The black sun above them cracked wide enough to show a thin "window" back to the tunnel.
Lin Xue could see it like a slit in the sky. Stone walls. Flickering runes. Dust drifting. And right there—close, too close—was the Frost-Eater's gold-black eye, staring in through the split like it was watching prey through a door crack.
Lin Xue's whole body shivered. Her Frozen Heart Curse jumped inside her ribs like it wanted to run to that eye and kneel.
Wei Chen felt her tremble and grabbed her waist, pulling her tight into his heat. "Lin Xue," he said low and urgent, "look at me."
Lin Xue forced her eyes off the eye and onto him. "Chen Wei…" she whispered, voice shaking.
Wei Chen lifted her chin. "Say my name," he ordered softly. "Stay real."
"Chen Wei," Lin Xue breathed. "Stay with me."
The bond rope flared warm for a heartbeat, and Lin Xue hated how much that warmth felt like safety. She pressed her forehead to his. Her lips brushed his by accident, and she didn't move away.
Wei Chen's roguish grin flickered, shaky but alive. "Do you want me to stop holding you?" he asked, clear.
Lin Xue swallowed. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me harder. My curse is listening."
Wei Chen's eyes darkened for half a second, and his arm tightened. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured, then leaned in and kissed her—slow, deep, steady—like he was sealing her back into the real world. Lin Xue clutched his collar and kissed him back, trembling, not forced—chosen. His heat pressed into her cold like a promise.
Wei Chen pulled back just enough to ask, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue shook her head. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Anchor me."
A soft laugh drifted across the metal floor.
The shadow smiled at them like a patient hunter. "Awww," it purred. "Keep kissing. The outside door is opening while you play."
Lin Xue's eyes flashed. "Shut up."
The shadow pointed up at the window.
The Frost-Eater's eye blinked slowly.
Then the slit widened by a hair, and Lin Xue heard the outside stone grind like a lid being pried open. Cold poured into the inner world, and her curse surged again, excited and hungry.
Lin Xue's knees almost buckled.
Wei Chen caught her instantly, one hand sliding to the back of her neck, steadying her like he was holding her head in place. "Lin Xue," he murmured, "you choose me, not it."
Lin Xue's throat worked. "Yes," she whispered. "I choose."
Wei Chen's voice dropped, naughty and fierce at once. "Then prove it," he murmured, mouth close to hers. "Say my name like a vow."
Lin Xue's cheeks heated. "Chen Wei," she whispered. "Mine."
Wei Chen's grin flashed, wicked. "Good," he breathed, then kissed her again—short and strong—before turning his eyes back to the window.
"We leave," he growled. "Now."
The shadow drifted sideways, blocking their path again. "If you leave first," it purred, "your body will be empty for a breath. The outside monster walks in. If you stay," it whispered, "your body cracks anyway."
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. "So what's the trick?"
The shadow smiled wider. "Choose wrong."
Lin Xue's wrist mark burned. The law-thread tightened, chewing the bond thinner. Lin Xue hissed and grabbed her own wrist, pressing frost over the fracture. "It's cutting me," she whispered.
Wei Chen grabbed her wrist and pressed a warm kiss right on her mark—slow, sealing. Lin Xue shuddered, cheeks burning, because it felt like heat sinking into the sore place and making it live. Her curse eased for one precious heartbeat.
Wei Chen looked up at her. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, clear.
Lin Xue's breath shook. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Keep it warm."
Wei Chen nodded, then leaned close and whispered by her ear, "Obey me for one minute."
Lin Xue's face heated. "Idiot—"
Wei Chen's voice went firmer, still gentle. "Please," he said. "I need you steady."
Lin Xue swallowed, then nodded once. "Fine," she whispered. "One minute."
Wei Chen's grin returned, quick and roguish. "Good girl," he murmured—then immediately asked, "Is that okay?"
Lin Xue's eyes widened, cheeks blazing. She hated it. She liked it. She said the truth anyway. "Yes," she whispered. "It's okay."
Wei Chen's heat flared in his chest, but he shaped it. He turned his palm toward the window and drew a thin line of gold fire in the air like he was writing on invisible paper.
"Door to door," he murmured. "Name to name."
The inner world trembled.
The window widened a little more, showing the tunnel clearer now—Su Mei's black-eyed body standing near his real chest, the copy watching, the coffin wall split like a smile. The Frost-Eater's eye stared straight at Wei Chen's throat like it wanted to drink his voice.
Lin Xue grabbed Wei Chen's face again, trembling. "Chen Wei," she whispered, "if you leave—"
Wei Chen kissed her quickly, warm and fierce. "Then you come with me," he murmured. "No empty breath. We jump together."
Lin Xue's heart slammed. "Together," she repeated, like she needed the word.
Wei Chen nodded. "Rules," he whispered. "Stop means stop. Do you want to jump now?"
Lin Xue swallowed hard. "Yes," she whispered. "I choose."
Wei Chen pulled her close, one hand at her waist, the other at the back of her neck, holding her like he was holding the only anchor that mattered. "Say my name," he ordered softly.
"Chen Wei," Lin Xue whispered. "Stay real."
Wei Chen's eyes held hers. "Lin Xue," he said back. "Stay with me."
They moved at the same time.
Wei Chen shoved golden heat into the window like a shoulder into a door, and Lin Xue poured frost around them like a protective ring. Their bond rope flared bright, and the inner world lurched.
For one dizzy heartbeat, Lin Xue felt her body stretch thin—like a thread being pulled through a needle.
Then the shadow hissed, furious, and threw Lin Xue's own voice at Wei Chen from behind.
"Chen Wei," it said in her tone, perfect and soft, "say yes."
Wei Chen's throat tightened.
A "yes" rose like poison.
Lin Xue reacted fast. She slammed her palm over his mouth. "No," she whispered. "Not that yes."
Wei Chen's eyes widened, then cleared. He kissed her palm once—warm, grateful—then grabbed her wrist and whispered against it, "Don't leave me."
Lin Xue's breath broke. "I won't."
They burst back into the tunnel—
and Lin Xue's first sight was the Frost-Eater's eye right in front of them.
Too close.
The coffin wall split wider like a grin.
A shadow hand shoved through and grabbed Wei Chen's throat.
And Wei Chen's black sun brand on his chest—now half-open—pulsed once, hard.
Wei Chen's eyes flickered gold-black.
Not for a heartbeat this time.
For two.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.