Page 130 of Empire's Curse

“I heard His Majesty collapsed? Is everything well?”

“He’s fine, for now. Just exhausted.” Bohai waved her inside and soon, the entire room filled with the rest of the members of thePeccata, who seemed to have been waiting in the hallway the whole time. After Bohai retold everything Daiyu had just told him, they all crowded his bed and stared down at him like they were seeing him in a new light—and they sort of were.

They all began chattering at once.

“So Feiyu was Muyang this whole time?” Atreus asked, eyebrows raised.

Nikator frowned. “Thewholetime?”

“And he never told you?” Thera asked Bohai.

“Why would he tell him and not us?” one of them asked at the same time another said, “He should have told us.”

Bohai raised his hands to quiet the group. “Alright, alright. I get that you’re all confused and we can share all our thoughts with him later, but right now, Muyang needs his rest. And, by the looks of it, lady Daiyu needs to rest too. So how about we all take this elsewhere for now? Leave the couple alone.”

Daiyu was more than appreciative when everyone filed out of the room and left them alone. When it was just her and Muyang, she sat on the edge of the bed and rested her hand against his. His fingers were cool to the touch and she brought her lips to his palm. Tears welled up in her eyes, stinging them as she blinked rapidly. She had so much to talk to him about, so much she needed to clarify with him, so much she wanted to discuss. And she was bone-weary. She finally felt every single cut and bruise littering her worn body. Every scrape she got when trying to save him. And she wanted nothing more than to curl up by his side and remain that way. To feel him close, to know that he was going to be fine.

Because what if hewouldn’tbe fine? What if his souls would war each other? What if the souls were incompatible after beingseparated all these years? What if he didn’t love her as much anymore? What if?—

Before her mind could be swamped with the worst-case-scenarios, Daiyu coiled up on the bed beside him, her face inches away from Muyang’s. She placed a gentle hand against his cheek and breathed in the scent of him—of jasmine, of orange blossom, of spices and outdoors. Her eyelids grew heavier, her exhaustion winning over.

Daiyu awoketo the feeling of someone brushing her hair gently. So gently that it almost felt like a soft, summer wind tousling her hair. She didn’t even know what she had been dreaming of, but she was sure it was something to do with summer—with laying in a bed of flowers and breathing in the scent of jasmine.

She slowly opened her eyes to find the blackest of nights staring back at her. It took her a second to realize she was staring into Muyang’s gaze, and she gasped sharply, her body jerking upright.

“Muyang!” She hadn’t even realized she was tucked into his impressively tall frame until that moment. Her face warmed with sudden embarrassment—she shouldn’t have felt so awkward around him, but knowing that he differed from before, that he had both Muyang and Feiyu inside him, made everything with him feel strangely new.

The corner of Muyang’s mouth curved and all thoughts of him being different fled in that moment. He looked just like her Muyang. The same villainous smirk, the same dark, brooding eyes, and the same mischievousness that told her he was otherworldly wicked.

“You were drooling all over my arm,” he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Daiyu could feel the heat creeping up her neck and ears. “No, I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“W-Well—” She cleared her throat and smoothed down her hair with shaking hands, only to discover shestillhad twigs stuck in her hair. More embarrassment filled her as she plucked out the bramble, twigs, and thorns that had gotten stuck there at some point. “Why didn’t you tell me I looked like such a mess?” she grumbled.

“You don’t look messy at all. Only …” His gaze skated over her face, her head, and the rest of her body. She relaxed at the softness in his sharp, midnight-like eyes. “Adorable.”

“Adorable?” She laughed, covering her mouth. “That doesn’t sound like a word that belongs in your vocabulary.”

“It’s a testament of your bravery and determination to save me, from me, and to find me.” He reached forward and tugged out a thin, wiry twig from her hair. He twisted it between his fingers, staring at her the whole time. “What different way can I describe it other than absolutely adorable?”

“For starters, Muyang,adorabledoesn’t suit you at all. Not even coming out of your mouth.” Daiyu relaxed against the backboard of the bed and peered down at him with lowered lashes. It was easy to fall into a rhythm of banter with him, and she almost felt naïve for thinking that things would be different.

The corner of Muyang’s lips rose to a smile that sent shivers down her spine. “You only want filthy things coming out of my mouth, then?”

“I—I never saidthat.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to.” He propped himself up on one elbow, reached for the back of her neck, and pulled her into a kiss. She didn’t have time to prepare for it, not with their bodies flush against one another, and certainly not with his soft mouth pressing against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, the familiar warmth pooling in the pit of her stomach and warming her chest. Shemoved her lips against his, gasping slightly as his tongue flicked into her mouth gently. She splayed her hands against his chest.

Their closeness—their sweet kiss—bridged a gap that had broken within her from anxiety from the idea of never having him again, of never seeing him again, and never touching him again. When he pulled away, she breathed in deeply, her gaze fervent and a deep desire blooming within her. She wanted every piece of him. Forever, and ever.

Muyang dragged a finger over her jaw. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on, Yin Daiyu. You’ve captured my whole heart from the moment I saw you. I’m fortunate to have met you for the first time on two separate occasions. The first when you tried sneaking into the palace and pretended to play coy and secondly when you burst into my bathing chambers and, once again, pretended to play the part of a blushing maiden.”

“I am a blushing maiden.”

“Youwerea blushing maiden.”

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