Themoonwasasliverofcoldsilverinthesmog-chokedsky,castingitsindifferentlightupoy’ssprawling,feverishheart。Inapenthousethatseemedtofloatabovethemundanesoftheworldbelow,twofigureswerelockedinatableauthatwouldhavemadeapoetweeporapriestdespair。
Theairsmelledofexpensivewhiskeyandthefaint,metalligink。SongYiqianstoodbythefloor-to-ceilingwindow,hisprofilesharpandunmovedasablade,thecity’selectricdreamsreflectedinhisdarkeyes。Heheldaglass,theicewithinitcligasoft,solitaryrhythmagainstthesilence。
JiHuaijinwasastudyintrast。Hehadbeen,momentsbefore,awhirlwindofplayfulaffe—apuppynuzzlingathismaster’shand,allwarmthandeasydevotion。He’dbeenchatteringaboutsometrivialthing,hislaughterlightandairy。Buttheatmospherehadshifted,coilingintosomethingtighter,darker,aspalpableasastormfront。
TheplayfullightinJiHuaijin’seyesgutteredanddied。Itwasextinguishedsopletelyitseemedadifferentpersonnowoccupiedhisskin。Thecharming,boyishcurveofhismouthstraightenedintoahard,flatlihegewassoabruptitwasjarring,arecordscratasweetsymphony。
“Youlookatthem,”Huaijinsaid,hisvoicelow,allthemusiefromit。Itwasastatement,flatandcold。Hedidn’tspecifywho‘them’was。Theadmirers?Theworld?Itdidn’tmatter。Theaccusationwasabsolute。
Yiqiandidn’tturookaslowsipofhiswhiskey。“Ilookatmanythings。”
“No。”Thewordwasashardofglass。Huaijinclosedthedistaweenthem,hismovementunnervinglyfluid。Hedidn’tgraborshove;hesimplyinvaded,hispresencesuddenlyoverwhelmingthespaciousroom。HestoodsocloseYiqiancouldfeeltheheatofhisbody,couldseethedark,possessivevortexswirlinginhisgaze。Thepuppywasgohiswassomethingelseentirely—somethingaandravenous。
“Youletthemexistinyourperiphery,”Huaijinwhispered,thesoundintimateandthreatening。“Yougivethempiecesofyourattention。Fragmentsofyourtime。Scraps。”Hishandcameup,nottotouch,buttohovernearYiqian’sjaromiseoftact。“It’swasteful。”
Yiqianfinallyturnedhishead,meetingthatstaze。Aflickerofsomething—amusement?anticipation?—passedthroughhisowncoolposure。Hesaidnothing。
Huaijin’slipscurled,notintoasmile,butabaringofteeth。Theplayfulpuphantom,replacedbyacreatureofpure,unadulteratedobsession。Theloveheofferedwasnotagehing;itwasacagewroughtoffigold,apossessiontotalandabsolute。
“Shutoutthenoise,Yiqian,”hemurmured,hisvoicedroppingtoavelvetthreat,asinfulpromise。“Allofit。Thecity。Thevoices。Thesixpence-clatteringworld。”
Hishandfinallymadetact,fingersbrushingagainstYiqian’scheekwithatouchthatwasterrifyinglygewasthecalmbeforetheviolation。
“Iwantyoureyestoseeonlyme。”Thewordshungintheair,notarequest,butadecree。
“Iwantyourmindtounravelforme。”Afessiontwistedintoademand。
“Iwantyourart,yourbreath,yoursilence—allofit。”Heleanedin,hiswordsahot,desperatewhisperagainstYiqian’slips,aprayerandathreatiheonlytrutheitherofthemwouldeverneed:
“Letmebeyouronlydamnorientation。”