The Jade Board of Fallen Kings

Cai kept dying on the same mountain step and waking up with the same ash in his throat. The elders called him weak because his channels looked torn and thin, so he let them believe it. That mistake gave him room to watch, map, and remember. He had spent years crawling through abandoned ironworks and foundries, copying worker marks before the walls were torn down. In the newest ruin, he found graffiti that listed the last months the records skipped. Someone else wanted that hidden record too. When the loop pushed him back into the clan grounds, Cai used every spare breath to test his body, hide his shame, and chase the one person who kept appearing at the edge of each death. His damaged body ...