The morning sun slanted through the palace windows, gilding the secret dispatch spread before me. My fingers traced the coded characters—each stroke a breadcrumb leading deeper into the labyrinth.
"The granary scandal connects to them." The realization slithered down my spine. If true, the conspiracy ran far darker than I'd imagined.
A presence at my back.
"Your investigations have drawn eyes," Li Jun murmured, his voice taut with uncharacteristic tension.
I didn't turn. "Let them watch."
His shadow fell across the parchment as he stepped closer. "This isn't a war you fight alone."
The unspoken plea hung between us.
At last, I met his gaze. "It never was just about the kingdom." My thumb brushed the dagger at my waist—a silent vow. "This is my reckoning too."
A heartbeat passed. Then Li Jun gave a single nod, his usual stoicism cracking to reveal the soldier beneath. "Then we move together. But know this—the forces arrayed against us have fangs sharper than you know."
Hoofbeats shattered the morning calm.
Through the window, a company of riders clattered into the courtyard—their armor foreign, their banners unfamiliar. Not palace guards. Not any faction I recognized.
The air itself seemed to still. Servants froze mid-step; ministers' whispers died in their throats.
"Trouble," Li Jun breathed.
I rolled the scroll with deliberate slowness, mind racing. This was no coincidence. A message—or a trap.
"We'll need allies," I said softly, watching the riders dismount. One, taller than the rest, removed his helmet—revealing a face that sent recognition crashing through me.
The game had just changed.
And so would we.
ns216.73.216.67da2
and then Add to home screen.