Xia Yiren's POV
I wake to soft lamplight and the smell of medicine.
For one blissful moment, I forget where I am. Then memory crashes back—the selection ceremony, meeting Yijun's eyes, the soul bond blazing to life between us.
No. It can't be real. It has to be a nightmare.
But when I press my hand to my chest, I feel it. The mark burning over my heart. And worse—I feel him. Yijun's presence in my mind like a second heartbeat, his emotions bleeding into mine even though he's not in the room.
The bond is real.
I'm chained to my murderer all over again.
A door opens. I tense, expecting physicians or servants, but it's him.
Crown Prince Shen Yijun stands in the doorway, still wearing his formal robes from the ceremony. His face is pale, exhausted, and through the bond I feel his overwhelming relief that I'm awake.
Don't, I snap before he can speak. Don't come closer. Don't feel relieved. Don't feel anything toward me.
I can't control it. His voice is rough. The bond won't let me hide from you. You feel everything I feel.
Then feel this. I push all my hatred at him through the connection. I don't want this bond. I don't want you near me. I don't want any of this.
Through the bond, his pain lances through both of us. But he deserves it.
Why? The word comes out broken. We've never even met before today. What did I do to earn such hatred?
Not yet, I say bitterly. But you will.
His confusion deepens. Lady Xia, you're not making sense
Before I can respond, the door opens again.
The Empress Dowager sweeps in, her face cold and calculating. Behind her, servants carry official scrolls.
Your Highness, she says to Yijun, barely glancing at me. We must discuss Lady Xia's position now that the soul bond has formed.
Position. Like I'm a chess piece to be moved around the board.
She will be elevated to Imperial Consort immediately, the Dowager continues. The bond makes her your destined mate. Protocol requires
I don't want it, I interrupt.
The Dowager's eyes snap to me for the first time. Cold. Assessing. What you want is irrelevant. The bond has formed. You will serve the Crown Prince as his consort.
And if I refuse?
Then you'll be imprisoned for refusing your duty to the empire. Her smile is sharp. The bond will make separation painful for both of you. You'll suffer. He'll suffer. And in the end, you'll submit anyway.
Trapped. Just like before.
Through the bond, I feel Yijun's anger at his grandmother's coldness, his helplessness in the face of protocol. But he doesn't speak up. Doesn't defend me.
Exactly like I remember.
Lady Xia will be moved to Plum Blossom Pavilion, the Dowager announces. She'll begin consort training immediately.
Plum Blossom Pavilion. The same quarters where I lived before my execution.
After the Dowager leaves with her servants, Yijun and I are alone again.
I'm sorry, he says quietly. About my grandmother. About all of this. I know you didn't want—
Don't apologize. I cut him off. Just stay away from me. The bond forces us to be near each other, but we don't have to pretend this is anything other than a curse.
Through the connection, his pain is sharp. Good.
That night, servants move me to Plum Blossom Pavilion. The rooms are exactly as I remember.
I stand in the center of my new prison and feel the bond humming in my chest, connecting me to Yijun even though he's in another part of the palace.
Chained. Trapped. Exactly where fate wanted me.
But this time, I know what's coming.
This time, I'll be ready.
And if I have to destroy everyone who stands in my way to survive—then so be it.
I will not die on that execution block again.