Shock slammed into me first.
Then horror followed, cold and suffocating, crawling up my spine until my chest felt tight, my breath uneven. My eyes were fixed on the ring, on the man kneeling before me, on the reality unfolding in front of my eyes, and my mind refused to accept any of it.
"Are you out of your mind?" The words tore out of my throat before I could stop them.
Mo Yuzhen looked up at me and laughed.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't mocking. It was low, almost amused, as if my reaction had confirmed something he already knew. He rose to his feet unhurriedly, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his knee, his gaze never leaving my face.
"I expected something like that," he said calmly. Then he nodded, as if agreeing with himself. "And yes. I am."
His eyes gleamed faintly under the warm lights. "I'm completely out of my damn mind."
Disgust surged through me.
