In a fractured world shaped by Void-born powers and the ruins of empires, two formidable women collide across time and space. Ambessa Medarda-once a ruthless Noxian general and political force in Piltover-is torn from her world by a Hextech rift and cast into the decaying heart of Dunwall. There, haunted by whispers of the Outsider and surrounded by plague-born rot, she seizes power with her iron will and a soldier's cunning. Emily Kaldwin-Empress in exile, heiress to a crumbling throne-fights a silent war against the witch Delilah, struggling to reclaim her city and herself. When Ambessa enters her world, she is both threat and temptation: older, commanding, impossibly seductive. Drawn together by need and ambition, the two women form a dangerous alliance-one laced with political intrigue, forbidden desire, and slowly growing trust. As they navigate court conspiracies, Outsider gifts, and the volatile balance of love and power, they are forced to confront the question neither dares to ask: Can love survive between two women who were never meant to bend-and were born only to rule? Shadows of the Empire is a slow-burn, steamy age-gap romance set in a world of knives and crowns, where loyalty is fragile, passion is perilous, and choosing each other may cost them everything.