The Crimson Court was not a palace. It was a trap built to look like one.
Red lanterns swayed along bridges of lacquered wood, their reflections trembling on the black water canals. Perfume hung heavy in the mist, sweet enough to disguise the scent of iron. Everywhere I looked, silk shimmered, walls, drapes, even the sleeves of the guards. Beauty woven to hide the blood beneath.
We arrived at dusk.
Kang Ya Zhen led us through the outer pavilions, flanked by silent attendants who bowed too low and smiled too long. Every step echoed against the stone like a heartbeat.
"Keep your heads down," she murmured. "The less the courtiers remember your faces, the safer you'll be."
Ji Ming said nothing. His hand hovered near the hilt of his saber, not in threat, but instinct. Even though he held restraint, his presence still drew glances. After all, he was the heir of Sky Wolf Gate, just standing in chains of diplomacy.
At the main hall, the great banners of the Court unfurled. Each one bore the sigil of a red lotus dripping gold… purity painted over corruption.
A man waited at the dais. His robes were imperial crimson, his hair threaded with silver, his smile the kind that never touched his eyes.
"Lady Kang," he said smoothly. "Your reports reached us sooner than expected."
Ya Zhen bowed. "Efficiency is the currency of loyalty, Lord Wen."
He gestured lazily toward us. "And these are the infamous disciples of the Shuangxin bond? The council's little miracle?"
His tone was amusement layered over venom.
Ji Ming bowed shallowly. I followed suit, although my pulse quickened. Every instinct screaming "danger".
"The Lotus and the Wolf," Lord Wen mused. "How poetic. Tell me… when you breathe together, does heaven weep or rejoice?"
His words drew soft laughter from the courtiers. Ya Zhen's fan snapped open with a flick, her smile razor-thin.
"If the court has finished its amusements," she said, "I would report to my quarters. My escorts are fatigued from the journey."
Lord Wen's gaze lingered on her. "Of course. However, you'll find the court rarely rests, Lady Kang. Especially now that the throne eyes our borders."
He turned back to us, his smile fading. "As for you two… stay close. The court is fond of new faces, and hungrier still for useful ones."
Later, in the quiet of Ya Zhen's quarters, she spoke without turning. "You both need to understand something."
Her fan rested beside an open scroll, ink still glistening. The script was precise, coded, and far too familiar.
"The Crimson Court is not loyal to the Kang Clan. It's loyal to whoever feeds it best. Lord Wen answers to the capital, not to me."
"Then why bring us here?" I asked.
She looked up finally, eyes gleaming like polished jade. "Because sometimes, survival requires walking into the mouth of the beast, and teaching it to choke."
That night, I stood by the balcony overlooking the canal. The lanterns' reflections rippled like blood in the water. Ji Ming joined me, silent as always.
"The bond's stronger here," he said softly.
I felt it too, the hum under my skin, faint but constant. The closer we drew to danger, the louder it became.
Maybe the bond wasn't a curse after all. Maybe it was the only thing warning us when death was near.