The Emperor is dead. His widow takes the throne and the Empire learns to fear a woman who knows exactly what she wants. For Wang Longwei, the Empire's troubles are nothing but backdrop. Sold by his father at nine years old, he's spent every day since making himself into someone who doesn't need anyone. Until he meets Zhou Shufang. She despises him on sight, and he knows she's right to. But then her safety is threatened, and the life he's built begins to crack. When a disgraced commander and a hunted shamaness are drawn into their orbit, four strangers find themselves bound by a forbidden magic that promises death and leaves none of them unchanged. And all along, the Empress is watching. Combining the intimate character work of The Sword of Kaigen and The Bone Shard Daughter with the morally complex cast of Black Sun and He Who Drowned the World. PHOENIX RISES, DRAGON SOARS. Dark epic fantasy inspired by Imperial China. Book One of the Four Guardians Trilogy.