Chapter 44
A week passed after Muyang’s souls joined together, and all of Daiyu’s fears—that he wouldn’t love her as much, that he would be more maddened, more unhinged—didn’t come to light. In fact, he was more affectionate than he was before—stealing kisses between meetings and catching her in the middle of the hallway—but there was an undeniable darkness about him that was stronger than it used to be. There were moments when she would catch him staring off in the distance, his magic thickening the air in what must have been fury, before he calmed himself.
Daiyu smoothed down her brilliant vermillion-and-gold-embroidered dress. Her hands trembled and she exhaled deeply. Her head felt heavy with the various ornaments intertwined and dangling between her hair. She was even more dolled up than she had been during her wedding, which was saying something.
Muyang slipped his warm hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. He was clad in darker robes than she was, creating a stark contrast between the two of them. It was probably on purpose that he had chosen dark maroon and emerald silks, choosing to let her shine today.
“You appear nervous,” he murmured, his voice chilling and velvety.
They were both outside the grand balcony overlooking the capital square and she could hear the bustle and buzz from behind the heavy doors. Today was the day she was crowned as the empress and even though she should have been excited—should have been ecstatic—she couldn’t help the nausea, the fear, and the panic from overwhelming her.
She was going to be crowned the empress of the entire empire.
That was a heavy responsibility and she was still grappling with the idea that she was married to the most powerful man in the empire, and now she had to accept that she was going to rule by his side for as long as they both breathed? It was daunting. She had never, ever thought that she would rule the empire. Ever.
She was just a simple farm girl?—
Who just so happened to marry the fearsome, wicked emperor. Who just so happened to steal his heart. Who also just so happened to save his soul.
“Everyone already knows you as the striking empress who tamed and rode a dragon throughout the capital. That hasn’t happened in decades, Daiyu,” he said, grazing his knuckles over her jaw. “Not since the Dragon Empress. You’re more than capable of taking that position.”
“I’m not—” She exhaled, not quite sure how to feel about that. “Since you’re actually a MuRong, doesn’t that mean the Dragon Empress was your … grandmother?”
“She was, but I never met her.” He dragged another finger along her throat, this time stopping at her chin and pulling her face up to stare at him. “Daiyu, today is about you. Don’t compare yourself to any other empress throughout history. You are just as worthy to have the same title. You will grow to become your own kind of empress—someone powerful, and beautiful, and kind.”
“How can you believe in me so much?” she whispered, searching his face. Her heart felt like it was beating a million beats a second, fluttering like a mad dragon in flight. “You don’t know if I’ll be any good?—”
“I know it in my heart. I believe in you.”
She released another shuddered breath and turned toward the doors. Just behind those doors, the people were waiting for her to be crowned as the empress. All she had to do was muster up the courage to enter the balcony, to smile at the seas of people—her people.
Among the crowds, she knew her family was there, waiting with bated breath. The Peccata, the soldiers, all of Muyang’s men—they would all be present. All she had to do was go through the doors, but something held her back. Her nerves, most likely. But something else—something that told her maybe this wasn’t a good idea. That maybe it was better, easier, to go back to her room and forget about the whole ordeal.
But she didn’t want to run. Not anymore. Never again.
Daiyu breathed out deeply, squeezing Muyang’s hands again. “Tell me this gets easier with time,” she whispered, gaze darting from the door and then back at him.
“I have no advice for you. I quite enjoy the sight of people bowing down to me,” he said with a hint of playfulness. “It’s an exhilarating, powerful feeling to know that you are … in charge.” He lifted his shoulders and flashed a wicked grin at her. “You will grow accustomed to it. Trust me.”
She nodded.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
She breathed in and out again. Tremors ran down her body and even though she wanted to turn around and flee, she gave him a small nod toward the door. She was ready.
