Chapter 15: Fire Beneath Ice
Mei Xiao stepped back from his arms, trembling — not from fear, but from… anger? Confusion? The pain of a memory that wasn't truly hers, yet cut through her like it had always belonged.
"So, you married me just to keep an eye on me?" Her voice was calm — dangerously calm.
Murong Jing He closed the scroll slowly, carefully. "No. I married you because… it was written."
"Oh, how romantic. Fate and betrayal, all wrapped up in one," she gave a bitter smile. "What's next? You'll kill me in my sleep if I sprout wings?"
"If you were just a threat," he said quietly, "you'd be dead already."
Silence. But there was no coldness in his eyes — not this time. There was conflict. Deep, honest, raw.
"Then why didn't you do it?" she asked softly. "What's stopping you?"
He looked at her — not like a weapon. Not like a queen. Like her.
"Maybe… you're not just the Phoenix," he said, voice almost a whisper. "Maybe you're something I didn't know I could… respect."
She tilted her head. "Respect. Not love?"
"Not yet." Then, more honestly than she expected: "But I'm afraid it's coming."
Her heart twisted. And just then—
The warning bell rang three times. Emergency signal.
Alarm fires lit up in the distance.
A servant ran in, breathless. "Master! A foreign sect has broken the northern seal! They carry black symbols and— and one of them… floats!"
Murong Jing He froze. Mei Xiao stepped forward, tense.
"The Phoenix has awakened," she said with a cold smile. "And it seems… the world knows."