The Red String

The Mark of Fate

Gu Xiang leaned on Weining's shoulder, the tilt of her dark lips inviting. She was becoming quite fond of the way Weining showed every emotion and minute feeling on his face. She tugged him lightly, and wound her hand into his as they walked toward the doors leading to the garden.

Their fingers fit together perfectly and Cao Weining tilted his head down to look at their wrists brushing as they walked. His attention came to rest on the exposed red band that encircled her delicate wrist and his eyes flickered with longing briefly before he tucked it away.

"Ah-" Weining stopped and looked back with concern, but Chengling was already walking towards the exit and waving a goodbye. He felt bad but he knew the younger male would probably end up at home with his gadgets. 

He let Gu Xiang pull him into the pleasant night and admired the garden beyond the archway. "This is beautiful."

She was busy trying to maneuver his arm around her waist, but she looked up at the praise and chuckled. "Thank you." It was, after all, her doing, and she wasn't the humble type. Much to her pleasure, her efforts were rewarded when Cao Weining slipped an arm around her waist while he was looking at a fountain carved into the form of a woman holding a lotus flower. Her hair was draping over her shoulder in waves and the flower rested in her outstretched hands as though she were offering it to someone just out of view. There were lanterns hung along the path and they illuminated the night blooming jasmine that vined up the base of the fountain. It was quite mesmerizing, but Gu Xiang pouted.

She tilted her head and swung around, her inky hair falling over her shoulder as she stood in front of him.

The moment she obscured his view, his eyes went straight to her face with a soft smile. She stepped closer and slipped her hands up his muscled chest to rest on his shoulders. In her heels, she was only just a little shorter than him, and he was staring at her as though she were the only person on earth. It delighted her and made her feel beautiful beyond compare. Gu Xiang leaned closer and angled her head to the side to brush her lips along his neck. He shivered when her canines grazed the fragile flesh in the crook of his neck, but he didn't pull back. Instead, his hands came to support her waist, tentative but firm on the gentle slope of her hips.

She blinked and pulled back, slightly startled. It was taboo for a vampire to drink of a witch after the wars, but here was one willingly baring his throat for her. He was also an incredibly powerful one if his magic was anything to judge by. She laughed then, sudden and delighted at the thought that this man who hardly knew her would be so vulnerable in her presence. It was intoxicating really. If they went head to head, she knew that Cao Weining would more than likely come out on top, but to have such a powerful individual pliant in her hold was exhilarating.

She decided to test him further and dipped her head, her tongue darting out to taste his unmarred flesh. He jolted, but nevertheless brought a hand up to bury in her hair, holding her close to his pounding pulse while the soft strands spilled over his wrist. The scent of apples and vanilla filled her nose and her eyes flashed crimson at the heady fragrance that was all Cao Weining. It was like nothing she had ever beheld before.

Weining tilted his head to the side, his eyes never straying from her beautiful features as she grazed her teeth over the tender curve of his neck. There was no doubt; Weining would let her drink her fill if that was what she wanted, and he would do it with that star struck look in his eyes.

Just one push and her fangs would breach the fragile surface of his skin, and she would taste that lifeblood that smelled so lovely. Yet she hesitated. This man who she barely knew was giving her his absolute trust, which was no small thing in this power hungry world, and there was something deeper here. Her heart no longer beat, but there was a part of her that knew Cao Weining.