The golden gates of the Imperial Palace rose before them like the jaws of some colossal beast, wrought in gleaming aurum and etched with the intertwined serpents of the imperial crest. As the massive portals swung inward on silent hinges, Aiden, Sabrina, and Catherine passed beneath them on horseback, flanked by a dozen imperial guards in mirrored armor.
The clatter of hooves on marble echoed through the vast courtyard beyond, where fountains carved in the likeness of griffins and dragons spouted crystal water into the morning sun.
To the casual eye, the capital was a vision of perfect order. Courtiers in silks of emerald and crimson strolled beneath colonnades, musicians played gentle lutes on terraced gardens, and banners bearing the Empress's personal sigil—a silver rose on midnight blue—fluttered proudly from every spire.
