The room went still.
Then, above the wooden table, a figure slowly took shape out of pale drifting mist.
First came strands of hair—soft as black silk moving underwater.
Then a face bloomed from the haze, delicate and luminous, cheeks touched with the blush of fresh peach petals.
Peria.
Kael's chest loosened so fast it almost hurt.
He let out a laugh of pure relief and pushed himself upright on the bed.
"So you were hiding from me?" he said. "I called and called. Thought you'd abandoned me."
Peria shook her head at once.
She looked strangely anxious, as if speaking itself required effort.
"You... called..." she said slowly. "And... I came."
Kael blinked.
Then realization hit him.
He pointed at her.
"Wait. You only knew I was calling you when I said your name?"
Peria nodded.
"I am... Peria."
Kael grinned despite himself.
"Well yes, you are Peria. But when I called you 'little spirit,' I was talking to you too."
A faint crease appeared between her brows.
She looked genuinely confused.
Kael laughed.
Gods, she was adorable.
He patted the chair beside his bed.
"Come here."
She floated across the room like smoke on still air and lowered herself onto the chair.
Every movement she made felt unreal—too graceful, too weightless.
Kael leaned forward, suddenly energized.
"Lady Perelda said you're still learning how to speak properly." He rubbed his hands together. "Lucky for you, I happen to be an excellent teacher."
Peria nodded obediently.
Kael immediately launched into a lesson.
He started with names.
Then greetings.
Then basic conversation.
Peria listened with complete focus, staring at him with wide unblinking eyes.
Kael straightened and tried to sound scholarly.
"If you don't understand something, ask questions."
Peria hesitated for a long time.
Then quietly asked—
"What... are you?"
Kael stared at her.
"What am I?"
Then he burst out laughing.
"Oh. You mean my name."
She nodded.
Kael wagged a finger.
"See? You can't ask people that way. Sounds rude."
She tilted her head.
Kael adopted an exaggerated noble accent.
"You should say... 'May I know your name?'"
Peria repeated carefully,
"May... I know your name?"
"My name is Kael Ashvane."
He paused.
"You can call me brother—"
He stopped.
His expression twisted.
"...No. That's wrong."
Peria blinked.
Kael groaned.
"Lady Perelda is sworn kin to me through the Ironblood Oath. That technically makes her family."
He scratched his head.
"So if she's your mother figure…"
He frowned harder.
"That means calling me brother would be weird."
Peria looked at him silently.
"Then... what call?"
Kael sighed dramatically.
"Fine. I'll suffer this injustice."
He pointed at himself.
"Just call me Kael."
Peria smiled.
It was small.
Soft.
But it hit him harder than any weapon ever had.
"Kael."
Her voice was sweet and clear as spring water running over stone.
Kael froze.
His entire body felt lighter.
Peria noticed his stunned expression and widened her eyes curiously.
That only made her look even more innocent.
Kael suddenly became very aware of how warm his face felt.
He coughed awkwardly.
"Right. Lessons."
He kept teaching.
But before long, "lessons" turned into storytelling.
And storytelling turned into bragging.
Then came full-scale shameless self-glorification.
Kael told her how he humiliated powerful enemies.
How he stole impossible treasures.
How he outwitted monsters.
How he created his disastrous construct experiment that nearly flattened half a mountain and sent his senior sorors screaming for cover.
Then he reenacted his battle against the Bone Legion.
He stood on his bed dramatically, nearly reopening his wounds.
"And then," Kael declared, "the skeletal giant raised a fist the size of a house—"
Peria suddenly interrupted.
"I must go."
Kael stopped.
Her body was already dissolving into drifting strands of mist.
His smile vanished.
Then he remembered what Lady Perelda had told him.
Peria had only recently gained human form.
She could remain outside the Lone-Bud Branch for only one hour each day.
He had gotten so carried away that he forgot.
Her figure became thinner.
More transparent.
Before she vanished completely, Kael thought he saw something in her eyes.
Reluctance.
Longing.
He leaned forward urgently.
"Come back tomorrow."
Her fading lips moved.
"I will... if Kael calls."
Then she vanished.
The room became quiet again.
Only the delicate pink branch remained inside the jade vessel.
Kael stared at it for a long time.
Then he leaned back with a foolish grin.
"Good thing I accepted that gift."
He chuckled softly.
"At least I'll never be bored again."
