Selene was the first to break.
Her eyes went wide.
"Someone's coming!"
She shoved Kael off her so hard he nearly slipped from the tree branch entirely.
A moment ago he had been buried in warmth, softness, and paradise itself.
Now he dropped back into reality like a man thrown from heaven.
Selene scrambled off the branch, boots hitting the forest floor with a soft thud as she frantically straightened her skirts. Her fingers shook as she fixed her sash, smoothed wrinkled fabric over her thighs, and tried to calm her breathing.
Above her, Kael stared at the canopy in utter misery.
This was cruelty.
True cruelty.
He gritted his teeth and hauled his trousers back up.
"Hurry!" Selene hissed.
"I'm trying."
"You move slower than a dying ox!"
Before he could answer, she rushed back toward him and yanked his outer robe straight herself, fingers fumbling over his belt while refusing to meet his eyes.
Then she suddenly froze.
Her expression turned mortified.
"My hair." She grabbed his sleeve. "Look at me. Is my hair a mess?"
Kael blinked.
Her hair was slightly loose.
Her lips were swollen.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson.
Her eyes still glistened with lingering tears of pleasure.
She looked devastating.
"No," he said honestly, grinning like a devil. "Your hair's fine. Your face, though…"
Her heart nearly stopped.
"What?"
"It's red as wine."
His grin widened.
"And ridiculously adorable."
Selene's entire face turned even redder.
"You—!"
She raised a hand to smack him.
Then footsteps echoed from the forest path.
Multiple people.
Voices.
Armor.
Kael's expression darkened instantly.
A group emerged from the bend in the trail.
At the front walked Rovan Ashford.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Handsome in the polished, noble-born way Kael found deeply irritating.
He wore military dress leathers beneath a dark cloak, officers trailing behind him in armor. Beside him walked a tall young man with narrow brows and deep-set eyes, dressed in rich travel gear marked with the crest of Dawnbreaker Hold.
Kael's eyes narrowed into murderous slits.
Of course.
Of all people.
Rovan stopped when he saw them.
Then he laughed.
"Well now. What are the odds?" His eyes flicked between their flushed faces and disheveled clothing. "And here I thought I was the one interrupting Kael's recovery. You look much healthier."
"Who the hell is your junior?" Kael snapped. "And what are you doing here?"
The second the words left his mouth, he remembered—
this was technically Rovan's land.
Behind Rovan, several officers exploded in outrage.
"How dare you!"
One bearded giant stepped forward, hand hovering near a thick iron whip hanging from his waist.
"You insolent little bastard—"
Kael's brows rose.
The man's bare hands glowed faintly with circulating Vitae.
Not an ordinary soldier.
Interesting.
Kael quietly fed fire Vitae into the The Eight-Claw Flamescourge coiled around his arm.
Its scales gave a faint crimson shimmer beneath his sleeve.
He smiled coldly.
"Come closer and find out whether you're the grandfather or the grandson."
The giant officer roared and stepped forward—
"Enough."
Rovan's voice cracked like a whip.
The man halted immediately.
Rovan rubbed his temples.
"General Corwin, stand down."
Then he looked at Kael with tired amusement.
"You're still angry about the whole seniority argument?"
Kael folded his arms.
"I dislike your face."
"That's at least honest."
Rovan chuckled.
"Fine. No more junior frater, elder frater nonsense. We'll use names."
Then he turned toward Selene and gave a respectful bow.
"Lady Selene."
Selene returned a stiff nod.
"Kael felt better today. I brought him outside for air."
Her voice sounded normal.
Only Kael noticed how hard she was trying not to die from embarrassment.
Please leave, her eyes screamed.
Please leave right now.
Rovan did not leave.
Instead, he stepped aside and gestured toward the man beside him.
"Allow me to introduce someone. This is Hadrian Corvel, young master of Dawnbreaker Hold. He arrived with three hundred demon hunters after hearing of the undead infestation."
The man stepped forward with a smooth smile and bowed.
"A pleasure."
He was powerful.
Kael could feel it immediately.
His Vitae was dense and controlled.
