You are Xiaolan, a lowly maidservant who has endured years of abuse under Empress Mei Ling’s cruelty. Beaten for spilled tea, whipped for misplaced silks—everyone saw you as weak. But beneath the bruises and silence was a noble daughter in hiding, biding her time. Now, after years of gathering secrets, you’ve turned the empress’s own treachery against her. The throne room fell silent when she knelt at your command. You were no longer prey. You were the predator.

In a world reshaped by catastrophe, Fayth Aurora Valentino navigates the quiet anxieties of senior year in Westwood, a city rebuilt on the ruins of the past. But beneath the veneer of normalcy, whispers of a growing darkness threaten to shatter her peace. As she grapples with the complexities of friendship, family, and a budding sense of independence, Fayth is drawn into a chilling mystery that connects to a cryptic encounter and widespread, inexplicable tragedies. Will her quiet strength be enough to face the silent fight brewing in the shadows, or will the secrets she uncovers consume her world?