Chapter Text
Zhuo Yichen is in danger. Wen Xiao can see that the moment she skids to a stop in the garden.
Red swirls around Zhu Yan, forming a sphere of darkness that surrounds the demon. She watches in despair as his hands go out and he seizes Zhuo Yichen. He strikes him—once, twice—his body flying away in a heap. Incredibly, Zhuo Yichen stands, the blue tinged power of his sword illuminating as he gets his bearings. He is truly the strongest human in their world, the fiercest demon hunter ever known. But he is still human, and even Zhuo Yichen cannot hold out much longer.
She sees him pull the needle. Fear douses her like cold water and Wen Xiao screams, “Stop!”
Both turn to look at her. Zhuo Yichen's eyes go wide as he lifts his sword in defense. “Wen Xiao! Get back!”
“The needle! You can't use it!” There's no time to explain, because Zhu Yan is moving, and a moment later he has Zhuo Yichen by the throat, lifting him from his feet.
“Zhao Yuanzhou!”
For a moment, he pauses. Wen Xiao lets go a stuttering breath, hope rising in her chest. He had to be in there, somewhere. He had not killed her before, on Kunlun Mountain. Had not killed anyone except their enemy; he had not even broken the cage made by the mountain gods. It's as if something inside him still held on to conscious thought. Zhu Yan would still hold himself back, and using his power to put Zhuo Yichen to sleep instead of killing him too had been proof enough for her theory.
But this time, things seem different. His eyes are different. Zhu Yan turns his head to her and smiles.
She had seen his smile only a few times—a real smile, not the smirk he usually wore that kept him at arm's length from the others. Not the little turn of his lips when something truly amused him. No, she had seen his genuine smile before, bright and sweet as his eyes softened. When he had looked at her like that it had made her heart melt.
This time, his smile is also genuine. He is enjoying this. The flash of teeth coupled with the coldness of his eyes makes her shudder.
He tosses Zhuo Yichen to the side. She cries out when he collapses on the ground, unmoving. Wen Xiao moves to go to him, but in a flash Zhu Yan is between them, his large body and overwhelming presence making her pull up short.
Slowly she looks up. The evil energy is still swirling, closer now that he is no longer in combat. She can see the outline of his robes, hanging loose on his form. His hair is falling from the hold, strands hanging loosely to frame his face. Zhu Yan looks handsome, and wild, and she tries not to tremble as he crowds into her space.
“Goddess,” he says, ever the gentleman.
Wen Xiao takes an uneasy breath. “Zhao Yuanzhou,” she murmurs. “I know you can hear me.”
“You can't stop me.”
Is it a warning? A threat? Impossible to tell, his eyes dark as they search her face. Inside her robe is the Baize Token, and if she can just get to it and start playing, then maybe she can save him.
She makes a subtle move towards it but he grabs her wrist. His grip tightens painfully around the delicate bone and squeezes, drawing a cry from her. “Zhao Yuanzhou! You're hurting me!“
He smiles again, his eyes bright with amusement. He lifts her hand to his lips, brushing them over the injured wrist. His breath feels cool on her heated skin, and when she tries to jerk away it sends a pain shooting through her arm.
Tears threaten in her throat. “Please, Zhao Yuanzhou,” Wen Xiao whispers. “Listen to me. Come back to me.”
White teeth flash as he tugs her forward sharply. Zhu Yan pulls her arm around his neck, drawing her up on her toes before he leans down and seals his mouth on hers.
It is aggressive, and searing, his teeth pulling at her lips. She gasps and stares up at him, and Zhu Yan stares back, his gaze sharp as he kisses her. His full mouth slants over hers and pulls her lips open before sliding his tongue into her mouth.
Of all the times she had imagined kissing Zhu Yan, it was nothing like this. Wen Xiao had often pictured it soft, and sweet, and slow. Zhu Yan might be hesitant, and she knew that her heart would be pounding in her chest as he leaned in; flesh would meet flesh and she would sigh as they finally tasted one another. It would be a moment that she would remember forever, a moment she had thought of and longed for in the interminable years inside the sundial.
But there is no tenderness from Zhu Yan. His hand slides down her arm before grasping her hair, yanking her closer. He tilts her head to the side as he continues to kiss her deeply, and Wen Xiao can hardly keep up with the demands of his mouth and tongue and the sharp pricking of his teeth against her lips.
She whimpers, the sound foreign in her throat. Her hand is numb from her injury, but she pushes against the pain to curl her fingers in his hair, trying to find something to keep panic from setting in. This is Zhu Yan, but inside is Zhao Yuanzhao, and she must believe he won't truly hurt her. His hair is silky in her fingers and for a moment she closes her eyes, giving in to the kiss.
The second she does so he pulls her away, his grip on her hair pulling the strands so hard her scalp aches. Wen Xiao gasps, her eyes flying open. She watches as he licks his lips slowly, his gaze searching her face. Is he looking for a reaction? Permission? Or simply savoring his prey before the killing strike?
