Chapter 115
By the time the carriage crested the mist-draped ridge overlooking Huǒyáo Jìng, dawn had shifted into soft morning light. Foxfire lanterns glowed beneath the trees. Warriors trained in the courtyard. Elders carried baskets of herbs past the gates.
Home.
Mingxi kissed Poppy’s temple as the carriage slowed. “You deserve rest.”
“You all do,” Yunlian added warmly.
They stepped out into a wash of gentle foxfire. Younger clan members ran to meet them, tripping over one another in their eagerness. Minghua brought sweet cakes. Mingjun had tea ready. Caelan and Lirrane appeared around a corner, arguing loudly about something.
It was chaotic. Warm. Safe.
Poppy exhaled deeply, shoulders unspooling tension she hadn’t realized she carried.
Mingxi guided her toward their rooms. “A quiet day,” he murmured, “with no councils, no shards, no politics. Only us.”
“And naps,” Lysandra added, already halfway to her guest room. “Do not wake me unless the world ends. Again.”
Poppy laughed softly.
Mingxi scooped her up without warning, ignoring her yelp and tucking her against his chest like he’d been waiting all day for the excuse.
“I love you,” he said simply.
She cupped his cheek. “I love you, too.”
For the first time since they met, since the moonwell, since the fear beneath the valley—everything was calm.