Heena slowly turned her eyes back to the Emperor, her expression as calm and detached as if she were sitting in a teahouse, rather than having a black-steel blade pressed against her carotid artery.
"Your Majesty," Heena said smoothly. "The poison I administered to the Prime Minister... you knew about it quite easily. The absolute chaos that happened last night? You expect me to believe you didn't know?"
She let out a short, cynical scoff.
"Come on. Your shadow guards are everywhere. An Emperor who has covered this entire empire in a flawless web of informants and spies—how could it be that you don't even have eyes in your own palace? I saw them last night. So please, don't make excuses and feign ignorance with me."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous spark lighting up in the dark depths of his gaze.
