Minho’s grip tightened, his fingers curling around Jisung’s throat like a collar, like ownership. The dark energy of Nyxbrand slithered through Jisung’s veins, pulsing in time with Minho’s control.
Jisung’s body convulsed, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His golden blood dripped from his lips, staining his skin as it mixed with the black corruption spreading from the Nyxbrand. Yet, despite the agony coursing through him, despite the way his wings twitched violently, his eyes gleamed with something dangerous.
Defiance.
Desire.
"Mmm." Jisung rasped, voice hoarse but teasing. His lips curled despite the pain, his fingers weakly twitching against the chains that held him in mid-air. "You really do have a thing for choking me, husband."
Minho tilted his head, watching him carefully. His smirk remained, but his eyes burned with something unreadable.
"And you," Minho murmured, fingers pressing just a little harder, "really have a death wish, don’t you, love?"
Jisung’s breath hitched, his vision briefly darkening, but he grinned through it. "Or maybe…" He struggled, lifting his head just enough to meet Minho’s gaze. "Maybe I just like it when you touch me."
A flicker of something dark crossed Minho’s features. Then, with a sharp tug, he yanked Jisung closer, their faces mere inches apart.
"Careful, my dear," Minho whispered, his breath ghosting over Jisung’s lips. "Flirting with the devil never ends well."
Jisung chuckled, voice weak yet filled with mirth. "Then why am I still alive?"
Minho's smirk widened. "Who said you were?"
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he released the chains, but not the pain.
Jisung collapsed, plummeting through the air. His wings twitched, struggling to catch him, but the lingering effects of the Nyxbrand left his body sluggish, barely responsive.
The celestial and dragon beings, his own people, did nothing. They simply watched.
King Seong’s expression was tight, furious, but he did not move. Yoon looked as though he wanted to lunge forward, but Minho’s magic still held them all frozen in place.
Felix, however, Felix was trembling. His hands were clenched into fists, his red eyes locked onto Jisung’s falling form with something dangerous.
And then, just before Jisung could crash to the ground, Minho appeared.
In a blur of movement, he caught Jisung effortlessly, cradling him against his chest as if he weighed nothing.
Jisung barely had time to react before Minho was moving, flying upward until they were once again hovering in mid-air, far above the battlefield.
Minho stared down at him, his crimson eyes gleaming with something both cruel and amused.
"You really are reckless, love."
Jisung groaned, his body still trembling from the lingering pain. "And you," he muttered, tilting his head up to smirk at Minho, "are really bad at letting me die."
Minho chuckled, a dark, velvety sound. "That’s because you’re mine."
Then, as if to prove his point, Minho leaned down and kissed him.
The moment their lips touched, Jisung gasped, because it wasn’t just a kiss. It was control.
Dark energy surged through the contact, a deep, pulsing power that coiled around Jisung’s very soul. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t kind. It was possessive.
It was Minho.
Jisung’s body jerked slightly, the Nyxbrand flaring inside him, burning through his veins. Yet, despite the overwhelming sensation of being owned, Jisung smirked against Minho’s lips.
Because this? This only made him want to push further.
When Minho finally pulled away, his eyes were glowing. "Now then," he murmured, his voice like silk laced with knives. "Shall we continue showing them why you belong to me?"
Jisung licked the blood off his lips, his smirk widening. "I thought you’d never ask."
Minho’s smirk deepened, his grip firm as he held Jisung against him. Below them, King Seong and Yoon still remained frozen under Minho’s spell, their furious expressions locked in place. The celestial leaders and dragons were trapped as well, forced to watch.
Jisung tilted his head back, golden eyes gleaming with something wicked. "What now, my dear husband?" he teased, voice hoarse yet playful. "Gonna put on a show for them?"
Minho hummed, his fingers tracing along Jisung’s jaw, tilting his chin upward. "You’re the one who started this, love." he mused. "I’m simply finishing it."
With that, Minho snapped his fingers.
The sky above them darkened, as if the very heavens recoiled from his power. The air crackled with energy, thick with tension, and a chilling wind swept across the battlefield below.
Jisung barely had time to react before chains, black as midnight, shimmering with cursed energy, shot out from the air.
They coiled around him.
Around his wrists, his ankles, his throat.
Yanking him away from Minho.
Jisung’s breath hitched as he was suspended in midair, bound like an offering. His wings twitched, the dark veins from Nyxbrand still pulsing along his skin, but his smirk never faded.
“Kinky,” he mused, despite the tight grip of the chains. “Didn’t know you liked an audience, Minho.”
Minho chuckled, floating lazily in front of him, one hand raised, his fingers flexing slightly as if he were merely playing with Jisung’s restraints. "And you," Minho murmured, crimson eyes glinting, "really don’t know when to stop."
Below them, Felix snapped.
"Enough!"
His voice shook the battlefield, raw with anger, jealousy, desperation. The spell holding him and the others in place shattered, his power burned through it with sheer will alone.
Felix’s wings flared behind him, his aura radiating a dangerous light. His eyes locked onto Minho with pure rage before shifting to Jisung, still bound midair.
"Jisung," Felix called, his voice breaking slightly. "Stop this, please! He’s destroying you!"
Jisung turned his head slightly, his gaze meeting Felix’s. For a moment, there was silence.
Then, he grinned. "Oh, Felix," Jisung purred, "you still don’t get it, do you?"
Felix’s breath caught. "What?"
Jisung tilted his head, the chains rattling as he shifted slightly. "I don’t need saving." His golden eyes flickered dangerously. "I chose this."
Felix’s wings trembled. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms. "No… you didn’t. He’s controlling you!"
Jisung laughed.
A sharp, almost wild sound.
"Oh, Felix," His voice was both mocking and affectionate. "You think Minho's the one in control?"
Minho arched a brow at that, intrigued.
Jisung’s smirk widened, his gaze flicking back to Minho. He exhaled slowly, deliberately, before whispering:
"I’m the one who gave him my soul."
Minho grinned.
Felix froze.
The battlefield was silent.
Then, Minho snapped his fingers again, and the chains vanished.
Jisung fell, only for Minho to catch him, effortlessly, just like before.
Jisung barely had time to react before Minho’s fingers gripped his chin again, tilting his head up roughly.
"My little bird," Minho murmured, his voice dark, "you really do know how to keep things interesting."
Jisung smirked up at him, unbothered. "I try, husband."
Minho chuckled, his thumb running over Jisung’s bottom lip before pressing down lightly.
"Then let’s give them something to remember."
With that, Minho turned, dragging Jisung with him as he descended back to the throne ignoring the horrified looks of King Seong, Yoon, and the celestial warriors below.
Felix, watching from where he stood, his heart breaking, could only whisper:
"Jisung… what have you done?"