---
The next two days passed slowly.
Very few people visited him.
Most of Mirekeep had descended into war preparation.
The city walls were being reinforced.
Weapons forged.
Troops mobilized.
Everyone was preparing for Lord Ossian.
Everyone except Kael.
He stayed trapped indoors recovering.
And going completely insane from boredom.
So he shut his door.
And secretly summoned Peria every day.
He taught her words.
She learned frighteningly fast.
Soon she could hold simple conversations.
Though misunderstandings still happened often.
They were usually ridiculous.
And they made Kael laugh until his sides hurt.
The only frustration was time.
Every day ended too quickly.
Every day she vanished after a single hour.
And every time she left, Kael wanted more.
By the third day—
he snapped.
Selene had barely entered his room before Kael grabbed her sleeve.
"You're taking me outside."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"I'm dying."
"You are recovering."
"I'm dying of boredom."
Selene folded her arms.
"You nearly got yourself killed."
"I know."
"You can barely fight."
"I know."
"You're still injured."
"I know."
Kael dropped to one knee dramatically and clutched his chest.
"If I remain imprisoned another day, tell future generations I died bravely."
Selene stared at him.
Then rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful.
"You're unbearable."
Kael grinned.
"So that's a yes?"
She sighed.
His wounds had improved significantly.
Far faster than expected.
And she knew confinement was torture for someone like him.
"Fine," she muttered.
Kael nearly tackled her with excitement.
She shoved him back.
"Three conditions."
He straightened immediately.
"Anything."
"You listen to me."
"Done."
"When I say we leave, we leave."
"Done."
"And no reckless behavior."
Kael hesitated.
Selene narrowed her eyes.
He coughed.
"...Done."
She looked unconvinced.
But eventually led him out of Ashford Estate.
Instead of heading toward Mirekeep proper, she guided him along a winding trail behind the estate grounds.
Tall trees rose around them.
Dense green growth blocked the sunlight.
Birdsong echoed overhead.
Kael frowned.
"Where are we going?"
Selene smiled mysteriously.
"Not telling."
"We're not even heading into the city."
"No."
"Then where?"
She glanced at him over her shoulder.
"Follow quietly."
Kael groaned.
"That's cruel."
"If you behave, there may be a reward."
He blinked.
"A reward?"
Her smile deepened.
"Perhaps."
It was late summer.
The heat lingered heavily beneath the trees.
Selene wore light traveling robes.
Thin fabric clung to her waist and hips when the breeze shifted.
Kael stared.
Then immediately remembered another time a beautiful woman had led him somewhere private.
Verdis Morcroft.
And how that encounter had ended.
His imagination instantly became dangerous.
Very dangerous.
His face turned bright red.
Selene noticed.
She stopped abruptly and spun toward him.
"What's wrong?"
Before he could answer, she pressed a cool hand to his forehead.
Her voice filled with alarm.
"Are your injuries worsening?"
Kael stared at her.
At her worried eyes.
Her soft lips.
The empty forest around them.
The warm wind.
And completely lost his mind.
He grabbed her hand.
"Sel…"
She froze.
Color rushed into her cheeks.
Kael's voice dropped.
"That night…"
Her breath caught.
She tried pulling away.
He held tighter.
"These past few days..." he said hoarsely. "I've wanted to say something."
Selene panicked.
"No."
Kael blinked.
"No?"
"I don't want to hear it."
He stared at her flushed face.
At her trembling lips.
At the obvious emotion she was trying—and failing—to hide.
And suddenly understood.
He pulled her into his arms.
She gasped.
He lowered his mouth to her ear.
"That night... I lost control."
Her body shivered violently.
His breath brushed her skin.
"And I drank too much…"
Her fingers clenched against his robes.
"I acted like an idiot…"
Her breathing became uneven.
"And I'm sorry—"
Selene suddenly covered his mouth.
"No."
Kael froze.
Her eyes shimmered.
"If you apologize…"
Her voice became barely audible.
"If you call that night a mistake…"
Kael's heart pounded.
Selene looked down.
"I won't hate you."
Her fingers trembled.
"But I'll spend the rest of my life trying."
Kael stared at her in stunned silence.
Then joy exploded through him.
"You forgive me?"
Selene glared through reddened eyes.
"Of course I'm angry."
Kael wilted.
Then she whispered—
"I'll be angry forever."