A quick glance to the side shows that Zhuo Yichen is still not moving. She has to do something, but what? His grip on her tugs her face back to his, her heart beating with a mixture of fear and anguish. “Zhu Yan,” she says slowly. “Zhuo Yichen is hurt.”
His eyes flash, something Wen Xiao cannot quite understand. Jealousy? It seems improbable, with him in this state, to have such complex thoughts. But Zhu Yan looks angry now, and she trembles as he lifts his free hand. She braces herself for him to strike her, but instead, he presses two fingers to his lips and says, “Obey.”
Instantly something sharp runs through her veins. His power takes over her body, making it futile to not want to follow his command. Wen Xiao whimpers, wondering what he will make her do.
He leans in to kiss her again, this one somehow more sensual than the last. Yet instead of being frozen, Wen Xiao sinks into it. When his tongue strokes the inside of her mouth she follows, licking into his own. Her hands move on their own to clutch his robes and pull him closer. The strong body beneath seems to pulsate with power, and she can feel the flesh on her arms erupt into bumps at the touch of the malicious energy.
Her head tilts to take in more. He tugs on her lips with his teeth before they leave her mouth and move hotly to her jaw. He bites her there, pricking the skin painfully, but Wen Xiao can't help but want more. Is it the spell, or her own dark desire? Impossible to tell anymore.
As his mouth suctions to her neck, Zhu Yan lets go of the grip on her hair. His hands slide down her back, his touch firm and deliberate, moving lower to run along the soft curves of her body before trailing along her sides. When he begins to untie the sash at her waist, she tries to move to stop him, but finds herself unable to do so. Obey, obey, her mind chants in response, and her hands fall away.
Her sash is pulled away, then her robe. The spot on her skin will surely bruise, his mouth and teeth tugging her flesh and sending pinpricks of pain through her trembling body. She stands in just the innermost layer as he pulls back from kissing her neck. He is surely able to see through the thin fabric, but as much as she wants to lift her arms and cover herself, Wen Xiao finds she cannot. The look in his eyes is cold, his lips curled into a dangerous smile.
Zhu Yan takes her by the arms and pushes her to the ground. She falls on her knees with a yelp, her hands scraping on the tone as she keeps herself from toppling over. Once again his hand curls through her hair as he lifts her to her knees and tilts her head back so she is looking up at him. ”Zhao Yuanzhou,” she whimpers.
The darkness around him picks up its movements. Then he does something unexpected: with his free hand, he caresses her cheek, and Wen Xiao realizes she is crying when his thumb spreads her tears along her skin. The gesture seems to be a twisted sort of comfort, a way to encourage her to be strong. Instead, she shivers.
He stares at her unblinking. She wonders if he is struggling just as she is; could Zhu Yan truly be in there, fighting himself from hurting her, just as she struggles against the command to obey? Both are trapped by the wrath of his power, and Wen Xiao closes her eyes, knowing there is no escape.
There is movement in the front of his robes before they are opened. She keeps her eyes shut tightly as something presses to her lips. Wen Xiao knows but can't bear to look, so she opens her mouth obediently, allowing the thick length of him to slide inside. Just for a little while, she tells herself, this won't last long.
He slides in and out slowly. Wen Xiao thinks of every time he held her hand, or moved to protect her, clinging to those memories as he uses her mouth. He had promised to protect her.
But the memories are pushed aside as he seems to permeate all of her senses. The sounds of his grunting mix with her choked breathing. Her mouth and nose are filled with the taste of him, male and electric and, gods help her, delicious. More tears squeeze from her eyes as she reaches up to hold onto his hips, giving herself over to it. There is no way to stop him, so can't she have this? If their love is doomed, can she just take what she can, this once?
Just as she begins to suck on his cock he pulls away, leaving her gasping. Her eyes open wildly to look up at him. He looks angry again, almost pained, and Wen Xiao knows she has made a mistake.
Zhu Yan climbs over her, forcing her onto her back. His mouth once more covers hers, his hands tearing on her clothes until the sound of ripping fabric reaches her ears. Her body now exposed, he presses against her, and Wen Xiao feels his chest on hers. Where is the token? Wen Xiao tries to reach for it, but she finds herself unable to do anything but respond to him. He continues to kiss her, clearly staking his claim on her mouth, deliberately tasting every inch of her with an unhurried pace. It is as thrilling as it is terrifying, as seductive as it is overwhelming.
His hands move to her breasts, rolling the flesh in his palms. Her nipples grow stiff at the rough handling, and his thumbs find the pink buds to toy and tease as she squirms under him. She had longed for his touch so many times, pictured laying under him, just like this, open and ready to receive him. Wen Xiao had never imagined such rough handling, and she groans into his mouth as she realizes she relishes it.
Her body is growing wet when his hands finally move to her thighs. Instantly she opens them, drawing her knees up and away. It is hopeless to know whether it is from the spell or her own desire; every cell in her body calls out for him now, her hands chasing his as they lay heavy on the soft flesh of her inner thighs. She remembers the way his body felt in her mouth, the thick length that had brought her nearly to choking. She trembles imagining it sliding into her body, but the idea makes her core clench with longing.
