Curse of the Red Masquerade | Xu Minghao

"Stay back!" I warned, raising my sword against him, but his slow and deliberate steps never faltered.

"Don't come any closer, or else-"

My voice wavered as I tightened my grip on the sword. He ignored my warning, his gaze never wavering.

"You think you can scare me with that pathetic show of strength?" His voice was low and dangerously calm as he stepped toward me.

He placed his index finger against the sharp tip of the sword pointed at him and dragged it down the blade with deliberate slowness. The sharpness of the sword pierced his skin, cutting deep as he traced it, but he didn't flinch, not even a bit.

Blood trickled down his hand, but it was as if he couldn't feel it. His eyes stayed on mine-cold and unrelenting, watching every flicker of fear in my eyes.

"Is this the best the great prince of Yuefeng can do? Hiding behind a sword, just like you've been hiding behind lies all your life."

His gaze was searing, filled with anger and something darker that sent a shiver down my spine.

In a sudden move, he knocked the sword from my grasp, sending it clattering to the floor. His hand, still bleeding, reached out and gripped the back of my neck, pulling me close until our faces were inches apart, leaving me no room to breathe.

"Surrender, Princess." His voice was deep and dangerously low, and I felt him growling those words in a whisper against my trembling lips. His hand slid around my waist, pulling me closer until I was pressed against the hard lines of his body. "You can't fool me anymore with that dirty act of yours."

And in that moment, I knew there was no escape from 𝙓𝙪 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙝𝙖𝙤 - my opponent 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡...