The air in the Grotto of Eternal Stillness was thick with the scent of sandalwood and damp stone. It was a holy place, a place of meditation, but to Xiao, it felt like a tomb.

At the center of the cavern sat her elder sister, Bai. She was draped in silks so white they seemed to glow against the dark moss, her eyes closed in a state of divine cultivation. To the Serpent Clan, Bai was a miracle—the "White Saint" who would one day transcend their cold-blooded nature and become a dragon.

Xiao watched her from the shadows of a weeping willow, her heart a tangled knot of adoration and bitterness. She didn't want a dragon. She wanted the sister who used to coil around her in the mud when the world was young.

The Intruder

The silence was broken by the crunch of gravel. A young disciple from the mountain temple approached, carrying a tray of spirit-fruit. He was handsome, his eyes full of the kind of pure, distant worship that made Xiao’s venom itch in her fangs.

He stopped ten paces from Bai and bowed low. "Great Saint, I bring offerings from the High Priest. He hopes you will accept his guidance for tonight’s ritual."

Xiao’s eyes slitted, the pupils becoming thin black needles. Guidance? The priest wanted to touch her sister’s mind. He wanted to claim a piece of the light that belonged only to the nest.

Before the disciple could speak again, a blur of emerald silk swept past him.

The Warning

Xiao didn't reveal her serpent form—not yet. She manifested behind the boy, her breath cold against the shell of his ear.

"She is in communion with the heavens," Xiao hissed, her voice a low, melodic threat. "Do you think your common fruit and your master’s dusty words are worth her breath?"

The disciple spun around, gasping. "I—I am only doing my duty, Lady Xiao."

"Your duty is to stay alive," Xiao whispered, leaning in so close their foreheads nearly touched. She reached out, her long, sharp fingernail tracing the line of his throat. "If I see you looking at her face again—if I see you even dreaming of her white scales—I will bury you so deep in the silt that the gods themselves won't find your soul."

The boy dropped the tray, the fruit rolling into the dark water, and fled into the mist without looking back.

The Hidden Truth

Xiao turned back to the altar. Bai’s eyes were open now. They were calm, like the surface of a frozen lake, but there was a flicker of weariness in them.

"You've chased away the third one this week, Xiao," Bai said softly. "The elders will grow suspicious of your 'protections'."

Xiao walked toward her, her predatory grace replaced by a feigned innocence. She knelt at Bai's feet, resting her head on her elder sister’s lap. It was a gesture of a devoted younger sibling, but the way Xiao’s fingers gripped the white silk was too tight, too desperate.

"They are insects, Sister," Xiao murmured, closing her eyes as she inhaled the scent of Bai's skin—a mix of lotus and cold rain. "They want to take you away from the river. They want to put you on a pedestal where I can't reach you."

Bai sighed, her hand hovering over Xiao’s hair before finally resting there. It was a chaste touch, the touch of a sister, but to Xiao, it felt like a brand.