The clear green lake turned dark around Kael.
One moment sunlight still danced above him in broken ribbons. The next, the world became a choking mass of murk, bubbles, and crushing black water.
The giant crocodile would not let him go.
Its massive skull drove into him like a battering ram as it plunged deeper into the lake, dragging him into a depth no sane man would willingly enter. White foam exploded around them in violent bursts. Kael's ears screamed from the pressure.
How deep is this damned lake?
He knew the Water-Parting Art. Selene had drilled it into him.
But knowing a technique and having the freedom to use it were two very different things.
Right now every scrap of his focus went into staying alive.
His Vitae burned inside his Crucible as he fought the beast's momentum. His lungs screamed. His muscles trembled. His fingers remained locked around the Eight-Claw Flamescourge as the weapon coiled around the monster's long snout.
He did not dare loosen his grip.
Not even for a heartbeat.
The crocodile suddenly stopped thrashing.
That frightened him more than its rage had.
It became cold. Efficient.
Smart.
It no longer wasted energy trying to shake him free. Instead it drove him deeper and deeper into the abyss, using the lake itself as a weapon.
The pressure increased.
Kael's vision dimmed.
Then—
CRACK.
Agony exploded through his back.
He had slammed into stone.
Before he could recover, the beast twisted sideways and smashed him into another jagged surface.
Then another.
And another.
Kael opened his mouth to scream and swallowed freezing lake water instead.
His chest convulsed.
His eyes bulged.
"That bastard's trying to smash me to death—!"
But panic solved nothing.
The underwater cavern around them was narrow. The beast knew every inch of it.
Kael did not.
The crocodile hurled him from rock to rock like a rag doll.
His spine screamed.
His ribs groaned.
He tasted blood.
Then bile.
He vomited into the water as pain consumed his body.
Kael felt death creeping closer.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Should've let Rovan get eaten.
Why did I save that arrogant bastard?
Another impact nearly shattered his arm.
His body went numb.
His grip weakened.
Then failed.
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge slipped free.
The crocodile's jaws instantly snapped open.
Rows of teeth the size of daggers lunged toward him.
Kael floated there, half-conscious.
And saw light.
A strange light.
Beautiful.
Impossible.
It glowed ahead in the absolute darkness of the lake floor.
Kael stared stupidly.
What...?
Did I die?
Is this the afterlife?
Instinct moved him before reason could.
He reached toward the light.
His hand struck wet flesh.
His fingers sank into something soft.
The roof of the crocodile's mouth.
He clawed blindly—
And tore something free.
Everything changed.
The beast convulsed violently.
Its jaws froze inches from Kael's body.
Then the creature simply died.
No roar.
No final struggle.
No resistance.
Its massive body shrank with horrifying speed.
Flesh withered.
Bones cracked inward.
The giant predator collapsed into the size of an ordinary crocodile before slowly sinking into the deeper dark below.
Kael floated there in stunned silence.
He barely understood he was alive.
In his hand rested an orb the size of a hen's egg.
It pulsed with shifting light.
Blue.
Orange.
Purple.
Crimson.
Water-like patterns flowed across its surface as though living currents moved beneath glass.
Hair-thin cracks ran across it.
It looked fragile.
Ancient.
Beautiful beyond reason.
"What in the hell…"
Kael stared at it.
Then blinked.
The pain in his body was fading.
Rapidly.
The crushing ache in his bones vanished.
His lungs eased.
Warm currents flowed from the orb into his palm, spreading through his limbs and organs.
Healing him.
Strengthening him.
His heartbeat thundered.
Stories surfaced in his mind.
Legends whispered by drunken old cultivators.
Treasures buried beneath impossible waters.
"No…"
He stared harder.
"Moving patterns…"
"Changing light…"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"
His eyes nearly burst from his skull.
"The Deepwater Heartstone?"
He nearly screamed underwater.
"That's a Deepwater Heartstone!"
A treasure born from ancient deep-water essence.
A relic countless adepts would butcher entire clans to obtain.
It could purify poisons.
Drive away corruption.
Protect against foul magic.
And he had just ripped one out of a crocodile's skull.
Kael's excitement lasted roughly three seconds before suspicion returned.
"Wait."
He frowned.
"How does a giant lake lizard have a treasure tied to dragons?"
He touched his own head.
Still attached.
Good.
Not dead.
Probably.
"So where did that oversized bastard go?"
Holding the glowing orb before him, Kael drifted through the darkness.
The light revealed a sprawling underwater cavern.
Twisting tunnels.
Stone shelves.
Massive rocks wrapped in thick weeds.
No fish.
No crabs.
No life at all.
He swallowed.
"This was its nest."
That explained the emptiness.
Everything else had already been eaten.
"I need to leave."
Immediately.
