Julian Nightmoor is a speculative fiction author known for crafting dark, atmospheric tales that blend elements of horror, fantasy, and the surreal.
With a penchant for exploring the macabre and the unknown, Nightmoor's works often delve into themes of existential dread, human fragility, and the blurred lines between reality and nightmare. Their evocative prose and richly imagined worlds have garnered a dedicated following among readers who crave thought-provoking and haunting stories.
Liyue has spent her life weaving between duty and deception, a noblewoman poised to marry for the sake of her family’s legacy. But when a golden funerary mask—unnaturally cold against her skin—arrives in her chambers, she realizes her wedding is not meant to secure alliances. It is meant to steal her soul.
The mask is no mere artifact; it is a vessel for an ancient ritual, binding her to the emperor’s plan to escape death itself. If she does not find a way to break its hold, her body will cease to be her own, and her spirit will be lost forever.
But she is not the only one bound to it.
Shen Yan, a disgraced court astrologer trapped between life and death, has spent years unraveling the mask’s curse. He knows its secrets. He knows its dangers. And he knows that once Liyue puts it on, there may be no turning back.
“If you wear it,” he warns, his voice a breath against her ear, “you will never be free”.
With time running out and betrayal closing in from every side, Liyue and Shen Yan must navigate a court where loyalty is a lie, power is bought in blood, and love is the most dangerous risk of all. But as forbidden desire tangles between them and the mask’s magic tightens its grip, one truth becomes undeniable—some fates are written in the stars.
Publish Date: March 19th 2025
Amidst the crumbling Tang dynasty, Revik, a disillusioned mercenary, and Lira, a tenacious survivor, find themselves entangled in a deadly and divine chase. Their charge? Protect a relic of ancient divine power: a dagger forged in Shang's golden era, said to hold the key to a forgotten empire's rebirth—and tied to the legacy of Jian Di, a goddess whose influence transcends mortal time.
But the road east is fraught with danger. Cassian, a shadow from Revik's past, pursues them relentlessly under the emperor’s orders, wielding both swords and secrets.
“Do you even know what you’re carrying?” Cassian's voice cut through the icy air like a blade. “Empires have fallen for less.”
As Revik and Lira navigate this perilous journey, they find themselves unknowingly drawn into a cosmic struggle. Jian Di watches their every move from the shadows of fate. Some say she was the very force that shaped the rise and fall of Shang. Others whisper that her return could bring both salvation and ruin.
Their journey isn’t just a race against time but a test of their will, divinity, fate, and the shaping of an empire—and their place within it—hangs precariously in the balance.
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