Yaozu was already waiting when I returned to the Crown Prince's manor.
He stood just inside the study's side door, where the light was softest and the shadows bent around his frame like memory. He didn't announce himself, didn't speak. He just held out a folded letter, sealed in gray wax.
I took it without a word.
The wax was old, faintly cracked. No insignia. Just a single pressed thumbprint.
Recognition flickered in my chest, but I didn't know for sure where I recognized the seal from. "Where did it come from?" I asked, my brows furrowed as I tried to figure out exactly what I was missing.
"It was hand delivered," he replied, his back straight as he stared off into the distance. This was clearly his 'work mode'. "A woman in servant robes. She vanished before the outer guards noticed."
"Is she one of yours?" I asked confused as I continued to turn over the message.
