The moon hung high, pale and watchful, spilling silver light over the polished floors of Seraphina's chambers. Everything was quiet—too quiet. Even the wind had stopped humming at her window.
Seraphina sat with Mira, Arabella, and Elaris, the scroll from Concubine Yue resting in her lap. It looked ordinary—like a typical silk scroll with elegant strokes of imperial poetry. But there was something unnatural about the texture… something too smooth, too deliberate.
Elaris leaned in, fingers glowing faintly with moonlight-enhanced magic. "This ink... it's layered. Someone masked the true message. Look."
He held the scroll toward the moonlight pouring through the open lattice. Faint glowing lines began to bleed through the brushwork. Mira gasped. Arabella narrowed her eyes.
The original poem vanished—beneath it, scrawled in faded silver runes, was a message only meant for Seraphina's eyes:
> "The palace is no longer yours.
A shadow walks with your crown.
He controls the emperor's dreams, and your silence feeds him.
Trust no name written in daylight.
—L."
"Lucien," Seraphina whispered, her throat tightening. "He's warning me… again."
Arabella's brows furrowed. "This isn't just a warning. It's a threat."
"No," Mira said, trembling slightly. "It's a clue. Look at the last line… 'Trust no name written in daylight.' That means someone is forging orders or messages in the emperor's name. Maybe even in yours."
Elaris nodded grimly. "There's illusion magic laced into this paper. Whoever delivered this—Concubine Yue—was enchanted herself or knows more than she let on."
A sudden chill swept through the room.
Seraphina stood, her voice sharper than the wind. "Then it's time we stop playing chess and start flipping the board."
Arabella's smile was full of steel. "Finally."
As Seraphina rolled up the scroll, her heart thudded with purpose. "Tomorrow, I will ask the emperor about Yue. If he denies summoning her… then we'll know the truth: someone is giving orders using my name."
"And worse," Mira added softly, "someone has already started turning the palace against you."
Seraphina met their eyes. "Then let them. Because I've started to remember who I really am."
The next morning, golden sunlight streamed through the tall palace windows, painting everything in deceptive warmth. But inside Seraphina's chest, there was nothing but fire and steel.
She stood in front of the imperial study doors, Mira and Arabella behind her, while Maelis waited a few paces away. Guards opened the door without a word, as if expecting her.
Inside, Emperor Kai sat at his desk, brushing through scrolls, but his eyes lifted the moment she entered—calm, unreadable.
"Seraphina," he said with a soft smile, setting his brush down. "To what do I owe this surprise?"
She didn't smile back.
"I have a question," she said, voice steady. "Did you summon Concubine Yue to my quarters yesterday?"
Kai blinked once. "No. Why?"
A silence fell, sharp and immediate. Seraphina stepped forward, her expression tightening. "She brought me a scroll. A supposed gift from you. But it wasn't from you, was it?"
The emperor rose slowly, confusion flickering in his gaze. "What scroll?"
Mira pulled the scroll from inside her sleeve and handed it over. Kai took it, opened it—then froze.
The runes. The message. The warning.
It was still there.
"This… isn't mine," he muttered. "I never wrote this. And I never asked Yue to deliver anything to you."
Arabella's voice was calm but dangerous. "Then someone is using the emperor's seal."
Kai clenched the scroll in his hand. "Who would dare—?"
"Someone close," Seraphina said quietly, "someone who knows the inner workings of the palace. And someone bold enough to test me… through your concubines."
Kai's jaw clenched. "Do you suspect Yue?"
"She's just the delivery," Mira said. "But the real sender… could be hiding behind her."
Arabella stepped forward. "Your Majesty, may we question her? Alone?"
Kai hesitated, then gave a tight nod. "Do whatever you must."
Seraphina bowed slightly, her voice quieter now. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
But as they turned to leave, Kai spoke again, stopping her.
"I chose you to stand beside me because I believed you were stronger than them. Don't let them see you hesitate."
She looked back over her shoulder. "I haven't hesitated. I've only just begun."
—
Scene Shift: Concubine Yue's Quarters – Afternoon
Concubine Yue knelt in her quarters, head bowed. The room was modest, lined with calligraphy and incense smoke curling into the rafters. Seraphina entered with Mira and Arabella, but without guards.