“Zhao Yuanzhou...” She cups his face with her hands, the hurt wrist now forgotten as his fingers move to her center. “It's okay, I want you to...”
His touch presses against her slit and she gasps. Wen Xiao arches against him as two fingers slide inside her opening, teasing as just his fingertips move in and out. It's uncomfortable at first, the sensation foreign, but when his palm cups her sex she finds herself rocking against him. Something is building, and her body wants more.
His fingers now slide fully inside, her body now slick enough. The slow torture of his touch has her chasing his movements with her hips, gripping his shoulders to brace against the growing pleasure. Zhu Yan leans down and slides his mouth along her breast, contrasted to how nearly brutally he penetrates her. Slowly he licks her body, causing a fresh wave of pleasure through her, her arousal flushed against his thick fingers as he takes a nipple into his mouth.
You have to stop this. Wen Xiao cries silently as she tries to resist. One hand goes out to seek the token, but he quickly pulls his hand away and catches her wrists, pulling them over her head. Pain sparks in her wrist but the sudden emptiness inside her makes her gasp. “No, please,” she moans, unsure if she is asking him to keep going, or to stop. Fear and desire are blurred now into one sensation, and as he moves between her thighs and she feels the hard length of him pressing against her sex, Wen Xiao cries out.
Zhu Yan bites the side of her breast as he pushes his cock inside her body. There is an uncomfortable stretching, burning as he fills her, and Wen Xiao winces in reaction. He keeps her hands pinned as he slides inside, but there is little need: as much as she wants to pull away, the order “obey, obey” echoes in her head.
He pulls back, then pushes in again. Over and over his length buries inside her, his hips thrusting hard against the back of her thighs. Pain melds with pleasure with each movement: it’s too much, he is too large, and Wen Xiao feels as though she will split in two. She keeps her eyes closed tightly, not wanting to see his face as he ravages her body; she fears the coldness of his expression, but even moreso, she fears seeing regret in his eyes.
His mouth is hot against her ear as he pumps steadily inside her. Wen Xiao feels as though she is coming apart at the seams; his cock stretches her painfully even as it strokes against a spot inside her she cannot name. A noise comes from his throat: a grunt, or a sob? She bites back her own cry and turns her face towards him, seeking the only comfort she can.
When his forehead touches her, it breaks her. Her heart seizes as he slides inside and stops, keeping her filled as she gasps for air. His lips press to her temple in a lover’s caress, and she feels him emptying inside her, his seed hot as it fills her and slips down her thigh. Wen Xiao whimpers, suddenly afraid. Now that he is done, what will he want next?
“Open your eyes.”
Wen Xiao turns her head, the need to obey overwhelming all thought. His eyes are on hers, and the darkness that surrounds him is pulled back, revealing his partial nudity as he leans over her. His lips are curled in satisfaction, but his eyes are bright and unwavering—does he know? Does he understand what he’s done? There is pain behind his expression, she knows it, and it hurts to see. She wants to turn away and close her eyes to it, but his order keeps her locked in his gaze. What more can he do, what more can they bear after this?
Suddenly Zhu Yan chokes, and warm liquid splashes on her body. She looks down to see bright red blood—is it hers? She whimpers in fear, but then her eyes land on the sword that is through his chest, glowing blue with light.
“No!”
Zhu Yan collapses, his weight suffocating her as she cries out. The sword withdraws and she pushes with all her might, rolling his body over as she scrambles over him. Zhuo Yichen’s voice is behind her, but she ignores it and ignores her own nakedness to press her hands to the hole in his chest.
He looks at her with a soft expression before closing his eyes. “Zhao Yuanzhou, please!” she cries.
Wen Xiao strokes his cheek, a sob escaping her as he goes limp in her arms. “Zhu Yan… Zhu Yan…” She can barely recognize her own voice as she pleads with him to wake up.
A cloak goes around her shoulders, but Wen Xiao barely notices. She drops her head as the tears fall down her cheeks and settle on his chest. Next to her are her own torn robes, and the Baize Token, lying forgotten in the grass. Why had she not fought harder to use it? Her body is sore, but not damaged, she is certain. Zhu Yan had been able to hold himself back, yet she had surrendered to his spell, and now he is gone.
“Wen Xiao!” Zhuo Yichen is there, grabbing her arms and tugging the robe around her. “We need to go!”
“Go?”
Go where? Zhu Yan is here… He pulls her arm but she wrenches away. “I can’t leave him.”
“You have to. When he wakes up, who knows what he will do.”
Wen Xiao looks at him wildly. “Wakes up? He’s not dead?”
Zhuo Yichen shakes his head. “I don’t know the right formation yet. Now please, we have to go.”
She looks down at her body, bare and covered in his blood. Quickly she pulls her cloak around her, realizing it is Yichen’s, and lets him help her stand. “Bai Jiu,” she says, suddenly remembering. “He needs your help—”
The strength goes out of her and she collapses, Zhuo Yichen catching her before she can fall to the ground. “Wen Xiao!” he cries, hauling her up, and the last thing she knows is him pulling her into his arms and carrying her away from Zhu Yan, lying still on the grass.