"How do you want to settle it?" Rovan Ashford asked, chin raised in challenge. "Another contest killing skeletons?"
Kael barked out a laugh.
"Idiot. Have you seen a single skeleton on this island?"
That hit exactly where it needed to.
Rovan Ashford was heir to a marquisate. Governor of Mirekeep. Commander of hardened soldiers who would kill on command without blinking. Men bowed when he entered rooms.
Very few people on earth spoke to him the way Kael Ashvane did.
Rovan's jaw tightened.
"What do you want to compete in?"
Kael folded one arm across his chest and rubbed his chin with exaggerated seriousness, pretending to think deeply.
"Well... we are brothers of the same Order, after all. If I beat you bloody in a proper fight and break a few bones, Master might punish me."
Rovan's eyes narrowed.
"Don't provoke me."
Kael sighed dramatically.
"Then again... if word gets out that I bullied an older disciple who's clearly weaker than me..." He shook his head in false pity. "That would stain the glorious reputation of the Little Saint-Lord."
Rovan nearly exploded.
"Then name the damned contest!"
Kael's gaze drifted toward the lake.
Then he smiled.
"Can you swim?"
Rovan blinked.
"What?"
"Swim." Kael pointed toward the forest on the opposite shore. "Can you?"
Rovan let out a harsh laugh.
Mirekeep sat among marshes, rivers, and deep black lakes. He had grown up diving from cliffs and wrestling river currents before he could properly read.
"I can. Very well. Why?"
"We race to the opposite shore." Kael grinned. "First one there wins."
Rovan stared at him.
"That's it?"
Kael nodded.
"I'll even let you use wards if you want."
"I won't need them."
Rovan stepped closer, eyes hard.
"And what happens when you lose?"
Kael answered instantly.
"If you win, I'll call you Elder Frater from now on."
Rovan smirked.
"And?"
Kael's smile vanished.
"And you stop buzzing around Mira like a drunk fly."
Rovan looked genuinely stunned for half a breath before his own pride surged back.
"Fine."
His voice turned sharp as steel.
"And when I win, you call me Elder Frater... and stay out of my sight whenever possible."
Kael slapped his palm against Rovan's.
"Done."
They strode side by side toward the ruined stone platform that jutted over the water.
Below them, twenty feet down, clear green lake water rolled gently against the island.
Kael smiled.
"Don't cry when you lose."
Rovan gave him a murderous look.
"Worry about yourself."
Kael stretched lazily.
"I'll count."
Rovan tightened his clothing, rolled his sleeves, and lowered his center of gravity like a soldier preparing for battle.
Kael dragged the count out deliberately.
"One…"
Rovan's muscles coiled.
"Two…"
Kael grinned.
"Three."
Both men launched themselves off the platform.
They hit the lake like thrown spears.
Water exploded upward.
They vanished beneath the surface, cutting deep through the cold green depths before rising again several yards out.
Then the race began.
Their arms tore through the lake.
Their legs churned.
Spray flew.
For the first stretch, they remained close.
Then Rovan began pulling ahead.
Fast.
Very fast.
Kael's expression changed.
Damn.
Rovan swam like he'd been born in water. Every movement was clean, brutal, efficient.
Within moments he had gained several body lengths.
Rovan glanced back and sneered.
This fool challenged me for this?
Kael gritted his teeth.
His own swimming wasn't bad. He'd spent plenty of time diving into the pools beneath the Dream Nest back at Vane's Summit.
But that was child's play compared to a man raised in marsh warfare.
Still—
Kael had never intended to fight fair.
While swimming, he quietly gathered Aether.
His fingers moved beneath the water.
A hidden hand sign.
A silent chant.
The lake shifted.
The water in front of him split apart.
Resistance vanished.
Kael shot forward like an arrow.
The Water-Parting Art.
A trick Selene had once taught him during one of their private moments at Vane's Summit.
He surged through the lake and caught Rovan almost instantly.
Rovan's eyes widened.
"What the hell—"
Kael passed him with ease.
Then deliberately slapped the lake with one hand.
A wall of water exploded into Rovan's face.
Rovan choked as water blasted into his nose and mouth.
Kael cackled.
"What happened, Governor? Cramping up?"
Rovan nearly swallowed his own rage.
If he lost—
He would call this bastard Elder Frater forever.
And worse—
He would have to step away from Mira.
Absolutely unacceptable.
He roared and surged forward.
Kael's smile faded.
