18. YOUR OLD COLLEAGUE

Dearest Plum,

Forgive the handwriting. I never quite recovered from the loss of that finger. To the rest of the realm, it seems I've lost more—my life, to start. Is it true?

Why don't you come and find out?

Before you deem this a hoax, let me say a few words. I know you, Plum. Perhaps you saw my body, horridly blackened. But you, unlike the others, didn't believe it was the doing of ghosts. You have a head of common sense. You've survived this long because of it.

But your life in the last few months can't possibly have been pleasant. I'll go as far as to guess your days are a torturous dance of watching your every step. Why?

Why, indeed, shouldyou face more scrutiny for my sins?

I'll tell you why: You and I are forever intertwined in Miasma's mind. For what was that dream our Mi-Mi had again? Three crows on a plum branch. Why else would we appear in her unconscious mind, if not as a portent? And she was right to have suspicions. I validated them.

In her eyes, it's just a matter oftime before you follow my descent.

And so though sense has served you well until now, you must choose your next move wisely. You can bide your time as you have and wait for Miasma to find an excuse to kill you, or you could turn the tide of her favor before it ebbs entirely.

Confront me, Plum, and end me for our lordess.

Of course, there's always a third option: You could kill her before she kills you. You would make a good regent. Imagine—the empire at your fingertips. Do you harbor those ambitions?

There's no need to answer now. Tell me in person.

I await you in the Xianlei Gorge.

Your Old Colleague