ONE MORE LOOK

The cool night air carried no answers, only the weight of growing certainty that something had gone terribly wrong. Her brothers needed her—she could feel it in her bones, in the way something stirred restlessly within her heart. But where had Old Xiao taken them? And more importantly, how was she supposed to get to them?

The sound of shifting fabric drew her attention to Mo Xing, who lounged on an elegantly crafted stone bench like it was an imperial throne. His presence commanded attention even in repose, moonlight catching in his dark hair and tracing the sharp angles of his face. Those honey-brown eyes held power that seemed to draw in light itself, and his casual posture—calculated in its carelessness—spoke of centuries of practiced grace. A spark of mischievous interest danced in his gaze as he watched her.