“I am not unstable,” Mingxi snapped.
Poppy murmured, “You threw up when you stood up last time.”
Mingxi froze. “We do not speak of that. Ever.”
“Of course,” she said gently. “Come on, let’s get up.”
“Carry me.”
She blinked. “What?”
He kissed her shoulder, sleepy and pitiful. “Carry me.”
“You are heavy.”
“I am delicate.”
“You are very much not.”
He tugged her against him, refusing to release her. “Fine. If you will not carry me, then stay with me. Forever. In bed. Where there is no sunlight… and no sisters.”
But Poppy was already laughing, gently prying at the tails wrapped around her. Each time she moved one, another curled around her ankle.
“Mingxi, please.”
“No.”
“Mingxi.”
“Fine.”
He finally let her go with a dramatic sigh, crawling upright like a fox spirit who had been personally wronged by the concept of mornings. Poppy helped him dress. He leaned on her far more than necessary. When they opened the door, the clan was waiting.
Minghua: “Look at you two glowing! You—”
Mingjun slapped a hand over her mouth.
Xu Yunlian: “You both look well rested.”
Mingxi turned pink.
Lysandra: “I felt a power surge. Was that the seventh tail or…”
Caelan dragged her back by the collar.
Mingzhao simply nodded once with deep approval. He was clearly a father respecting the fact that his eldest son had finally lived.
Mingxi groaned softly. “Told you,” he muttered to Poppy. “We should have stayed in bed.”
She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “Tonight we can.”
His ears went red, tails flicking wildly behind him, and for a moment, he seemed to forget entirely about his hangover.
Mingxi eventually managed to sit upright, though he did so with the dignity of a fox spirit who had survived a fatal battle and absolutely wanted everyone to know it. His seventh tail kept twitching unpredictably, flicking against Poppy’s leg each time he groaned.
Poppy brushed hair from his forehead. “Feeling any better?”
“No,” he muttered. “My bones hurt. My teeth hurt. My… soul hurts.”
