The Emperor's summons arrived at noon.
I had been expecting it. I had been expecting it since the moment we left Lord Baek's garden, when the pale morning light had made everything feel briefly possible and I had allowed myself, for three or four consecutive hours, to believe that we might outpace the consequences.
We had not outpaced the consequences.
The summons was addressed to me personally. Not to Kaien. Not to us. To me — by name, by full title, with the particular formal precision that indicated someone had spent time on the wording and wanted me to feel the weight of every character.
I was to present myself to the Emperor's private audience hall. Alone.
Ren read it over my shoulder and said nothing for a long moment.
"Alone," Kaien repeated, when I showed him.
"Alone," I confirmed.
"You're not going alone."
"I have to."
"You absolutely—"
