The Summer Palace gardens were beautiful in the cool breeze under the moonlight, the scent of jasmine perfuming the air.
Violet sat on a marble bench beneath an arch of trailing roses, her cloak wrapped tightly around her. She looked more like a fugitive than the noble born daughter of a Queen.
Cynthia approached her quietly, the rustle of her boots the only sound announcing her arrival. She carried two cups of steaming hot chamomile tea.
"Still can't sleep?" Cynthia asked, offering Violet one cup.
Violet took it with a grateful nod. "How could I? Half the people here want me dead and the other half want me gone."
Cynthia sat beside her, sipping from her own cup.
"You're not wrong. But Casimir didn't bring you here for them. He brought you here because he believes you're worth saving."
Violet gave her a wry smile. "That makes one of us."
Cynthia glanced at her kindly. "That's not true. Theron believes in you. He came back for you."
