He swallowed. Stepping forward was dangerous. For her. For him. For the Council. But standing still…
Standing still might destroy her.
He would rather unravel every oath he’d ever sworn than see her fold in on herself because of him. He tightened his arms around her—just enough to let her feel it. A promise made in silence, but not that kind of silence. A vow.
I choose you.
Not later. Not when it’s safe.
Now. Quietly. Fiercely. Completely.
He breathed into her hair, and the words slipped out, almost without sound, “I will not fail you.”
Poppy didn’t answer. She slept on, trusting him completely, and Mingxi held her closer than he ever intended to, because for the first time, he understood just how much she needed someone who wouldn’t let go.
Not this time.
Not ever again.
Chapter 77
Mist clung to the valley floor as they entered the narrow stone passage. Towering cliffs swallowed the sky, leaving only a thin ribbon of pale morning light overhead. The air was damp, cool, and full of strange echoes that bounced back half a second too late, as if the stone itself struggled to keep up with reality.
Poppy leaned gently against Mingxi as they walked—awake but drained, her steps careful. His six tails hovered behind him, less flared than before but alert, restless, attuned to every flicker of magic in the gorge.
Lysandra, draped loosely over Caelan’s back, hummed under her breath. Not a melody. Not language. Just static.
Mingxi’s ears pinned flat. His shoulders tightened.
“We’re close,” he murmured. “Just past this gorge lies Huoyáo Jìng.”
Caelan nodded. “Then let’s—”
A sound cut him off. A soft footstep echoed.
But none of them had stepped.
Poppy stiffened, breath hitching. “Mingxi… something’s—”
The echo came again. Not ahead of them. Not behind. Above. Then, another step, a third, and a fourth. Each one was crooked and delayed, as though time itself lagged behind the creature making them.
Lysandra’s head snapped up so violently Caelan almost dropped her.
“Oh,” she whispered with eerie clarity. “It followed.”
Caelan froze. “What did?”
Her pupils dilated. Her voice split—half hers, half something cold. “The piece that touched her.”
Poppy’s heartbeat stumbled, and Mingxi pulled her behind him instantly, tails flaring in a protective arc.
“Show yourself.” He demanded.
Silence. Then a shape peeled itself out of the stone wall. Not stepped. Not crawled. Unfolded. Tall. Thin. Limbs too long.
A silhouette shaped like Poppy but distorted, stretched, lit from within by black-edged moonlight. Her shadow on the ground bent toward it, dragged like a chain.
Lysandra’s voice cracked. “It wants her place.”
