Ten miles of peach blossom

Chapter 5

The torchlight revealed his face—calm, handsome, maddeningly familiar.

*Kelvin.*

But his eyes… they weren’t the same.

Gone was the warmth I once trusted. The mischief I used to laugh at during training.

What remained was cold. Calculated. Hungry.

“Welcome home... Queen Ayin,” he said again, his voice a mockery of comfort.

Selin stepped forward, blade ready, but I stopped her with a slight gesture.

He wanted a reaction. He always did.

I stepped into the light, shoulders back, keeping my expression as sharp as the storm brewing in my chest. Power surged beneath my skin, aching to be unleashed—but I knew better. *Not yet.*

“You broke the seal,” I said, voice quiet but steady. The words burned my throat. “You let Kaydel out.”

Kelvin tilted his head, a faint smile curving his lips. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

My grip tightened around the Dragon Bone Sword. “He killed my family.”

“He was your *mate*,” he snapped, mask slipping. “And you *rejected* him. You defied fate. Everything began to fall apart the moment you turned away from what was written.”

“I rewrote what was written,” I said, steel in my voice.

He stepped closer, eyes gleaming with twisted satisfaction. “Then I’m here to finish the story you ran from.”

Selin raised her sword, rage in her eyes. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

Kelvin didn’t even blink. “You’re not worth the blood it would cost me.”

He turned his gaze back to me. “Ayin,” he said smoothly, “I trust you’ve been well since we last met—*50,000 years ago*.”

I stiffened.

“You’ve preserved yourself *beautifully*. I’m truly impressed. Soon…” —his smile curved like a blade— “*I’ll claim the vitality of your ten-tailed fox.*”

Rage boiled in my blood. Selin moved to strike, but I caught her wrist.

She wasn’t ready for this fight. Not against *him*.

“That depends on whether you have the *ability* to do so,” I said coldly.

With a whisper of breath and the power of a millennium, I summoned my weapon.

*The Dragon Bone Sword.*

Forged from my blood. Bound to my soul. No one could touch it and live.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” I said, the blade humming in my hand. “What took you so long?”

Then I hurled the sword straight at his head.

But the bastard dodged.

Effortlessly.

He smirked, lips already moving in a spell as he began to vanish.

“Coward,” I growled.

He disappeared like smoke—leaving only silence and the echo of his threat behind.

*BOOM!*

The doors burst open. Royal guards poured in, blades drawn, eyes wide.

Too late.

He was gone.

But the danger?

*Very much here.*

The guards froze, scanning the room—confused by the absence of an enemy and the unmistakable *residual energy* Kelvin left behind.

“Your Majesty!” one shouted. “We felt a magical breach—”

“I know,” I said sharply, eyes still locked on the spot where Kelvin had vanished. “He was here.”

Selin lowered her blade, her face pale with fury. “That was no illusion. That was *him.*”

The guards looked between us, tense and unsure.

“Seal the palace,” I commanded. “Every door. Every ward. I want no one in or out without my permission.”

“Yes, my Queen!” they echoed in unison, immediately turning to carry out the order.

As their footsteps thundered down the halls, I finally allowed my legs to give in. I sank into the nearest seat, my body aching from adrenaline and suppressed power.

Selin knelt beside me. “Why now? Why Kelvin? He wasn’t like this before.”

I stared ahead, unblinking. “Because Kaydel isn’t the only threat anymore.”

Kelvin had crossed a line.

This wasn’t just about vengeance… or obsession.

This was about *power*.

And for the first time in a very long time—I wasn’t sure who the real enemy was.

But I *did* know this:

The war had already begun.