Migong - Book 1

Chapter 26: Turn of the year (M)

Kingdom of Moutan

1st Year of Yingyong, 1472

The same year the war broke out, the King's mother had died and thus the era had been renamed to Fusang, meaning 'mourning'. After the war was lost two years later, the era was renamed to Huian meaning 'gloomy'.

Xiao Jing Feng's reign was now in its twentieth year and observing the five-year custom, the name of the era was changed to Yingyong meaning 'valiance,' making Feiyan wonder if Xiao Jing Feng was trying to tell her something.

Feiyan leaned her head against the column and drew her fur collared cloak closer to her. Staring out into a night blanketed by falling snow, it was almost quiet even though they were in the middle the Grand Chancellor's manor. For once there was an illusion of solitude, though Feiyan knew that it was exactly that and wouldn't last very long.

She sucked in a breath, enjoying the sharp cold.

Snow...

It reminded her of the snow-white demon of her dream, with his beautiful silver hair, his thick pale eyelashes and the alabaster skin of his body that set off the stark ruby eyes in such a startling way. She recalled how even the base of the horns growing back from his forehead were a red that gradually darkened to shiny ebony at their points.

Mine...

She shivered, remembering his deep voice, his touch on her skin, the hot burning gaze that turned her insides upside down, and the fierceness with which he had claimed her over and over again...and yet his touch had seemed heartbreakingly sad, perhaps even desperate.

Eeek...this is no time to get distracted...

It was the turning of the year.

The envoy had selected the twelve men and women who would make the month-long journey to Shobu's capital in the spring and after that, there was only death. The new year, that was normally a time of happiness and celebration had, for almost ten years, become a time of dread, a time for families to bid farewell to the children who had been chosen as sacrifices.

It had become a tradition for those selected to spend their last two months of freedom doing whatever they wanted. Feiyan had heard that Li Molan and Zhu Yunfeng hadn't left the brothel even once since being selected. She snorted her disgust.

Other than women in the brothel, no one would have had those two and they would have died virgins...but after burning the candle at both ends for two months, they might not even have the strength to make the journey. Idiots.

"What kind of weird things are you thinking about?" teased Gen, settling his elbows down on the railing, startling her with the way he had read her mind. "Why are you out here, instead of inside having a drink with the others?" he asked.

He was trying to sound lightly cheerful, but she knew that his heart was slowly breaking. In all the years that they had been together, this was the first time that they would be separated and both of them knew that they would never see each other again...unlike Hajoon who had been chosen as well, she knew that Gen was taking this very hard, but because they were going off to die in Shobu, he knew better than to say anything.

"Since I'm going to die, I want us to do it before I leave," she said abruptly. "I intend to spend the last few weeks in seclusion, so we should do it now."

Gen choked and then laughed, the sound coming out hollow.

"Ugh...You were never very romantic, but I think that's the first time you've said things so bluntly...and so tactlessly," he chuckled, shaking his head.