But there was arrogance in his eyes.
The kind Kael despised on sight.
Rovan continued introductions.
"This is Selene Voss of the Ascendant Covenant."
Hadrian's expression shifted instantly.
Recognition.
Then shock.
Then fascination.
"And this," Rovan continued dryly, "is Kael Ashvane. Depending on who you ask, he's either my senior or my junior."
Kael glared.
Selene offered a formal greeting.
Unfortunately, she still looked like sin itself.
Her lips remained swollen.
Her cheeks carried a lingering blush.
Her eyes shimmered with half-dazed softness from what Kael had nearly done to her moments ago.
Hadrian stared.
And stared.
And stared.
Kael immediately wanted him dead.
Hadrian spoke carefully.
"Could you be the daughter of Lord Voss? The Marquis of Valdenmere?"
Selene blinked.
"Yes."
Hadrian lit up.
"My father once fought beside Lord Voss during the Eastern Coast Purge. We aided in the capture of a demon general at Dragon's Crossing. Your father earned my family imperial recognition."
He smiled broadly.
"Our household has long wished to repay that debt."
Selene gave a distracted nod.
"Oh."
That was all.
She was far too aware of lingering wetness between her thighs to care about noble politics.
She shifted uncomfortably.
Kael noticed immediately.
His thoughts turned filthy.
He barely restrained a grin.
Hadrian mistook her discomfort for shyness.
His stare grew hotter.
Kael's eye twitched.
Oh, this bastard was definitely another one.
First Rovan.
Now this idiot.
How many men intended to throw themselves at his women?
His women—
Kael paused.
Then ignored that thought entirely.
Rovan noticed Hadrian staring and hid a faint smirk.
"Young Warden Corvel," he said smoothly, "perhaps we should inspect the weapon."
Hadrian snapped back to reality.
"Yes. Of course."
Rovan glanced at Kael.
"You like construct-work, don't you? Want to come?"
"No."
Kael answered instantly.
Rovan looked unsurprised.
Selene immediately spoke.
"We'll join you shortly."
Rovan nodded and led the group away.
Hadrian looked back twice before disappearing around the bend.
Kael watched him go with deep suspicion.
"That one's worse than Rovan."
Selene blinked.
"What?"
"He kept staring at you."
Her face reddened again.
"Was something wrong with my face?"
Kael answered immediately.
"No."
She looked relieved.
Then suspicious.
"Then why was he staring?"
Kael snorted.
"Because he's a shameless woman-chasing dog."
Selene stared at him.
Then sputtered.
"You—you're one to talk!"
Kael lunged at her with a wicked grin.
"The shameless woman-chasing dog returns!"
She shrieked softly and clutched her robes shut.
"Stop that!"
"I was violently interrupted."
"That was your own fault!"
Kael wrapped his arms around her waist anyway.
"They're gone now."
"No."
"Sel—"
"No."
Her face turned firm.
Then unexpectedly bright.
"I'll show you something."
Kael immediately became suspicious.
"I don't want to go."
"You do."
"I'm weak. Injured. Dying."
"You were perfectly healthy five minutes ago."
"That was different."
She grabbed his hand and dragged him forward.
"You're coming."
He groaned dramatically.
The deeper they moved into the forested slope, the stranger things became.
Then the trees opened.
Kael stopped cold.
A massive clearing had been carved into the mountainside.
Hundreds of logs.
Tools.
Wooden frameworks.
Half-built mechanisms.
Nearly a hundred craftsmen worked in controlled chaos.
Hammering.
Sawing.
Carving.
Inscribing wards.
Around the perimeter, armored soldiers patrolled heavily armed.
Kael stared.
"What the hell is this?"
Selene smiled.
"Keep walking."
Then he saw them.
Several enormous covered structures leaned against the mountainside.
Inside rested gigantic shapes.
Massive.
Alien.
Deadly.
Kael's jaw dropped.
"What are those?"
"You'll see."
They crossed the yard.
Selene showed guards her authorization token.
They were allowed through.
Near the cliffside stood another gathering.
Rovan.
