Chapter 38
Eun-Ae From the west terrace, the palace roofs looked like sleeping dragons, each tile a scale, each ridge a spine silvered by moon. I should have been exhausted after the day—after Son-Yu’s wet screams, after the way the crowd’s pulse thudded like a single drum—but my body had its own weather tonight. My tails would not lie still. They fanned and curled, silk against silk, the fur picking up sparks from the brazier’s glow. I sat very straight because if I slouched, fear might sluice into my bones and stay. Dae-Hyun came out in a plain black robe, hair down, the king stripped from him for the hour. He carried tea and the face he wore only for me: soft, tired, unguarded. “You’re listening again,” he said, setting the cups down. “Not with ears,” I murmured. “The forest?” He didn’t press
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