Luo He suddenly grabbed her firmly by the waist and pulled her against him before she could react.
Moonlight flashed across the golden engravings beneath their feet while freezing winds roared around the dark cloud shuttle high above the world below.
He looked directly into her eyes with that dangerous expression she knew far too well by now. "Want to do something truly unforgettable?" He asked.
Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes slightly.
Which usually meant she already knew he was about to do something reckless.
Before she could answer Luo He stood.
Then smoothly lifted her up putting his hands beneath her armpits before pulling her tightly against his chest. The black lamina drifted weightlessly beside them through the clouds while silver moonlight wrapped around the two figures.
The two were suspended in the heavens.
"It does not get more romantic than this."
He said with absolute confidence. Then kissed her.
Jin Mulan returned the affection almost immediately one arm tightening instinctively around his neck while freezing wind whipped violently through her crimson hair. For a single peaceful moment everything else disappeared.
The kingdoms. The war. The politics. The bloodshed waiting ahead. There was only the endless sky surrounding them.
And then Luo He suddenly let go. Jin Mulan's eyes widened instantly.
The dark cloud shuttle dropped with them. All three plunged downward together into open sky. The world vanished upward in a blur as gravity seized them.
Clouds tore apart around their falling bodies while cold air screamed past at terrifying speed. Yet even during the fall
Luo He kept one arm tightly around her waist.
Still holding her close against him.
Still laughing. Jin Mulan immediately grabbed onto him harder as instinct overtook her. "DARLING!"
"See? Romantic." He whispered. "WE ARE FALLING!" she added. "Temporarily." He continued controlling the descent with precise strands of mental force preventing their bodies from rolling uncontrollably through the sky.
So instead of tumbling wildly the two fell straight downward together in each other's embrace. Weightless. Suspended between terror and exhilaration.
Jin Mulan's hair streamed upward like crimson fire beneath the moon while the black cloud shuttle descended beside them like a falling shadow wrapped in gold. The freezing wind stole breath from her lungs.
Yet strangely she was laughing too now.
Luo He noticed instantly. "There it is. You are going insane as well. I love it!" He said shouting above his lungs.
"And yet you're enjoying it." She asked curiously. Jin Mulan tried glaring at him.
Unfortunately the smile on her face ruined the attempt completely.
Then after several long seconds of freefall Luo He's expression sharpened slightly. Invisible waves of mental force burst outward from him. The golden engravings across the shuttle illuminated brilliantly once more.
And instantly their descent stopped.
Smoothly. As though the sky itself had caught them. The feeling of falling disappeared completely.
The two remained floating high above the clouds once more while the dark cloud shuttle slowly hovered beneath them drifting through the upper sky like a silent black blade wrapped in faint golden light.
Jin Mulan stared at him for several moments still catching her breath from the thrill of the descent and the reckless calm he always carried in moments like this. Then without warning she pulled him closer and kissed him again.
Firm, unrestrained and far more direct than before. "Don't get used to it you lunatic," she said afterward. Though the warmth in her voice made it sound more like affection than warning.
Luo He laughed openly still guiding the shuttle's controlled descent. "I am glad you enjoyed the ride," he said as the shuttle gradually lowered them back toward the earth.
Jin Mulan opened her mouth as if to argue again but stopped. Her fingers stayed lightly on his robe instead. The closeness between them, the fading rush of flight and the steady rhythm of his control made it harder to keep up her usual defiance.
By the time they finally descended it was well past midnight close to 2 a.m. The estate below was quiet in the way only sleeping mansions could be. Lanterns dimmed and corridors empty the world briefly pretending to be peaceful.
Luo He guided the dark cloud shuttle down in a smooth arc and landed lightly on the balcony railing of their room followed by Jin Mulan. The black shuttle settled behind him.
Then he kept it neatly in the corner of the chamber where its faint golden engravings slowly gleamed. He exhaled once like a man finally returning from war.
Then without ceremony he stepped down from the balcony railing. Jin Mulan followed immediately after landing beside him with far more controlled elegance.
Luo He didn't even bother using his hands on the door. A faint pulse of mental energy clicked the latch open from inside and the two slipped into their room without sound.
The moment the door closed behind them the atmosphere changed completely. Silence. Real silence.
No wind. No altitude. No danger of falling from the sky.
Just still air and soft darkness. Luo He didn't even reach the bed properly before collapsing onto it with exhausted relief. Jin Mulan followed a second later climbing onto the mattress on her knees before lightly stepping over him.
Without hesitation she settled herself down across his chest resting her weight there as if claiming the final word of the night. For a few moments neither of them spoke. Only breathing.
Only the quiet sound of two people finally stopping after too much chaos in too short a time. Jin Mulan's fingers rested lightly on his shoulder her earlier intensity slowly fading into something calmer and more grounded.
Luo He's hand eventually moved to her back steady and familiar anchoring her there without effort. For the first time all night it almost felt peaceful.
Then from the adjoining room of the estate sound carried faintly through the walls. Not loud enough to be chaotic at first. Just persistent. Then unmistakable. Luo He slowly opened one eye.
A long tired silence followed. Then he exhaled deeply staring at the ceiling like a man questioning his life choices.
"Of course," he muttered under his breath voice full of exhausted disbelief.
Jin Mulan still resting on his chest slowly lifted her head. She listened. Then looked at him. Her expression shifted from calm to resigned. Luo He raised a hand and rubbed his face.
"I hate myself," he said quietly. Another pause. Then he pushed himself slightly upright under her shifting as if mentally rearranging his entire existence. He spoke again more decisively this time.
"We are leaving this place." Jin Mulan didn't argue immediately. That alone said enough. After a moment Luo He continued voice flat with surrender to reality.
"You go sleep with Bing. I will go to Su Kim. Somewhere. Anywhere. Even outside the estate wall is fine at this point." He looked toward the ceiling again.
"This is not sustainable." Jin Mulan finally sat up fully on his chest her legs still on either side of him looking down at him with a mix of annoyance and faint sympathy for the situation.
Then she shook her head firmly. "No."
Luo He blinked. "Why not?" He asked.
Jin Mulan's expression didn't change.
"You are mine tonight," she said simply as if stating a law of nature.
"I am not sharing you because someone in the next room doesn't know what silence means." Luo He stared at her for a moment. Then slowly let his head fall back onto the pillow.
"I see." He sighed. A pause. Then he added flatly "So we suffer together."
Jin Mulan nodded once. "Yes." And just like that the argument ended. The noise continued faintly in the background but neither of them moved again.
Jin Mulan leaned back down onto his chest this time with more determination than comfort as if physically anchoring him into staying put. Luo He raised one arm and held her in place automatically.
No more plans. No more escaping.
Just acceptance. "This household is cursed," he murmured. Jin Mulan didn't disagree.
And finally under the dim glow of moonlight slipping through the curtains the two of them lay there tired, resigned and strangely united in their defeat by circumstances beyond even their control.