Dragon Rising

Chapter 1-1

Chapter One

Hua

Hua Minglan didn’t fear death.

At least not hers.

What scared her was watching the people she loved suffer for nothing more than the history in their blood. Because as descendants of the last Dragon Lords of Piao, the Minglans had dragon blood.

The capital city wasn’t a welcome place for anyone suspected of harboring the ancient power inside them. No dragon had been seen in Piao in a hundred years, yet the legends called their blood royal. It was said those with dragon blood were fit to sit on the emperor’s gilded throne.

It was also a death sentence. The Wei dynasty had ruled Piao for many generations, and it was the emperor’s duty to hunt down any threat to his power.

Which brought them to the festival of the dragon, a celebration that hadn’t existed in more than five years—not since the last round of executions took place under the stars with paper dragons dancing through the square.

Her father tightened his grip on her arm as they entered the city on foot and dropped his voice. “You must be prepared, Hua. It is never a good thing for anyone to be called to the dragon festival.” After receiving a summons from the emperor, her father packed Hua and her mother up and the three of them made the five-day journey from Zhouchang to Dasha, leaving her little brother and grandmother behind.

Running a hand down her side, Hua felt for the dagger her father insisted she hide beneath the folds of her silk robe. The feel of the curved hilt gave her some sense of calm, of peace.

Hua Minglan wasn’t like normal girls. Most girls her age spent their time painting their faces and dreaming of the husbands their fathers would choose for them.

Hua preferred traipsing through the woods with a bow on her back. She’d trained in weapons since she was young because her father wanted her to be able to protect herself no matter who came for her.

Unlike her older sister, Luna, who’d refused to be anything other than the perfect Piao woman. When the new emperor chose her for one of his consorts, she’d basked in the honor. Their mother gushed about the opportunity.

Only Hua and her father knew what it could mean.

Only they wondered if the emperor somehow knew of the history of their family. That they’d changed their family name to separate themselves from any knowledge of dragon blood after her grandfather was executed long before she was born.

“Hua.” Gen Minglan wasn’t a man to be ignored. He’d been a general during the civil war, fighting for the same man who killed his father. “I want you to find your sister.”

“You mean…” She looked up at him. “I can go off by myself?”

“You can take care of yourself.”

“No,” her mother cut in. “It isn’t proper for a young lady to be unaccompanied.”

“Fa.” Her father sighed. “Hua is capable. She can bring Luna into the open where we may be allowed to speak with her. We may not be able to get close to Luna otherwise, especially if suspicion has fallen onto us. I just need to know.” Thickness coated his words. “We’ve had no word of Luna since she was taken from us. This is our first chance. I just want Hua to find out if our daughter is okay.”

Her mother’s shoulders dropped, and Hua knew she’d argue no more. Her father pressed a dagger into her palm, smaller than the one she had on her, but no less deadly. “Be safe, Hua. We will meet you near the market side of the square.” He kissed her forehead.

Hua walked across the dark square in front of the royal palace, lit only by a large fire in the center of the square, and the lanterns strung between the two-story buildings.

When Luna was chosen as consort, the emperor claimed it was in recognition of Gen Minglan’s military service. He’d risen from nothing to lead the emperor’s men.

Hua knew so little of the new emperor. He was the younger son of one of the old emperor’s lesser consorts—not the empress. Did he mistreat her sister? Did he accuse her of having the dragon blood?

Very few people in Piao even knew what it meant to have the blood anymore. No dragon had risen in so long, the people forgot. They saw it as a curse worthy of execution more than a blessing. Hua couldn’t say she disagreed with them about the curse part.

Glancing back at her parents, she saw her father speaking to a younger man, a strained smile on his face. She wondered if his limp bothered him or if it was the company of the man he spoke to.

Now that Luna was a part of the emperor’s court, the family’s status improved, making Hua a desirable match. She knew she couldn’t avoid it forever. Her father wanted to keep her close, to protect her, but he wouldn’t be around forever.

She folded her arms across the long silk emerald robe she wore. Gold threading showed her rise in desirability, but it also made her uncomfortable.

Her long, shimmering black hair hung loose, announcing her marriage eligibility to each person she passed. That by tying themselves to her, they too could enjoy status.

Hua sighed, feeling too many eyes on her. Before her father left for war six years ago, they’d been simple farmers living in Zhouchang, a province east of the Liudong River.

He’d returned a bit broken but honored as well. Then he’d gone back to his simple ways and allowed Luna to leave them.

Hua didn’t want to hate the emperor for taking her sister, for being a constant threat to their family. She didn’t want to feel anything about it at all. But she missed her best friend.

A throat cleared, and Hua jerked her head up, realizing she hadn’t taken notice of where she was walking and almost collided with the man himself.

Emperor Bo Xu Wei stood with a bemused expression on his handsome face and a retinue of guards and servants following behind him.

Hua’s cheeks flamed. She hid the dagger behind her back. Showing it in the emperor’s presence would mean instant death. Her eyes flicked to the daos carried by the guards. “Uh, your Imperial Majesty.” She curtsied the way her father taught her before lifting her eyes to his.

