Chapter 5: A Whisper Beneath the Ashes
That night, the moon hung low—almost too close. Fu Gui lay awake, the image of Mei Lin's eyes haunting him more than he'd admit. Her dreams, her unease, that strange familiarity with the temple—it couldn't be coincidence.
He rose, wrapping his cloak around him, and slipped outside. The air smelled of moss and magic. He followed the path to the lake near the temple ruins, drawn by something unseen.
And she was there.
Mei Lin sat barefoot on a rock by the shore, her reflection shimmering over the water.
"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked, not turning.
He stepped closer. "No. I... had dreams too. But mine weren't peaceful."
She looked at him now. Her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you ever feel like there's something inside you that doesn't belong to this life?"
His breath caught.
"Yes," he said. "Every day."
Their eyes locked, something unspoken humming between them.
Then she looked away. "Sometimes, I see fire... a golden throne... someone calling me 'My Queen'—but it isn't a memory. It's like it belongs to someone else."
Fu Gui sat beside her, closer than necessary. "What if it is you? What if we're more than we think?"
Her voice trembled. "Then I'm scared. Because I don't know who I was... or what I've forgotten."
He reached for her hand, gently. She didn't pull away.
"I don't care who you were," he said. "I care who you are now."