Stars After Midnight

V. Confessions of the Heart

Ju's first reaction was to lunge towards Renshu, his old friend. He clenched his fists as his silver eyes met Mian's fearful ones, dark thoughts consuming her mind as seconds passed by. If Ju attacked, his wife would be dead. If he stood still, he only delayed the tick of death from scraping her neck. One wrong move, and Mian's fate would be sealed.

"What do you want?" asked Ju through clenched teeth.

Renshu clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Now, is this the type of manners they teach the Crown Princes these days?" he mocked, chuckling to himself. "You have not changed, Zhao Ju."

"Release her."

Mian's captor brought the blade to her neck, cold as ice metal touching her bare skin. She inhaled a sharp breath, body anxiously warning her to keep still. Her back straightened against the strange man, who she deemed an assassin.

The Blood King, she thought, was he not just a legend parents told their children?

She remembered whispered tales of a man of violent nature, one who thrived in chaos and discord. He was one with the shadows, a master of disguise and strategy and said to have knowledge that rivaled the Crown Prince. Those who saw the Blood King never lived to tell the tale.

He haunted the day, but ruled the night.

A chill rolled down her spine, his cold fingers painfully digging into her waist until Mian squirmed. She hated the sickly feeling that rumbled throughout her body from his mere touch. This man held her life in his hands, and if Mian moved an inch, she would be headless.

"Stay still, sweetheart," he whispered. "We wouldn't want the maids to walk into such a bloody accident, would we?"

Tears threatened to spill as a burning sensation numbed her neck like a poison to subdue her. Could it be?

"I have full authority of this palace, Kwan Renshu," said Ju, voice as cold and indifferent as a stoic elder. "One order from me and you will no longer be the Blood King that roams the night like a coward."

Renshu tensed, amber eyes burning holes through Ju. His eyes, intense and blazing with fury, glared at the Crown Prince.

The blade dug deeper into her skin, the numbed feeling spreading into her veins like a snake bite. Acute pain gathered at her temples and cheeks, the room spinning as their words became slurs in her mind. Mian's lungs screamed for release, eyes struggling to focus on Ju.

There was something on the blade.

"Never speak to me about being a coward, Zhao Ju," said Renshu. "You and I are two sides of a coin. That crown does not excuse the bloodshed that you caused."

"This has nothing to do with Mian!" yelled Ju, drawing his sword from its hiding space. His majestic steel glimmered in the dappled moonlight as he swung it in front of Renshu. "Drop your sword."

Renshu smiled.

"I said drop it!"

He dropped Mian instead.

Her slender body fell at Ju's feet, a gasp escaping her lips as she clawed at her tingling neck, breasts beginning to weigh more from the build-up of chemicals in her body. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes losing their spark.

Immediately, Ju fell on his knees, gathering his beloved in his arms gently. Her body was too heated that he almost recoiled as if he touched a burning lantern. Her usually vibrant eyes had turned dull as the clouds that raged outside their room.

"What did you do to her?" growled Ju.

"I poisoned her. Her life slips quickly, so I will give you some options, dear friend," he said in his sing-song voice.