"Your Majesty," Yue said softly, not raising her head.
"I'm not here to punish you," Seraphina began, circling slowly. "I'm here for the truth. Did you deliver this scroll of your own will?"
Yue looked up, visibly shaken. "I… I don't know. I remember a woman giving it to me at the Lotus Pavilion. She said it was urgent. She was cloaked, but she had the imperial token. I didn't question her."
"Her voice. Was it soft? Sharp? Did she say anything else?" Mira pressed.
Yue hesitated. "She said… 'Give this to the Empress before the next moon sets… or you won't see your child again.'"
Arabella's fists clenched. "She threatened you."
Yue nodded slowly. "My child is in the southern court. I—I didn't want to risk—"
"It's okay," Seraphina said, her voice softening. "You were used."
But inside her, fury boiled.
Another shadow.
Another hand moving behind silk curtains.
And Seraphina was done playing nice.
Later that evening, the palace buzzed with low whispers. A meeting had been called in the Inner Blossom Hall, supposedly to "discuss harmony among the imperial harem." But everyone knew—it was Concubine Sun's stage.
She sat at the head of the curved platform, robes flowing like black ink, smile graceful and poisonous. Around her knelt the other concubines—each one carefully dressed, overly polite, and utterly terrified.
Maelis had warned Seraphina of this gathering. "It's a trap," she'd said. "They want to provoke you in public."
So naturally, Seraphina arrived.
The doors opened with a soft chime as she stepped in—wearing crimson and gold robes, her hair pinned with a phoenix comb. Arabella and Mira flanked her, heads high.
The room went still.
Concubine Sun smiled, voice syrupy. "Your Majesty graces us with her presence. We are most honored."
Seraphina walked straight to the central dais and didn't kneel. She stood—silent, unmoving, her gaze scanning every face.
"Forgive my intrusion," she said coolly. "I heard harmony was being discussed, and I thought I'd bring some truth with it."
Several concubines lowered their heads. A few looked like they might pass out.
Concubine Sun's smile strained. "Of course. Harmony begins with honesty."
"Then allow me to start," Seraphina said. "Who among you has seen a cloaked woman using the emperor's seal to spread forged orders?"
Murmurs rose. One concubine—young and shaking—looked up, then quickly down.
Sun gave a soft laugh. "Your Majesty, surely you don't mean to suggest treason within this gentle gathering?"
"I don't suggest it," Seraphina said. "I intend to prove it."
She turned to the young concubine and stepped closer. "Speak. What did you see?"
The girl trembled, her voice barely above a whisper. "A woman… last night. By the Lotus Pavilion. She gave something to Concubine Yue. I-I thought it was strange… She wore a serpent brooch."
Gasps. Arabella's eyes snapped to Mira.
"A serpent brooch," Mira echoed. "Isn't that… the crest of General Sun's family?"
Concubine Sun's face didn't change. But her fingers clenched slightly.
"I wear no such thing," she said smoothly. "Surely the child is confused."
Seraphina smiled now—faint and deadly.
"No need to lie," she said, drawing something from her sleeve.
It was the brooch.
The same one Arabella had found near the pavilion—half-buried in the garden path.
Concubine Sun's face paled.
"That… that could belong to anyone," she snapped, rising to her feet.
"But it doesn't," Mira said, stepping forward. "Only Sun family members are allowed to carry this crest. And guess what? We found traces of red ink on it—the same ink used in the forged scroll."
Whispers exploded like firecrackers.
Concubine Sun's mask cracked.
"You dare—"
"I dare," Seraphina cut in. "I dare because I am not a puppet Empress. I am the ruler of this palace, and the next time you try to use a concubine's fear to pass lies through my doors…"
She stepped forward, inches from her.
"…I won't just expose you. I'll bury your title."
The entire room froze.
Sun's breath hitched. For the first time—she said nothing.
Seraphina turned away.
"To the rest of you," she said to the kneeling concubines, "I see you. I know many of you are being pulled into power games that were never yours to play. I am not your enemy. But if anyone thinks I am weak…"
She looked back at Sun with cold fire in her gaze.
"…try me."
And then she walked out.
Arabella behind her. Mira glowing with pride.
The concubines remained kneeling—silent, shaken, and for the first time, uncertain where the true power now lay.