The west courtyard opened before them, flooded with hard noon light.
A lacquered carriage waited beneath the old scholar tree, curtains half-drawn, two fine bay horses stamping against the flagstones.
Li Wei climbed in first without a backward glance, already calling for a jar of wine to sweeten the journey.
Li Yan paused at the foot of the carriage steps only long enough to smooth the plain cloth of his robes. He adjusted his shoulders until he looked smaller, frailer, utterly harmless.
Then he stepped up into the carriage after his brother, settled onto the bench opposite, and folded his hands neatly in his lap. He kept his gaze on the floorboards, watching the faint vibration of the wood as the horses shifted their weight.
Outside, the gates of the Li residence swung open with a low groan. The carriage lurched forward. Heavy wheels ground against stone. The shadow of the gate passed over Li Yan’s feet, then fell away behind them.
The carriage stopped with a sharp jolt that sent the wine in Li Wei’s cup sloshing over his fingers. He cursed, his elegant mask momentarily slipping as he wiped the liquid from his robes with a violent motion.
"Careless idiots," Li Wei hissed, his face flushing with irritation. He turned his glare toward Li Yan, as if the delay were somehow his brother’s fault. "Sit there. Don’t move until I signal. When I call for you, remember: you are the pathetic, frightened thing we discussed. If you breathe a word that isn’t a whimper, I’ll have the guards break your legs before the night is through."
Li Yan kept his eyes fixed firmly on the floorboards, his shoulders hunched into a trembling arc. "I understand, Elder Brother. I will do exactly as you say."
Li Wei snorted, satisfied by the fear in his brother’s voice. He stood up, smoothed his indigo silk, and adjusted his jade ring until it caught the sunlight. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he pushed the carriage curtain aside and stepped out onto the gravel.
Outside, the air was filled with the rhythmic thud of horses’ hooves and the heavy, metallic clank of armor.
"Young Master Li!" a voice boomed—a rough, gravelly sound that vibrated through the floor of the carriage. "You’re late. The Master was beginning to think you’d lost your nerve."
Li Wei’s voice shifted instantly, turning into the practiced, sycophantic lilt of a man currying favor. "My deepest apologies, Wei-gong. We were delayed by... final preparations. But I assure you, I have brought exactly what you requested. And I think you’ll find the quality of this one is far superior to the last."
Li Yan sat in the dark, silent interior of the carriage. He could hear the sound of the guards drawing closer.
His heartbeat was slow, steady, and terrifyingly calm.
"Oh?" The stranger’s voice grew closer, curious and hungry. "Let’s see it, then. Bring the little prize out. I’ve been waiting all morning to see if the rumors about the Li family’s ’tainted’ son were true."
Li Wei let out a high, triumphant laugh. He turned back to the carriage, his silhouette blocking out the light of the entrance. He reached a hand toward the door, his fingers hooked like a claw, ready to drag his brother out to be inspected.
"Come out, Li Yan," Li Wei commanded, his voice dripping with triumphant malice. "Our host is waiting to see what becomes of a stray like you."
Li Yan rose slowly. He stood in the shadows of the carriage, his face obscured by the darkness, his hands resting naturally at his sides. He took one step toward the light, his head bowed, his breath hitching in a perfect, shaky imitation of a boy on the verge of tears.
"I’m coming, Elder Brother," he whispered, his voice trembling just enough to sound fragile.
But as he reached the threshold, Li Yan’s fingers brushed against the small, hidden item in his sleeve—a sharp, cold edge of potential that hummed with a power the men outside could never comprehend.
He stopped at the very edge of the sunlight, looking up for the first time.
Li Wei reached out to grab his collar, his expression twisted in a sneer. "Don’t just stand there, you fool—"
Li Yan looked him in the eye, his gaze suddenly, terrifyingly still.
"Brother," Li Yan interrupted softly, his voice cutting through the laughter of the guards like ice. "Are you sure you want to be the one to lead me out?"
The sneer on Li Wei’s face froze. For a heartbeat, the arrogance wavered, replaced by a sudden, inexplicable shiver of unease. He blinked, but the boy in front of him was still huddled, still trembling, still seemingly broken.
"What?" Li Wei snapped, his composure rattled. "Get out here! Now!"
Li Yan stepped forward, the sunlight finally hitting his face, revealing eyes that were not fearful at all, but as empty and cold as the void of the Mythical Pavilion.
"As you wish," Li Yan replied.
He stepped over the threshold, and as he did, he didn’t stumble. He stood straight, and the ground beneath the carriage seemed to shudder in response.
Sunlight struck him full in the face.
For a moment the entire courtyard seemed to forget how to breathe.
Li Yan was extraordinary.
Even in the plain, washed-thin robes of a discarded son, even with his hair bound and his wrists still faintly marked by old ropes, he was devastating.
Skin like warm white jade that held the light rather than reflected it. A slender throat rising from the loose collar.
High, delicate cheekbones and a soft mouth the color of crushed peach petals. Long ink-black lashes cast faint shadows on his cheeks. His eyes—when he finally lifted them—were clear as mountain water after rain, slightly upturned at the corners, carrying a natural, almost cruel beauty that no amount of dirt or fear could dull.
Li Yan was tall for a Ger yet finely made, waist narrow enough that a single hand might span it, every line of him elegant and breakable... and somehow not breakable at all.
The scarred captain of the Wei guards went completely still. One of the younger soldiers audibly swallowed. Even the horses shifted and stamped.
Li Wei, standing just in front of the carriage, froze with his hand still half-raised. The triumphant sneer slid off his face, replaced by something uglier—shock, then sharp, instinctive jealousy.
"What are you staring at?" Li Wei snapped at the guards, voice too loud. He grabbed Li Yan’s wrist and yanked him forward roughly. "He’s just a Ger. Pretty enough to sell, nothing more. Stop gawking as though you have never seen a face before."