As she returned to her chamber, Xiao Zhi sat at the low table and slowly turned a small teacup between her fingers.
The news of the decree had already spread through every hall and kitchen like wildfire. Everyone knew now that her marriage to Prince Kabil had been dissolved by the Khan himself. Months of nightmares were erased with a single command. She felt a strange weight lift from her chest, but it was replaced by a confusing puzzle now.
Her mind kept returning to the Grand Hall. She remembered how Ruhan had looked standing there. He had been cold and absolute. He wasn't the spoiled patient who complained about mud-tasting medicine anymore. In that hall, he had been the Khan, a ruler who could rewrite a person's entire destiny with one sentence.
Xiao Zhi sighed, the warmth of the porcelain teacup seeping into her skin. Just thinking about his dual nature made her head hurt.
