Discarded by Heaven's Prince, Courted by the Demon Emperor novel · Chapter 19 of 24
Chapter 19: Tied Both Ways
The Glass Room was long and narrow, and every wall of it was a mirror.
Jinye's armorers had once polished its panels so that a general could check his own plate before battle.
Now the room held a low bed of black silk and a silver bowl of ice from the frozen well.
The red betrothal cord lay coiled on the pillow.
Qinghe stood in the middle of the floor in a thin white robe and saw herself forty times over.
Jinye stood behind her, in his trousers, with the gold mark glowing on his neck.
"Tell me how it works," he said. His voice was rough. "Tell me everything."
"I will tell you each step before you do it. If I say stop, you stop. If I say go on, you go on."
"And if I want to do something that you haven't said?"
"Then you ask. And I might say yes."
"There is one more rule. When I am close, I will ask to come. You may say yes, or you may say not yet."
She untied her sash herself and let the robe fall.
The mirrors showed her from every side, bare and flushed, her black hair down to her hips.
She saw his eyes in the glass, going over each reflection, and she did not look away from him.
"Take the cord," she said.
He picked it up.
It was old, the red faded to the color of dried roses, with a knot at each end where it had been snapped and spliced.
"Put my hands behind me. Cross them at the wrists."
He came up close.
He took her wrists in his big hands, very gently, and crossed them at the small of her back.
She felt the cord go around once, cool and rough.
"Twice. Then a knot, and another knot over that."
"Like this?"
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of Discarded by Heaven's Prince, Courted by the Demon Emperor are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend