Leena woke to the smell of smoke and the soft crackle of dying embers.
Her cheek was warm, pressed against… something solid.
She blinked.
A shoulder.
Chen Yu's shoulder.
Her fingers were curled against his arm, his head tilted lightly against hers, both of them huddled in the cool morning breeze.
They had fallen asleep like this, beside their small campfire, in the middle of the bamboo forest.
For one blissful second, she thought no one could see them.
Then a shadow fell across her face.
And another.
And another.
Leena opened her eyes fully—
—and nearly screamed.
The Seventh Prince stood a few steps away, surrounded by a handful of mounted guards.
Their expressions ranged from amused… to downright scandalized.
Only one face was unreadable—Li Wei's.
But the storm brewing in his eyes made her stomach drop.
Chen Yu stirred, blinking awake, and immediately brightened.
"Oh! Your Highness!" he cried, springing up—
—and in his usual overly affectionate manner, he threw his arms around the prince.
"You found us! My hero!"
Li Wei froze, jaw tightening.
"Get. Off."
Chen Yu pouted dramatically, but released him.
The prince's boots crunched on the dewy grass as he stepped past him, stopping in front of Leena.
"You disobeyed me," he said, voice low but edged with steel.
"I told you to stay in the palace."
Leena bit her lip, then lifted her chin stubbornly.
"I… had questions for the physician."
Her lower lip trembled just slightly as she pouted, "I couldn't wait."
"You can ask him all you want—when we return," Li Wei said flatly.
"We captured him last night."
Leena's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
The prince's expression did not soften.
"Mount up. You're coming with me."
The palace dungeon was a world away from the lotus ponds and golden courtyards.
Its corridors were damp and narrow, the air heavy with cold and the stench of rusted iron.
Lanterns flickered against wet stone walls.
Leena shivered as she followed the prince and Chen Yu into the deepest cell.
The elder physician sat slumped on a wooden stool, his once-proud figure diminished.
His eyes were sunken, his voice hoarse when he rasped:
"…What honor do I owe this visit?"
Leena hesitated, pity warring with anger.
She stepped closer to the bars.
"Why?" she asked quietly.
"Why did you try to kill me?"
For a long moment, the old man said nothing.
Then he smiled faintly—a bitter, tired curve of his lips.
"…Jealousy."
Leena's stomach twisted.
She knew he was lying.
His eyes shifted, something darker hiding behind them.
He wasn't just jealous.
He was protecting someone… or obeying someone else.
Her heart pounded as the realization sank in:
This palace was full of traps.
As they turn to leave, the old physician whispers just loud enough for Leena to hear:
"If you stay by his side… you won't survive the month."