." He'd said that. Now he looked like he wasn't sure if spine was enough.
Zhào MíngYuǎn saw it too. Little Crow misses nothing. His eyes narrowed. "Not bad. You don't look scared of us. Should I be?"
Yes, I wanted to say. Be scared. I see things before they happen. I see bruises before the hand hits.
But I didn't.
Because Zhào Chányán was walking back.
The Grand Consort wasn't with him.
He'd gone to her. She'd said "Chányán. With me. Now." Now he was back. Alone.
His face was blank. The kind of blank that meant someone had just died in a report.
His golden eyes swept the courtyard. Mother. YìChén. MíngYuǎn. Me.
Then they landed on my wrist.
He stopped walking.
He saw it too. There's nothing there. Not yet. But he saw the way I was holding it. The way I'd tucked it against my stomach, like it already hurt.
"Inside," he said. To everyone. To no one. "Now."
The Grand Consort's hall was empty except for us.
Mother. Me. Chányán. YìChén. MíngYuǎn. The Grand Consort.
No servants. No guards. That meant this was family. Or execution.
The Grand Consort sat. Didn't offer tea. "The Empress sent a summons," she said. Not a question. MíngYuǎn had already reported. "For JiāYì. Phoenix Perch Palace. 'To admire phoenix patterns.'"
CǎiYún delivered it.
Mother went white. "No."
"She goes," Chányán said.
He said that at the gate. "She goes alone." Cold. Fair. Not unjust.
"Chányán!" Mother stood. Steel in silk. "You said she's under Zhao protection! You said Su blood is Zhao blood!"
"I did," Chányán said. He wasn't looking at Mother. He was looking at me. "And Zhao blood doesn't hide from summons. It walks in. It walks out."
"Tigers don't bow to sheep. But they do walk into traps with their eyes open."
He stepped closer. One step. Two.
"Unless," he said quietly, "there's a reason she can't walk out."
He knows. He suspects. The rug. The gate. I knew about the scroll.
My throat closed.
The Grand Consort sipped her tea. Bitter melon soup. "The Liú family wants to see if the cub bites," she said. "Or if it whimpers."
She's testing me too.
"YìChén escorts her to the palace gate," Chányán said. "No further. Palace rules."
YìChén nodded. Once. "Lazy wolves still bite."
"And JiāYì," Chányán said. My name. No Hán. No Lady. Just JiāYì.
He reached into his sleeve. Pulled out something small. White. Jade.
Another tiger.
Smaller than the first. Meant to be hidden. A hairpin.
"If anyone touches you," he said, pressing it into my palm. His fingers were warm. Callused. Steady. "You tell them you're mine to guard."
Mine to guard. Or mine to end.
He didn't say the second part. He didn't have to.
"Do you understand?" he asked.
I understand you're giving me armor. Or a leash.
"Yes, Regent Prince."
He held my gaze for three heartbeats. Then he turned to MíngYuǎn. "You. With me. We need to talk about that seal."
MíngYuǎn followed. "He's my eyes where I can't look."
YìChén jerked his chin at me. "Let's go, Stepsister. Before CǎiYún grows old waiting."
The walk to Phoenix Perch Palace was silent.
YìChén didn't joke. Didn't drink. He walked a half-step in front of me, like a wall.
At the palace gate, he stopped. The line no man could cross.
"JiāYì," he said. No grin. "She's got spine." "Whatever happens in there. You scream. I don't care about palace rules. I'll come."
Would you? For me? I'm not your blood.
"Okay," I whispered.
He didn't leave. Not until CǎiYún appeared at the gate, smiling. "One phoenix, no sparrows."
YìChén's eyes went to my wrist. Again. Still no marks.
He nodded once. Then walked away.
CǎiYún led me to the side pavilion. Isolated. No witnesses.
The Empress Xiàoyì was there. Bright yellow robes. Phoenix embroidery. Only Empress wears bright yellow. Cutting flowers. Snip. Snip.
