As promised, the Khan summoned Xiao Zhi again the following morning.
She walked toward his quarters with her heart racing. For the first time in a while, she felt a flicker of hope. Her doomed destiny, the terrible ending she had read about, might actually be changed.
By the time she reached the Khan's wing, the guards at the door no longer blocked her path, even when she was walking alone without Arkan to escort her. She felt a little freedom starting to be in her favor.
When she reached the Khan's room, she knocked on the door, but with less thumping in her chest.
"Enter."
The voice that answered her used to fill her with fear. Now, strangely enough, it had begun to sound like the only chance she had left.
Inside, the room was a whirlwind of activity. The Khan stood at a long table covered in maps, scrolls, and messy stacks of documents. Arkan was there as well, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression sharp and unreadable as always.
