She dipped her brush into a bowl of rainwater and a single drop of her own blood. The color that bloomed on the tile was not red. It was not any one thing.

The eunuch finally met her eyes. “My lady… you must surrender your robe.” scarlet revoked

The city continued to weaken. A festival rain turned to vinegar. The Empress, sequestered in her tower of gold-leafed walls, demanded results. The Scarlets doubled their efforts, their circles growing larger and louder, but each working left a faint scorch mark on the air—a sign of imbalance. Lin Wei felt the wrongness in her bones, even from the Grey Quarter. She dipped her brush into a bowl of