Before something worse returned.
Kael used the Water-Parting Art.
The water shifted around him as he slowly rose upward through winding stone passages.
The tunnels branched endlessly.
Too many paths.
Too many dead ends.
His nerves frayed.
What if he got trapped?
What if another monster lived here?
What if—
At last the tunnel angled upward.
Kael nearly cried with relief.
Light filtered faintly from above.
Real light.
He shoved the Deepwater Heartstone into his mouth to keep both hands free and swam upward with everything he had left.
Toward daylight.
Toward air.
Toward life.
---
The sun had drifted lower.
The hidden spring beneath the bamboo grove had grown cooler in its shade.
What had once felt refreshing now carried a faint chill.
None of the three women left the water.
Not because they needed cleaning.
They were already spotless.
Selene had finally begun calming down.
At least enough to stop glaring at Lyra every few breaths.
Her green chest wrap had loosened during the long soak.
Without her noticing, it slipped lower.
Mira, leaning against the edge of the pool, suddenly blinked.
"Elder Soror…"
Selene stiffened.
"What?"
"There's a bruise on your chest."
Selene looked down.
Her soul nearly left her body.
A faint bluish mark stretched across the side of her breast.
Kael's handiwork.
Her face exploded with heat.
She clamped both arms over her chest.
"There's nothing there!"
Mira leaned closer in concern.
"It looks painful. Did you get hurt last night?"
Selene's breathing hitched.
"N-no."
Then—
"Yes."
Then—
"I mean—yes, last night."
She wanted to die.
Immediately.
Mira looked confused.
"Can I see?"
"No!"
Selene nearly shrieked it.
"It's fine!"
Lyra floated lazily on her back nearby.
Completely naked.
Completely shameless.
Completely infuriating.
Water rolled down her pale body as she stretched like some divine creature born for temptation alone.
Then she smiled.
A slow, dangerous smile.
"Was it last night?"
Selene froze.
Lyra tilted her head.
"Or the night before?"
Selene nearly launched herself out of the spring.
Mira blinked.
"The night before?"
She frowned.
"But we were still on Vane's Summit."
Lyra looked amused.
"Oh, sweet girl."
She glanced at Selene with predatory amusement.
"Does danger only exist off the mountain?"
Mira looked even more confused.
"But there weren't monsters on Vane's Summit."
Lyra laughed softly.
"No monsters."
She scooped water over her throat and breasts.
"But perhaps a little thief."
Selene's eyes widened.
"A thief?"
Mira looked between them helplessly.
"Shreve Lyra... what are you talking about?"
Selene understood instantly.
That woman knew.
She knew everything.
Her humiliation turned into rage.
That pig.
That shameless pig told her.
I'm going to kill him.
---
Kael rose faster.
The water lightened from black to green.
Then green to clear blue.
He could almost taste air.
Then his head struck something soft.
He frowned.
What?
He looked up.
And forgot how to think.
Two pale legs floated above him.
Smooth.
Slender.
Beautiful.
Unmistakably feminine.
Kael stared blankly.
Then his gaze slowly traveled upward.
And all rational thought died.
The body above those legs wore absolutely nothing.
Nothing at all.
Then he noticed two more pairs of legs nearby.
One pair soft and lush.
The other long and elegant.
All bare.
All breathtaking.
Kael nearly drowned from shock.
"What…"
His jaw hung open.
"What in the actual hell?"
Finding the Deepwater Heartstone had been impossible enough.
This?
This was madness.
His mind leapt to old stories of wandering men stumbling upon bathing goddesses.
He grinned stupidly.
"I survive death and get rewarded immediately."
He almost laughed underwater.
"That sounds about right."
One delicate foot drifted close enough to brush his face.
Kael stared at it like a starving man staring at a feast.
Then his hand moved on its own.
Mira suddenly paused mid-conversation.
"Hm?"
Selene looked at her.
"What?"
Mira frowned.
"That's strange…"
"What is?"
"There weren't any fish in this spring before."
Selene blinked.
"There still aren't."
Mira shivered.
Her face reddened.
"Then why does it feel like something is touching my legs?"
Below the water, Kael nearly moaned.
Her skin felt impossibly smooth.
Silk.
Warm silk.
He drifted higher.
And saw more.
Much more.
His pulse became violent.
He stared with shameless fascination.
That looks different from Sel's...
Smaller.
Softer in color.
Delicate.
He moved closer for a better look.
His breathing grew ragged.
What does it feel like...?
He reached—
Then hesitated.
It looked too delicate.
Too perfect.
Above him, Mira suddenly gasped.
Her whole body jerked.
Selene frowned.
"What happened?"
Mira's face burned bright red.
"N-nothing…"
Below the water, Kael abandoned his hand.
And used his mouth instead.
His lips pressed softly against her most intimate flesh.
His tongue slid forward.
Parting her.
Mira's entire body trembled violently.
Gooseflesh erupted across her skin.
Her mind went blank.
Bad fish.
Very bad fish.
Why is it touching me there—
A soft, helpless sound escaped her lips as her legs weakened beneath the water.
Kael's restraint shattered.
The world beneath the spring had narrowed to warmth, softness, and the intoxicating taste of Mira Stonwell.
Her most intimate flesh gleamed pale pink through the wavering water, delicate as flower petals and slick as honeyed silk. She was so close that Kael could see every tiny fold, every trembling movement of her body as he teased her.
The Deepwater Heartstone rested in his cheek like a stolen coin.
He had completely forgotten to maintain the Water-Parting Art.
Strangely, he wasn't drowning.
He wasn't even uncomfortable.
He was far too busy losing his mind.
His tongue pushed deeper, slow at first, testing.
Mira nearly folded in half above him.
Gods... what is happening?
She had never felt anything remotely like this.
Her legs trembled violently beneath the water.
"That fish is... too much..." she thought wildly. "Should I chase it away? Should I—ah—"
The thought dissolved into sensation.
Kael was intoxicated by every reaction she gave him.
Then he noticed something new.
Nestled above her trembling folds was a tiny, delicate bud—small, glossy, and sensitive-looking. It quivered each time his tongue brushed nearby.
Kael stared at it in fascination.
What in the hells is that?
It looked absurdly tempting.
So naturally, he licked it.
Mira's entire body seized.
"Ah—!"
She bit the scream off before it escaped.
Her hands clamped over her mouth.
Her eyes watered instantly.
Below her, Kael continued mercilessly.
He licked.
Sucked.
Teased.
That tiny sensitive nub twitched and shrank and swelled under his tongue.
Meanwhile Kael was fighting a nosebleed.
"This is insane..." he thought. "This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."
Mira's body had gone limp.
She wanted to close her legs.
She wanted to stop this.
She wanted to sink into the earth and die from embarrassment.
But her muscles had turned to melted wax.
She could only lower her burning face and pray Selene wouldn't notice.
Unfortunately for her—
Kael noticed her shaking thighs.
And became even bolder.
"I wonder if the fairy gets angry when people bite her..." he thought deliriously.
Then he wrapped his lips around that tiny bud and sucked hard.
Mira nearly collapsed into the spring.
Her hands shot out and grabbed the grass along the stone edge.
Her thoughts fragmented into panic.
I'm dying.
That horrible fish bit me—
Wait.
Fish don't have tongues.
Her eyes widened.
Fish absolutely do not have tongues.
Kael sucked harder.
Mira let out a muffled cry.
Heat exploded through her lower belly.
Then came a terrifying pressure—
Something like needing to urinate.
But not.
Far more overwhelming.
Her vision turned white.
Her entire body convulsed.
Selene immediately turned at the sound.
One look at Mira and she panicked.
Mira looked feverish.
Her lips trembled.
Her body jerked uncontrollably.
Selene splashed toward her.
"Mira!"
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
It was burning hot.
Selene's eyes widened.
"Did staying in the water too long make you sick?"
Mira didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Her entire body trembled in helpless spasms.
Below her—
Kael was having the time of his life.
Then suddenly—
The delicate flesh in his mouth clenched violently.
Slipped free.
And something warm splashed across his face.
Kael recoiled in confusion.
The water clouded around him.
White strands drifted through the spring like smoke.
Thick.
Silken.
Slow to dissolve.
Kael blinked in disbelief.
He reached out and touched it.
Sticky.
Smooth.
"What is this?"
He stared upward.
"It came out of her...?"
Above him, Mira looked utterly ruined.
Her eyes were unfocused.
Her body weak.
Her breathing ragged.
Born with an unusually sensitive body, she had been overwhelmed completely by Kael's reckless tongue.
Then Kael's luck somehow got even worse.
Another body moved through the water.
Soft stomach.
Smooth skin.
And then—
A beautiful lower belly pressed directly against his face.
Kael nearly cried tears of joy.
"This can't be real."
He wrapped his arms around the newcomer's waist.
"Please don't let this be a dream. Seraphs above, anyone listening, let this be real—"
Selene froze.
Her entire body stiffened.
Something was grabbing her.
From under the water.
She looked down.
Saw a human shape.
And screamed.
Her arm plunged into the spring.
A moment later—
Kael was violently ripped from the water by his hair.
"Aaaagh!"
He dangled helplessly.
Water streamed off him in sheets.
Selene's face shifted from fury—
To complete disbelief.
"You?!"
Kael stared through dripping hair.
Then his soul left his body.
Selene.
Completely naked.
Mira.
Completely naked.