Muyang wasted no time blasting the heavy doors open with a wave of his shadows. The cheers and chatter were deafening as they stepped through the threshold. Light nearly blinded her before her vision righted itself to the seas of faces—thousands of them—all staring at the two of them. Daiyu tightened her hold on the crook of Muyang’s arm. They swept toward the railing of the balcony, the noise so loud she could feel it vibrating through her chest.
She had never seen so many people gathered in one place. The air felt heavy, the shouts and hurrahs growing louder. Daiyu could only watch, stunned, as the people waved to her, pushing one another to get a better look. Old faces, young faces, scarred faces, tanned faces—people from all walks of the empire were there.
Daiyu swallowed down the nervousness clawing up her throat.
Muyang looked down at her, his dark eyes capturing hers. “Don’t be nervous. I’m here.”
“I know.”
“Are you ready?”
“I am.”
He raised his hand and a hush fell over the throngs of people. “My people, I present to you my lovely wife and empress, Yin Daiyu.” Magic swirled at his fingertips and in seconds, a gold, dragon-shaped hairpin materialized in his hand. He slipped it into Daiyu’s hair and the people began to cheer once more.
A rush of excitement coursed through her veins as she stood tall, staring at the faces of the people. She spotted her family in the front row; Mother and Father were crying, her brothers were pushing each other to see her better, and Lanfen and Grandmother watched on with wide grins on their faces. Her heart swelled with warmth. At the pride gleaming on her family’s faces. At the sudden thrill she felt as everyone applauded her.
She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, she wanted to beam at the world.
She turned to Muyang, her mouth curled into a wide smile. She was with the man she loved more than anything, and that counted for more than this new position as the empress. She knew that as a fact.
“Muyang—” she began, but something shoved into her just as the words escaped her mouth. She fell forward, her hips smacking into the railing, and her body tipping over. She barely could hold back her scream.
The last thing she saw before she fell was Muyang’s shocked expression?—
And then she was falling. Spiraling and flailing, her arms waving from side to side, the scenery blurring all around her. People screamed, gasped, and shouted—but she couldn’t decipher it all. It happened so fast, like a flash. One second, she was next to Muyang, and the next, she was plummeting.
Right when she was about to crash to the ground, shadows warped around her body. They engulfed her tightly, the magic wintry to the touch, and when she blinked, she was back on the balcony. She gasped, sitting upright and looking around herself.
Muyang dropped down to his knees in front of her, eyes glossing over her body quickly. “Are you hurt?”
“I—no. No, I’m … not.” Her words came out breathlessly and she looked to her right and then her left. She had fallen, but Muyang seemed to have caught her just in time and whisked her back here. Her stomach twisted, her body trembling with the sudden change.
After scanning her over once more, Muyang rose to his feet and stared into the crowd. He raised his hand and shadows erupted from his fingertips. He flicked his wrist and a man flew up in the air, his body coiled tightly with Muyang’s magicked black whips. The man struggled, the hood of his emerald robes falling to reveal an unfamiliar face.
“You.” Muyang snarled the words like he was still in his dragon form. The shadowy ropes around the man tightened, squeezing him until he grew redder and redder. “You dared try to assassinate my wife? In front of me?”
Daiyu pushed herself to her feet, her hands and feet shaking.
“Who do you work for?”
The mage gritted his teeth together but said nothing.
“Who?”
Daiyu breathed out deeply. Now that the shock was wearing off, she could see things more clearly. Like the startled, worried, and excited faces in the crowd, or smell the fear thickening in the air. Everyone likely thought this would either become a gruesome spectacle, or something entertaining for them to see.
She refused to have her big day marred by such an event. And besides, she already had an idea of who was behind all of this. She scanned the crowds, and sure enough, in the front row all the way to the left, Wang Yanlin stood, a hand fan pinched between her delicate fingers. When their eyes met, a grin twisted her cruel mouth.
What a fool, Daiyu thought.
She was still pining after Muyang.
Still trying to take Daiyu’s position from her.
Little did she know that Daiyu wasn’t going to run away again.