Hadrian.
Several officers.
Lyra Farrow.
And Mira Stonwell.
Lyra noticed Kael immediately.
Her lips curved.
"I knew you wouldn't stay in bed."
Kael grinned.
"I'm nearly healed."
He barely heard himself speak.
Because he was staring at the monstrous construct before them.
It looked like an enormous horizontal beast made of wood, steel, gears, and carved ward arrays.
Over twenty feet long.
Nearly eight feet wide.
Twin reinforced arms.
Massive bow mechanisms.
Rotating wheels.
Layered firing grooves.
Its body was covered in engraved ward scripts.
Kael slowly approached it.
His breathing grew shallow.
He loved beautiful women.
He loved dangerous weapons.
At this moment, he wasn't sure which he loved more.
Every connection was brilliant.
Every mechanism precise.
The engineering bordered on insanity.
He whispered,
"Shreve… what is this?"
Lyra answered calmly.
"The The Earthrend Arbalest."
Kael's eyes widened.
"The same legendary weapon used against the Fell Emperor?"
Lyra nodded.
"A smaller version. We lacked proper materials."
Kael looked offended on the weapon's behalf.
Smaller?
This thing still looked capable of murdering mountains.
Rovan smiled.
"Let's show them."
Lyra nodded once.
Soldiers moved immediately.
Several men carried forward a bolt nearly ten feet long and thick as a man's torso.
Wards were affixed to both ends.
Under Mira's guidance, they carefully loaded it into the firing groove.
Two massive soldiers turned rear wheels.
The bowstring pulled back slowly.
The machine groaned.
Wood screamed.
Metal shrieked.
The entire weapon trembled with restrained violence.
Kael's pulse quickened.
Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
Mira adjusted the aim toward a massive boulder near the distant cliff face.
Then she stepped aside.
Rovan raised a hand.
"Fire."
The bolt vanished.
That was all Kael saw.
One instant it existed.
The next—
BOOM.
The distant boulder exploded.
Not cracked.
Not split.
Exploded.
Stone blasted into the sky like shattered teeth.
The mountain thundered.
Dust rolled across the valley.
Everyone who had never seen the weapon before stood frozen in stunned silence.
Kael's eyes blazed.
He looked at the The Earthrend Arbalest like a starving man staring at a feast.
And immediately began thinking of all the terrible things he could do with it.
"By the saints..." Kael breathed.
He stared at the Earthrend Arbalest like a starving man staring at a feast.
"No wonder the Fell Emperor's armies used to run screaming from these things." He slapped the reinforced frame with boyish excitement. "When those Skeletal Titans come stomping out of the swamp, this beauty will tear them apart."
Rovan Ashford chuckled.
"That was exactly the intention. Shreve Lyra guided the design herself."
At his side, the bearded General Corwin suddenly dropped to one knee.
"My lord," he said, bowing toward Lyra, "if we could forge several more of these divine weapons, no army in this world could stand against us."
Rovan shook his head.
"General, you know that isn't realistic. This isn't an ordinary siege engine. The materials alone are ruinously expensive. Then there's the wardwork, refinement process, balancing…" He exhaled. "Building even one nearly drained our reserves."
Lyra smiled faintly.
"Divine weapon?" she said lazily. "Compared to true mountain-breakers from ancient wars, this is little more than a child's toy."
Kael stared at her in disbelief.
"This is a toy?"
He ran circles around the arbalest again, touching every gear, brace, and firing mechanism he could reach.
"Shreve Lyra," he said reverently, "when you have time, you absolutely must teach me how to build one of these."
Selene folded her arms and rolled her eyes.
"Funny. Earlier, when I told you to come see it, you acted like I was dragging you to your execution."
Kael ignored her entirely.
His eyes remained glued to the weapon.
Until Hadrian Corvel spoke.
"Shreve."
Everyone turned toward him.
He stood calmly with his hands behind his back.
"If I may ask… what material was used to build the frame?"
Rovan answered.
"Dragongrain yew. Finest timber in the Dread Mire."
Hadrian nodded.
"A fine material. Durable. Flexible. Strong."