He blinked.
Her lips trembled into the faintest smile.
"But I hate hearing you say you regret touching me."
Kael's entire body went weak.
He looked at her lips.
Soft.
Pink.
Waiting.
"If you insist on apologizing…" she whispered, "then I'll truly hate you forever."
That was enough.
Kael kissed her.
Hard.
Desperately.
Like a starving man discovering water.
He kissed her hair.
Her forehead.
Her nose.
Then finally claimed her mouth.
Selene let out a soft helpless sound.
And melted against him.
Her arms slowly rose around his neck.
The forest path fell silent.
Leaves rustled overhead.
Birds called in the distance.
And neither of them heard any of it.
All Kael could hear was her breathing.
All Selene could hear was his heartbeat.
They kissed like two people who had nearly lost their chance forever.
Because they had.
Selene had grown up beside him at Vane's Summit.
They trained together.
Fought constantly.
Argued over everything.
Competed relentlessly.
Anyone watching them would have assumed they despised each other.
But beneath every argument had lived affection neither of them understood.
Until now.
Until his drunken mistake.
Until the pain that followed.
Until Kael repeatedly risked his life to save her.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And somewhere in all that blood and madness—
love had become impossible to deny.
Selene kissed him back like she had been starving too.
The first shock of confession had already shattered whatever pride she had been clinging to. Now all that remained was heat.
Kael devoured her mouth.
Her lips were soft and trembling. Her tongue, timid at first, slowly began answering him. Then, somewhere between breathless desperation and rising need, she made a small confused sound and let him draw her deeper into the kiss. Her tongue slid against his, shy and clumsy and unbearably sweet.
That tiny surrender nearly broke him.
Two days ago he had nearly died beneath Ossian's hand.
Two days ago he had thought he would never see her again.
Now she was in his arms.
Alive.
Warm.
Wanting him.
His restraint began to crack.
His hands, which had been wrapped around her waist, slowly wandered.
Selene stiffened.
A few moments passed before she realized exactly where his hands were heading.
"Kael—"
She caught his wrist at once.
He held her tighter instead.
Then his palm closed over her breast through the thin layers of her dress.
He froze.
So did she.
Soft.
Warm.
Perfectly shaped.
The sensation shot through him like lightning.
Selene gasped and grabbed his hand with both of hers.
"You bastard…" she whispered through ragged breaths. "Are you… trying to take liberties again…?"
Kael's breathing had turned rough.
It was far past trying.
"Selene…" he muttered against her neck. "I want you."
Her entire face turned crimson.
She shook her head violently.
"No."
"Why not?" he demanded hoarsely. "You promised before. On Dreamgate."
Her eyes widened.
"I did not promise that!" she hissed. "I already let you kiss me, didn't I?"
"I missed you."
His voice turned raw.
"Gods, Sel… I missed you so much."
His hands grew bolder despite himself.
Selene's body trembled under every touch.
Heat spread through her skin.
Then memory struck her.
That drunken night.
His reckless force.
Her pain.
Her shame.
Her helpless love.
Her expression softened—but only slightly.
"That night…" she whispered. "You already bullied me once."
Kael immediately stiffened.
"And if I let you do whatever you want again…" she continued quietly, eyes lowered, "what if one day you start looking down on me?"
The words hit him harder than any blade.
His face went pale.
"Selene…"
Guilt ripped through him.
He pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.
"No."
He raised a hand immediately.
"I swear—"
She panicked and covered his mouth.
"Don't!" she whispered sharply.
He blinked.
"If you ever dare treat me cheaply…" she muttered, blushing furiously, "I'll bite you to death."
Kael stared at her.
Then he laughed once—soft, disbelieving, overwhelmed.
Her eyes shimmered.
There was so much love in them that it nearly destroyed him.
He buried his face against her chest.
Selene gasped as he kissed her through her clothing.
Once.
Twice.
Then harder.
"Kael…"
Her fingers buried themselves in his hair.
Her resistance weakened again.
But one last concern surfaced.
"Your injuries…" she whispered weakly. "You're still hurt…"
"I'm fine."
He was absolutely not fine.
But desire had annihilated rational thought.
"I'm completely fine."
Something wild flashed across his face.
Before she could object again, he pulled loose the sash around her waist.
Selene's breathing hitched.
"This is outside…" she whispered in panic. "Someone could come—"
"I don't care."
