The palace corridors were silent as Lin Yue was dragged through them, the maid's hands trembling around her wrist. Lanterns flickered against carved pillars, casting long shadows that made the place feel like a maze of secrets.
"W‑Where are you taking me?" Lin Yue whispered.
The maid flinched at her voice. "Don't speak! If His Majesty hears you question his order, we'll both die!"
Lin Yue's stomach twisted.
What kind of emperor inspires this much fear?
They stopped before a pair of towering black doors carved with dragons. Two imperial guards stood like statues, their armor gleaming under the lantern light. Their eyes flicked to Lin Yue—confusion, curiosity, then pity.
One guard knocked once.
"His Majesty, the girl has arrived."
A low voice answered from within.
"Enter."
The doors opened.
The maid shoved Lin Yue inside and immediately knelt, forehead pressed to the floor. Lin Yue stood frozen, unsure what to do.
The emperor sat alone in the vast chamber.
He wasn't wearing his ceremonial robes anymore. Instead, he wore a simple black inner robe, his long hair unbound, falling over his shoulders like a dark waterfall. Without the crown, he looked less like a ruler and more like a dangerous god.
His eyes lifted to hers.
The world seemed to stop.
"You may leave," he said without looking at the maid.
The maid scrambled out so fast she nearly tripped. The doors shut behind her with a heavy thud.
Lin Yue was alone with him.
The emperor rose from his seat, each step slow, deliberate, predatory. She instinctively stepped back until her spine hit a carved pillar.
He stopped in front of her.
Up close, he was even more breathtaking—sharp jawline, long lashes, lips curved in a faint, unreadable line. But his presence was overwhelming, like standing too close to a wildfire.
"What is your name?" he asked softly.
"L‑Lin Yue," she whispered.
His eyes narrowed. "That is not a name from this empire."
Her breath caught.
He noticed that?
He lifted a hand, brushing a strand of hair from her face. His touch was cold, but it sent a shiver down her spine.
"You appeared in the Hall of Stars," he murmured. "A place no one enters without permission. A place tied to the prophecy."
Lin Yue's heart pounded.
Prophecy? What prophecy?
He tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"You are not a maid," he said. "You are something else."
She swallowed hard. "I… I don't know how I got here."
"I believe you."
His voice was low, almost gentle.
"Because the moment I saw you, I felt it."
"Felt… what?"
He leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear.
"That you belong to me."
Her knees nearly gave out.
He straightened, eyes darkening with something possessive and terrifyingly certain.
From this moment on," he declared, "you will stay in my palace. No one touches you. No one questions you. No one harms you."
He paused.
"And if they try…"
His voice dropped to a chilling whisper.
"I will destroy them."
Lin Yue stared at him, stunned, breathless.
She had fallen into another world.
Into the hands of a man feared by an entire empire.
A man who had decided she was his.
And she had no idea how to escape him.