The room had no windows.
That was the first thing Soyeon noticed when they brought her here four days ago. No windows. There was only four walls of gray stone, a sleeping mat, a chamber pot in the corner, and silence so thick it felt like she was drowning in it.
They had come for her at dawn, three guards with expressionless faces, saying only: "By order of His Majesty the Emperor."
No explanation. No trial.
The first day, she had paced. Counted the stones in the wall. Tried to convince herself this was temporary, a misunderstanding, they would realize she hadn't actually poisoned anyone and let her go.
The second day, panic set in. What if they didn't let her go? What if this was it? What if she died here, alone, in a world that wasn't even hers?
