Poppy flushed, overwhelmed but oddly… comforted.
This wasn’t fear. This wasn’t suspicion. This wasn’t the Ton weighing and measuring her worth. This was joy.
Someone began playing a flute. Lanterns drifted upward on foxfire currents. Families clapped in rhythm as children danced in circles. The whole courtyard glowed—and Poppy glowed with it.
Then the moon rose. Huge. White. Close. The moment its light touched her, the soft glow became something more. Brighter. Sharper. A second heartbeat beneath her skin.
Poppy inhaled sharply.
Mingxi was instantly at her side—quiet, steady, hand hovering near her arm without touching.
“Poppy,” he murmured. “Come with me.”
She nodded, letting him lead her away from the crowd and toward the moonwell terrace. But the cheering didn’t stop.
“Blessed full moon!”
“Shen clan fortune!”
“Mingxi! She’s radiant!”
“Let her shine!”
Poppy’s cheeks burned. Mingxi’s ears went pink. Minghua whooped in triumph. On the terrace, the noise faded into soft echoes behind them. The moon shimmered overhead. The world held its breath.
Her glow intensified—beautiful, but frighteningly strong.
She grabbed the railing. “It’s… it’s too much.”
“Breathe with me,” Mingxi said as he stepped behind her, close enough for his warmth to brush her spine, but still careful.
She tried. The moonlight surged violently. “I can’t—”
He touched her, one hand sliding to her forearm. The other settled at her ribs.
Steady. Warm. Claiming nothing but anchoring everything.
“You’re not alone,” he whispered.
The moonlight exploded behind her eyes, but instead of breaking, it flowed. Through her. Around her. Into the warmth he offered. Her trembling eased. Her breathing deepened.
Mingxi’s forehead touched hers, the contact unplanned, instinctual.
“Poppy,” he said, voice roughened. “I did not stay in London out of duty.”
Her heart lurched. “Then why?”
His control frayed. She felt it.
“Because every instinct I have refuses to leave you unguarded.”
Her breath hitched. Without thinking, she pressed her fingertips lightly to the back of his hand. His eyes widened, but he didn’t pull away.
Lanterns drifted overhead.
Foxfire rippled under their feet. Her glow softened to something warm and intimate. The feast continued in the distance with laughing, singing, celebrating—completely unaware that on the moonwell terrace, something quiet and extraordinary had shifted.
The full moon saw everything.