Ah... maybe I pushed him too hard.
Rovan swam like a rabid war beast.
He began closing the gap again.
Kael cursed and pushed harder.
Soon both men were breathing heavily.
Then violently.
Then desperately.
The race had become ugly.
Their elegant dives were gone.
Now they clawed through water like drowning animals.
Their lips turned pale.
Their arms trembled.
Their lungs burned.
Kael's mind raced.
This is bad.
And worse—
Rovan still had wards.
If he became desperate enough to use one...
Kael grimaced.
For Mira's future romantic safety, the Little Saint-Lord must make sacrifices.
He released the Water-Parting Art.
His speed dropped instantly.
Rovan's eyes lit up.
He's exhausted.
Then Kael formed another seal beneath the water.
A pulse of fire Aether erupted.
The lake around Rovan exploded upward.
A circular wall of boiling water rose around him.
Steam burst skyward.
Rovan screamed.
"What—?!"
He tried forcing through it.
The scalding water blasted his skin.
He recoiled instantly.
"You cheating bastard!"
Kael laughed breathlessly while swimming away.
"When did we agree no spells?"
That spell—
The Fire-Prison Art.
Normally it created a ring of flame.
Here, surrounded by water, it transformed the lake itself into a boiling prison.
Unfortunately Kael's mastery of fire techniques was mediocre at best compared to his obsession with constructs and artificing.
And fire hated water.
The prison lasted only moments.
The boiling walls collapsed.
Rovan burst free.
But Kael had already gained significant distance.
Rovan's face darkened.
Fine.
He reached into his storage pouch.
No more mercy.
He pulled out a ward-script.
The parchment glowed black.
He muttered activation words and threw it skyward.
The ward exploded into spinning black symbols.
The symbols twisted.
Folded.
Compressed.
Then something crawled out.
A massive silver-scaled serpent over thirty feet long.
It hit the lake with a thunderous splash.
Kael looked back.
His soul nearly left his body.
"Oh, you insane bastard!"
The giant serpent cut through the lake at horrifying speed.
It was fast.
Far too fast.
The summoned beast's jaws opened wide enough to bite a horse in half.
Kael swore and swam with pure survival terror.
On land he might have fought it.
In water?
Absolutely not.
Still—
Summoned creatures from ward-scripts often had strict time limits.
Kael clung to hope.
Just survive long enough and it vanishes.
Then the serpent accelerated.
Its speed became monstrous.
It rose behind him.
Water exploded.
The creature launched upward.
Its jaws descended.
Kael saw rows of curved fangs.
Saw death.
Rovan, you lunatic—
Then the lake erupted.
Something even bigger exploded from below.
A gray mass slammed into the serpent.
The impact sounded like thunder.
Water blasted into the sky like shattered glass.
Kael and Rovan both stared in disbelief.
A gigantic crocodilian beast surfaced.
Gray hide.
Pale underbelly.
Huge enough to drag ships.
It clamped onto the summoned serpent.
The two monsters crashed back into the lake and began tearing each other apart.
Water became chaos.
Waves slammed in every direction.
"What in the abyss…" Rovan whispered.
His face had gone white.
Kael stared.
Then slowly grinned.
"Oh."
He burst into laughter.
"You idiot."
Rovan glared at him.
Kael pointed at the battle.
"Your snake woke up the lake monster!"
The giant crocodile lacked magical enhancements.
The serpent did not.
Its scales were like steel.
Its strength was unnatural.
After a brutal struggle, the serpent began overpowering the crocodile.
It wrapped around the beast.
Tighter.
Tighter.
Bones cracked.
The crocodile thrashed wildly.
Its tail smashed towering waves into the air.
Its jaws snapped violently at empty air.
Rovan wiped sweat from his brow.
He had stopped swimming entirely.
Neither man cared about the race anymore.
They simply watched in horror.
"That thing was in this lake the entire time..." Rovan muttered.
Kael snorted.
"And yet you challenged me so confidently."
The serpent tightened further.
The crocodile's movements slowed.
Victory seemed certain.
Then the serpent flickered.
Rovan's expression changed.
"No…"
Its silver scales blurred.
Its body broke apart into floating black symbols.
The symbols scattered into the wind.
The ward had expired.
The serpent vanished.
The crocodile dropped back into the water.
For a brief moment, everything went still.
Then the beast turned.
Its yellow eyes locked onto Rovan.
Rovan's soul went cold.
"Oh no."
The crocodile charged.