Emperor Bo Xu was a young man a little older than Hua’s eighteen years. He’d been the supreme ruler of Piao for only two years.

Intense mahogany eyes stared back at her. “Are you okay?” He tilted his head to the side.

The noises from the crowd pushed in at Hua, suffocating her, drowning her. It was too much. The shy girl from the small village wasn’t meant to be around people. She missed her dog, Chichi, and the quiet lands stretching in the distance behind her home.

“I’m…” She couldn’t breathe. Embarrassment fought with panic as she tried to claw her way to the surface of her emotions. How could she break down in front of the emperor? His people stared at her as if she were nothing more than a serf with no business talking to such a great man.

And that was exactly how she felt.

Heat burned up her skin, cooling instantly as a hand gripped her elbow. Hua turned her head to find Luna standing at her side. She didn’t know when her sister arrived, but she didn’t care.

“Luna,” she choked out.

“Breathe, Hua. Just breathe.” She turned to the emperor and dropped into a much more graceful curtsy than Hua’s. “I am deeply sorry, your Imperial Majesty. My sister has a mental deficiency.”

Hua choked on a protest, wanting to refute her sister’s false words, but Luna elbowed her.

Sympathy entered the emperor’s gaze. “I am sorry to hear that, Luna. Please send my best wishes to your family.” He turned without another word and led his long train of followers to accost some other unsuspecting citizens.

Hua’s breathing calmed, and she took the chance to notice the people hanging back, watching them. As consort, Luna was afforded a host of servants—women and eunuchs only. Luna seemed to forget they were there as she gripped Hua’s arm tighter and dragged her away.

“Ow,” Hua hissed. “I don’t have a mental deficiency.”

Luna pulled her between two buildings where the shadows hid them. “If you embarrass me in front of the emperor again, you’ll have physical deficiencies.”

“That’s not the way a lady of the court should speak.” Hua rubbed her arm.

Both girls stood silent for only a moment longer before Luna threw her arms around Hua. “I’ve been searching for you since the festival began.”

Hua sank into her sister’s embrace. She hadn’t seen her in more than a year. “I missed you.”

Luna pulled back, sparing a quick glance for her servants who stood nearby and dropped her voice so they couldn’t hear. “You shouldn’t have wandered away from Father. It isn’t safe for you here in Dasha.”

“We were summoned,” she hissed. “The emperor probably has people seeking Father to arrest him now.”

A laugh burst free of Luna, and she covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I never considered what the summons would mean to Father. The emperor didn’t request your presence. I did.”

“But he signed it.”

“As a favor to me. I’m a consort, Hua. I’m supposed to cut ties to my family. He saw how much I missed you and offered to help.”

“Wha-why would he do that?”

She leveled Hua with a stare. “He isn’t his father. There hasn’t been a single execution of the blooded since he came to power.”

“It’s only a matter of time. I know our histories, Luna. The emperors always seek out those they see as threats to their power.”

“Yes, but just because someone has dragon blood does not mean they are a threat. The dragons abandoned Piao long ago.”

She was right, of course. Having the blood meant one was susceptible to a dragon living inside them. It didn’t mean the dragon was already there.

She blew out a breath and collapsed back against the wall. “Father says I need to marry. For protection.”

Luna’s lips drew down. “Hua.” Her sigh sounded so much like their mother’s it had Hua drawing back. “It’s time. You know that.”

Most of the girls Hua knew in the village at home chattered with non-stop excitement about moving away from their homes to create families of their own.

But Hua wasn’t like them. She didn’t want to leave her parents or her younger brother. She wanted Luna to return, but nothing remained the same no matter how hard she held on.

“Come on.” Luna took her hand. “Would you like to meet some of the princes and princesses?”

Hua wanted to say no. The royal family held no interest for her, especially knowing they’d want her dead if they knew the truth.

The emperor’s father once had twelve consorts. Ten of them bore children, some more than one. Bo Xu Wei was not the eldest or even the son of the empress, but he was the one his father chose to succeed him.

Unlike his father, Bo Xu Wei only selected four consorts and had yet to hold a ceremony to choose the empress.

Luna introduced Hua to so many people she would never remember all their names. Their eyes did not alight in interest as the emperor’s had. When they looked at her, she wondered if they compared her to her elegant sister beside her. Luna’s hair, even longer than Hua’s, was parted in the middle and wrapped in a knot at the nape of her neck.

Her deep purple robe spoke of wealth and status with its long, square sleeves, and elaborate belt. She spoke with confidence and moved with grace.

Hua never realized just how much her sister would fit the role she was chosen for. She found herself tuning out the conversations and listening to the soft music nearby instead. Two flutists played a sweet melody, punctuated by the light ringing of the bells hanging from their instruments. The steady beat of the hide-covered drums echoed the rhythm of Hua’s heartbeat.

The warm air of an autumn night had sweat dotting across her brow. She should have been worried about the state of the crushed pearl powder her mother applied to her face, but that would have required energy.