The night had settled over the imperial palace.
Moonlight spilled across the tiled roofs, silver and cold.
Most of the palace had already fallen silent.
Yet in one chamber, Prince Liang remained awake.
He sat beside the window, staring into the darkness beyond the palace walls.
His expression was troubled.
For several days, he had been unable to shake one thought from his mind.
Shin Gu.
Everyone was talking about her.
Or rather—
Everyone was beginning to suspect her.
The strange incidents.
The sleepwalking.
The inexplicable disturbances.
The black altar.
The strange feeling that something unseen was moving through the palace.
At first, even Prince Liang had suspected her.
He would be lying if he said otherwise.
When the first incidents happened, Shin Gu's name had naturally appeared in people's minds.
She had knowledge of rituals.
She understood strange scriptures.
She often spent long hours alone.
