Chapter One
The Silent Birth
In the heart of the Liang Empire, nestled between obsidian mountains and rivers lined with lanterns, stood the Palace of Eternal Harmony — a labyrinth of jade-tiled roofs and corridors polished so smooth they mirrored one's soul.
But that night, a terrible hush devoured the air. The sky turned the color of spilled wine. The blood-moon eclipse bathed the courtyards in trembling crimson. Even the dragon-carved braziers stuttered in their glow.
"A daughter," someone whispered. The words fell like a broken sword on silk.
The Queen Dowager clutched a cracked white jade feather inside her sleeve and brushed a kiss across the infant's brow. "You deserve the stars," she whispered. "But they would devour you before you rise."
By dawn, the corridors had been scrubbed of evidence. No one would speak of the girl. No registry would hold her name. She was exiled — not for what she did, but for what she might become.