Chapter 102
The elders ushered everyone into the research hall—a long cedar chamber perfumed with ink, foxfire dust, and the faint hum of ancient seals. Scrolls and moon-ink diagrams lined the walls, many protected under shimmering glass charms.
Poppy had barely stepped inside when a sharp, briny wind burst down the corridor.
“Brace. She’s not slowing down—” Caelan called, the words torn away as a sharp, briny wind burst down the corridor.
Caelan and a woman stormed into the hall.
Caelan looked grim, seawater still drying in his hair. The woman looked ready to throttle the Devouring One herself.
Poppy blinked. “Caelan?”
Caelan didn’t waste a breath. “We felt it.”
Mingxi tensed. “Felt what?”
The woman slapped her palm onto a cedar table. A ring of blue-green water-qi rippled outward and then hissed and collapsed on itself like droplets on hot metal.
“Lirrane—” Caelan started but was interrupted.
“That,” Lirrane growled. “Corruption. In the currents. The tides are wrong.”
Caelan nodded tightly. “When the moonwell is poisoned, the entire water-leyline network warps. We sensed the shift from halfway across the realm.”
Lirrane scanned the room and smirked. “Oh, good, you’ve already pulled the archives. Saves me having to rip a cabinet off the wall.”
Caelan muttered, “She absolutely would’ve.”
Mingzhao placed several scrolls on the central table. “These are the moonwell records. Let us see what history left us.”
Caelan unrolled the first scroll carefully. The ink shimmered faintly—more magic than pigment.
“When a shadow-root lodges in the moonwell’s heart, the well cannot expel it. Only through ritual purification may the shard be drawn forth. The moonwell will not open its core again until the cycle completes,” he said, reading from the scrolls.
Poppy exhaled. “That’s exactly what the moonwell showed me.”
Caelan tapped the margin. “This matches the tide flow. The well sealed itself to survive.”
Lirrane nodded. “And if it sealed itself, nothing can be summoned out. We have to go to it. There’s no clean workaround.”
Mingxi’s grip tightened around Poppy’s hand.
A second scroll revealed a circular diagram—five figures surrounding a glowing pool: Healer, Flamebearer, Heart-Tethered, Water Channeler, and Tidal Anchor.
Caelan pointed. “These are the required roles.”
Lirrane tapped the Tidal Anchor sigil with inappropriate satisfaction. “Anchor’s me.”
Caelan gestured to the Water Channeler. “And that’s me. I control the moonwell’s rise.”
Yunlian touched the Healer’s sigil. “I will steady the core.”
Mingxi set his jaw and tapped the Flamebearer. “I purge the corruption.”
All eyes drifted to Poppy.
Elder Suyin lifted the final scroll. Just one line of ancient fox-script covered it.
“Only the one the moonwell has marked may reach into its heart and call the shard forth,” he said.
Poppy’s breath shook. “It marked me during the battle.”
Mingxi closed his eyes. “I know.”
Caelan set his palms on the table. “The shard can’t be summoned from a distance. The moonwell won’t allow it. We have to physically go back.”
Lirrane added, “And if the shard stays until the next full moon, the well inverts. Moonlight goes void. The whole valley collapses. Not ideal.”
Mingxi’s voice dropped. “Then we leave today.”
Mingzhao nodded. “Prepare yourselves. The moonwell will not wait.”
Lirrane cracked her knuckles with delight. “Finally… forward motion. I was ready to drag someone outside if this turned into another debate.”
Caelan sighed. “We arrived fearing chaos. I’m relieved research was already underway.”
Minghua peeked around a shelf. “We were definitely debating logistics.”
Mingjun grabbed her hood yet again and pulled her back.
Mingzhao gathered the scrolls. “We need to get moving immediately.”
Poppy jabbed a finger at Mingxi. “If this turns into another two-week death march, I am divorcing you and marrying a selkie.”
Lirrane perked up immediately, and Caelan turned red.
Mingxi sputtered, “Absolutely not!”
She squeezed his hand, smiling as she walked past him. “Relax, Fox Prince. I’m yours.”
He melted on the spot, and preparations for the journey began.
The courtyard of Huǒyáo Jìng burst into motion as soon as the decision was made.
Warriors gathered packs and lanterns. Elders prepared travel wards.
Caelan and Lirrane moved in tandem, drawing water-qi sigils across the portal ring etched into the stone.
Poppy stood in the center of the chaos, trying to stay out of everyone’s way while Mingxi hovered around her like a determined, handsome shadow.
She finally groaned, “Mingxi, I can walk across a courtyard without dying.”
He froze, ears flattening slightly. “I know. But I’d prefer you didn’t risk it.”
“Risk… walking?”
“Yes.”
Lirrane snorted from across the courtyard. “He’s in newlywed overprotective mode. It’s adorable and exhausting.”
“Do not encourage her,” Mingxi muttered.
Caelan didn’t even glance up from stabilizing the portal. “Please don’t antagonize the fox prince while I’m holding a spatial seam together.”
Poppy whispered to Mingxi, “She’s doing it on purpose.”
“I am aware,” he whispered back.
A surge of blue-green light rippled outward.
Caelan stepped back and said, “The portal is ready. It’ll take us to the outer boundary of the Moonwell Valley. No farther—the wards there repel all direct magic.”
Lirrane clapped her hands lightly. “Which means a blessedly civilized half-day walk.”
Poppy froze. “Repeat that?”
“Half a day on foot,” Caelan confirmed, tightening the portal ring with a tap. “The moonwell forbids portals within its inner grounds.”
Poppy’s mouth dropped open. “Half a day? Caelan, I walked for two weeks last time!”
Mingxi winced like she’d thrown a spear at him. “I know. And I still haven’t forgiven myself.”
“It wasn’t your fault!”
“It feels like it.”
Lirrane wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. “By the tides, she’s going feral. I adore her.”
Caelan murmured, “You adore everyone feral.”
“Because it's fun,” Lirrane replied primly.
While they bickered, Lysandra sprinted toward them, panting wildly as if chased by demons. “Wait! Wait… you can’t leave yet.”
Poppy turned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Lysandra wheezed, thrusting a cloth bundle into Poppy’s hands. “I brought emergency dumplings.”
Mingxi growled, “They’re steaming hot. They will burn her.”
“They are lukewarm! You are a helicopter husband.”
“I do not know this term,” he said stiffly, “but I object to it.”
Yunlian approached and gently touched Poppy’s cheek. “Steady your breathing. If the moonwell pulls, I will feel it, and I’ll be right there with you.”
Mingzhao met Mingxi’s eyes. “Go before the moon rises full.”
Mingxi bowed. “We will.”