Ren's body was limp against Li Wei's chest, the faint light that had filled his veins flickering out like embers after a storm. The library courtyard lay in ruins—sigils scorched into stone, the scent of iron and lightning hanging in the air.
"Ren." Li Wei's voice was low, shaking. He brushed his thumb across Ren's cheek. The skin burned with fever; his breathing was shallow. The cord at their wrists glowed faintly, pulsing once, then dimmed.
Li Wei pressed his palm over Ren's heart. The beat stuttered. The curse the hunter left behind still coiled inside him, feeding on the bond itself. Li Wei's eyes darkened; the old serpent part of him rose up, ancient and territorial.
He whispered something in the old tongue, a word so old the air trembled around it. Faint scales shimmered along his neck. "You won't take him," he growled—to the curse, to the gods, to the past that refused to die.
He bit the inside of his wrist until blood welled up, silver-black and shining. "Drink," he whispered. "Take what's mine."
Ren's lips barely moved. Li Wei tipped his wrist, and the first drop slid past Ren's mouth. A soft sound escaped him—a gasp, then a tremor that ran through both their bodies. The serpent's essence spread through the bond, their shared heartbeat snapping into rhythm again.
The ground pulsed once beneath them. Wind swept the courtyard, scattering ash. Li Wei's power surged, wrapping them in a faint barrier of pale green light.
Ren opened his eyes slowly. "What… did you do?"
"Bound us deeper," Li Wei said, voice almost breaking. "You have my essence now. My blood. You live because I will it."
Ren reached up weakly, fingers brushing Li Wei's jaw. "Then we really can't undo this."
"No," Li Wei answered. "Not anymore."
The light around them faded. The mark on Ren's chest glowed faintly, a reflection of Li Wei's. They stayed like that until the last trace of magic dissolved into the dusk—their breath mingling, the silk cord between their wrists warm with shared pulse.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled. The hunter was still out there. But for now, neither of them moved.
Ren's voice broke the silence. "Then tomorrow, we face whatever comes. Together."
Li Wei's answer was a quiet hum—half promise, half surrender—as the night folded over them.