Chapter 173: A place beside us

The sky had already started to brighten by the time Ru Yi returned to the camp with Qingyue. It painted the edges of the mountains with soft shades of gold.

Although the two of them had not discussed anything particularly important on the walk back, Ru Yi felt herself grinning so hard her cheeks hurt.

She wasn’t used to being wanted. Even less accustomed to being wanted without having to earn it.

Not by her family.

Not by her first love.

Hearing Qingyue tell her she had always belonged with them left her almost unsettled. Like all her insides had turned soft, and she was nothing but a manifestation of their feelings.

The moment they stepped into the camp, Lieyin looked up from where she was sitting beside the dead fire. Her eyes immediately moved from Qingyue to Ru Yi and then back again.

"Where have you two been?"

Qingyue calmly walked past. "Around."

Lieyin narrowed her eyes, the fluid air between the two not going unnoticed by her. "Around where?"

"Just over there, under a tree."

Lieyin folded her arms over her chest. "That explains nothing. Stop being vague with your answer."

Yexue, who had been preparing their morning meal, looked over her shoulder and gave Ru Yi a long look. She hadn’t spoken to her since they got here, and it was mostly out of guilt.

She had told Qingyue she didn’t mind sharing Ru Yi, since the sisters counted as one. But deep down—

"Leave them alone," Yexue said at last. "We need to finish up fast and get on with the journey. It should take us nothing less than a day to get to Ashen Fortress."

Ru Yi stopped in her tracks. She had expected Yexue to be cold. Was it really possible that she wasn’t being possessive over her anymore?

She walked over to where she sat. "Are you okay?" Ru Yi asked carefully.

Yexue raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn’t I be?"

Ru Yi played with her fingers, suddenly cautious. "You know why."

Yexue sighed and set down the bowl she was holding. "I spoke with Qingyue already about the entire situation. The ring...the two of us..."

Ru Yi’s fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.

Yexue took her hand, squeezing it softly. "I don’t want you to feel like it’s your fault we fought. And about the ring and your bond with Qingyue and Lieyin...I’ve decided that I would rather accept your affection for all three of us than lose everyone I cannot bear to live without."

"Yexue—"

"My sisters have always been the people I could never afford to lose, and I finally understood that caring about you doesn’t have to mean choosing between you and them."

Ru Yi looked toward Qingyue, who gave her a small reassuring smile.

Yexue stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I love you, Yexue. It’s taken me a long time to say this but I really do. And the only consolation I have is that I never had to depend on sharing my energy core with you or sharing a magic ring—"

Her sentence was cut off when Ru Yi immediately pulled her close and kissed her hard on the lips. She’d blame it later on all the conflicting feelings that were bubbling inside of her.

Ru Yi teased her lips, tasting the sweet fruit she’d had earlier before pushing her tongue in. Every part of Yexue was warm, tasted divine.

They only pulled apart when they were unable to breathe.

"Since when could you kiss like that?" Yexue asked, eyes glistening with a joy she hadn’t been able to feel since Emberfall.

Ru Yi shrugged at the same time Lieyin walked over with a blank expression on her face.

"Are we all having Ru Yi for breakfast or—"

Yexue turned to glare at her. "How about you leave and go do whatever it is you were doing with Han Shuying."

Lieyin’s gaze slipped to the young general. She could see the hard planes of Han Shuying’s face twisted in fury at having witnessed Ru Yi and Yexue’s kiss.

"We’re done with feeding the horses, thank you very much." Lieyin turned to Ru Yi. "You’re really a troublemaker."

"Ru Yi," Qingyue called softly, coming to pull her away. "There’s something I’d like to give you." She took Qingyue into the tent she had shared with her sisters who followed them inside.

Qingyue reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small jade pendant, holding it between her fingers as she studied Ru Yi’s confused expression.

"No way," Lieyin said in shock as she watched the scene. Yexue was quiet beside her.

Ru Yi stared at the pendant. "What is that?"

"Something that belonged to our mother," Yexue asked for her.

Ru Yi immediately shook her head. "No."

Qingyue frowned. "You haven’t even heard what we have to say." She pushed the piece of jewelry forward. "Take it, Ru Yi."

Ru Yi hesitated before accepting the pendant. She felt the cool smoothness of the jade beneath her fingers the moment it touched her palm. The late Empress’s emblem was carved into its surface. And although Ru Yi couldn’t explain why, the sight of it made her strangely emotional.

"I can’t have this," she whispered. "It’s too much. I haven’t earned the right to possess such a priceless heirloom."

Lieyin’s expression morphed into anger. "You keep thinking everything must be earned for you to have it. Can’t you understand that sometimes people simply choose you?"

The words struck harder than Lieyin intended. But she only lashed out because she could feel firsthand the doubt creeping into Ru Yi’s heart.

Ru Yi stared down at the pendant, slowly closing her fingers around it as she fought the sudden sting behind her eyes.

Qingyue reached for Ru Yi’s hand and helped her close her fingers completely around the jade. "Lieyin is right. You don’t have to prove that you deserve a place beside us."

Ru Yi’s throat tightened. "What if one day you regret choosing me?"

Qingyue smiled softly. "Then we’ll deal with it when it comes. For now, just be ours."