And—
not far away—
Lyra Farrow.
Also naked.
Kael felt death approaching.
Lyra looked at him.
Her cheeks carried the faintest flush.
She sighed.
"Little pervert."
Selene erupted.
"You disgusting pig! Filthy bastard! Perverted animal! You humiliated me once and that wasn't enough? Now you spy on other girls too? You—you—you shameless monster!"
By the end of her screaming fit tears glittered in her eyes.
Kael's ears rang.
"I didn't mean to!" he cried. "I don't even know how I got here! I thought you were—"
His words came out garbled.
The Heartstone was still in his mouth.
Selene's fury grew.
"You're still lying?"
Her hands flashed forward.
Fingers spread.
Cold Vitae exploded outward.
"The Ice-Pierce Art."
Frozen spikes of force slammed into Kael's chest.
He screamed.
The Heartstone shot backward.
Straight down his throat.
Kael choked violently.
His eyes bulged.
His face turned crimson.
Selene was still furious.
"Die!"
She blasted him again.
Kael flew through the air like a broken doll.
He crashed into the bamboo grove.
That should have been the end.
It wasn't.
He accidentally triggered one of Lyra's Restrictions.
Wind.
Lightning.
Pain.
Kael convulsed like a dying frog as electricity ripped through his body.
Mira panicked.
"Shreve Lyra! Turn it off!"
Lyra folded her arms.
Laughing softly.
"He'll survive."
Kael screamed his lungs raw.
He smashed through bamboo stalks.
Rolled down a slope.
Finally burst free from the grove and collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Mira came running after him.
Her soaked robes clung tightly to every curve of her body.
She was still tying her sash while running.
Kael groaned weakly.
Then paused.
Warmth spread through his chest.
The swallowed Heartstone pulsed.
Pain faded.
His injuries healed at unnatural speed.
Then—
visions struck him.
Flashes.
Violent.
Alien.
A jade dragon screaming inside violet fire.
Fragments of impossible scenes.
Ancient memories that weren't his.
Kael stared blankly into space.
"What in the hells is happening today...?"
Mira dropped beside him and pulled him into her arms.
"Where are you hurt?"
Her voice shook with worry.
Water dripped from her hair.
Her soaked robes outlined every inch of her soft body.
Kael's vision slowly focused.
Then immediately drifted downward.
Her chest.
Pale.
Soft.
Barely concealed.
Mira noticed instantly.
Her face turned scarlet.
She clutched her robe closed.
"If you keep staring, I'm leaving you here."
Kael forced his eyes upward.
Then deliberately looked weak and pitiful.
Inside, however—
his thoughts spiraled.
That was her.
That was definitely her.
Mira bit her lip.
"When did you hide in the water?"
Kael blinked.
"Hide? I didn't!"
He touched his throat in panic.
The pearl was gone.
"I swear I have no idea how I got there. I swallowed some strange—"
Even he realized how absurd it sounded.
Mira glared at him.
"You still deny it?"
Then, quieter—
"Shameless."
Kael wished the ground would swallow him whole.
Then—
faint shouting echoed across the lake.
Rovan.
Kael's expression changed instantly.
"Damn it."
He shot upright.
"We need to save someone."
Mira stumbled after him.
"Who?"
"That idiot you were talking to earlier."
Mira blinked.
"What idiot—"
Then realization hit.
"Rovan?!"
They sprinted toward the platform.
By the time they arrived—
Rovan was in the lake.
Bleeding.
Swimming desperately.
Looking everywhere.
"Kael!"
His voice cracked.
"Where are you?!"
Kael stopped cold.
For a moment—
he actually felt guilty.
Rovan was an arrogant ass.
A loudmouth.
A rival.
But he'd come back.
He'd come back into monster-infested water for him.
Kael cupped his hands and shouted—
"I'm over here!"
Rovan looked toward the island.
Relief flooded his face.
He changed direction immediately.
Mira squinted.
"There's blood on him."
Her expression tightened.
"How did you know he was in danger?"
Kael laughed awkwardly.
"Instinct?"
Mira narrowed her eyes.
"You're the reason he jumped in there, aren't you?"
Kael coughed.
"No. He may be stupid, but not that stupid."
Rovan reached the platform.
He gathered what little strength he had left.
Jumped—
And failed.
He slipped.
Fell backward toward the water.
Kael reacted instantly.
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge snapped from his sleeve.
The whip wrapped around Rovan's torso.
Kael hauled him upward.
Rovan crashed onto the platform.
He nearly collapsed.
Mira rushed forward and caught him.
Then she froze.
His clothing was shredded.
His body was drenched in blood.
Deep wounds covered his shoulder.
His arm.
His thigh.
The bites looked monstrous.
Her face went pale.
"What happened to you?"