High in the darkness stood the Throne, its inlaid amethysts giving off a faint glow.
Two figures sat there, one nestled against the other.
Qi Wu lowered his head to look at the long-haired young man in his lap.
The young man's expression was cool and weary, his slender, pale fingertips wound with silvery-white threads that stretched into the shadows beneath the Throne.
He was enclosed by the shadow Qi Wu's body cast, his slim waist small enough to fit entirely within a single hand.
Qi Wu knew just how supple that waist was. He wrapped a hand around it, resting his chin in the hollow of Chu Qingjiu's shoulder and nuzzling him.
"Qingjiu, want to come see my home?"
The movement made Chu Qingjiu's lower back tremble. He withdrew the Puppet Threads, freeing a hand to pin down Qi Wu's restless one.
"If you want to go home, we'll go."
"It's not exactly that I want to go home..."
Chu Qingjiu's hands were smaller than Qi Wu's, too small to restrain those hands roaming brazenly over his waist.
Qi Wu's fingertips wandered, feeling the softness and trembling of the waist in his arms. A hint of laughter entered his voice.
"I mainly want my little sister to know about you."
His words made half of Chu Qingjiu's body tingle, warmth welling up inside him.
He no longer had any family, but he knew Qi Wu had a younger sister. They had simply never met, even after he and Qi Wu had been together for over a year.
Now Qi Wu intended to take him to meet his family, giving Chu Qingjiu a sense of belonging, of being acknowledged.
If the old man were still around, he would have taken Qi Wu to meet him, too. He believed the old