The palace was even more extravagant on the inside. White marble statues of a man with the sun shining behind him flanked the palace entrance. Fields of Moonsgade Blooms surrounded the main building, adding an ethereal feel to the place.

  Daliya watched the flowers—the empress’s favorite. Weren’t they originally from the north? How did the emperor succeed in keeping the delicate flowers alive in such warm and harsh weather?

  So he cared about his late wife. Or at least, he wanted the others to believe so. Why would he go to such lengths to keep her favorite flowers here, right under his nose?

  “Please, follow me, Your Highness.” One of the servants directed her to the grand hall where the emperor—her father—would be meeting her.

  She nodded and followed his direction. She noticed his insistence on staying a few feet behind her, making sure never to reach her or proceed her, not even one single step.

  The hall’s door was a gigantic gilded gate. But as Daliya proceeded to enter, she was stopped.

  “No weapons allowed,” one of the guards said, not even an ounce of the usual respect in his voice.

  She scowled. Excuse you? Wasn’t she the princess? How dare he talk to her like that? And what did he mean she can’t take her sword with her? If he had forgotten, she was well able to kill all the residents in the hall twice over without the use of her sword.

  Seeing the murderous look on her face, the guards stepped back, eyeing her warily.

  “Tho–those are th–the emperor’s orders,” the guard stuttered.

  They stared at each other for a while, unmoving. Then Daliya sighed, a bit of satisfaction coursing through her at their flinch. She took her sword and handed it to one of them.

  “If I see even a scratch on it, you’ll pay for it with your lives.” She looked at the both of them, slowly, to drive her words home.

  She wouldn’t kill them. No. But she felt like she needed to do something. No kindness. Haitham’s words kept repeating in her mind, boldening her resolve.

  The guards gulped. They bowed before hurrying to announce her arrival. She waited for a while before she was allowed entrance into the hall.

  She had thought there wouldn’t be a large crowd waiting for her. The emperor, his advisor, and some of the nobility that she had expected. But too many people gathered in one place was the furthest from her mind. The hall was crowded with people.

  When she entered, all eyes turned to her. She kept her head high, looking ahead toward the lone chair on the other side. The emperor, a man late in his forties with strands of gray hair at his temple, was stern and harsh. He gazed at her with cold and unfeeling eyes. A long sword rested at his side, his hand loosely closing around the intricate hilt. Daliya roamed her eyes over the sheathed sword. The word devourer curled in graceful lines along the silver handle. The weapon exuded a sense of elegance. Something fit for an Emperor.

  Was this the infamous soul devourer Haitham and his cohort were talking about? Its horrifying deeds looked far beneath its beauty. Daliya had difficulty reconciling the image Haitham had painted of the blade with the refined sword in front of her.

  Daliya blinked, forcing her gaze away from the sword. For some unexplainable reason, her eyes kept flitting back to the deadly weapon. She felt something strange whenever she looked at it, like a distant and faint call. With a final, mournful glance, she turned her gaze away.

  The man behind him, a young man with dark hair and brown eyes, leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was wasn’t good, from the tensness that had invaded the man’s shoulders. His eyes hardened even more, and a slight frown pulled at his brows.

  Daliya stopped where Haitham had instructed her in all those drilling hours of learning proper etiquette and bowed deeply.

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  “Greetings, Your Majesty, the sun of the empire. It pleases me to see you in such good health. May the eternal one’s blessings always shine upon you.” She mentally cringed at the words but said them nonetheless.

  She waited for him to dismiss her from her bow, but nothing happened. She waited and waited until she thought he had somehow forgotten about her. Then it dawned on her: This was an act of humiliation. All the gathering crowd, her missing sword, the bowing…

  He was humiliating her. And he made sure to bring a huge crowd to witness it.

  She heard him speak to someone. Daliya nearly lifted her head to see if he was addressing her. But then another voice followed, then another, and another.

  They were having a conversation—a casual conversation—while she stayed there, bowing so deeply she felt her back protest at the motion.

  She gritted her teeth, nearly biting her tongue to stop the words that threatened to escape her throat.

  This bastard. Till when would he keep her waiting? Wasn’t this enough? She could feel her body trembling slightly from her contained rage. She feared she wouldn’t be able to hold her anger in for longer.

  Suddenly, his deep and raspy voice sounded. “Raise your head, Aliyana.”

  Daliya stood up, lad to be done with the awkward position.

  The emperor regarded her with an unreadable expression.

  “Tell me, what did you bring to your father?”

  So now he recognized her as his daughter?

  He beckoned her to come closer, his finger wiggling as if he were calling a dog to come to his master. Her face steeled. Still, she forced her legs to take one step after the other. The man, his advisor, watched her as she approached. The eerie glint in his eyes sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed, tearing her gaze from the strange man and looking back at the emperor.

  She took the soul stone they had found on the mountain in the miner’s village and presented it to him.

  After hours of thought and countless—mediocre—choices, she and Haitham settled on the soul stone. The emperor was waiting for her to gift him the crystal—which wasn’t something she could or ever would do. The soul stone was the most valuable thing in her possession.

  What to gift an emperor who owned the whole world and some?

  The emperor raised an eyebrow at her offering.

  Daliya stood there, arms outstretched, gently holding the stone cradle in her hands. She promised Haitham she would follow his every instruction and return to the mansion with no vital parts missing.

  When he motioned for her to speak, she was all too happy to announce to him even more cringe-worthy words to satiate his ego.

  “Your Majesty’s empire grows stronger with every monster defeated. I offer you the soul of one of those vile creatures who dared to sully the empire with their existence. My sword is ever drawn against your enemies and those whose traitorous thoughts dared to oppose You, Eminence.” She bowed again.

  The emperor hummed. This time, he signaled for her to stand much faster. His advisor’s face was something else. Daliya had never seen a face make such an ugly and disturbing expression. She blinked, then ignored him and turned back to the emperor.

  The emperor motioned to one-seventh to take the stone. Then Daliya found herself standing in front of him, hands empty, with nothing to serve as a distraction.

  “Tell me, child, what about the task I’ve entrusted you?”

  Calling her a child was nothing but an insult. He was downgrading her when she had a whole knight’s order under her command.

  She looked at him, clearing her face from any irritation she was feeling. “The search has yet to yield results, Your Majesty. But each day, we’re growing closer still to finding it.”

  He watched her, his eyes searching her face, looking for lies or deceit. Oh, if only he knew what his daughter did.

  Daliya met his stare with that of a dedicated soldier. One ready to lay her life for her emperor. Loyal to a fault. She hoped it was working. Asking anything more from her was akin to asking her to fly using feathers and wax.

  “Good. Good. Keep searching. Once you find it, you shall be rewarded with your heart’s desire.”

  Daliya hesitated. What heart’s desire? What did the princess wish for?

  Then, catching her slip, she bowed deeply. “Your generosity knows no bounds, Your Majesty. I shall forever remember your favor.” She had to stop herself from cringing to say those words.

  Alas, her promise to her worrywart bodyguard was a good reminder for her to watch her tongue.

  This bastard. This madman. She couldn’t wait to see his expression once he found out the crystal as gone, destroyed by the very person he entrusted to look for it.

  Another day, she reminded herself. Another time.

  She was then dismissed and not even allowed to remain in the hall as another servant motioned for her to follow him outside.

  Hah, jokes on him. The last thing she wanted was to be in the bastard’s presence.

  As she left the hall, she couldn’t help the ominous feeling of eyes observing her. She glanced back, but by then, the doors had already closed.