The night my mother jumped into the Silverveil, I finally understood her mortal madness. Some loves are worth drowning for. Others deserve to die. Everyone said my mother, Isolde, was blessed by fate. A mere mortal, yet she had won the eternal devotion of my father, Valerius, the Celestial God of War*. (*Note: The highest-ranking general in the Celestial Realm.) But my mother once told me, “A woman must never debase herself. It doesn't matter who your father is. If the day comes that he betrays me, I will return to my mortal world, and we will never meet again.” Mother taught me mortal women bleed red, not gold like goddesses—but our pride weighs more than celestial jade. Because of her teachings, when I married the Celestial Emperor, Orion, we carved our names together into the Fate-Mirror Stone, vowing to grow old as one. But in the end, my father still betrayed her, moving the celestial, Lyra, into his sacred hall. And the Emperor, my husband, betrayed me too, bringing home a fragile Jade Hare, a shape-shifting spirit who dwells in moonbeams. On the day my father remarried, my mother leaped into the Silverveil River and vanished from the Celestial Realm. And as I watched the Emperor clasp the hand of his new love, I knew it was time for me to leave as well. 1 My mother was once the most beautiful woman in the Celestial Realm, but recently, a shadow had fallen over her. When we met, her face was gaunt, her eyes clouded with an exhaustion she couldn't hide. "Seraphina," she said, her voice a whisper, "your father has fallen in love with someone else." I was stunned. "Mother, you and Father are the celestial couple everyone admires. How could this be? He has always cherished you. Are you sure you're not mistaken?" A bitter smile touched her lips. "I was a fool. How can a mortal's fleeting beauty ever compete with the ageless immortality of a goddess?" My mother, a mortal, had married a god. Though his divine essence protected her, slowing the decay of time, she was not of the celestial race. In recent years, fine lines had begun to trace their way across her face. I learned the truth then. After giving birth to me, her body had weakened. My father took a long retreat to the Argent Peaks, where he met Lyra. No one knew that they had fallen in love at first sight, spending a century of bliss together and secretly having a child. Though I was my father's daughter, half of my blood was mortal. My celestial power was inherently flawed, destined never to reach its full potential. My father was the God of War. How could he tolerate having only one child with an incomplete spiritual root? He treated us well, my mother and me, but his pride was a stubborn, unyielding thing. He craved an heir worthy of his title, one with pure, noble blood. "I thought he was in seclusion, meditating," my mother said, her voice trembling with the memory of her pain. "All that time, I was alone, enduring the whispers and scorn of the heavens. They mocked me for being mortal, unworthy of being the God of War's wife." Her voice broke. "A mortal woman, raising a child, tormented by the Empress herself, who claimed I had seduced a god who had dedicated his life to discipline! I fought for years to win their respect, and just when I had, your father brought home another child, claiming he and Lyra had pledged their lives to each other long ago in the mountains!" "Seraphina, I told you, if he ever betrayed me, I would return to my world. That time has come. I hope you won't try to stop me." I squeezed her hand, my voice firm. "Mother, I am your flesh and blood, raised by your teachings. Whatever you decide, I will support you." A relieved smile touched her lips. "And you?" she asked softly. "How are things between you and the Emperor?" I sighed, sinking to my knees. "I have failed you, Mother. I have failed the marriage you so carefully chose for me. The Emperor has brought home a Jade Hare. He dotes on her. I have already decided to leave him." A flicker of pain crossed her eyes. The Emperor, Orion, had been her handpicked choice for me. As the daughter of the God of War, I had been a prized bride, sought after by the finest men from all the realms. The Dragon Prince of the Eastern Sea, the Empress's own nephew, gods from every corner of the heavens—they had all vied for my hand. But my mother had only one condition: whoever married me must have no other woman for all of eternity. She had been a princess in the mortal realm, she said, and had seen too many men discard their wives for concubines, their hearts fickle and cruel. "A woman's life is bound to a man's. When he changes his heart, it is a tragedy for both women." I was her beloved daughter. She wanted nothing more than a life of peace and happiness for me. The Dragon Prince was handsome but notoriously promiscuous. The Empress's nephew had returned from his mortal trial with a secret lover already hidden in his palace. The high gods of the Celestial Realm were free spirits, unwilling to be tied down by marriage. Only Orion, the Celestial Emperor, was different. He had slumbered for a century on the Adamant Spire, and in the first moment of his awakening, he had asked my mother for my hand. "Seraphina," he'd said, his voice filled with a thousand years of longing, "for a millennium, you are all I have dreamed of." He claimed to have fallen in love with me after a single, fleeting glance a hundred years ago. He treated me with unparalleled tenderness. He was a being of pure, cold light, and in his presence, I too fell in love. On our wedding day, a river of crimson silk stretched across the heavens. He promised to love me for all eternity. We carved our names together on the Fate-Mirror Stone. But that was only the first century. Now, he had found a new love. 2 Orion returned from a three-day trip to the Adamant Spire with a Jade Hare. She was a pitiful creature, her body covered in wounds. "I found her at the foot of the mountain," Orion explained. "She was being attacked by a spirit beast. She wouldn't have survived. I saved her out of pity, and now the grateful thing insists on following me." As he spoke, the hare transformed into a beautiful young woman. I saw no harm in it and suggested she could stay in our palace, Seraphina Hall, as an attendant. Orion's smile froze. He looked at me in disbelief. "Seraphina, you have always been the kindest of heart. The Jade Hare has such a humble background, and you would make her a servant? If she becomes an attendant, with her weak spiritual power, she will surely