Chapter One: Another City in the Sky

It pointed to the Linjiang Observatory, closed seven years ago. His phone vibrated. An unknown number had sent him the eighth photograph, though the original remained locked on his memory card. Beneath it was one sentence: “Don’t let her see you.” He called back. There was no ringing tone, only wind moaning across the mouth of an empty bottle. Nine seconds later, a woman’s voice pressed close to his ear. “Yan, why do you still remember me?” It was Xingyao’s voice. The call ended. Shen Yan rushed to the railing. The visible aurora was fading, and the hidden city sank with it into the night. In the final automatic exposure, Xingyao was gone. Only the old observatory dome remained. Seven white stars hovered above it.