"Have you heard? The Dragon has executed seven people from the army."

"Seven? Isn't that too much?"

"Of course it is!" the other man hissed. "He's gone mad and is killing anyone that might be an enemy rebel. We could be next too."

"The war is over but—"

"Have you also seen the foreigners? The red haired boy terrifies me. I saw him kill someone with a smile."

"I heard about that. The one that scares me the most is that demon—"

They all stopped talking when they saw me round the corner. All of their spines stiffened and they held tightly onto their staffs as they stared forward. Sweat gleamed on their foreheads and I slowed in my steps to examine the soldiers that, moments ago, were talking about Meilin's dealing with the enemies and the Peccata.

I offered them a curt nod before continuing down the hall. It was no surprise that word was spreading about Meilin's skeptical treatment towards the army and the way he was executing people right and left. After all, I had an inkling of knowledge that Meilin wanted people to know what he was doing, so that they would be too scared of his wrath to go against him.

"Ah, Empress, good morning," Nikator called out to me as he tread his way down the hall. He gave me a small wave, his gaze flicking over to the guards posted around. He stopped when he reached me, giving me a small bow. "I hope you slept well."

I thought back to last night and this morning, and shrugged unsurely. "I suppose it was alright."

"Remus came to Atreus and said that you made him feel better after his little . . . episode. Thank you for that."

"Don't thank me. Remus is important."

"Yes, but he's a handful when he's . . . you know, having a moment." Nikator ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the ends of it. "I'm glad that you were able to calm him down. Whenever he's like that, it's kind of bad if we're not there. I'm glad that you brought him to Master and made him feel better."

"Really, don't thank me," I continued. "I'm just treating him the way I would treat my younger brothers and sisters."

"Well, anyway," he said with a chipper voice, "General Keung's whereabouts have been found out by Thera."

"Really? He's the one that's in charge of all the people doing the revolts?"

Nikator bobbed his head. "You should know more about political affairs, Empress. Keung is indeed the man in charge of all those revolts."

I nodded, embarrassed. "I'm still trying to understand everything with the empire."

"It'll take time," he said with a shrug. "Well, Thera figured out all the enemies in the palace."

I raised my brows. "Thera did?"

"She had been . . . intimately involved with one of the enemy soldiers and she made it out so that he thought that she was on his side, telling him that being raised under Master was horrible and that she wanted him dead, and that she was basically like a slave under Master's rule. Anyway, she fooled him and slowly got information out of him. Now, she's found out all the enemies in the palace—she went to one of their meetings—and she's figured out Keung's location."

Thera was a seductress? That was news to me, and I was even more surprised that Meilin allowed her to do that sort of work. He cared deeply for the Peccata and it was hard to imagine that he would approve of her finding out information in that way.

"Master is considering to go and capture Keung himself. He said that he will either bring Minos or Atreus with him."

"What exactly does Keung want from Meilin? Why does he want the throne and why does he think that he is more deserving?"

"Keung has always been power hungry. He retired from the previous emperor because he was found to have been conspiring an assassination attempt on the emperor. There wasn't any proof to pin against him so instead he was forced to leave, but now that there is a new Emperor, Master Drakkon, he wants to overthrow him in the name of 'justice' and 'peace'. He is using Master Drakkon as a way to claim the throne that he always wanted. Empress, many people wish to be the emperor. The emperor is the most powerful man in the empire and he has rights over everything; there will always be people that want that power."

"I'll have to figure out politics if I want to survive here," I murmured to myself. If I was going to be the wife of the Dragon, I needed to understand all sorts of politics and I needed to learn to be clever. After all, just because I was the wife, didn't mean that there wouldn't be other women that would claim Meilin's heart and attention. If I was going to survive in the palace, I needed to start to learn how to play all of these political games.

Nikator cracked his knuckles and gave me a sideways glance. "Don't worry about surviving here; as long as one of the Peccata is with you, you'll be protected. We would never allow anything to happen to you."

"That's reassuring."

"No, really. We all like you so we'll protect you 'till the end. Not only are you Master's precious wife, but you're someone precious to us. You were nice to all of us and we don't forget kindness. We're hardened warriors, though some of us don't seem to be," he said with a soft smile, "but we're not used to people being kind to us. We don't seek kindness, and we don't necessarily need it, but when people like you, who are kind to each of us, shows us that we have feelings, it's nice."

I was touched by his words, not sure what to say to them. It was true that I treated them like I would treat my siblings, but that was just how I was. I couldn't hate on someone for vain reasons. I wanted to see the best in everyone.

"I think that's what Master saw in you," he mused. "Kindness and hope."

My cheeks heated up just at the thought of Meilin. He had told me that he loved me, and I couldn't get that out of my head.

"Empress, I think your younger brother might have a . . . um, crush on Vita."

I blinking back in surprise and turned to him. My family was still in the palace and were due to leave in a couple of days, if they chose to, since Meilin had allowed them to stay for as long as they wanted. To think that one of my brothers might have liked Vita was unexpected, though I couldn't blame any of them since Vita was beautiful.

"Which one? Enlai, Wen, Yunru?"

He rubbed the nape of his neck and shrugged. "One of the twins."

"Wen or Yunru," I said.

"Yeah, one of them," he said. "It would be better if you told him to not fall in love with her. Vita will never love them back."

Vita, though we had spent many weeks together, was still a mystery to me. Unlike the other Peccatum, she hadn't opened up to me, even when treated with kindness. I didn't know much about her, since she didn't tell me anything, even when I asked.

"Vita doesn't love anyone but Master, Bohai, Fang, and the Peccata. We're her only family and it's hard for her to trust or love anyone. She, like Thera and most slave girls in Sanguis, was . . . mistreated as a child, and thus has no trust for men."

I gasped, my eyes widening. "But she must've been only six or seven—"

"It's often in Sanguis to have that happen. Boys are no exception either; for example, Minos was also . . . mistreated. Remus and I were left untouched since we're undesirable, but the others weren't so lucky. Atreus wasn't subjugated to that either. Most slave children are touched, but not all."

The thought made my stomach churn, the color draining from my face. "Nikator, how can children be desirable to anyone?"

He shrugged. "We're not people. We're slaves."

"Yes, but—"

"Empress, life is cruel."

I stopped walking and could only stare at him helplessly.

"Tell your brother that Vita won't be able to return those feelings for him."

"I will," I whispered.

"Maybe, one day, she'll love again, but I don't think that's today."

My heart trembled for her and forthe rest of the Peccata, and I couldonly marvel at how strong they were to live through so much.