Chapter 1: The Offering That Was Refused

Every winter solstice the village left a red lantern at the edge of the lake and walked away without looking back. Ye Suihe was twenty-three and had done this correctly every year of her life. This year, halfway home, she stopped, turned around, and walked back. The lantern was still lit, and beside it, placed with a precision that wind could not explain, was a sprig of red winter plum that had not existed a moment ago. She picked it up. The ice made a sound like a very slow exhale.