Rovan screamed and spun around.
He swam for his life.
His arms became madness.
His legs kicked wildly.
His thoughts shattered.
Wards. Which ward? Which one? THINK—
But panic hollowed out his mind.
He couldn't remember anything.
Kael floated in the distance laughing so hard he nearly drowned.
"Yes!"
He pointed.
"That's right! Chase him!"
Then he squinted.
"You ugly bastard... but you've got excellent moral judgment."
The crocodile surged upward.
It slammed into Rovan from below.
Rovan was launched into the air.
Blood sprayed across the lake.
Kael's laughter stopped instantly.
His face stiffened.
"…oh."
Rovan crashed back into the water with a scream of pain.
Kael stared.
His heartbeat slowed.
Then accelerated violently.
That looked real.
He watched Rovan thrash weakly.
Blood spread through the water.
Kael's grin vanished completely.
He swallowed.
"Wait…"
His voice dropped.
"That idiot has enough wards to outfit an army."
Why wasn't he using them?
Why was he panicking?
Why was he—
Rovan screamed again.
And this time Kael stopped thinking.
---
Far from the lake, Selene walked beside Mira through the ancient ruins.
Mira covered her mouth as she laughed softly.
"They're arguing over who gets to be Elder Frater."
Selene gave a cold snort.
"Children."
But then her eyes brightened.
She abruptly stopped walking.
Mira blinked.
"What is it?"
Selene lowered her voice.
"I found something."
Mira tilted her head.
"What kind of something?"
Selene glanced around to ensure no one followed.
Then she grabbed Mira's wrist.
"Quiet. Come with me."
She pulled her toward the rear of the ruined structure.
And whatever Selene had found—
It had her genuinely excited.
Mira's curiosity got the better of her.
Selene moved quickly through the ruined compound, past collapsed archways and vine-choked courtyards where broken statues stared blindly at the sky. She led Mira beneath a roofed stone corridor half-swallowed by ivy, then down a narrow winding path that curved around several raised platforms carved with ancient runes.
At last, they reached a dense grove of green bamboo.
The stalks grew unnaturally thick together, bending overhead like a woven roof. Sunlight slipped through in narrow golden shafts.
Selene stopped at the edge of it and smiled—a rare thing that instantly made her look younger.
"In there."
Mira leaned left, then right, trying to see through the wall of leaves.
"All I see is bamboo."
Selene gave her a smug look.
"Then walk."
She pushed aside the hanging branches and stepped into the grove.
Mira hurried after her.
The bamboo slapped against her face and shoulders as she stumbled through the narrow space. Leaves caught in her hair. Thin branches scratched at her sleeves.
Then the grove opened.
Mira froze.
"Oh…"
Hidden in the center of the bamboo forest lay a small spring-fed pool.
White stone formed its circular edge, clearly carved by human hands long ago. Moss grew between the cracks in thick emerald patches. Moist air clung to everything, rich with the scent of clean water and living greenery.
The pool itself looked like polished glass.
Clear.
Still.
Beautiful.
Sunbeams filtered through the bamboo overhead and painted shifting patterns of gold across the surface. Reflections of green stalks rippled softly across the water.
Just looking at it made Mira feel cooler.
"This place is gorgeous," she whispered.
Selene folded her arms proudly.
"I found it by accident."
Mira walked around the edge, examining the white stone.
"This wasn't natural."
"No."
"Someone built it."
Selene shrugged.
"Probably."
"But why hide it in a bamboo grove with no path leading here?"
Selene glanced around.
"Maybe there used to be one. The island's ancient. Things grow back."
Mira crouched and peered into the water.
Her smile faded slightly.
"It looks deep."
Selene knelt beside her.
The water remained crystal clear near the surface.
Below that—
only darkness.
Deep green-black shadow.
Even sunlight couldn't reach the bottom.
Selene frowned.
"That is strange."
Mira stared at the floating bamboo leaves drifting across the surface.
"There aren't any fish."
"So?"
"No insects either."
Mira rubbed her arms.
"This place feels...odd."
Selene rolled her eyes.
"We're standing on a forgotten island filled with undead traps, gravity prisons, and ancient murder wards."
She spread her hands.
"And this is what bothers you?"
Mira let out a reluctant laugh.
"That sounds worse when you say it out loud."
Selene grinned.
"Exactly. Stop overthinking and help me enjoy the first decent bath I've had in two days."
Mira blinked.
"Help?"
