But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair.
But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too?
Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?
Credit: Jonathan Dao
These questions will have to wait until the books Oct. 23 release.
Read on below and pre-order the bookhere.
But her fear turned into curiosity as the man approached.
Philomel Books
May I help you, sir?
I have two letters to deliver.
She will know for whom the other is meant.
The middle-aged monk accepted the missive, her eyes widening at something she saw upon it.
Jade craned her neck.
There could be nothing shocking in a seal.
Abbess Lin had an entire shelf of rusty-red wax sticks in her quarters for correspondence.
But the messenger seemed to understand Auntie Angs awe.
See that it is delivered immediately.
Even his horse held its breath; the little columns of smoke puffing from its nostrils disappeared.
Something gold gleamed on his chest, an emblem that looked strangely familiar.
It was clear he served someone of great importance.
Jade tried to remember her manners, but couldnt find her voice and bowed instead.
He wore a black hood that hid all but his eyes.
Princess, he murmured, before climbing back on his horse and disappearing once more into the trees.
Now, there was a word she knew well.
It lived in the shaded leaves and branches of the Great Forest.
Jade pressed her face against the gate, watching the treetops shiver in the icy wind.
She let out a slow sigh, wrapping her fingers around the bars that protected her.
Still, the coming of the messenger and the word he had uttered unnerved her.
It was as though the Great Forest had reached through the gates with branches like eager hands .
as though that other world had, at last, found her.
