Arc One Dragon Hidden Flame
Chapter 1: Embers Beneath Silk
The palace loomed like a sleeping beast—its tiled roofs glittering beneath a silver-touched sky, its walls wrapped in silence like a whispered warning. When she arrived, she hadn't remembered her name. Only the scent of fire, the sound of chains, and the cold eyes of the merchant who sold her off to the royal court as if she were a bundle of silk.
Now she was just Mei. A girl with quick eyes, quicker hands, and secrets sealed beneath her skin. A girl who had no place in the court yet knew it better than anyone else. A girl who, at night, would stare out the lattice windows and feel her blood hum with an ache that was not human.
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Chapter 2: The Fire in the Tea Hall
Today marked her third year in the palace. Officially, she was a tea-brewer's assistant, but even the nobles whispered about her strange instincts. She could sniff out spoiled herbs, detect poisons by the way they shimmered in light, and navigate the labyrinthine palace halls like a ghost.
She kept her tail hidden. Always. Tightly wound and wrapped beneath her robes, pressed flat by layers of silk and sashes. Her horns had retreated long ago. She willed them to. It was safer that way.
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Chapter 3: Petals and Poison
The inner court women whispered about her often.
"She never eats meat," one said, lips curling as she poured water over jasmine petals. "That's not natural."
"She talks to the fire like it listens," another murmured. "I swear the hearth flared when she sang to it."
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Chapter 4: The Governor's Daughter
"You think you're better than us, don't you?"
The voice was sharp—too sweet, too loud. Lian, daughter of a regional governor, newly assigned to the inner palace for "refinement." She wore her silks like armor, her perfume like poison.
Mei looked up slowly from the steaming teapot. "I think you're burning the leaves."
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Chapter 5: Mouths Like Blades
"You poured too soon. The water wasn't ready. The steam curled to the left—it's not hot enough. You're ruining the brew."
The air shifted. Girls nearby paused. Lian's eyes flashed with pride and insult.
"Oh? And you're the expert?" She stepped closer, too close. "You think you're clever just because the eunuchs like your little tricks? Maybe you think the emperor will notice you next."
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Chapter 6: A Warning in Steam
Mei smiled—but it was not warm. "If he notices the tea, I'll take it as a compliment. If he notices the brewer, that's your problem."
Lian's lips parted to snap, but a eunuch's bell chimed at the far end of the corridor.
"Silence in the tea hall!"
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Chapter 7: Ashes and Dreams
That night, Mei unwrapped her tail slowly beneath the silken sheets, wincing as the scales stretched back into place. Her dragon blood throbbed beneath her skin.
She whispered to herself in a tongue the world had forgotten.
"I shouldn't have snapped at her," she said to the shadows. "But she pushed."
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Chapter 8: Heat in the Dark
The shadows didn't answer. But her fire did. A faint warmth curled in her palm, dancing in the dark like a heartbeat.
Tomorrow, the court would be watching. And dragons, even hidden ones, did not blink.
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Chapter 9: Court Games Begin
The next day began with bells—too early, too loud. An official from the Ministry of Ceremonies had summoned her. An herbal mix for the Empress Dowager's morning tea.
Mei sensed it before she touched the leaves. Something bitter, wrong, foreign. Poison. Subtle. Expensive.
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Chapter 10: A Tongue for Secrets
She turned to the eunuch, eyes cool. "These herbs are misaligned. One was stored near iron—it's leeching the flavor."
The eunuch narrowed his eyes. "That's a rare detail to notice."
"I have a rare nose." She smiled thinly.
"Or a rare reason to lie," he muttered.
She met his gaze. "Would I lie about tea, Elder Liu?"
He didn't answer. But he didn't press further. And Mei walked away with the sample tucked safely inside her sleeve—proof that someone wanted the Empress Dowager to sleep… forever.
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Chapter 11: Ash Beneath Gold
The Empress Dowager did not drink the tea. A quiet investigation began—but no official word was spoken. Mei's name wasn't mentioned. Yet.
Instead, the Head of the Herbal Wing invited her personally to inspect the imperial stores. "A once-in-a-generation nose," he said, though the weight in his gaze told her he knew more than he let on.
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Chapter 12: A Glimpse of Claws
That night, Mei dreamed of fire. A memory perhaps. Golden scales. Her mother? She awoke with scorch marks on the bedpost.
She wasn't losing control… was she?
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Chapter 13: The Royal Heir's Illness
A prince had fallen ill. The youngest—barely nine. Mei was summoned again. The water used in his bath left behind strange residue. Metallic. Arcane.
She whispered to the steam, and the answer danced in flame:
"Not natural. Cursed."
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Chapter 14: A Rival's Trap
Lian had not forgotten the insult.
She slipped Mei a scroll in the corridor. "Enjoy tonight's moon festival. I hear the Empress herself requested your tea."
Inside the scroll? A curse seal. Faint, hidden in gold ink. Mei's fingers burned the moment they touched it.
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Chapter 15: The Dragon Smells Fire
The moon festival began in music and wine. Mei stood beside a boiling kettle, her hand twitching. The dragon within stirred.
She could smell the magic wafting from the Empress's cup.
They were trying again.
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Chapter 16: Words Sharper Than Knives
"I suggest you try the elderflower tea instead," Mei said softly, bowing low before the Empress.
"Did I ask for suggestions?" the noblewoman beside the Empress snapped.
"No," Mei replied with a smile. "But I'd rather save your life without permission than let poison pass politely."
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Chapter 17: The Empress Laughs
Silence.
Then the Empress Dowager laughed.
"I like her," she said. "Keep her close."
That evening, Mei's name was recorded in ink. Not in the servant roster—but in the royal registry.
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Chapter 18: Scales Beneath Silk
Mei returned to her quarters and peeled back her robe. Her tail was glowing. Her scales shimmered faintly.
She had been noticed.
Not just by humans.
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Chapter 19: The Lady in Crimson
A stranger appeared in the garden that night. Red robes. Golden eyes. A whisper of smoke followed her like perfume.
"You hide it well, little sister," she said. "But they'll smell you soon."
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Chapter 20: Fire Runs in Blood
The lady vanished as quickly as she came. But Mei's heart burned.
She wasn't the only one.
And someone in the court had started hunting dragons.
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