Selene pointed toward the bamboo entrance.
"Stand watch."
Mira groaned.
"That's why you brought me?"
"We'll trade."
Selene's smile turned shameless.
"I bathe first. Then I guard while you wash."
Mira stared at her.
"You're impossible."
"And filthy."
"That too."
Mira sighed dramatically.
"Fine. Be quick."
Selene was already stripping off her outer robes before Mira finished speaking.
Mira turned red and quickly looked away.
"Selene!"
"What?"
"You could at least wait until I leave!"
Selene laughed.
"Go guard."
Mira muttered under her breath and ducked back through the bamboo.
—
Girls raised in noble courts and sacred orders often learned elegance.
Selene learned speed.
The moment Mira disappeared, Selene tore off the rest of her clothing and stepped eagerly toward the pool.
The instant her toes touched the water, she gasped.
Cold.
Gods, it was cold.
The chill raced up her legs like liquid ice.
Then she smiled.
And slipped fully beneath the surface.
Her body vanished into the crystal water.
She surfaced moments later with a delighted gasp, dark hair slicked against her shoulders.
"Perfect…"
She floated lazily on her back.
For the first time in days—
no undead.
No scheming nobles.
No Kael.
No embarrassment.
No chaos.
Just silence.
And cold water.
It felt heavenly.
Minutes became far too many minutes.
Outside the grove, Mira shouted.
"Are you done yet?"
"Almost!"
"You said that fifteen minutes ago!"
"One more minute!"
"You've said that five times!"
Selene ignored her.
She leaned against the smooth white stone edge of the pool, wearing nothing now except a thin strip of green cloth loosely wrapped around her chest.
Her pale skin glowed in the filtered sunlight.
Water ran down her neck and over the soft curves of her body before disappearing beneath the surface.
No one saw it.
No one was meant to.
Her eyes slowly drifted shut.
A pleasant heaviness settled into her limbs.
Then—
him.
Kael.
The memory slammed into her without warning.
That insane night.
His hands.
His mouth.
His heat.
The reckless things he said.
The even more reckless things he did.
The humiliating sounds she had made.
Her breathing quickened.
"No…"
Her eyes snapped open.
"Why am I thinking about that?"
She bit her lip hard.
"That bastard…"
Her face burned.
"He's awful."
Her thighs pressed tightly together beneath the water.
"He bullies people…"
Her breathing became uneven.
"He lies…"
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"He's shameless…"
And yet she remembered exactly how he looked when his teasing grin disappeared and he stared at her like she was the only woman alive.
Her stomach tightened.
The cold water suddenly didn't feel cold enough.
"Oh, damn him…"
—
Outside, Mira crouched in the grass, poking at insects with a thin bamboo twig.
She was deeply bored.
A voice suddenly spoke behind her.
"What are you doing?"
Mira yelped and nearly fell over.
She turned.
"Shreve Lyra!"
Lyra looked tired for once.
Still breathtaking.
Still dangerous.
Even exhaustion couldn't hide what she was.
Her robes hung loosely from her body, and her golden eyes carried a faint weariness.
Mira quickly stood.
"Selene found a hidden spring."
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Mira pointed at the bamboo grove.
"She's inside bathing."
Lyra's eyes brightened immediately.
"Well."
She sighed dramatically.
"I was just thinking I needed one myself."
Mira blinked.
"Then why not go in?"
"You're guarding."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"So nobody walks in on her."
Lyra laughed softly.
"That's adorable."
Mira puffed her cheeks.
"She made me."
Lyra lifted one hand lazily and formed a simple seal.
A pulse of Aether rolled outward.
Mist suddenly poured from nowhere.
It spread around the bamboo grove in thick pale waves.
Tiny arcs of blue-white lightning flickered inside the fog like glowing worms.
Mira jumped backward.
"What is that?"
"A small Wind-Electric Ward."
Lyra yawned.
"It will warn us if anyone approaches."
Mira looked uncertain.
"What if one of our own walks into it?"
"It stings."
"That's all?"
Lyra smirked.
"Mostly."
Mira stared.
"Mostly?"
Lyra waved dismissively.
"They'll survive."
Then she brushed past Mira.
"Come. We're bathing."
—
Selene heard movement.
Her eyes flew open.
Then widened in horror.
Lyra and Mira emerged from the bamboo.
Selene immediately dropped deeper into the water until only her head remained visible.
"Shreve Lyra!"
Lyra looked around the spring with obvious approval.
