Chapter28—BeforetheFlames
ThepalacewasburningwhileSuyuanremainedihearea。Smokedriftedthroughthecorridors,turningtheonce-grandhallsintoshadowsofthemselves。Flamesclimbedthewoodenbeamsoverhead,spreadingfromroomtoroomasthefireedeverythingittouched。Shesatquietlyheedgeofthegreathall。
Theshoutinghadfaded。
Thecelebrationwasgone。
Onlythecragoffireremained。
Suyuastrangelypeaceful。
Forthefirsttimeinyears,therewasnothiforhertowaitfor。Hermotherwasgone。
TheKhanwasgone。
ThepeoplewhohadmadeOrchidCourtyardaprisonweregone。
Andsoon,thisplacewoulddisappearwiththem。
Sheloweredherheadagainstthewoodenpillarbehindher。
Herbodyhadbeguntoweaken。Shehadalreadytakensomethingbeforethefeast,knowingthatshewouldnotbewalkingawayfromthisnight。
Shehadneverplao。
Thefiregrewcloser。
Suyuanclosedhereyes。
“Itsover,Mother。”
Hervoicewasbarelyaudible。
“Idonthavetobeafraidanymore。”
Outsidethepalacewalls,however,horsesthunderedacrossthefrozenground。
Ariderappearedthroughthesmoke。Thenanotherdozensmore。
“GENERAL!”
XieZhengpulledhardonthereins。
Hishorserearedslightlybehhimashestaredattheburningpalace。
“Whathappened?”
Asurvivingguardstumbledtowardthem,barelyabletospeak。
“Thepalace…everyoneinside…”
XieZhengsexpressionged。
“WhereisPrincessSuyuan?”