Free Web NovelChapter 188: Chapter 188: The Race That Was Supposed to Be Extinct
Yue Yue was stunned. She remembered Feng Yanshan telling her about the Phoenix Clan’s divine right to rule.
But what she was hearing now changed everything. The Queen had a biological child, betrayed her mate, and tried to destroy her own legacy.
Suddenly, Xing Luoguang pulled her into a tight hug. A single drop of a tear escaped his eye and fell onto her shoulder.
"Yue Yue," he said, his voice choking with emotion.
"There has not been a single male in our bloodline who had a good end. They have always been betrayed by their females. It is our curse."
He held her even tighter, as if he were afraid she would vanish. "I am begging you... this heart of mine is already yours. Please never crush it. Let’s change the history together, okay?"
Yue Yue felt her own eyes grow teary. The weight of his fear and the centuries of pain in his lineage hit her all at once. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his heart beating wildly against hers.
The silence of the temple was heavy, filled with the weight of a thousand years of betrayal and a single, desperate hope. Yue Yue felt the dampness of his tear on her shoulder, and her heart shattered for him.
This powerful man, who could face a sand beast without flinching, was trembling in her arms because of a legacy of broken hearts.
She pulled back just enough to cup his face in her hands. Her own eyes were swimming with tears.
"Xing Luoguang, look at me," she whispered, her voice fierce with devotion. "I am not the First Queen. I don’t care about hierarchies or empires. I only care about you. I will never crush your heart. I will be the one who stays. I promise you, we will change the history of your bloodline together."
Xing Luoguang gazed at her, his cyan eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation. Finding only pure, unwavering love, he let out a long, shaky breath.
"Then let us bind our fates," he murmured. "So that no power in this world...not even the Empire can truly pull us apart."
He led her to the edge of the ancient stone grave. With a flick of a small, ceremonial blade he drew from his belt, he slashed his palm without a second thought.
The blood was a deep, rich crimson, steaming slightly in the cool temple air. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he held his hand over a crystal basin embedded in the stone.
"This is the Soul-Binding," he explained, his voice turning solemn. "It is not just a marriage of bodies. It is a merging of spirits. If I fall, you will feel it. If you are taken, I will find you by the pull of my own soul."
He handed her the small blade, his eyes encouraging her.
Yue Yue took a deep breath. She wasn’t a warrior, and the sight of blood usually made her dizzy, but for him, she would do anything. She pressed the sharp edge against her own delicate palm and made a shallow cut.
Xing Luoguang immediately reached out, lacing his fingers with hers so that their wounds pressed firmly together.
Their blood mingled, dripping as one into the basin.
Suddenly, the temple seemed to hum. A faint, golden light began to glow from the ancient grave, traveling up through their joined hands.
Yue Yue gasped as a sudden warmth flooded her chest. It wasn’t painful; it felt like a golden thread was being woven through her very heartbeat, tying her rhythm to his.
"Repeat after me," Xing Luoguang whispered, his forehead leaning against hers. "My soul is yours, in this life and the next."
"My soul is yours," Yue Yue repeated, her voice steady and clear, "in this life and the next."
"No betrayal shall sever us. No distance shall break us."
"No betrayal shall sever us," she echoed, her heart swelling with the power of the vow. "No distance shall break us."
As the final words left her lips, the light flared brightly before settling deep into their skin.
The wounds on their palms began to itch and tingle, closing rapidly until only two faint, silvery scars remained...scars that mirrored each other perfectly.
Xing Luoguang pulled her into a kiss. It was no longer a kiss of a prince and a guest; it was the kiss of two halves becoming a whole.
"You are mine now, Yue Yue," he whispered against her lips, his voice possessive yet infinitely tender. "And I am yours. Forever."
Yue Yue snuggled into his chest, feeling the new, twin thump of his heart inside her own mind. She felt more settled than she ever had since arriving in this strange beast world.
After the kiss, the air in the temple felt different. It was charged with a heavy, ancient energy. Xing Luoguang slowly dropped to one knee before Yue Yue, still holding her small hand firmly in his large, calloused palm.
He looked directly into her eyes, his gaze so intense it felt like he was peering into her very soul. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"By the blood we have shed and the stars that watch over us," he began, his voice deep and echoing.
"I, Xing Luoguang, pledge my griffin loyalty to you. From this moment on, you are my only queen. My heart is yours, my wings are your shield, and my life is your shadow. I will serve no other."
Yue Yue felt her breath hitch. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but not just from the romance of the moment.
Griffin? The word echoed in her mind like a lightning bolt. Her eyes widened, and she almost stumbled back in sheer shock, her hand trembling in his.
"Griffin?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "How... are you a Griffin?"
She looked at his massive black wings, then back to his sharp, handsome face. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
In the tales she had heard back in her old world, and even the book she read in this one, griffins were nothing more than mythical legends.
They were creatures of fairy tales that had supposedly vanished thousands of years ago. They weren’t supposed to exist.
