The Jackal left Bai Yuyan with her cup half full and crossed the courtyards at a pace that whispered just how confident he was in the palace.
Even servants who had been there for years didn't know the landscape nearly as well as he did. This wasn't the first time he had made the palace his home, and it wouldn't be the last.
The knife rode his wrist where a vein beat the truth of his heart.
One door, two turns, roofline, lattice.
He did not think about failure; he rehearsed the moment in his head over and over again, making sure that he wouldn't miss the crucial blow. He had heard the rumors about the Witch Empress, and he knew that he probably wouldn't get a second chance at killing her.
