He lifts his arm. His sleeve slides down, and he is stunned to see a thin red line etching itself into his skin.
Impossible.
But there it is.Red likeblood. Something no King could or should ever possess.
A love thread.
The thin red line sparks, glowing softly for a moment before disappearing into Four’s flesh as if it was never there to begin with. But he feels it inside, inching its waycloser and closerto his soul.
Trembling, he looks up at the young woman and whispers, “What is your name?”
“Lei Ying,” she replies. “And yours?”
“Four.”
2
Rui
Present day
“What is your name?” asks the young man with the silvery-white hair.
Rui, she thinks. But the name that leaves her lips is a different one. “Lei Ying.”
Rui shot up, suddenly awake.
“Zizi?” she whispered, reaching out. But the sheets on the other side of the bed were cold.
He wasn’t here with her. He wasn’t here anymore.
She blinked, taking in her surroundings. Neutral-colored walls, a single window, bland cabinetry, clothes from her opened suitcase strewn across the floor... She was back in her dorm room at Xingshan Academy. Back in reality.
She stretched her stiff limbs and dragged herself to the bathroom. The cold water was refreshing against her cheeks, but it failed to wash away the remnants of her dream. She couldn’t believe she’d dreamed of Four, of all things. AFourher subconscious had made up. Dream Four shared the same bladelike features as Zizi, and they had a similar air about them, as if one were merely an alternate version of the other at a different point in time.
The dream felt so real. The snow... the black pine forest... fighting the Revenant... a voice that sounded like her own, speaking the words that Zizi had said to her the night they met, when he’d saved her from bleeding out on the street.
Don’t be afraid....I’m here.
What was the name she had given at the end?
“Lei Ying,” she whispered.
Why would she have said it instead of her own? She suddenly wondered what had happened to Four and Lei Ying after their first meeting.
“Why do you care? It’s only a dream,” Rui told her reflection sternly as she brushed her teeth.
Her pale, drawn face stared back, dark circles bruising under her eyes. Insomnia plagued her, and whenever she did sleep, it was filled with dreams and nightmares. Was she having them because of what Four did to her? She wasn’t a vessel for his underworld power anymore, but she wondered if it had left a lasting effect on her body.
Rui wished desperately that she knew someone who would answer her questions. But the only person who could was gone.
Forever.
I’ll never forget you.
His parting words had been a curse;Ruicould not stop thinking abouthim.
She glanced at the red string around her wrist. It reminded her of the red line forming around Four’s forearm in her dream. What an odd parallel her silly, messed-up brain had conjured.Herstring had appeared after she’d spent the night with Zizi in this exact same dorm room. It was inseverable, as if a spell had been cast on it.
