The sight of that tail nearly stopped Kael's heart.
It rose behind Verdis in the moonlight like a nightmare made flesh—thick as a tree trunk at the base, plated in glossy green-black chitin, curling higher and higher above the peach blossoms until the venom hook at the end glistened over his head.
He went cold.
A moment earlier, he had been half-drunk and drowning in lust, buried between silk thighs while Verdis writhed beneath him in the grass. Her lips had been parted. Her breasts had been pressed against his chest. Her breath had smelled of wine and ripe fruit.
Now all he could think was:
Gods above… she's a damned scorpion.
Verdis, drunk and flushed and completely unaware of his spiritual collapse, blinked at him through half-lidded eyes.
"Little bastard…" she breathed, voice thick with desire. "Why'd you stop?"
Kael stared at the tail.
Then at her.
Then at the tail again.
Sweat poured down his neck.
Verdis grabbed his wrist and dragged his hand back between her thighs with shameless urgency.
"Hurry," she whimpered. "Look at me... I'm soaked."
Kael nearly screamed.
With the desperate strength of a man escaping execution, he tore himself free, shoved her backward into the flowers, and scrambled upright while yanking his trousers into place.
Verdis let out a startled cry as she tumbled onto her back.
Kael looked like a man who had seen death itself.
"F-Fifth Sister…" he stammered. "I think I drank too much. My head's splitting. Terrible. Horrible. Might die. And—and I leave at dawn. Very important. Critical departure. I should go."
He turned and ran.
"...What?"
Verdis sat upright, stunned.
Then furious.
She reached for him and missed by inches.
"You idiot!" she shouted. "Get back here!"
Kael ran faster.
He tore through the endless peach groves like demons were chasing him.
Branches whipped his face.
Petals stuck to his hair.
His boots slipped through wet grass as he fled Verdenhall and burst from the orchards into the night roads of the Jadewash Valley.
He did not stop running until Vane's Summit rose before him under a sky packed with cold stars.
Only when he staggered into his room and slammed the door shut did he finally collapse against it, gasping.
"I almost bedded a scorpion…"
He slid down to the floor.
"A giant scorpion."
His hands shook.
Then the alcohol came roaring back.
The room tilted.
His legs turned to wet rope.
He barely managed to stand again.
"Packing," he muttered. "Need to pack. Leaving tomorrow. Must not die because I forgot underwear."
He stumbled toward his belongings.
After several failed attempts, he managed to untie the Wardian Satchel from his waist.
He opened it and saw the Lone-Bud Branch resting inside.
The tiny peach branch glowed softly.
Kael blinked at it drunkenly.
"Oh right."
He pulled it free along with the green porcelain vase holding it.
Lady Perelda had told him the branch needed fresh dew to remain healthy.
Kael looked out the window at the dark night.
Then looked at his shaking legs.
"No chance."
He swayed dangerously.
"I can barely stand."
He dug through his belongings, found one of his Condensed Essence Draughts, and grinned like a drunken genius.
"This should help. Probably."
He dropped the pill into the vase water.
It dissolved with a hiss.
The branch glowed brighter.
"There," Kael slurred proudly. "Luxury treatment."
He stumbled back toward his bed and continued gathering supplies for the journey.
Clothes.
Travel rations.
Coins.
Medicine.
Then he remembered something very important.
His expression grew serious.
He reached beneath his pillow.
And pulled out a thin illustrated book.
A very illegal illustrated book.
Kael grinned.
"Can't forget this."
Weeks ago, he had secretly bought it in a town market at the foot of the mountain after nearly dying from embarrassment just asking the merchant for it.
Now he flipped through the pages proudly.
The drawings were explicit enough to make priests faint.
Bodies tangled.
Legs spread.
Sweat.
Mouths.
Hands.
Very educational material.
He flipped another page.
And immediately thought of Verdis.
Her red lips.
Her pale skin.
Her moans.
Her hands clawing at his back.
Her legs wrapped around his waist.
Kael groaned.
"Maybe I overreacted…"
He stared at another explicit drawing.
"Sure, she had a giant venom tail…"
Page flip.
"But she was also incredibly hot…"
Page flip.
