Faulty Wings

Chapter 4

i do not regret letting wen kexing delve into his dark fae side >:)

Wen Kexing felt so foolish. So foolish to think that he could ever grow to make peace with the humans.

Wave after wave of soldiers relentlessly came at them, almost never ending. Yet, Zhou Zishu and the others didn't hesitate to retaliate. The former prince's clothing was a sea of dark grey silk against Wen Kexing's expanding red magic. His flexible sword singing through the air as Zhou Zishu deflected all the attacks from the guards.

The man before Zhou Zishu was not his soft, teasing, flirtatious, joyful Ah-Xing but a creature of death and fear – no, true terror and beauty.

As the dark fae had set his sight on his next opponent, he was suddenly caught off guard and a metal glove harshly threw Wen Kexing back, separating him from Ah-Xiang and Ah-Xu. His burnt skin screams for attention but it was nothing compared to his rage and adrenaline. This was nothing compared to Zhao Jing's maze of iron thorns and iron whips.

Zhou Zishu gazes around the room, taking in their current standing. Ah-Xiang had already suffered various gashes and scraps and Wen Kexing's sanguine red robes were drenched in blood. To top it off, the former prince had a bruise on his forearm and various cuts. But the more disturbing aspect was that they were slowly being cornered with no escape.

Unbeknownst to his zhiji's realization, Wen Kexing strikes down the guard that dared to touch him, holding down the urge to hiss in fury. Once the man was severely decapitated along with other missing limbs, his red eyes scanned the room for the two rulers, but he could no longer find them in the room – and that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Master!"

Over the sounds of the fighting, a voice cried out and grabbed Wen Kexing's attention. He could see the visible toll on both Ah-Xiang and Zhou Zishu; even if he didn't want to admit it, his strength and magic were starting to wane. Finally seeing where she was gesturing, he immediately understood. He snarled in displeasure at the fact that they were outnumbered and all he wanted to do was to make sure everyone returned to the Moors safe.

With no time to spare, the dark fae swiftly transformed Ah-Xiang back into her raven form and, wrapping a protective arm around Zhou Zishu, prepared for swift escape.

"Hang on to me!" he yelled over the raging sounds of battle.

Wen Kexing unfurled his black and red-hued wings to his max wingspan and with a powerful flap, he flew toward the large window in the dining hall, tightly folded his wings in to shield Ah-Xu, and shattered the glass.

Zhou Zishu had to mentally slap himself for thinking how hot his zhiji looked at that moment.

Brief smiles crossed their faces as they distanced themselves from the castle. Wen Kexing allowed a sliver of relief to seep in—they had escaped alive, if only for that fleeting moment.

If only that moment had lasted longer.

All of a sudden Wen Kexing's world had turned upside down. In the distance, he heard the sound of a gunshot go off and a tremendous amount of pain began to blossom in his side.

It was too much. From being physically exhausted from the battle, to the adrenaline that was slowly leaving Wen Kexing's system. Everything became a blur after that and suddenly it was like his brain wasn't connected to his body anymore. All of a sudden he was Zhou Zishu falling and in the distance, a figure emerged from the watch tour with flowing braided hair.

The dark fae began to lose altitude rapidly, feeling his body crash into the river water. The current was too strong to swim against and he was fading in strength; he couldn't feel one of his wings and his lungs were fighting for any breath of air.

Just when Wen Kexing thinks this is the end, an arm wraps around his waist and scoops him up and out of the water. The flapping of wings barely registers in his ears as they break through the water's surface.

Before he entirely lost consciousness, his blurry eyes struggled to make out the raven black hair and a bold white streak. But even then, it could be a cruel illusion.

~

Ah-Xiang watches helplessly as her master falls from the sky, torn between who to choose.

It was a miracle that Zhou Zishu didn't pass out from the height drop with his fall broken by a palace hedge bush. His body shuddered and he let a groan escape out his lips, eyes fluttering as his body caught up with his mind.

The only emotion he could feel right now was rage, and how it took him to a deep, dark, bottomless place.

His Ah-Xing, his zhiji, had been shot and he couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as he fell.

Shouts began to fill the air, armour clashing against one another alerted him to the various glowing torches coming his way. They would have another thing coming if they thought he was easy prey. He would not go down without fighting till his last breath.

Forcing his body to listen to him, Zhou Zishu urged forward and ran towards the direction of the river border between Ulstead and the Moors, desperate to find Wen Kexing. Hoping and praying to whatever God that was out there that he was alright.

No matter how hard he fought and brought down the guards to his knees - he never reached the river.

Only when he was covered in blood, his energy seeping out of his body and his eyes suddenly became heavy did he know that he was going to lose consciousness. He barely registered the two hands roughly grabbing his arms and forcing him down to the ground. Hard leather black and steel-toed boots were the last thing he saw before he looked up with blurred vision to his captor and with the blood he felt still within his mouth, gave the person the most bloodcurdling smile.