It started with a letter.
A small black arrow landed in the snow outside the command tent at dawn. Tied to it was a scroll sealed with the phoenix seal.
Min-Jun brought it straight to Taehyun.
I was still half-asleep, hair messy, wearing Taehyun's inner robe because mine was being washed.
Taehyun broke the seal and read.
His face went white.
Then red.
Then scary calm.
He handed me the letter without a word.
I read it and felt my heart stop.
To my beloved son,
Your father's old illness has returned.
He wakes and calls for you.
Come home before it is too late.
Leave the war to your generals.
A king belongs at the capital, not freezing in mud.
And bring that woman if you must...
but know the court will never accept a murderess as empress.
Choose wisely.
Mother
The former emperor... Taehyun's father... was supposed to be dead for eight years.
In the original novel he was definitely dead.
This was a lie.
A trap.
I looked at Taehyun.
"It's fake," I said. "She's trying to get you to leave the army."
"I know," he said. His voice was too calm. "But some of the council already received copies. They're demanding I return."
He crumpled the letter in his fist.
That same day three high-ranking generals asked to speak with him privately.
I wasn't allowed in.
I waited outside the tent with Min-Jun.
An hour later Taehyun came out alone.
His eyes were dead.
"What happened?" I asked.
He didn't answer. Just walked past me.
I followed him to our private tent.
Inside he started packing.
Not his armor.
My things.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"You're leaving tomorrow," he said without looking at me. "With an escort of two thousand men. Straight to the capital."
I grabbed his arm. "No."
He finally looked at me. His face was stone.
"Seo-Hwa, the council is splitting. Half want me to abandon the war. Half want me dead. If I keep you here, they'll use you against me. I won't let that happen."
I felt panic rising.
"So you're sending me back to the Empress Dowager? Where she can poison me in my sleep?"
"I'm sending you with Min-Jun and my most loyal men," he said. "You'll be safe."
"And you?" I asked. My voice cracked. "You stay here alone with generals who might stab you in the back?"
He looked away.
That was when I knew.
The three generals had threatened to desert with their armies if Taehyun didn't send me away.
I walked up to him and slapped him across the face.
Hard.
His head snapped to the side.
The tent went dead silent.
I was shaking with anger.
"You promised," I said. "You promised we would win this together. You don't get to send me away like I'm some fragile doll."
He touched his cheek where I hit him.
Then he dropped to his knees in front of me.
Actually knelt.
"I am trying to keep you alive," he said, voice breaking. "If you stay and I die, what happens to you? The next emperor will kill you the first day."
I knelt too so we were eye to eye.
"Then don't die," I said. "Win faster. Come home to me."
He pulled me into his arms and held me so tight I couldn't breathe.
That night we didn't sleep.
We made love like it was the last time.
Slow. Desperate. Crying.
When morning came, I stood at the edge of camp with two thousand men waiting.
Taehyun walked me to my horse.
He was back in full armor, face cold like the emperor again.
He helped me up, then held my hand.
"I will end this war in one month," he said loudly so everyone could hear. "Then I come home and make you empress. That is a promise."
The soldiers cheered.
He leaned up and kissed me one more time.
"I love you," he whispered against my lips. "Wait for me."
I nodded, tears freezing on my cheeks.
Then I turned my horse south.
Min-Jun rode beside me.
Behind us, Taehyun stood alone in the snow and watched until we disappeared.
I didn't know then that one of the "loyal" generals had already sent a secret letter to the tribes.
I didn't know Taehyun would face the biggest betrayal of his life three days later.
I only knew my heart was riding away from me in the opposite direction.
And for the first time since I transmigrated, I was truly terrified.