"This really is lovely."
Selene stared at Mira in betrayal.
"You brought her?"
Mira raised both hands defensively.
"She found me!"
"And outside?"
"Protected."
Lyra stretched lazily.
"At last. I feel like I've been rolling in grave dust."
She began undoing her robes.
Selene stared.
"What are you doing?"
Lyra blinked.
"Bathing."
Selene swallowed.
"All three of us?"
Lyra laughed.
"We're all women."
Selene's ears turned red.
"But the pool is small—"
Mira had already begun undressing too.
"There's plenty of room."
She pointed accusingly at Selene.
"And you've been in there forever."
Selene glared.
Traitors.
Both of them.
She refused to leave.
So she sank even deeper into the water instead.
Lyra's robes slid from her shoulders.
Then lower.
Then fell completely away.
Even Selene—who considered herself composed—forgot how breathing worked for several seconds.
Lyra wore only an absurdly thin violet chest wrap.
It barely restrained the heavy fullness of her breasts.
The fabric looked dangerously overmatched.
Mira accidentally glanced over—
then instantly looked away with a squeak.
Her face turned bright red.
How can they be that big...?
She stared at the ground in existential confusion.
Lyra stepped gracefully into the pool.
The cold water climbed her legs.
She let out a long, soft sigh.
The sound alone made both younger women freeze.
It was unfairly sensual.
Selene's eye twitched.
Why did she make that sound?
Mira looked like she wanted to bury herself underground.
Then Lyra reached behind her back.
Untied the thin violet cloth.
And pulled it free.
Selene's jaw dropped.
Mira made a choking noise.
Lyra's full chest rose free of restraint, pale and soft and impossibly lush as water slid over her skin. The spring rippled around her as she settled deeper into the pool with lazy satisfaction.
Selene stared for a full second.
Then two.
Then panic hit.
She yanked her own loosened cloth back into place and clutched it against herself like a shield.
Absolutely not.
—
Far away—
Rovan screamed again.
Kael's smile vanished completely.
The giant crocodile surged through the raging lake like a living siege engine.
Then Rovan disappeared beneath the water.
"Oh, hell."
Kael cursed and launched himself forward.
"That idiot may be insufferable…"
He dove through crashing waves.
"…but he's still one of ours."
The beast erupted from the water ahead.
Its massive jaws snapped shut where Rovan had been moments earlier.
Kael whipped out the Eight-Claw Flamescourge.
The segmented whip screamed through the air.
CRACK.
The burning tip slammed into the beast's face.
Fire exploded across wet scales.
The crocodile's head snapped sideways.
Kael struck again.
This time across its back.
The beast roared.
Water exploded upward.
Then Rovan surfaced nearby—
covered in blood.
Kael's eyes widened.
"You look terrible."
Rovan tried to speak.
Mostly blood came out.
"Close enough."
Kael lashed the Flamescourge around him and hurled him toward safer waters.
Then the lake split open.
The crocodile erupted directly beneath Kael.
Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow him whole.
"Oh, you ugly bastard—"
Kael spun the whip desperately.
The Flamescourge wrapped around the beast's snout.
Its jaws slammed shut.
But its momentum never stopped.
The creature smashed headfirst into Kael's chest.
Something cracked.
Pain detonated through his body.
His vision flashed white.
He nearly blacked out.
But he refused to release the whip.
His arms trembled violently as he held the beast's jaws shut.
Rovan coughed blood and swam toward shore.
Then he looked back.
He saw Kael get slammed beneath the water.
Saw the monster drag him downward.
His face turned pale.
He wanted to help.
Then pain exploded through his torn body.
Blood clouded the water around him.
I'm half-dead.
He hesitated.
If I go back, I die too.
Then another thought followed.
He hates me.
Rovan laughed bitterly.
Then remembered Kael diving into certain death to save him.
His expression hardened.
"Damn you."
He turned back.
"If you die before I beat you properly, I'll kill you myself."
He reached into his storage pouch while swimming.
His fingers found a ward-script.
His master's final emergency gift.
The Warlord's Dragonbane.
A weapon said to kill dragons.
Or die trying.
Rovan gripped it tightly.
Ahead—
Kael and the beast vanished beneath the surface.
All that remained was a massive whirlpool spinning violently above dark water.
Rovan's heart seized.
"Kael!"
He reached the vortex.
Looked down.
Saw only darkness.
The lake answered with nothing but groaning water—
and wind that sounded almost like mourning.