Chained to old wounds

CH16

Morgan

Tsuneo stepped back into the bedroom and out of sight. I lowered the barrier and let Doctor Shang in. He was alone, carrying a box and a satchel. There was a smudge of something on his check, and an herbal scent drifted across the room when he entered.

“I’ve marked the remedies,” he said and set them on the table. “They’re intensive, but they are not quick fixes. I would need more time for that, but those remedies are brewing.”

He set the remedies on the table and showed them all to me. There were three weeks worth of

remedies for my brother and a bunch of other vials filled with shimmering liquid. The glowing

blue ones were for his sister.

“There should be enough for the next three weeks in your time. Have Imperial Captain Ael and whoever else works with him attend to your brother to administer the potions. I’ll have more intensive ones ready soon.”

“Thank you.”

He pulled out a roll of paper and handed it to me. “These are notes about the notes for what the Elders have put together for you. They have it all gathered in the foyer.”

I winced. “I’ll.. figure it out on the other side.”

I wasn’t sure how best to get it all, considering the distance between the mirror in the unit’s house and the gateway for the Trial. I hauled the bag of gold onto my shoulders, but Tsuneo came up behind me, taking the bag from me. Doctor Shang’s eyes widened.

“You-”

“Take the cart,” Tsuneo said. The closet opened, and a floating box came out. “You are the queen. You don’t carry a bag like a commoner.”

I scoffed. “I’m Morgan, and I’ve carried a lot of bags.”

He chuckled and put the bag and remedies in the box. “Not anymore.”

The journals stood up and floated into the closet. Doctor Shang looked stunned, but he said nothing. Tsuneo cupped my face. There was a pleased light in his eyes.

‘Safe journey, wife.”

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“Wait,” I said, grabbing his sleeve before he turned away. “About the money and stuff.”

“Wife-”

“It’s Morgan,” I said, fighting the embarrassment that washed through me. “And like I said before,

I can’t just take your money.”

His jaw clenched. “Why can you not take our money?”

My stomach jolted. “It’s not our money. It’s yours ar… imperial money. I can’t just take it.”

“I’m not humoring you not taking it.”

I set my jaw. “A loan then.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “A loan?”

“Vassals get loans from their sovereign all the time, don’t they?”

He smirked. His eyes sultry as he stepped close enough for me to feel the heat of his body. A wave of heat swept through me, but it felt like it came from beyond me. It was dizzying and gone just as quick as it had come.

“Sovereign?”

I blinked. My stomach flipped at the insinuation in his voice and in his eyes.

“The Ryuyama family made clothes for the imperial family, right? Your father recognized my

sword.”

His lips twitched, and he skimmed his fingertips across my cheek.

“You see a lot.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“First rule of survival.”

“A loan,” he said, the word laced with amusement. “Very well, Morgan.”

I jolted at the shock of electricity that hit me at the sound of

hungry sound in his chest.

my name on his lips. He made a low,

“But consider something… incredibly lavish for a…wedding gift.”

“A what?” I stammered, momentarily forgetting about the loan.

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Tsuneo’s eyes gleamed with a mischievous glint. “A king always gives gifts to his queen. I have a lot to make up for.” He chuckled, a rich, rumbling sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Look forward to it.”

He turned away, and I wished I could say that something more than curiosity was building in me. Doctor Shang looked amused and grinned, looking between the two of us.

“Thank-”

“I believe the last time was meant to be the last.”

1 scoffed. “You want an ungrateful wife? Odd.”

Tsuneo’s eyes flashed. “I don’t believe we’ve made it to the point where gratitude applies. As I said, there is much to make up for.” He met my gaze, his expression unreadable. “Come home safely, Morgan.”

I swallowed and nodded shakily. My insides felt a mess. I headed out of the door with Doctor Shang. He grinned at me and hustled off down the hall. I took the quickest path back to the mirror I’d come through, which was the large mirror in the hallway around the corner from

Tsuneo’s room.

Stepping through the ornately carved mirror, I stepped into the room inside Ael’s unit’s house. The room was empty, but the house wasn’t. I could feel their presence, and part of me wondered if the house was attached to the palace in some way.

I exited the room, searching every room I passed until I reached the main hallway. Ael stepped

around the corner and smiled.

“Your Majesty, welcome back.” His gaze dropped to the floating box behind me, and his eyes. widened. “Your Majesty…

“The remedies are from Doctor Shang,” I said. “The blue ones are for his sister. The top ones are for my brother, and the rest are…” I frowned, not sure how to describe them.

“General tonics,” he said. “And none too soon. We had just run out.”

He bowed his head. “Thank you. I will get them distributed across all the units.”

“There’s more,” I said. “The Elders–the king- organized food and stuff… but they put it near the gateway for the Trial, and I have no idea how to get it through different mirrors.”

His eyes bulged. “There will be no need. I’ll gather caravans and horses to transport it and meet

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you at the Trial gate.

I nodded. “Great. Treat those who need it first, and… please make sure that only members of your unit, people who can be trusted, administer my brother’s potions.“

“I have already moved his care.”

“Thank you.”

With a final nod, I headed back through the mirror and hustled down the hallway towards the foyer. It was funny that before I had been disoriented, but now the palace seemed to guide me to where I wanted to go. Soon, I reached the main stairwell and froze, looking down at the foyer. It was crammed full of floating crates piled high with stuff. Mountains of dried fruits, sacks of grain, and an assortment of cured meats filled the room. I’d never seen so much food in my life. Every cart had a thin veil of light over it.

I headed down the stairs and weaved through the crates toward the gateway.

I could see the glow of the gateway when a hand clamped around my wrist and yanked me back.

“Not so fast,” Keiji’s sleazy voice canie from behind me.

I whirled around and glared at him. He smirked at me. His grip was tight on my wrist. I looked at his hand, then his face.

“Let me go.”

He chuckled. “You think you can order me around? You must not understand your position.”

“Above you.”

He snarled and yanked me forward. “We’ll see about that.”

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