His eyes drifted toward the shattered remains of the test bolt.
"But the original mountain-breakers used during the ancient wars were built from driftwood harvested from the Long Isles beyond the Eastern Coast."
Lyra's eyes sharpened.
"You know your craft."
Hadrian dipped his head modestly.
"The true problem, however, isn't the frame."
He crouched and picked up one half of the shattered bolt.
"The bolt broke."
General Corwin frowned.
"It still obliterated a boulder."
Hadrian rose.
"Yes. A boulder."
He tossed the broken fragment aside.
"The undead in the Dread Mire are not ordinary corpses. Many are ancient war-dead twisted by Fell corruption. Their bodies are harder than iron. If these bolts shatter against stone…"
He looked at Rovan.
"What happens when they strike something worse?"
Silence settled over the group.
Even Lyra's smile faded.
"He's right," she admitted. "I've had the same concern."
Hadrian looked deeply pleased with himself, though he tried to hide it.
Selene stepped forward.
"So what should we use instead?"
Hadrian straightened.
"A hundred miles from here lies the Great Verdant Vale."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"The valley produces a rare material called Warding-Vase Bamboo."
Recognition flashed across Lyra's face.
"That bamboo…"
Hadrian nodded eagerly.
"Stronger than dragongrain yew. More flexible. And it naturally suppresses corrupt forces."
His voice rose with confidence.
"If we craft bolts from Warding-Vase Bamboo, they'll devastate the undead."
Kael immediately became irritated.
Mostly because Selene was actually listening to Hadrian with admiration.
Why does this bastard keep knowing things I don't?
And why is she looking at him like that?
Lyra tilted her head.
"The Great Verdant Vale is controlled by dangerous people tied to the Sevenfold Dominion."
Her smile sharpened.
"I assume you wouldn't mention this without a solution."
Hadrian lifted his chin proudly.
"I'll retrieve the bamboo myself."
Several soldiers exchanged surprised glances.
Even Kael blinked.
Lyra studied him.
"That valley is not a pleasant destination."
"I never make promises lightly."
Hadrian stood straighter.
"If I fail to return with the bamboo…"
He paused dramatically.
"I'll abandon the Corvel name forever."
Kael nearly choked.
Gods, what an insufferable peacock.
He glanced toward Selene.
To his horror—
she looked impressed.
Kael immediately wanted Hadrian dead.
Lyra smiled sweetly.
"How noble."
Rovan looked relieved.
"If you truly intend to do this, what support do you require?"
"None."
Hadrian waved dismissively.
"I travel better alone."
He suddenly stopped speaking, clearly catching himself before saying too much.
Rovan frowned.
"And how do you plan to transport enough bamboo back?"
Hadrian smirked.
"My storage satchel was personally refined by an overseas master artificer."
He said it like a man reciting his own legend.
"It can carry enough cargo to transport an entire forest."
Kael's eyes widened.
His own storage pouch could barely carry large supplies.
An entire forest?
That sounded ridiculous.
Yet Hadrian looked completely serious.
Rovan grinned.
"When do you leave?"
"At dawn."
Hadrian answered immediately.
"My Griffin Carriage can travel hundreds of miles in a single day. If nothing goes wrong…"
He smiled confidently.
"I'll return the day after tomorrow."
Rovan clasped his shoulder.
"Then I'll await good news."
Kael stared.
He owns a Griffin Carriage too?
His irritation became significantly more complicated.
He still wanted to punch Hadrian.
But now he had to admit the man might actually be capable.
That realization annoyed him even more.
---
After Rovan and the others departed, Kael refused to leave the mountain workshop.
He spent the entire morning glued to Lyra's side.
Watching.
Questioning.
Hovering.
The craftsmen quickly learned there would be no peace while Kael remained nearby.
He leaned over shoulders.
Touched unfinished mechanisms.
Asked endless questions.
Nearly triggered multiple wards.
Twice.
Every new mechanism made him look like a child discovering treasure.
By midday, Selene had enough.
"You're done."
Kael looked offended.
"I'm learning."
