Luxury of Vengeance by Isabella Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

result, it was all that mattered.
    His heart told him differently.

    His aunt summoned him to appear in court the next morning. It was hardly surprising. Likely she
    wished to punish him for his actions the night before. His body ached as he dressed himself. He
    dismissed the servants, wanting a moment to himself. A time to mourn what he had so effectively
    ruined. A chance to remember the last kiss he'd shared with Bao, that possessive hunger that had
    seemed as if it might never be satisfied.
    With a frown, he purposefully dismissed the thoughts. There would be time to linger on such
    things later. A time to regret and mourn. But right now, he had to focus. The Dragon had been right.
    There was no room for weakness in his plan. His aunt would capitalize upon any weakness and use it to
    destroy him. What he faced tonight was a truly dangerous foe, not a courtier caught off his guard.
    Tonight. Tonight. The word circled in his head. Everything was going perfectly and this would all come to an end tonight. Was that possible? The thought gave him pause.
    Whatever his aunt had planned for him, however, it seemed she intended to make him wait.
    She busied herself seeing to the petitioners who had travelled to the palace to ask the Empress's favor.
    Many of them were requests that the Empress speak on their behalf to the Dragon. As the Empress was
    his servant, it was appropriate that she might hold his ear.
    On the tier below the Empress, the two princes sat. Custom dictated that the day of a duel, the
    men involved should spend their day in the Meditation Hall, meditating to the Dragon. It should hardly
    have surprised Chien that the princes had chosen to forgo particular ritual.
    Chien dug his fingers into his palm and forced himself to calm. Minh looked between Tuan and
    Chien with a confused look. Likely he wondered why his poison seemed not to be working properly.
    Chien would have to ensure that Minh could not have a chance to get him alone and demand to know
    what he had done.
    Before long, court had ended and the room began to clear. Confused, Chien began to stand as
    well. His aunt's voice cut clearly through the quiet. "Not you my, dear nephew. We must speak." Fear raced through him as the ministers exited and in their place, soldiers filled the room, filing along the wall to block his escape.
    His perfect plan had gone astray.
    He would not show her fear. Chien turned, expression calm. "May I ask what this is for,
    Empress? I am truly sorry about my behavior at the banquet."
    His aunt tilted her head and for a moment, he was struck by the fact that she truly was
    beautiful. She also wore his mother's favorite ao dai. "Dear nephew, I find I cannot help but wonder if you have the bad fortune to find yourself as some courtier's pawn. You are, after all, hardly capable of
    such a plan yourself."
    "I'm afraid I do not understand." Somehow she'd found out. But how much did she know? Why
    was he still alive?
    21 | Luxury of Vengeance

    "Of course you do not." The Empress sighed, "My poor, stupid nephew, used by those who
    would see me thrown from my throne."
    "You believe I have played part in some plan to betray you?"
    A small smile played upon her lips, "I know you have played part in such a plan. And even if you
    have been too simple to know the truth, I still intend to see you punished."
    "Killed."
    "Killed? No! You must think me a barbarian. I would not kill my brother's last surviving child."
    She sat back fully, her fingers playing along the golden dragon head along the arm of the throne. "No, I have already made plans. What would suit you best is to remove yourself from the palace. Away from
    where others might manipulate you."
    "You believe that I have been the victim of manipulation? To turn against you and see you
    destroyed?"
    "Not me. My enemies would not dare attack me directly. They attack my sons instead." Chien's
    mind raced, but he could only think of one person who would have given her such information. Bao