"And honestly…"
He frowned.
"What exactly does a woman look like down there?"
He tried desperately to remember.
He'd been seconds away from seeing everything before panic had hijacked his soul.
He slapped his own forehead.
"I ran away before even looking."
He stared at the illustrations with increasing concentration.
Then a female voice spoke beside him.
"What exactly are you studying so seriously?"
Kael nearly died.
He launched halfway off the bed.
Selene Voss stood beside him.
He screamed and shoved the book under his pillow.
"When did you get in here?!"
Selene looked offended.
"The door was open."
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"You look guilty."
"I always look guilty."
She sniffed.
Then frowned.
"Why do you smell like a tavern?"
Kael straightened immediately.
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
"I was doing… medicinal drinking."
"That isn't a thing."
"It should be."
Selene ignored him and began searching his room.
Kael wanted to cry.
"What are you doing?"
She glanced back.
"Seeing what Master gave you."
She spotted the Eight-Claw Flamescourge and picked it up.
Kael groaned.
"Careful with that."
"What did Master give me?" she said smugly. "Nothing nearly as impressive."
Kael blinked.
"What did you get?"
Selene shrugged.
"Mira got the better treasure."
Kael sat upright.
"What?"
Selene rolled her eyes.
"She received the Earth-Spirit Flute."
She spun the Flamescourge experimentally.
"It amplifies her Earth-Golem Summoning. She tested it earlier."
Kael leaned forward drunkenly.
"How strong?"
"She summoned eight earth golems at once."
Kael nearly swallowed his tongue.
"Eight?!"
Selene nodded smugly.
Kael looked devastated.
"That's absurd."
She cracked the whip.
CRACK.
The sound thundered through the room.
She examined it.
"It doesn't seem that special."
Kael pointed lazily.
"It is called the Eight-Claw Flamescourge."
"And what does it do?"
Kael yawned.
"I'll explain tomorrow."
He collapsed backward onto his bed.
"Please leave. I'm dying."
Selene narrowed her eyes.
Then suddenly stepped forward.
Her hand flashed beneath his pillow.
Kael's soul left his body.
"No!"
Too late.
She pulled out the hidden book.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why are you panicking?"
She opened it.
Read one page.
Then another.
Her face turned bright red.
She froze.
Her lips parted.
"This…"
She flipped another page.
"This is…"
Kael reached weakly toward her.
"Please give that back."
Selene slowly looked up.
Her face was crimson.
"You disgusting pig."
"That feels harsh."
"You're reading smut!"
"It's educational."
"You are shameless!"
Kael sat up indignantly.
"What's wrong with learning?"
"Learning?!" she shrieked.
She tore the book in half.
Kael stared in horror.
"No."
She ripped it again.
"No no no."
Again.
Again.
Paper rained through the room like dying birds.
Kael let out a scream so loud it echoed through the mountain halls.
"My book!"
Selene dusted off her hands with righteous satisfaction.
"There. Civilization is safer."
Kael looked ready to weep.
"That took me weeks to find."
"I'm embarrassed to know you."
"You owe me a new one!"
Selene put her hands on her hips.
"You're arguing with me?"
"You destroyed my property!"
"You're drunk."
"So what?"
"You snuck off the mountain tonight, didn't you?"
Kael puffed out his chest.
"And what if I did?"
"You're impossible."
"I enjoy drinking!"
"You drank too much."
"That sounds like quitter talk."
Selene glared.
"As your Elder Soror, I am obligated to discipline you."
Kael pointed at her face.
"You are a tyrant."
Her eyebrow twitched.
"What did you call me?"
Kael's grief over his destroyed book merged with lingering humiliation from Verdis.
Years of Selene bullying him crashed together.
And something in him finally snapped.
"You nosy little demon woman!"
He threw a punch.
Selene's eyes widened.
Then hardened.
"Oh."
She smoothly deflected his fist.
Her wrist twisted.
His strike flew harmlessly past her face.
Her palm slammed into his ribs.
Agony exploded through his side.
Kael grunted and retaliated with an elbow strike.
Selene redirected that too.
Then flicked two knuckles into his forehead.
