The words struck like a blade.
"The First Prince... Prince Eyrin is dead."
The imperial guard knelt before her, his forehead pressed against the cold stone floor, his hands trembling where they lay.
The empress had been seated behind the wind shield, secluded, trapped in her enforced house arrest. But at that moment, as the words reached her ears, she stood abruptly, her heartbeat pounding in her chest.
"What?" she breathed, stepping out from behind the shield, disbelief washing over her face.
Her confinement had kept her from seeing her son, kept her from delivering food herself—she had only been able to decide his meals, relying on her maids to send them. But even they had never reached him directly.
Her breath hitched, rage surging through her veins.
"What nonsense did you just spew?!" she thundered, her gaze sharp at the imperial guard.
The imperial guard flinched, his voice barely audible ."Your... Majesty..."
Her fury erupted.
