Chapter 7 · free to read
We came up out of the grave into the first clean morning I had seen since I entered that palace. It lasted about as long as it took to cross the courtyard.
Ten years. He stood on that step for the length of nine breaths — I counted those too — and then he walked up into a morning that had gone on perfectly well without him.
One more cup. She poured it while we were climbing, and she did not even hurry.
I had spent all night learning how she wins. It took her one cup and a quarter of an hour to teach me the rest.
Artwork and narration generated with AI.