Pain burst behind his eyes.
Kael roared and began swinging wildly.
Selene activated The Whirlpool Art.
Water Vitae spiraled around her arms.
Every strike he threw slid harmlessly away.
He couldn't touch her.
Not once.
Kael staggered drunkenly.
The room spun.
His punches became slower.
Sloppier.
Then he spotted the fallen Eight-Claw Flamescourge.
He dove.
Grabbed it.
And lashed upward.
The strike came fast.
Too fast.
Selene's eyes widened.
She twisted aside—
RIIIIIP.
Her robe tore open at the shoulder.
A large section of fabric fell away.
Her pale shoulder gleamed in the lanternlight.
A strip of green undergarment showed beneath.
Both of them froze.
Kael stared.
That's what she wears underneath?
Selene's face turned scarlet.
Her entire body trembled.
"You…"
Her voice shook.
"You whipped me."
Kael wisely said nothing.
Selene smiled.
That smile terrified him more than Verdis' tail.
"Fine."
She dropped into stance.
"You want weapons involved?"
Water Vitae surged around her feet.
She launched forward using The Heavenpool Step.
Kael swung desperately.
Too slow.
She slipped past the whip.
Suddenly she was inside his guard.
SLAP.
Her palm cracked across his face.
Kael's vision exploded white.
Selene smiled coldly.
"That one was from Master."
Before he recovered—
she appeared on his right.
THUD.
A strike slammed into his neck.
"That one was from First Soror."
Kael stumbled.
He tried summoning the Sundering Flame Art—
but the alcohol wrecked his focus.
His Vitae sputtered uselessly.
Panic set in.
Selene drove a fist into his chest.
"That one was from Second Soror."
Kael wheezed.
Everything hurt.
His pride hurt worst of all.
She's terrifying.
He turned and bolted for the door.
"Tactical retreat!" he screamed.
Selene laughed.
"Oh no you don't."
She whipped her sleeves forward.
Water Vitae shot through the air like ropes.
They wrapped around Kael's body.
He was yanked backward violently.
Then—
THUD.
Her foot slammed directly into his ass.
Kael stumbled forward two steps.
Then stopped.
Completely still.
Silent.
Selene blinked.
Her anger faded.
"That one was for me."
She raised her hand again.
"And Mira gets one too—"
Kael slowly turned around.
Something had changed.
His face was calm.
Too calm.
His eyes were dead still.
Selene's smile vanished.
A chill crawled up her spine.
"Kael…"
He lowered his gaze.
When he spoke, his voice was terrifyingly quiet.
"You can strike a man's head."
He lifted one finger.
"You can strike a man's face."
Another finger rose.
"But."
He looked up.
His eyes burned with wounded masculine fury.
"You do not kick a man in the ass."
He took one slow step forward.
"That…"
Another step.
"…is the final sacred dignity of all men."
"I... I didn't mean to—"
Selene's voice broke.
For the first time since Kael had met her, true fear crossed her face.
It should have satisfied him.
It didn't.
His pride was burning alive.
"You kicked me," Kael said softly.
He took another step.
Selene backed into the side of the bed.
"You slapped me."
Another step.
"You shredded my book."
Another.
"And then—"
His jaw flexed.
"—you kicked me in the ass."
Selene swallowed hard.
"Kael..."
"Anyone who kicks my ass," he said in a voice cold enough to freeze blood, "earns regret that lasts a lifetime."
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge screamed from his hand.
The crimson whip came down like a falling dragon.
Selene froze.
For one impossible moment, she simply stared at the descending weapon as if her mind had stopped working.
The blazing tip reached her brow—
—and Kael twisted his wrist.
The whip veered aside at the final instant.
Instead of splitting her skull, it coiled around her left wrist.
Selene gasped.
Before she could react, the whip's other scaled lengths shot forward like living serpents and wrapped around her right wrist too.
"What—"
Kael yanked.
She stumbled sideways into the bed frame.
His eyes sharpened.
She's stronger than me.
If I don't lock her down right now, I'm dead.
He lunged forward.
Two fingers stabbed into her lower abdomen.
