The Celestial soldiers standing guard outside were unfamiliar to me. Feimao’s shift must have ended. Just yesterday I had strode through these doors without hesitation, and now I was forced to break in like a thief. Stealthily, I made my way to the back, clambering up a mother-of-pearl pillar, then swinging myself onto the balcony. As I discarded my garments and pulled on a lilac robe I had hidden there, my gaze fell upon the realm below, awash in the soft haze of morning. A heaviness sank over me as I recalled the nights spent in idle contemplation here. Would I ever regain the peace I had known then?

The corridor was deserted as I made my way to my room. Sliding the doors apart, I entered—startled to find Shuxiao sitting at the table, along with General Jianyun. Their teacups were drained, Shuxiao’s sword lying on the floor. Had they been waiting for long?

“You shouldn’t be here,” I blurted. Recalling my manners, I bowed to General Jianyun. “The emperor’s edict—”

“I heard,” Shuxiao said, her forehead wrinkled. “Where were you? You weren’t supposed to leave.”

I glanced at General Jianyun. He was still one of the emperor’s advisors, moreover it was safer for him to not know. Though his unexpected presence here sent a sliver of trepidation through me.

“Do you have news of Liwei?” I asked, evading Shuxiao’s question.

“No one is permitted to visit His Highness. The emperor has commanded that he remain isolated in his quarters,” General Jianyun said grimly.

My teeth gnawed the soft inside of my cheek. “Has Liwei spoken to his father?”

General Jianyun shook his head. “His Celestial Majesty refuses to grant him an audience until His Highness apologizes—which he has not done. Nor will the emperor hear reason from the few advisors who voiced their concerns regarding the treatment of the prince.”

“But that’s not why we’re here.” Shuxiao’s expression was somber. “Soldiers are assembling as we speak. They are coming here, led by General Wu.”

Fear jolted down my spine. “Why?”

“The emperor has passed the sentence for your mother. For all of you.” She released a drawn breath. “Confinement in the tower.”

My insides hollowed at the thought of my mother, Ping’er, and me trapped in such a place. The tower was a Celestial prison on the outskirts of the kingdom, where vicious monsters as the Bone Devil had been confined. It was a place of utter desolation, sheathed in darkness for there were no windows or doors within its walls, nothing to yield a glimmer of light.

“How long?” I choked out.

It was General Jianyun who replied. “No length of time has been set.”