Morning light touched the Palace of Twin Banners. The halls were cold and empty. Princess Mira stood alone in her chamber. She wore a silk robe stitched with gold dragons, but it gave her no warmth. In her hand was a cup of wine. The taste was bitter and burned her throat, but she drank anyway. On the table lay a sealed letter. Her own hand had written it, the order to kill her sister.
Mira looked at the wall. Tapestries showed her father, the Dragon King. Armies bowed before him. Cities burned. His face was woven in gold, smiling like a god. Mira had killed him with her own blade, but he still stared at her from every thread. She heard his voice in her head, promising power. Some nights she woke with the taste of ash in her mouth, sure he had not truly died.
The door opened. A servant girl came in with a tray of fruit and a black box. She kept her head low, her steps small. Fear clung to her. Mira barely looked at her. In the corner stood another figure. Wrapped in black cloth. A mask with a single white claw. A killer from the Kurotsume Clan. They did not speak. They only bowed.
Mira pushed the letter across the table. Ensure my sister never reaches the Demon General's gates. The assassin took it in silence. The servant opened the black box. Inside lay thin daggers on red silk. The assassin picked one up, weighing it in their hand. Mira's grip tightened on her cup. She thought of her sister, of the Dragon King's soul that lived inside her. She heard again the witch doctor's warning. As long as she lives, he lives. To kill him, she must die. Her voice was steady. At sunset. Near the old millstone by the frozen stream.
The assassin tucked the letter away and vanished without a sound. The room felt colder. Mira sat down. She poured the wine on the floor. It spread like blood across the marble. For the part of me that still cared, she whispered. The servant bowed and left. Mira stared out the window at the frost-covered city. The people still slept, unaware their world was about to change.
Far from the palace, Princess Xue sat in her carriage. She had not slept for three nights. The wheels shook and creaked over the frozen road. Every jolt made her feel like she was being carried to her grave. She sat stiff, wrapped in white fur. Her hands gripped the seat until her knuckles turned white. Across from her sat Min and Pei, her handmaids since childhood. Their dresses were wrinkled from travel. They said nothing now.
Outside, twenty guards rode in formation. Spears in hand, horses snorting steam into the air. Xue could not tell if their loyalty was to her or to Mira. The forest pressed close. Pines heavy with frost, bare branches reaching like claws. Crows watched from the trees. Their wings beat like whispers when they flew.
Xue pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart raced. The feeling was familiar. Something was coming. Something dark. She looked at her blue silk robe, embroidered with silver cranes. Symbols of peace and freedom. Words that had lost their meaning. Min touched her jade hairpin again and again. Pei clutched her prayer beads, lips moving in silent prayer. Xue tried to smile at them, but it felt false.
Then the forest changed. A shadow moved between the trees. Faster than a deer. Quieter than a wolf. It flowed like living darkness. Not a beast. Not a man. Something else. Xue caught it in the corner of her eye. Her blood turned cold. Deep inside her chest, something stirred.
A branch snapped. Snow fell from the trees. The horses danced, uneasy. The carriage lurched to one side. Min gasped and clutched Xue's arm. Pei's face went pale. The guards shouted. Spears dropped. But their voices carried fear. They knew this was no normal enemy. Then the shadow leaped.
Glass shattered. Wood cracked. Screams filled the air. Min cried out. Pei raised her hands in useless defense. The attacker landed on the roof of the carriage. Xue saw the mask through the broken window. A white claw on black silk. The Kurotsume ninja.
Arrows flew but struck only trees. The ninja moved too fast. A guard's throat split open. Another fell without a sound. Blood steamed on the snow. Inside, Xue stayed still. Fear clawed at her, but she did not move. Splinters dug into her palms. Her jaw tightened. Her eyes began to glow with blue fire. She understood. This was not a bandit. This was Mira's doing.
The ninja's shadow filled the window. A dagger gleamed in their hand. But something stirred in Xue's chest. Ancient. Powerful. Angry. The Dragon King's soul. Light burned in her eyes. The air shimmered like heat on a summer road. For a moment, she was no longer Princess Xue. She was something older. Something that had burned kingdoms and crushed armies.
The ninja froze. They sensed it too. The forest grew silent. Even the crows were gone. The dagger came down. And from the trees, something roared.