Ren couldn't move. The weight of Li Wei's words pressed against his chest, heavy as the night itself.
You said that once before… right before you died.
The world seemed to shrink to the space between them. The moonlight painted Li Wei's face in silver, catching the faint shimmer of scales along his jaw before they faded back into skin. His fingers were still on Ren's lips, trembling with something that was not quite human longing.
"Tell me," Ren whispered. "Tell me how I died."
Li Wei's eyes lowered. "You offered yourself to save me. They called me a monster, and you—" He exhaled, voice breaking. "You stood between me and their blades. The curse began that night. I swore if you returned, I'd never let them touch you again."
Ren felt the faint sting of tears. The memory in his heart wasn't just pain—it was devotion carved so deep it defied lifetimes.
He took a slow breath. "Then why does it hurt every time you're near?"
"Because the bond is unfinished." Li Wei's gaze flicked to the mark on Ren's shoulder, glowing faintly through the thin fabric of his shirt. "Our souls remember what our bodies have forgotten."
He reached out, hesitating just long enough for Ren to see the restraint in him, then brushed the edge of the serpent mark with his thumb. Heat flared, sharp and sweet, curling through Ren's veins. His pulse thundered.
"Stop…" Ren murmured, but the word lacked force. "It's too much."
Li Wei leaned in, forehead resting against his. "It's only the truth."
Ren closed his eyes. In that closeness, it was hard to tell where memory ended and the present began—warm breath against his neck, the faint tremor of Li Wei's chest, the echo of a vow that had once cost them both everything.
He could feel the magic threading between them again, invisible but alive, wrapping around his ribs. "If I let this happen," Ren said quietly, "will I lose myself?"
Li Wei smiled, sorrowful. "You won't lose yourself. You'll find who you were."
The mark pulsed once, twice, then dimmed. Li Wei's hand fell away, his expression unreadable. "Rest, beloved. Tomorrow, I'll tell you the rest. You deserve to know everything."
Ren wanted to argue, to demand the whole truth now, but exhaustion won. As his eyes closed, he heard Li Wei's voice again—soft, ancient, and full of ache.
"I'll never let the world take you from me again."