"You're harassing exhausted craftsmen."
"I'm inspiring innovation."
"You nearly blew your own hand off."
"That happened once."
"It happened twice."
Kael opened his mouth.
Selene grabbed his sleeve and dragged him away.
He complained the entire walk back.
She ignored him.
---
By nightfall, Kael was miserable.
He lay flat on his bed staring at the ceiling.
The silence felt unbearable.
He almost wished some monster would burst through the wall so he'd have something to kill.
Instead—
his thoughts drifted toward Selene.
The secluded forest.
Her flushed face.
Her trembling breaths.
The sounds she made when she stopped pretending she hated him.
Heat surged through his body.
"Damn it…"
He rolled over violently.
That only made things worse.
Every attempt to suppress the memory sharpened it.
Her thighs wrapped around him.
Her trembling voice.
Her nails digging into his back.
Then his thoughts drifted further.
Back to that unforgettable night at Vane's Summit.
Kael groaned into his pillow.
He was suffering.
For one reckless moment, he nearly got out of bed to find Selene.
Then his eyes landed on the windowsill.
The green porcelain vase.
And inside it—
the Lone-Bud Branch.
Kael froze.
Another beautiful face surfaced in his mind.
Soft.
Pure.
Dangerously innocent.
Peria.
He had forgotten to summon her today.
That realization should have made him feel guilty.
Instead—
something darker rose within him.
His throat went dry.
His breathing deepened.
Before he could reconsider, he leapt from bed, grabbed the vase, and returned to the mattress.
He inhaled deeply.
Then whispered the summoning words.
Mist gathered above the bed.
A slender feminine silhouette slowly formed.
Peria appeared in drifting strands of pale light before becoming fully solid.
The moment she saw him, she smiled brightly.
"I thought…" she said in her awkward speech, "you not call me today."
Kael stared at her.
Tonight she looked even more beautiful than usual.
And that realization was dangerous.
"You like it when I summon you?" he asked softly.
She tilted her head.
"Like?"
He blinked.
Right.
She still didn't understand many human words.
"It means…" he said awkwardly, scratching his head. "Wanting something. Hoping for something."
Understanding brightened her expression.
"Oh."
She smiled warmly.
"Peria likes Kael calling me."
Her innocence nearly destroyed what remained of his self-control.
He patted the bed.
"Come down. My neck hurts from looking up."
She floated gracefully downward and landed on the blankets.
She knelt there curiously, looking around the room.
"Why here?"
Kael swallowed hard.
She was too close.
Her soft floral scent reached him.
His pulse pounded harder.
"I was resting," he said weakly. "I thought maybe we could talk here tonight."
Peria smiled.
"I like this place."
She pressed her hands into the soft bedding.
"It feels very…"
She searched for the right word.
Kael answered automatically.
"Comfortable. Pleasant. Happy."
He frowned.
That explanation somehow sounded idiotic.
Peria repeated the words quietly.
Then looked at him eagerly.
"What teach Peria tonight?"
Kael stared.
Her thin robe hung loosely from her shoulders.
The neckline dipped as she leaned forward.
Too low.
Far too low.
His eyes locked onto the soft pale curves of her chest.
And the faint shadow between them.
He stopped breathing.
Peria looked down at herself.
Then back at him.
Confused.
Kael swallowed hard.
The filthy temptation in his mind grew stronger.
Tonight—
he no longer wanted to teach her words.
"Tonight…" he said hoarsely, "I'll teach you a game."
Her eyes widened with excitement.
"What game?"
Kael's thoughts barely functioned.
"You'll understand after I teach you."
She clapped happily.
"Okay."
Kael's voice trembled.
"You need to take your clothes off first."
Peria blinked.
"Why?"
"Because…" Kael forced a straight face. "That's how the game works."
She stared at him innocently.
Then asked softly—
"You take yours off too?"
Kael nearly lost all control.
He stared into her clear, trusting eyes.
Then answered in a voice thick with temptation.
"Yes."
He leaned closer.
"I'll take mine off too."
A slow smile spread across his face.
"We're both taking everything off."