Chapter 67: Shadows Beneath the Skin

The clouds over the Eastern Capital hung low that afternoon, thick and gray, casting the palace rooftops in soft shadow. Rain hadn't come yet, but the wind whispered of it—cool, stirring the long silk banners outside the envoy estate.

Lin Su sat on the edge of a high tiled roof, one leg dangling, the other propped up as she peeled the skin from a ripe red plum. Her demon mark pulsed faintly beneath the collar of her robe, a slow throb in rhythm with her heartbeat.

She was waiting for the ache to subside. But it didn't.

Below, she watched Kai Jin in the training courtyard, running forms with two palace guards. His blade moved in clean arcs—disciplined, almost bored. Lin Su's eyes followed the shift of his shoulders, the way his breath moved with each strike.

He was beautiful. But he was heavy. Burdened.

She liked him better when he laughed.

Her gaze drifted further, toward the private garden wall where Bai Ru knelt, tending a wounded hawk that had flown into the palace rafters. Yue stood nearby, arms crossed, silently guarding her space as if even the birds needed permission to be saved.

Lin Su took a slow bite of the plum, juice running down her wrist.

"They're so loud, even when they're quiet," she murmured.

She rolled back onto the rooftop, arm resting beneath her head, the half-eaten fruit pressed to her lips. The sky stared down at her like a blank parchment. And still, her mark pulsed.

Not with danger.

With want.

---

She didn't remember falling asleep, but when she woke, the sky had dimmed into indigo. Her limbs were stiff, her throat dry. But the ache in her chest had sharpened.

Not pain. Hunger.

She sat up suddenly, her demon mark blooming across her back in a slow, curling petal of black and crimson. It hadn't done that in days. A whisper passed through her mind—not words, but sensation.

**Longing. Together. All.**

She stood and stretched, her limbs fluid. Her cold, practiced face held none of the turmoil inside her. But her thoughts hummed like a quiet storm.

"I want them," she whispered. "All of them. Not in pieces. Not in turns. Together."

The image came unbidden: Yue's strength wrapped in silk, Bai's touch laced with honey, Kai's arms around them both, her own hand joining where lips met and breath tangled. One body. One heart. One sacred, shameless night.

Not conquest.

Not cruelty.

Just **need**.

And they'd never see it coming.

Lin Su smiled and leapt from the rooftop, landing softly in the garden below. Her robe rippled in the wind. The demon mark vanished beneath the folds once more, hidden, but waiting.

As she walked past the lantern-lit hallway where Bai's shadow stretched long across the stones, she paused just a moment, watching.

"I would never hurt you," she said softly.

Then she kept walking, her voice fading into the dusk.

"But I might touch you in ways you never imagined."

---

Training Grounds, Later That Evening

The torches around the training grounds flared against the encroaching night, casting Kai Jin's figure in sharp relief as he stepped into the circle of sand. Opposite him stood Lin Su—robes trimmed shorter now, tied tightly to her waist, eyes gleaming with fire.

Around them, a dozen sect members stood at the edge of the field, pretending disinterest but watching with barely concealed envy.

"You sure about this?" Kai asked, sliding into a defensive stance.

Lin Su smiled lazily. "No weapons. Just movement. I want to feel your breath."

He arched a brow but nodded. "Alright. Don't hold back."

The first exchange was swift. Lin Su closed the distance in a single breath, her palm grazing his chest before spinning away. Kai followed, faster than expected, his fingers brushing her wrist. She twisted out of reach, close enough that their robes whispered against each other.

They circled. The tension between them coiled tighter with every step. Every clash was a caress in disguise—his grip on her waist, her breath against his throat, a fleeting glance where lips almost met. The watching disciples murmured in surprise and something more: jealousy.

Yue stood at the far side, arms crossed. Bai Ru's brow furrowed faintly, but she said nothing.

Lin Su moved like silk over flame. She pressed in close again, this time holding her position longer, lips near Kai's ear. "You ever think about sharing?"

Kai's eyes narrowed—but not in anger.

"Sharing what?"

She smiled, devilish. "You. Me. Her. Them. Everyone wants a piece. I just want the whole damn picture."

She pivoted away before he could answer, sweeping his legs in a final motion that sent him to the ground with a grunt.

Applause scattered through the courtyard, but Lin Su only reached down and offered her hand.

"You'll thank me later."

Kai took it, smirking despite himself.