The Embrace of the Monster

Dawn brought chaos.

The Sect Leader stood on the Tribunal platform. Xiulan was chained to two massive pillars. She was catatonic, her head hanging low, her spirit broken by the news of Jing’s impending death.

"Bring the boy," the Leader commanded.

But the boy didn't come.

Instead, the ground beneath the plaza erupted. Massive roots, thick as tree trunks, shattered the stone.

Jing rode the crest of a pine root like a surfer on a wave of wood. He was pale, his nose bleeding from the exertion, but his eyes were fierce.

"Xiulan!" he screamed.

At the sound of his voice, the catatonic girl snapped her head up.

"Jing?"

"I'm here!" Jing yelled. "I'm alive! Don't let them win!"

Xiulan roared. The chains of light binding her shattered. The Blood Qi she had been suppressing exploded outward. It wasn't a technique this time; it was a natural disaster.

A vortex of red energy swirled around her, tearing the tiles off the roof. She floated into the air, her eyes glowing with apocalyptic light.

"You lied to me," she shrieked at the Sect Leader. "You said he was dead!"

She raised her hands. A massive blood-lotus formed in the sky, blotting out the sun. It began to descend. It would crush the entire mountain.

"Die," she commanded. "All of you."

"Xiulan!"

Jing jumped from the root. He didn't have flight magic. He just jumped.

He tackled her mid-air.

The force of his impact knocked the breath out of her. They tumbled out of the sky, crashing onto the ruined platform.

Xiulan scrambled up, claws raised, ready to tear out the throat of whoever touched her.

She froze.

Jing was sitting on her waist, pinning her down. His hands were cupping her face. He was crying.

"Hi," he whispered.

Xiulan’s claws hovered inches from his neck. Her breathing was ragged. The red in her eyes flickered.

"Jing?" she whimpered. "You're... warm."

"I'm warm," Jing nodded. "I'm here. I'm yours."

"They tried to take you," she sobbed, the demonic aura fracturing into the terrified cry of a girl. "I have to kill them."

"No," Jing said firmly. "Look at me. Look at your garden."

He gestured around them. Vines and flowers were sprouting from the cracks he had made, mixing with the destruction.

"Don't break my garden, Xiulan," he said softly. "We worked so hard on it."

Xiulan looked at the flowers. Then she looked at him.

"I love you," she whispered. It sounded like a confession of guilt.

"I love you too," Jing said. "Even the scary parts."

He leaned down and kissed her.

It wasn't a tentative first kiss. It was desperate. It was an anchor dropped in a storm.

The massive blood-lotus in the sky dissolved into millions of red rose petals. They rained down on the sect, turning the battlefield into a scene of surreal beauty.

The killing intent vanished. Xiulan melted into his arms, burying her face in his neck, weeping uncontrollably.

The Sect Leader and the Elites stood around them, weapons drawn, but no one moved. They were terrified. Not of the monster, but of the boy who had tamed her.