Chapter 1

Siluo, my personal maid, pulled aside the thick carpet, revealing a deep, dark opening.

I had never known there was a secret passage in my bedchamber.

“When did this—”

“Never mind that, Your Highness. Run!” Without waiting for an answer, Siluo shoved me into the opening. “Xiao Jue is waiting outside the city!”

The rebels outside were getting closer, their voices louder.

I fell into the passage, frantic tears welling in my eyes. Looking up, I called, “Ah Luo, come with me!”

Dressed in my clothes, Siluo stood over the opening and looked down at me with a bitter smile. “They won’t stop until they find the princess. Don’t worry about me. I’ve always thought of you as my own little sister. I don’t regret dying for you.”

“No, we’ll go together,” I said desperately. “I don’t want you to die for me…”

“Your Highness, this is the first time I’ve ever worn your clothes. They’re so beautiful.”

Before I could argue, Siluo dragged a heavy, dark clothes chest across the opening.

Then I heard the clash of weapons overhead, and Siluo declared in a ringing voice, “I am Princess Zhaoming! Who dares lay a hand on me?”

The rebels fell silent for a moment, then roared, “Send word! We’ve found the princess!”

There followed the dull sound of blades piercing flesh, then something heavy hitting the floor.

I wiped the tears from my face. Siluo had paid for my chance to escape with her life. I couldn’t squander it.

Xiao Jue was still waiting for me.

The black passage was silent as a tomb. Only my footsteps echoed through it.

I had no idea how long I walked, or how many times I fell, before I finally saw a glimmer of light ahead.

There it was. The exit.

I dragged my bleeding legs up onto the ground. Sunlight blinded me for a moment. In the countryside beyond the capital, birds were still singing and flowers blooming in the third month, but a nearby village had been burned by the rebels, leaving only broken walls.

Where was Xiao Jue?

I looked around helplessly.

Suddenly, an arrow came whistling through the air and drove straight into my chest.

A man in armor stood on the capital’s outer wall. He drew his bow taut and loosed a second arrow at me, steady and merciless.

It struck behind my knee, forcing me to my knees. I looked up. The face on the wall seemed terribly familiar.

Xiao Jue?

The woman standing beside him was familiar too. She was still wearing my clothes.

Siluo wasn’t dead. Why?

The third arrow pierced my throat.

As my soul left my body, my field of vision suddenly expanded. Their faces seemed to draw closer and closer, until I could see them clearly.

The last thing I saw was Xiao Jue covering Siluo’s eyes.

I knew the shape of his words too well. He was saying, “Ah Luo, don’t be afraid. She’s dead.”

Behind him, a hundred archers surged forward and sent a storm of arrows into me.