The Sundering Flame Art surged through his hand.
Fire Vitae invaded her Crucible and slammed her channels shut.
Selene gasped.
Her legs instantly gave out beneath her.
She collapsed onto the floor in a heap of blue silk and pale limbs.
"What did you—"
Kael tackled her before she could recover.
He pinned her shoulders to the floor.
Selene stared up at him in disbelief.
"You..." she whispered.
Then outrage exploded across her face.
"What are you doing?!"
Kael raised a fist.
He wanted to hit her.
He truly did.
But looking at her face—
that beautiful, furious, terrified face—
he couldn't do it.
His fist trembled in the air.
Selene glared up at him.
Then she shut her eyes and lifted her chin.
Her chest rose sharply with angry breaths.
"Well?" she snapped.
"Hit me."
Kael blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me."
She opened her eyes.
They burned with stubborn pride.
"Hit me if you dare."
Kael gritted his teeth.
"You think I won't?"
"Then do it."
Her voice shook.
But she didn't back down.
Kael stared at her.
Then at her lips.
Then at her throat.
Then lower.
Her robe had torn during their fight.
One shoulder was bare now.
Smooth.
Pale.
Soft-looking.
He stared too long.
Selene noticed.
Her breathing hitched.
Her confidence shattered instantly.
"What are you looking at?" she snapped.
Her voice cracked.
"Stop staring!"
Kael leaned closer.
"I don't want to."
Selene's face turned scarlet.
"You shameless pig!"
She twisted violently.
Something slipped free from inside her robe.
A pendant dropped against her chest.
An icy blue carved griffin hung from black cord.
The Frost-Griffin Pendant.
Its gemstone eyes seemed to glare at Kael.
He barely noticed.
His arm had brushed her breast during the struggle.
Just once.
Accidentally.
But that single touch hit him like lightning.
His entire arm went numb.
Heat exploded through his body.
Selene let out a soft sound before biting it back.
She instantly froze.
Neither of them moved.
Then she whispered through clenched teeth—
"This isn't funny anymore."
Kael smirked.
"You tore my book."
"You deserved it."
"You kicked me."
"You deserved that too."
Kael leaned closer.
"And now?"
Selene glared.
"Now get off me."
"No."
Her eyes widened.
"No?"
"No."
He stared at her shoulder again.
Then lower.
Then lower.
His pulse hammered harder.
Selene noticed where his eyes had gone.
Her breath became uneven.
"You filthy bastard."
Kael suddenly grabbed her robe.
Ripped.
Fabric tore apart.
Selene screamed.
More of her underclothes were exposed beneath.
Fine green silk clung tightly to her chest.
Far too expensive for someplace like Vane's Summit.
He remembered her trip to Aureheim.
She'd returned with entire wagons of noble clothing.
This had to be from there.
Selene's face went white.
"What are you doing?"
Kael grinned.
And for once, he looked genuinely dangerous.
"You ripped my book."
He tugged her robe again.
"So I'll rip your clothes."
"That's not the same thing!"
"Feels fair to me."
Another tear.
Selene nearly cried.
"Kael!"
"That book had twenty-one pages."
He smirked.
"You've only paid back three."
Her eyes went wide with horror.
Twenty-one?
"You monster!"
"You still owe eighteen."
She began thrashing wildly.
"If you tear one more thing, I'll kill you!"
Kael suddenly paused.
His expression shifted.
Wait.
She can still use Aether.
If she activated some hidden treasure—
he'd be dead.
Immediately.
He moved fast.
Two burning fingers slammed into her forehead.
The Sundering Flame Art struck again.
Her Sanctum sealed shut.
Selene froze.
Then panic truly set in.
Her Vitae was gone.
Her Aether was gone.
She was trapped in her own body.
"No…"
She fought harder.
But now she only had ordinary strength.
And the Eight-Claw Flamescourge tightened every time she struggled.
Kael held her down.
Their bodies rubbed together during the struggle.
Skin against skin.
Heat against heat.
His mind began slipping.
Verdis.
The peach grove.
That nearly completed encounter.
All the fire she had ignited in him earlier came roaring back.
His hand trembled.
