The forest did not welcome them in peace but in shadows.
Twisted trunks of the trees grasped the heavens, and their feet stood on earth wet from old blood and shattered leaves. Yǔlín lagged behind, his hand clasped over his side where a blade caught his skin in their flight. He breathed shallowly, his mask discarded in the palace tumult.
Su Shu's hand encircled his arm firmly. "We must stop and rest. You're bleeding."
"I'm okay," he replied curtly. "Get moving. They'll be combing the roads by now."
"No." She drew him under a tangle of overgrown brush, out of view. "You're not okay." "You've barely said a word since we exited the city. Do not lie to me again."
Yǔlín sat against the tree. The moonbeam dappled his golden eyes, dimmed by weariness and a darkness. "This isn't the time for softness."
Su Shu knelt beneath him. "Then let me be cruel." "Stay very still."
She ripped a strip off her own sleeve and started binding his wound. He didn't wince—but when her fingers moved too close to his ribs, he gasped in a sharp breath.
Then Su Shu suggested, "You should remove your mask to avoid drawing attention to yourself as the wanted prince." Following her advice, Yu Lin hesitantly lifted his hands to his face and began to slowly peel off the mask, wincing slightly as if the action caused him physical or emotional pain. The mask, once a disguise that concealed his identity, was finally shed, revealing his true features.
"I did not ask you to rescue me," she murmured. "There."
"I did not tell you to be stupid enough to die alongside me," replied he.
Their gazes met. The forest held a momentary silence once more.
She bound the wound and sat down facing him. "So. what now, Prince?"
He slowly rotated his head. "Did I not instruct you not to call me that?"
Su Shu smirked but it did not quite reach her eyes. "Habit."
They sat in silence. The fire they did not dare kindle lived only in the heat between them. Crickets sang softly. A bird screeched far away.
Then Yǔlín said. "This area. I recognize it."
She gazed at him.
There's a deserted watchtower nearby. It once belonged to the border scouts before the wars forced all of them south.
"Somewhere they can rest?"
"A spot where we can vanish," he replied. "If we're cautious."
He pushed himself onto his feet, swaying a little bit. Su Shu strode over and steadied him, putting a hand at his back.
"You're cold."
"It's nothing."
But it was not nothing. Something moved beneath his skin. The poison whispered once more—gentle and soft as a memory from a dream.
Su Shu did not notice. Not yet.
They vanished together beneath the thorns as the forest devoured their steps.
Back at the Palace
The Demon King stood in the war chamber and gazed at the map before him.
"Get a message to all the border posts," he ordered. "The traitor's at large."
Xiéyàn stood close at hand, icy rage smoldering in his eyes. "Whoever brings their heads will be rewarded."
Queen Lei Feng remained mute, however a smile flickered over her lips as she walked away into darkness. At least he is saved now