The tunnel shook as Han's men poured in with lanterns and hooks. Their swords flashed in the weak light. Behind them, the shadow-creature crawled on the stone like a spider made of night. Its empty mouth opened, and cold fear rolled out like smoke.
Wei Chen stepped in front of Lin Xue without thinking. Lin Xue's frost crawled up her sleeves, but her knees shook. Her curse was waking up hard. She looked like she was being squeezed from the inside.
The eyes in the dark stared at Wei Chen. The voice came again, soft and cruel. "Say yes… and I will save your ice girl."
Lin Xue grabbed Wei Chen's sleeve. Her voice was thin. "Don't," she whispered. "If you say yes… it owns you."
Su Mei's purple qi flared beside them. "It's bait," she snapped. "It wants to chain you."
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed on his chest, cold and hungry. The whisper in his blood promised power. It also promised a cage.
Wei Chen took one breath, then turned his head just enough to look at Lin Xue. His voice dropped low, naughty even in danger. "Ice Queen," he murmured, "if I save you, you owe me a kiss later."
Lin Xue's eyes went wide. "Wei Chen—"
Wei Chen held up one finger. "Rules," he said. "Stop means stop. You choose."
Lin Xue swallowed. Her fingers trembled on his sleeve. "Stop means stop," she whispered. "And… I choose you. Don't leave me."
Wei Chen's chest tightened in a way that hurt more than the arrow wound. He nodded once. "Then I'm not taking any deal," he said. "Not one that eats you and chains me."
The shadow-creature lunged.
Wei Chen snapped his fan open. A thin golden line cut the air and slowed the creature for half a heartbeat. Su Mei threw violet silk-like qi to bind its arm. Lin Xue pushed frost onto the ground, trying to lock its feet.
Han laughed and shouted, "Hold them! The beast will tear them apart!"
More men rushed in. One hook flew toward Wei Chen's shoulder. Wei Chen twisted and cut the rope with his fan edge. Another man tried to stab Lin Xue from the side.
Wei Chen moved fast and pulled Lin Xue behind him. "Eyes on me," he told her. "Stay close."
Lin Xue's breath hitched. She pressed close, cold against his heat. Their bond marks warmed, gold and silver, like they wanted to join again.
The altar voice purred, "You refuse… so she dies."
Lin Xue gasped. Frost burst out of her like a sudden storm. She staggered. Her curse surged, pulling her warmth away.
Wei Chen felt it and cursed under his breath. He couldn't fight all these men and hold Lin Xue together at the same time.
Su Mei grabbed Wei Chen's wrist. "I can cut a path," she hissed. "But you need power. Not the altar's chain. Your own."
Wei Chen met her eyes. "How?"
Su Mei's lips curved. "Pay me again," she said. "One more taste. I'll turn it into a shield for you."
Lin Xue heard and stiffened. Her eyes flashed, jealous and scared. "No," she said, but her voice cracked.
Wei Chen looked at Lin Xue first. "Are you okay with it?" he asked, simple and clear.
Lin Xue swallowed hard. Her pride fought her face. Then she nodded once, sharp and angry at herself. "Live," she whispered. "But… come back to me."
Wei Chen's grin turned softer. "Always," he said.
He looked at Su Mei. "One taste," he said. "No more. Stop means stop."
Su Mei smirked. "Say yes."
"I choose this," Wei Chen said. "One taste."
Su Mei pulled him close by the collar and kissed him, hot and bold. Wei Chen's Nine-Suns fire rose like a wave. Su Mei drank only a thin thread, then turned it instantly. Her purple qi wrapped around the heat and made it darker, sharper, like a blade with a sheath.
Lin Xue grabbed Wei Chen's hand, anchoring him. "Stay with me," she whispered.
Wei Chen broke the kiss and spoke one word. "Stop."
Su Mei stopped at once. She licked her lip like she was annoyed, then laughed softly. "Good boy," she teased.
Wei Chen shot her a look. "Don't start."
Su Mei's eyes gleamed. "Start? I haven't started."
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed again, angry. The altar hated this. It hated him making his own balance.
The shadow-creature screamed and broke one of Su Mei's bindings. It rushed in again.
Wei Chen lifted his fan. The dark-wrapped heat Su Mei made sat in his meridians like a loaded arrow. Lin Xue's frost pressed in through the bond, not fighting his fire, but shaping it.
Wei Chen breathed out. "Sun-Shadow Cut," he said.
He slashed once.
A black-gold arc flew forward and hit the shadow-creature. It screamed without teeth. Its body tore like cloth. The dark matter scattered and shook, trying to pull itself back together.
Han's men froze, fear flashing across their faces.
Wei Chen's grin returned, roguish and sharp. "Who's next?" he called.
Han snarled, "Kill him!"
Three men rushed at once.
Wei Chen flicked his fan and cut straps, not throats. Swords fell. One man tripped on Lin Xue's frost and slammed into the wall. Su Mei's violet silk snapped around another man's ankle and yanked him down.
For a moment, they had space.
But the altar took it back.
The eyes in the dark brightened. The voice turned sweet. "Clever boy," it whispered. "So I bite."
Wei Chen's black sun brand burned cold. Pain stabbed his chest. The brand pulled at the dark-wrapped heat he just used, trying to steal it. Wei Chen staggered.
Lin Xue caught him. "Wei Chen!"
Wei Chen gritted his teeth. "I'm fine," he lied.
The tunnel floor split with a loud crack.
A black line opened under their feet like a mouth.
Su Mei's eyes widened. "It's dropping us!"
Han shouted, "Grab them!"
Wei Chen grabbed Lin Xue with one arm and Su Mei's wrist with the other. "Hold on!" he yelled.
The ground fell away.
They dropped into darkness, and the tunnel above snapped shut like teeth.
They hit hard on cold stone below. Wei Chen rolled, protecting Lin Xue with his body. Su Mei landed on her feet like a cat, but even she breathed hard.
A deep silence filled the new chamber.
Then a low laugh echoed from the dark.
Not Han.
Not the shadow-creature.
Something older.
The eyes opened again, closer now, watching them like toys in a box.
"Welcome deeper," the voice whispered. "Now… choose again. I save her… and I take you."
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed like a heartbeat.
And Lin Xue's curse flared so hard that frost crawled up her throat like a choking scarf.
To be Continued
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