Then slid beneath Selene's torn robes.
He grabbed her waist.
Selene cried out.
Her body jerked violently.
The softness of her skin nearly made Kael black out.
Then a memory flashed through his mind—
those filthy illustrations from his ruined book.
Bound women.
Helpless women.
Waiting.
Something dark woke inside him.
Before he could think better of it, he moved.
The Flamescourge wrapped around the bedposts.
Selene's wrists were dragged upward and tied apart.
She was left half-sprawled against the floor.
Chest heaving.
Hair disheveled.
Eyes full of fear.
Kael stared at her.
This was the same woman who tormented him daily.
Insulted him.
Mocked him.
Beat him.
And now—
she looked devastating.
He grabbed her chest bindings.
Ripped.
The silk tore apart.
Selene screamed.
Her breasts spilled free.
Small.
Perfect.
Firm.
They bounced softly as she struggled.
Kael stopped breathing.
Selene tried curling inward to hide herself.
She couldn't.
Her wrists were bound.
Her legs were pinned.
She could only tremble.
Her pale skin flushed pink with humiliation.
Kael's restraint shattered.
He fell onto her.
His hands roamed wildly.
Her skin.
Her stomach.
Her chest.
Everywhere.
Selene gasped.
"No—wait—"
His mouth found her breast.
She cried out sharply.
Kael sucked greedily.
Licked.
Bit softly.
Drank in every trembling reaction she gave him.
Selene writhed helplessly.
The Flamescourge tightened harder.
The more she struggled—
the more trapped she became.
Eventually Kael moved lower.
Kissing down her stomach.
Her waist.
His fingers reached her skirt ties.
Selene's breathing became ragged.
The room felt unbearably hot.
Her thoughts became fragmented.
Kael rose above her again.
"Will you bully me now?"
Before she could answer—
his hand shoved into her underclothes.
Selene screamed.
Her entire body jolted.
"Don't!"
Kael froze for half a second.
The softness between her thighs stunned him.
Warm.
Wet.
Delicate.
He moved carefully.
Almost reverently.
Then his fingers brushed a tiny sensitive point.
Selene nearly arched off the floor.
A broken cry escaped her lips.
Heat rushed through her body.
Something wet spilled against his hand.
Her face turned crimson.
He touched me there.
He actually touched me there—
Kael stared at his glistening fingers in fascination.
Then looked down.
Curiosity overwhelmed him.
He wanted to see.
Needed to see.
He pulled away her undergarments.
Selene tried to stop him.
He pinned her legs apart with his knee.
Lifted her skirt.
And stared.
He forgot how to breathe.
Soft curls.
Pale thighs.
And hidden between them—
glistening heat.
Selene wanted to die.
Tears formed in her eyes.
He's seen everything.
Everything...
Kael couldn't look away.
Then those filthy illustrations returned to his mind again.
Men.
Women.
Bodies joining.
He looked down at himself.
He was painfully hard.
He yanked free his belt.
Shoved his trousers down.
Selene looked.
And froze in horror.
When she realized what he intended—
she began shaking.
"No."
Kael positioned himself between her legs.
The heat of her body nearly drove him insane.
He pressed against her.
Both of them gasped.
The sensation was overwhelming.
He pushed experimentally.
Only the tip entered.
Then resistance stopped him cold.
Tight.
Hot.
Unbelievably tight.
Selene cried openly now.
"Please…"
Kael barely heard her.
He pushed again.
Still blocked.
But the friction alone nearly made him lose his mind.
He groaned through clenched teeth.
"So this is…"
Selene shook violently beneath him.
She didn't fully understand what was happening.
But instinct screamed that something irreversible was coming.
"Please stop…"
Kael kept pressing.
Her body trembled.
Then—
a wave of sharp sensation ripped through Selene.
She cried out.
Desperate.
Panicked.
She bit down hard on his shoulder.
Kael shouted in pain.
His hips slammed forward on instinct—
And suddenly—
he broke through.
Both of them screamed.
Kael went completely still.
Selene's entire body locked rigid beneath him.
Blood stained the sheets beneath her.
And in that brutal, irreversible moment—
the girl became a woman.