Lian Yuxi's POV
I took his hand.
Yifeng's grip was iron-strong. Real. Warm despite the blood.
My name is Lian Yuxi, I said, voice steady even though everything inside me trembled. And yes, Your Majesty. We have an accord.
His smile could've lit the darkness.
Good. Because we're not done yet.
Movement in the shadows. More assassins emerged from the burning palace—six of them. Elite. Guild-trained. Moving with the precision that only came from years of killing.
They saw us standing together and charged.
Ready? Yifeng asked, pulling me close so we stood back-to-back again.
Always.
We moved as one.
This time felt different. Before, we'd fought together out of necessity. Now we fought as partners. His sword high, my daggers low. His strength covering my speed. My precision matching his power.
The first assassin lunged. I sidestepped, drove my dagger up under his ribs. He fell.
The second came from the left. Yifeng's sword met him mid-strike. Metal shrieked. The assassin's blade shattered. Yifeng's follow-through took his head.
The third and fourth attacked together—coordinated, professional. I blocked one's strike while Yifeng engaged the other. We spun, switched opponents mid-fight, moved like we'd trained together for years instead of minutes.
My dagger found the third assassin's throat. Yifeng's sword pierced the fourth's heart.
The last two hesitated. Saw the bodies. Saw us standing untouched.
Ran.
They vaulted the garden wall and disappeared into the night.
Silence fell again. Heavier this time. Final.
I stood panting, my back still pressed against Yifeng's. I could feel him breathing. Feel his heartbeat through the thin fabric between us.
We'd survived. Together.
You fight well, he said quietly.
So do you. For an Emperor.
I'll take that as a compliment.
It was.
Commander Zhao approached cautiously, guards fanning out behind him. His scarred face showed confusion, suspicion, and reluctant respect all at once.
Your Majesty, he said carefully. The palace is secure. The fires are contained. We're searching for survivors and— He stopped, staring at me. What about her?
Yifeng stepped away from me but kept close. Protective. What about her?
She's a Shadow Guild assassin. Protocol demands
Protocol, Yifeng interrupted coldly, demands that I reward those who save my life. She fought beside me. Killed for me. Bled for me. His gold eyes turned to dragon fire. Commander Zhao Chen, meet my new personal guard.
The words fell like thunder.
Zhao's jaw dropped. The guards behind him exchanged shocked glances.
Your Majesty, you cannot be serious
Do I look like I'm joking? Yifeng's voice could've frozen flames. She just proved herself in blood. She's earned her position.
But she's a woman! An assassin! The court will explode when
Then let them explode. Yifeng stepped closer to Zhao, and despite the commander being taller, it felt like the Emperor loomed over him. She stays. She becomes my shadow guard. And anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me personally.
The threat hung heavy in the air.
Zhao looked between us—the blood-soaked Emperor and the assassin standing at his side. Finally, he bowed stiffly.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Yifeng turned to me. His expression softened slightly. Can you stand?
My shoulder burned where the crossbow bolt had grazed me. My hands were cut. Every muscle screamed. But I'd survived worse.
I can stand.
Good. Because starting now, you don't leave my side. He said it loud enough for everyone to hear. Official. Binding. Welcome to the Dragon's shadow, Lian Yuxi.
For the first time in eleven years, someone chose me.
Not because I was useful. Not because I was a weapon.
Because I was me.
Something cracked inside my chest. Something that felt dangerously like hope.
Thank you, I whispered.
Don't thank me yet. You just signed your death warrant. But his smile said he didn't regret it. The court will hate you. The Guild will hunt you. My enemies will target you.
I've survived worse.
I believe you. He glanced at the bodies surrounding us. Come. We need to get you cleaned up and that shoulder treated. Then we plan our next move.
What is our next move?
We find who hired these assassins. We root out the traitor in my court. We destroy everyone who tried to kill us tonight. His gold eyes gleamed. Together.
Together. The word still felt foreign. Dangerous.
Also right.
I followed Yifeng toward the palace, Zhao and the guards trailing behind. Whispers followed us. Shocked stares. Scandalized gasps.
The assassin walking beside the Emperor. The weapon who'd become a woman. The blade who'd chosen her master.
I'd just betrayed the Shadow Guild. Made myself a target for every enemy in the empire. Signed away any hope of a quiet life.
But for the first time since I was thirteen years old, I'd made my own choice.
And that felt like freedom.
Empress Dowager Jiang Lixia's POV
Dawn broke over the Imperial Palace.
I stood in my private chamber, hands clenched around a tea cup that should've been comforting but tasted like ash.
My spy knelt before me, head bowed, delivering his report with a trembling voice.
Your Majesty, the coup has failed. The explosion killed no one important. The assassins were defeated. Emperor Yifeng survived without injury.
I said nothing. Let the silence stretch until he squirmed.
And the Shadow Guild assassin? I asked quietly. The one I paid Heishan forty thousand taels to send? The Phantom Blade who never fails?
She... The spy swallowed. She fought beside the Emperor. Saved his life multiple times. He's declared her his personal guard.
The tea cup shattered in my hand.
Porcelain cut my palm. Blood dripped onto silk. I didn't feel it.
What did you say?
Emperor Yifeng has taken the assassin as his shadow guard. He announced it publicly. She's under his protection now.
I stared at my bleeding hand. At the broken pieces on the floor. At my reflection in the bronze mirror—fifty-two years old, Empress Dowager, mother of the Dragon Emperor.
The woman who'd murdered her way to power. Who'd killed her stepsons to put her youngest boy on the throne. Who'd planned this coup for six months.
Failed by my own weapon turning against me.
Lian Yuxi, I whispered. The name tasted like poison. The Phantom Blade. Heishan's deadliest assassin.
Now protecting my son.
My son, who was supposed to be controllable. Weak. Manageable. A puppet Emperor while I pulled the strings.
Instead, he'd become a dragon. And now he had teeth.
I walked to my desk, ignoring the blood dripping from my hand. Pulled out expensive paper and my best ink.
Three letters. Three moves.
The first to Minister Cao Zhiming, leader of my faction: The boy grows bold. Accelerate the impeachment. Find his weaknesses. Break him.
The second to Lord Heishan of the Shadow Guild: Your weapon has turned. Reclaim her or kill her. I don't care which. Just remove her.
The third to the Lian family—a gambling addict father and his greedy daughter: Your Yuxi serves in the palace now. Come collect what you're owed. Squeeze every drop.
I sealed each letter with my personal stamp—the phoenix that symbolized my power.
My son thought surviving one night made him victorious?
The war had just begun.
I'd murdered two princes to make him Emperor. I could unmake him just as easily.
And the assassin girl who thought she'd found freedom?
She'd learn that nothing in the Imperial Palace came without a price.
Especially not betraying me.