He truly didn't.
"The sky could fall right now and I wouldn't care."
His hand slipped beneath her loosened robes.
Past silk.
Past trembling skin.
Then found her bare breast.
Selene cried out softly.
That single touch shattered whatever discipline she had left.
Her body melted against him.
Kael nearly lost his mind.
Everything about her felt impossibly delicate.
He wanted to consume her whole.
Yet beneath the hunger was caution.
He still remembered how badly he had hurt her before.
So this time—
he forced himself to be gentle.
Slow.
Reverent.
Selene's eyes fluttered shut.
"This feels… different…" she whispered shakily.
Very different.
That first time had been chaos.
This felt unbearably intimate.
His fingers explored her trembling body with growing confidence.
Then he found a tiny sensitive peak that made her entire body jolt.
Selene nearly screamed.
"K-Kael—!"
He stared in fascination.
Then touched it again.
And again.
Her thighs trembled.
"Don't…"
She sounded close to tears.
"Don't touch there…"
Which only made him realize exactly how sensitive she was.
Her breathing broke apart.
Her body arched.
Then suddenly—
she shuddered violently in his arms.
Warm wetness soaked between her legs.
Kael froze.
His fingers had become slick.
He stared at her in stunned disbelief.
Selene collapsed against him bonelessly, trembling.
She had climaxed from his touch alone.
And Kael nearly lost all coherent thought.
He lifted her into his arms.
Selene barely reacted.
She looked drunk.
He scanned the path.
Then spotted a massive old tree nearby.
Perfect.
In seconds he carried her there and carefully set her on a thick branch.
Selene swayed dangerously.
Kael grabbed her before she slipped.
Her body folded backward in a graceful arch.
Her legs hung helplessly on either side of the branch.
The sight nearly made him black out from desire.
He pushed up her skirts.
Pulled down her undergarments.
Then stopped.
His eyes widened.
The final layer beneath had already parted enough to expose far too much.
Selene immediately covered her face with both hands.
"Don't look…"
Too late.
Kael stared like a dying man who had glimpsed heaven.
Then he positioned himself.
His hands shook.
He tried to guide himself inside—
and completely missed.
Selene jerked.
Kael cursed under his breath.
He tried again.
Missed again.
And again.
And again.
His frustration mounted.
Then realization struck.
She was tensing every time.
"Selene…"
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm scared."
That instantly cooled his frustration.
His expression softened.
"This time I'll go slow."
He kissed her trembling forehead.
"I won't hurt you."
He tried again.
Carefully.
Slowly.
The tip pressed against her.
Selene whimpered and instinctively pulled away again.
Kael nearly cried.
"Sel…"
"This feels strange…" she whispered helplessly. "Maybe we should stop…"
He stared at her in utter despair.
Then leaned close to her ear.
"Do you really not want me?"
Her breathing faltered.
"That's not what I said…"
"Because I want you."
His voice cracked.
"So badly."
She blushed furiously.
"Do people who love each other really have to…"
"Yes."
He answered instantly.
"This is how we become truly one."
Then he paused.
A thought struck him.
"Sel."
She blinked.
"What?"
"That."
He frowned.
"What?"
"You called me Sel."
Her lips curved.
"I like that."
Kael blinked.
Then grinned like an idiot.
"You do?"
She nodded faintly.
"It sounds… nice."
He leaned against her ear and whispered it over and over.
"Sel."
Her breathing deepened.
"Sel."
She trembled.
"My Sel."
She bit her lip.
"Sweet Sel."
She glared weakly.
"Don't add strange words."
He grinned.
"Then let me continue."
She held out for all of three seconds.
Then whispered so quietly he almost missed it—
"Try again…"
Kael nearly roared in triumph.
This time he adjusted her trembling leg over a curved branch beside them.
Her body opened fully beneath him.
Sunlight slipped through the leaves overhead.
A single golden beam illuminated her.
Kael stopped breathing.
She looked unreal.
Her trembling body glistened with desire.
Beautiful.
Sacred.
Ruining him completely.
He guided himself forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then finally pressed inside.
Selene gasped sharply.
Her fingers clutched his chest.
Warmness enveloped him.
Kael nearly blacked out from how incredible she felt.
He drew one shaking breath—
And laughter suddenly rang out through the forest.
Bright.
Mocking.
Far too close.
Both of them froze instantly.