"Gasp—air!" Water slid over my face and out of my mouth. I hauled myself up, fingers clawing at mud and dead leaves, nails catching on a root. "Lady! Lady! Your hand—" "Shh," I snapped, pulling my arm free. My lungs burned. I coughed until my vision cleared. A young maid knelt at the bank, sleeves damp and face pale. She fumbled a cloth, tears already on her lashes. "Yu Lan," I said. My voice came wrong, rough. "Where am I?" "You were in the pond, milady. Mistress Lin's garden. I—I heard a splash." Her voice trembled and then hardened. "You mustn't move. Your arm—" "I can move." I pushed myself upright. The world swayed, but I steadied. Cold spread under my robes. I tasted iron. Yu Lan's hands were quick. She grabbed my wrist and flipped my palm up. "Bruises, old and new. There's a bite mark, too. Who—" "Let go," I hissed. "Don't poke like I'm a stray dog." She recoiled, shame and worry wrestling on her face. "Milady, please. The wounds—" A calm, clinical voice cut through the wet air like a steel blade. "Ake: External trauma present. Old scar tissue on forearm, perilesional discoloration consistent with blunt-force impact. Recommend antiseptic, suture where necrotic tissue present." Yu Lan stared. "Who spoke—" "I did," I answered before I knew I would. The voice was not mine and it was. I could feel Ake's presence at the edge of my