Page 131 of Empire's Curse

“Nonetheless, I wasn’t acting.”

“Oh, but youwere.” Muyang brushed his thumb over her lips slowly, his gaze flicking between her mouth and her eyes. “Because I know you are fierier than any woman I have met, and you are so much more than a timid creature who will let me have my way.”

She inched closer to him and kissed him again, this time deeper and longer than the last. Her heart felt so full in that moment—being so near him, being able to kiss him like this, and being so deeply in love.

It wasn’t until hours later, where they both were laid on the bed, the blanket covering their bare bodies and the night air breezing through the open windows that Daiyu traced the dragon tattoo on his forearm, and then serpent and moon tattoo mirroring his other forearm. She could practically feel the magic thrumming beneath his flesh from both marks. Now combined, he seemed more powerfulthan before.

“Is it strange to see me like this?” Daiyu murmured, peering into his face. “Feiyu never saw me naked.”

Muyang blinked back in surprise and then chuckled, clearly not expecting such a response. “I don’t thinkstrangeis the word I would think of.” He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. A furrow formed between his brows. “I’m back to how I used to be, I suppose. No more confusion, no more wondering why I can’t remember many things. It is a bit …strange, I suppose, to have memories that occurred concurrently from one body to the other, but it also feels so much more natural to be in this form.”

“Have you thought about what you will do now that you have your souls combined again?”

“I will continue to reign.” He turned his attention back to her. “I know I said that I am a curse upon these lands and that it’s better for me to die than to rule, but now that I’m back, with both my memories intact, I see no reason to wither away and give my throne to another. It’s true that I don’t deserve this empire, and that maybe it would be better for someone else to rule, but I am selfish, Daiyu. I will continue to reign until our children are able to take over where I left. And maybe then, because our children will have your kindness and resilience, we will finally have an emperor worthy of this cursed throne. But for now, I will rule and I will protect those important to me—notablyyou—and I will carve a path for the both of us in this twisted, dark dynasty.”

Daiyu nodded. Truthfully, she had expected as much. She didn’t think Muyang was the type of person who would give up his throne, his empire, or his reign—not while he was sound in mind. But she hadn’t realized he was thinking of a future for the both of them and their future children. Her chest tightened at the thought of that, and she knew in that moment that she too needed to have strength and cunning in order to survive in this vicious court. Not just for herself, but for her children and their futures.

Because Drakkon Muyang—MuRong Muyang—had many,manyenemies.

“We’ll be fine,” she murmured, snuggling back into his arms. He embraced her loosely, and she tucked her chin against his collarbone and pressed a kiss on his jaw. “Whatever happens in the future, know that I will always love you, Muyang, and I will always be on your side. Through thick and thin, through war and peace, through happiness and grief—I will stand by you.”

“Are you declaring your love or your loyalty to me?” There was a teasing quality in his voice that made her roll her eyes.

“Both.”

He kissed the top of her head. For the rest of the night, she rested in his lean arms. The two dynasty tattoos etched into his flesh were a reminder of who he was and what he was capable of, but she never felt so safe as she did in that moment.

44

A week passedafter Muyang’s souls joined together, and all of Daiyu’s fears—that he wouldn’t love her as much, that he would be more maddened, more unhinged—didn’t come to light. In fact, he was more affectionate than he was before—stealing kisses between meetings and catching her in the middle of the hallway—but there was an undeniable darkness about him that was stronger than it used to be. There were moments when she would catch him staring off in the distance, his magic thickening the air in what must have been fury, before he calmed himself.

Daiyu smoothed down her brilliant vermillion-and-gold-embroidered dress. Her hands trembled and she exhaled deeply. Her head felt heavy with the various ornaments intertwined and dangling between her hair. She was even more dolled up than she had been during her wedding, which was saying something.

Muyang slipped his warm hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. He was clad in darker robes than she was, creating a stark contrast between the two of them. It was probably on purpose that he had chosen dark maroon and emerald silks, choosing to let her shine today.

“You appear nervous,” he murmured, his voice chilling and velvety.

They were both outside the grand balcony overlooking the capital square and she could hear the bustle and buzz from behind the heavy doors. Today was the day she was crowned as the empress and even though she should have been excited—should have been ecstatic—she couldn’t help the nausea, the fear, and the panic from overwhelming her.

She was going to be crowned the empress of theentireempire.

That was a heavy responsibility and she was still grappling with the idea that she was married to the most powerful man in the empire, and now she had to accept that she was going to rule by his side for as long as they both breathed? It was daunting. She had never, ever thought that she would rule the empire.Ever.

She was just a simple farm girl?—

Who just so happened to marry the fearsome, wicked emperor. Who just so happened to steal his heart. Who also just so happened to save his soul.

“Everyone already knows you as the striking empress who tamed and rode a dragon throughout the capital. That hasn’t happened in decades, Daiyu,” he said, grazing his knuckles over her jaw. “Not since the Dragon Empress. You’re more than capable of taking that position.”

“I’m not—” She exhaled, not quite sure how to feel about that. “Since you’re actually a MuRong, doesn’t that mean the Dragon Empress was your … grandmother?”

“She was, but I never met her.” He dragged another finger along her throat, this time stopping at her chin and pulling her face up to stare at him. “Daiyu, today is aboutyou. Don’t compare yourself to any other empress throughout history. You are just as worthy to have the same title. You will grow to become your own kind of empress—someone powerful, and beautiful, and kind.”

“How can you believe in me so much?” she whispered, searching his face. Her heart felt like it was beating a million beatsa second, fluttering like a mad dragon in flight. “You don’t know if I’ll be any good?—”

“I know it in my heart. I believe in you.”

She released another shuddered breath and turned toward the doors. Just behind those doors, the people were waiting for her to be crowned as the empress. All she had to do was muster up the courage to enter the balcony, to smile at the seas of people—herpeople.

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