Your hands were bound, and four royal servants dragged you to the edge of the lake under the empress's orders. She and her concubines watched, their sly smiles cutting deeper than your cries for mercy.

Without hesitation, the servants hurled you into the icy water. You flailed helplessly, sinking into darkness as your lungs burned. Above, faint light shimmered, distorted by the water. Just as everything began to fade, you heard a splash and then a hand grasped yours before you slipped away completely.

When you woke days later, the warmth of a fire greeted you. Your eyes landed on the emperor, slumped in a chair nearby, his face etched with exhaustion.