“What?” Biyu frowned at him. “Are you implying my sister isn’t good for him?”
He gave her a look that told her that was exactly what he was thinking, and Minos bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing, his smile splitting across his dimpled cheeks.
“My sister has her faults, but she’s not a bad person,” she began.
“Uh huh. You’re not convincing anybody,” Nikator said with raised brows. “Your sister has never been nice to you. So why defend her? I think His Majesty must be pissed at Zihao for something, which is why he sentenced him to a life with Princess Liqin.”
“I don’t think he’d do the same to us.” Vita shifted in her seat, an uncomfortable look passing over her face. “Right?”
“Punish us and force us to marry someone?” Minos’s grin widened. “Of course he would. For politics. He’s considering marrying Bohai off to the daughter of one of the suspected rebel leaders so her father remains in check. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants us to marry for political reasons.”
Biyu couldn’t imagine Commander Yao Bohai being forced into a marriage, but then again, weren’t all people involved in politics subjected to political marriages? She had grown up with the idea that she, too, would marry whoever her father chose for her. It wasn’t too strange a concept.
“But Bohai has a high position, so it makes sense,” Nikator said, gaze briefly lingering on Biyu. “I doubt he’d do the same to any of us.”
“Look at Zihao.” Vita folded her arms over her chest. “Nobody knows anything about him being His Majesty’s blade, and yet he got married off for no apparent reason. Why would Muyang do that? He doesn’t gain anything by marrying her off to him, and Zihao certainly didn’t want to get married—much less toher—so it’s definitely not a prize like it’s being framed.”
Biyu’s blood ran cold.
Her sister had married … His Majesty’sblade? It was a covert word for assassin; even Biyu knew that much. But … that couldn’t be right. Were they talking about Guo Zihao, or some other man who shared the same name? Her impression of the tall, scarred soldier had been that he was quiet and polite. She hadn’t got any vibes that told her he was an assassin.
Everyone was talking so casually, brushing off that little detail like it didn’t even matter, or like they were all supposed to know it, that she questioned whether she had imagined it. By blade, did they mean a soldier? Maybe she was out of the loop when it came to these terminologies.
“It’ll be good for him to learn some emotions,” Minos was saying. “I almost didn’t recognize him because he wasn’t wearing his mask. But even without it, he hides his emotions well.”
“I’m sure he’s furious inside,” Vita chimed in.
“I thought he was someone else at first,” Nikator said. “I’ve only seen him unmasked maybe twice.”
“Wait.Wait.” Biyu palmed the table to keep herself steady as her attention skated over to the three of them. “What do you mean by His Majesty’s blade? Surely you cannot mean he is an assassin for the emperor? Are we still talking about Guo Zihao? The man my sister married? I thought—I thought he was just a normal soldier?”
All of the siblings exchanged looks with one another, their silence growing. Biyu’s face slackened and her stomach twisted into knots. “Nikator?” She turned to him, eyes pleading.
He cringed, sighed, and glanced at the others. “Well, it’s … sort of confidential, but …” He rubbed the nape of his neck and shot a glare at Vita, who had let the information slip. “We’re not really supposed to tell people this, but I suppose it’s fine since he’s now your … what, your brother-in-law? He’s part of His Majesty’s Black Fang unit. Everything was set up for him tobecome the next leader of it, but instead of that … His Majesty got him married and sent him away. I’m sure he's not pleased with the whole thing.”
She had heard of Black Fang, a mysterious force that worked in the shadows; most people thought they didn’t exist. They were supposedly assassins with lethal dark magic, and they killed anyone who went against Drakkon Muyang. She’d thought it was just baseless rumors meant to make the emperor even more ominous and nightmarish. She hadn’t thought … it was a real legion.
And Liqin wasmarriedto one of them.
All the blood drained from her face and she looked between them all in horror—Minos appeared nonchalant, Vita grimaced like she knew she made a mistake, and Nikator frowned like he didn’t want to indulge her in the information but had no choice.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Liqin ismarriedto him.” She and Liqin had their disagreements and they mostly didn’t get along with one another, but they were sisters, and now Liqin was married to a dangerous man who, apparently, needed to learn about emotions. She would never wish harm for her sister, and knowing that she was potentially in danger from a violent man? It set off a chain reaction of stress within her body.
A pounding headache pulsed between her eyes and she massaged her temples. This was all too much information at once. “Why would His Majesty marry her to him? Why—” She raised her head to pin Nikator with a stare. Her tone accusatory as she whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What would you have done if you knew?” Minos folded his arms on the table and leaned his head on them. “Asked His Majesty to reconsider? Even Zihao—who is favored by the emperor, by the way—didn’t question his decision, even though I’m sure he’s incredibly frustrated to be married off instead of promoted like everyone thought he would be.”
“My sister is married to a man who kills for a living and is—is unhappy with being married to her. What if he hurts her?” The more she spoke, the more her horror mounted, grew, and burdened her soul.
“He won’t,” Nikator said. “Zihao is an honorable man.”
She doubted it, because if he was a part of His Majesty’s deadly assassin unit, then how honorable a person could he be? There was no honor in killing for coin. Or loyalty. Or whatever reason he had for doing what he did.
Biyu rose to her feet, the chair screeching behind her. Suddenly, she wasn’t in the mood to do any of this. She cast Nikator a dark look as she gathered her books and scrolls, and stomped over to the maze of bookshelves. How could he not have told her anything about who her sister was marrying? She had hoped Liqin would learn to be happy with a simple man like him; she knew Liqin was less than thrilled at the prospect of the marriage, but she thought maybe … she could be happy, or that Yat-sen’s plan would succeed and Liqin would be able to return to the palace if she chose to do so. Or … something along those lines.
Now, her heart twisted with worry and she wondered if Liqin was safe out there—wherever she had gone with her new husband.
She heard Nikator sigh from behind her and his chair push backward. She didn’t look to see if he was following her, because she already knew he was. Her frown deepened and she shoved one of the scrolls into one of the shelves where it belonged and then moved along the shelf to deposit a few more.