But she wasn’t going to give the Wang family the satisfaction of ruffling her feathers, of ruining her crowning day. Wang Yanlin was only the first of many, many other women who would try to steal Muyang from her, who thought they could steal her title as empress.
“Muyang.” Daiyu touched his lean arm and inched closer to him so only he could hear. “It’s her. You and I both know it.”
Muyang searched the crowd and Daiyu watched as the color drained from Yanlin’s face when his gaze fell on her. Something about Muyang darkened, but Daiyu leaned in closer again, her words whispering over to him.
“We’ll deal with her later. I won’t give her the satisfaction of ruining my day.”
“Are you sure? We can make an example of her,” he murmured. “Like you wanted.”
“I don’t want people to think of me as a cruel, wicked empress.” She winked at him. “Let them think of me as the sunshine to your night. We’ll deal with her after this, when no one else is watching, and you will punish her for what she did.”
Muyang watched her for a moment, and she wasn’t sure if pride glimmered in his eyes or if there was a hint of fear—but she giggled nonetheless.
“You laugh in the face of death?” he murmured. “You were almost assassinated.”
“But I wasn’t.” She nodded toward the man still suspended in the air. “Deal with him later. Warp him to the dungeons or somewhere he can’t escape from. I wish to finish this ceremony with a smile.”
With a flick of his fingers, Muyang’s shadows engulfed the screaming man and he vanished without a trace. People gasped, likely never seeing magic before. Daiyu had been like that once, she lamented, smiling at the awed expressions on everyone’s faces. These were her people, and they were more similar to her than the nobles who watched on with wicked, bloodthirsty grins—they loved this kind of distraction, watching others be ripped apart for entertainment’s sake.
“We will deal with Yanlin later,” he agreed.
“Yes,” she murmured, watching the suddenly flustered noblewoman in the crowd. But she didn’t want to put her focus on the bitter woman. She didn’t want to mar this day with thoughts of revenge or pettiness. She wanted to begin her reign more favorably. More … like herself.
So she instead focused on the people all around them. On the commoners, the farmers, the people who were just like her. The people who she would now rule over. Many of them would probably come to love her, many would probably loathe her and want everything stripped from her. But she wasn’t going to rule alone; she had a powerful man by her side. One who would never let anyone hurt her.
“Everyone,” Muyang called out, waving another hand toward Daiyu. “Bow down to your empress.”
Scores of people fell down to their knees. Daiyu slipped her hand in Muyang’s. Her gaze went from the seas of people dropping down in waves, to her husband. To his beautiful, scarred face. To the darkness in his midnight-like eyes. To the great power pulsating beneath his flesh.
“I don’t know if I can get used to this,” she murmured.
“The people bowing down? You’ll be fine.”
“No, I mean this.” She held their clasped hands together, a grin curving up her lips. “To being married to you.”
He chuckled. “You chose this when you saved my soul.”
“I did.”
“Are you starting to have regrets?”
She placed her hand on his chest and pushed herself to her tiptoes. He leaned down, making it easier for her to brush her lips against his. She didn’t care that this was highly inappropriate. Or that people were watching. Or that this should have been a private moment between them.
After everything they had gone through, she deserved this small victory. And it was another thing that would get people talking about something other than the assassination attempt—the fact that she was claiming him as hers.
“Never,” she whispered. “If I had to do it all over again, I would do it for you, my love.”
He kissed her back, and they both turned to watch their people. She squeezed his hand tightly.
She would be the sun to his moon, the morning to his night, the empress to his empire.
There would probably be many people who would try to tear their world apart, take Muyang’s throne, and destroy their happiness. As long as the rebel cause was alive and well, they would be targeted. But as long as they had each other, she knew they could weather any storm.
He was the beautiful, wicked, and bloodthirsty emperor, and she was his empress, the light that would hold him together through the darkest parts of the night. And she knew their love would triumph and reign. For she believed in him, but mostly, in herself.