"Sit," she said. "Drink tea with me."
One cup. Already poured.
The vision slammed into me.
Me on the floor. Mouth foaming. CǎiYún: "She poisoned herself!" Empress: "The Su girl is so fragile!" Mother too late.
My hand went to my sleeve. The antidote from Grand Consort. Bitter melon soup.
CǎiYún's hand shot out. Grabbed my wrist. There.
The four red marks bloomed on my skin. Exactly like I'd seen.
It's happening. Right now. Exactly like I saw.
"Let me help you, Lady Hán," CǎiYún said. Nails digging. "You seem nervous."
She's going to pour it down my throat.
"Tigers don't bow to sheep."
"We bite."
I didn't reach for the antidote.
I grabbed the teapot with my free hand.
The Empress frowned. "What are you—"
I poured. Hot tea. Into her cup. Onto her yellow robes. Her phoenix motifs.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" I screamed. Loud. For the servants. For the guards. "My hands! They shake! I'm so clumsy! I'm not worthy!"
I dropped to my knees. Kowtow. Like MěiLíng. "Please punish me! I've ruined the Empress's robes!"
Servants ran. Guards looked.
The Empress froze. Iron rules. She couldn't kill me now. Not with witnesses. Not with tea on her sacred yellow.
"Child," she said, voice honey and death. "You're unwell. CǎiYún, escort Lady Hán home. Immediately. Before she... hurts herself further."
She'll say I'm mad. Unstable. A danger to Zhao.
CǎiYún dragged me out. Past the garden.
Princess Zhào Mǐn was there. Behind a tree. Notebook in hand. Smiling Diplomat.
She saw everything. She met my eyes. Nodded.
Whose version wins? Hers or the Empress's?
The palanquin stopped at Zhao Manor.
Zhào Chányán was waiting.
He didn't speak. He just took my wrist.
His thumb brushed the four red marks. CǎiYún's nails.
His golden eyes went winter.
"Who."
Not a question. A death sentence.
"The tiger guards its own."
A new flash hit me.
Not the hallway. Not yet.
This courtyard. Now. Chányán, sword out. Not at me. At the gate. "Bring me the Empress's Senior Maid. CǎiYún. Now. The Zhao family does not let others mark what's ours."
He's going to do it. He's going to start a war with the Phoenix Court over four bruises.
Because he said I'm his to guard. And fair men keep their word.
The vision broke.
Chányán was still holding my wrist. Waiting.
If I tell him, CǎiYún dies. The Empress retaliates. The Zhao Manor bleeds.
If I don't tell him, he'll think I'm hiding. He'll think I'm a threat. "I will end you myself."
My visions saved me from the tea. But they can't save me from this choice.
I opened my mouth.
And the main gate bells rang.
One toll. Two. Three.
Imperial summons. Not for me. For him.
Zhào MíngYuǎn ran into the courtyard, face white. "Ge! Palace! The Emperor! He wants you! Now!"
Chányán let go of my wrist. Slowly.
His eyes never left mine.
"We're not done," he said.
Then he walked to the gate.
He's going to see the Emperor. The Empress will already be there. Crying about her robes. About the mad Su girl.
And I just gave her the weapon: I attacked the Empress. In front of witnesses.
Mother ran to me. "JiāYì! Your wrist!"
YìChén appeared behind her. Saw the marks. Saw Chányán's face as he left.
"He's going to kill someone," YìChén said. Not a question.
Yes. But who? CǎiYún? Or me?
Because the vision changed.
Last flash.
Dragon Rest Palace. Emperor Zhào Róng on the throne. Empress beside him, in new robes. Crying. Chányán on one knee. "She attacked the Empress, Your Majesty. My stepsister. I saw the marks on her wrist. But she spilled tea on the phoenix first."
Emperor: "Then the Zhao family will discipline her. Or the Liú family will."
Chányán, head bowed: "I will."
The vision ends with his sword. Pointing at me.
Mine to guard. Mine to end.
Which one did he choose?