be bullied." The Jade Hare leaned weakly against him, her eyes instantly welling with tears. "I have been bullied my whole life. The Emperor promised me a safe place, but is it to be your servant?" I was confused. "There are tens of thousands of attendants in the Celestial Realm. Do you consider them all servants? Besides, you saved her. She can't just stay in Seraphina Hall with no title or purpose." Tears streamed down the Jade Hare’s face as she knelt at my feet. "Lady Seraphina, I know my status is low, but I understand that a single drop of kindness must be repaid with a flood of devotion. The Emperor saved my life. I am willing to serve him, asking for no title, only the chance to repay his grace!" I finally understood. I smiled thinly. "Orion, what is it you want?" He turned away, his tone unnatural. "Seraphina, she has nowhere else to go. Just let her stay…" "When did I say she couldn't stay? I said if she wants to remain, she can be an attendant in Seraphina Hall. Or," my voice turned to ice, "are you planning to take her as your consort?" He missed the frost in my eyes completely, his face lighting up with joy. "You would really be willing? I knew you were the most reasonable one. If your mother can accept Lyra, surely you and the Jade Hare can live in harmony." "Seraphina, you know my heart belongs only to you. This is just a title, to give her a place in the Celestial Realm so she can live safely. You wouldn't mind, would you?" You think he loves you? A God of War needs heirs with divine blood, not half-breed weaklings! The Jade Hare looked up, overjoyed. "Lady Seraphina, they say you are the daughter of the God of War, who protects all the realms. His daughter is truly as broad-minded as he is!" I said nothing. They had already made their decision and painted me as the magnanimous, benevolent wife. Orion wrapped an arm around the Jade Hare's waist, lifting her tenderly. "Your leg is still injured. You shouldn't be kneeling for so long." She gazed at him through her tears, a radiant smile breaking through. "For you, my Lord, I would die a thousand deaths." I watched this play of profound love, my heart growing cold and barren. So, this was how a life debt was repaid. With one's body. Before I could even process it, Orion spoke again. "The night air is cold. I'll take her to her room now. You should rest early too, Seraphina." He carried her into the palace, striding past me without a single glance. I stood frozen, waiting, hoping he would remember. Tonight was the full moon. The night my mixed blood, celestial and mortal, warred within me, causing excruciating pain. Every full moon, it was Orion who transferred his spiritual energy to me, who stayed by my side. But tonight, he was worried about a wounded leg, about the cold night air. He had forgotten my pain. I looked up at the palace name, "Seraphina Hall," and laughed a hollow laugh. "Once, the bright moon shone upon the iridescent cloud returning home," I whispered. He had named this palace for me, his "iridescent cloud." Now, another lived within its walls. The moon was still there, but the heart had changed. If that was the case, why should I stay? 3 Orion and my father held their wedding ceremonies on the same day. The procession of bridal litters stretched from my father’s hall all the way to mine. The night before, my father visited my mother's chambers for the first time in a long while. He had shed his elaborate robes and wore a simple white tunic, just as he had on the day they first met. My mother was painting her lips in the mirror. "My lord," she said coolly, "shouldn't you be with your new love? Why have you come to me?" My father was silent for a long time. Then he took a jade pendant from his robes. In the lamplight, it glowed with a soft, ethereal light. My mother froze. "Do you remember?" he asked. "On our wedding day, you gave this to me as a token." "I want to use it now to ask you to give Lyra a place. She was with me in the Argent Peaks for so long, she bore my son. I cannot let her live her life without a proper title." He was speaking of their promise in the mortal realm. During his mortal trial, my father had saved my mother from enemy soldiers. In gratitude, she had given him the jade pendant. "If ever you have need of me, show me this, and I will do everything in my power to help you." My mother laughed, but a tear traced its way to the corner of her mouth. "Valerius, I thought this was a token of our love." My father frowned, quickly wiping the tear away. "Isolde, I love you very much, but you cannot expect me to be faithful to you alone. Even mortal men have multiple wives. I am the God of War! Can I not have a soulmate, a child who can inherit my title?" He took her hand, his voice softening. "Don't worry. Lyra is a gentle soul, she doesn't like to compete. She and the child will live in the side palace. She will get along with you." My mother said nothing, her eyes just shimmering with unshed tears. My father’s patience wore thin. "Isolde, it has been thousands of years! When will you stop being so willful?" I watched it all unfold in my water mirror, a deep sorrow settling in my heart. My mother was right. When a man loves a woman, he will say the most beautiful things in the world to prove his devotion. Once he stops loving her, the world will offer a million justifications for his betrayal. When he had loved her, she was pure and admirable. Now, she was willful and unreasonable. I turned away. Orion was sleeping peacefully beside me, his features as serene as ever. He stirred, murmuring my name in his sleep. "Seraphina… don't go." He had been good to me, in his way. He and the Jade Hare had never crossed a definitive line; he never stayed the night with her. But I knew him better than anyone, and I saw the affection he himself hadn't yet recognized. The way his brow furrowed when she cried, the slight upturn of his lips when she was near, the way his hand would reach out, as if in longing, when her dress brushed past him. I didn't understand. How could years of shared love be worth less than a chance encounter? Less than the scenery of a mountain, less than a new infatuation, less than three days at the foot of a mountain? He and my father—one had betrayed with his body, the other with his heart. My mother and I were done waiting. I smiled and pushed his hand away. My silhouette in the mirror merged with my mother's. We spoke the same words. "In a place without love, why linger?"
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