Kael stared into the darkest corner of the nest.
At first he thought the shapes were stones.
Then one of them caught a ribbon of reflected rainbow light from the Sevenfold Prismatic Mirror, and the surface gleamed smooth and curved.
Eggs.
Massive ones.
Each was as tall as a grown man, oval and blue-green, their shells mottled like polished jade. Fresh grass and woven leaves had been piled around them in a careful ring of warmth and protection. If Selene had not noticed them, he might have walked right past.
The two of them moved closer.
Kael reached out but stopped short of touching the shell.
"They look like eggs…" he muttered. "But what kind of bird lays monsters this size?"
Then both of them froze.
Their eyes widened.
They spoke at the exact same time.
"The nest."
Selene turned pale.
"This whole place..." she whispered. "This is that giant bird's nest."
Kael slowly looked around at the colossal woven walls of living branches and leaves.
Then his gaze drifted back toward the eggs.
"And these," he said, voice suddenly thin, "are definitely hers."
Selene swallowed.
"That creature bathed beneath the light of the mirror for centuries. That's why it developed those seven-colored flames. Why it became something unnatural."
Kael nodded slowly.
"And why it went completely mad when I touched the rainbow."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Explains why the damn thing chased me like I'd insulted its mother."
They stared at each other.
Then both went cold.
A horrifying realization hit them at once.
Selene inhaled sharply.
"The only reason we're standing here alive…"
Her voice trembled.
"…is because it's dead."
Kael immediately wiped sweat from his brow.
"Lucky."
He looked at the eggs again.
Then his expression shifted.
"Oh no."
Selene blinked.
"What?"
Kael pointed.
"The babies."
Selene stared at the two massive eggs.
Her face slowly softened.
"Oh…"
Her voice became quiet.
"They haven't even hatched."
Kael scratched his head and looked around the nest with growing suspicion.
"They still have a father, right?"
His eyes swept every shadow.
"If some giant angry father bird suddenly drops from the sky, I'm jumping off this tree."
Despite herself, Selene let out a laugh.
Then she shook her head.
"I once heard my Elder Soror talk about creatures like these."
She looked at the eggs with complicated eyes.
"They bond for life. Male and female. They're fiercely attached to one another."
"That sounds sweet."
"It would be," Selene said dryly, "if the males weren't also known for becoming violently jealous of their own offspring."
Kael blinked.
"What?"
"The fathers sometimes kill the hatchlings."
Kael stared.
"That's insane."
"So when the female becomes pregnant, she drives the male away."
Kael released a long breath.
"Well."
He glanced around again.
"That's one less giant murder bird to worry about."
Then he looked at the eggs.
His usual grin faded.
"Still…"
He crouched beside them.
"The father's gone."
He glanced toward the sky where the monstrous bird had died.
"The mother's dead."
He gently touched the shell.
"So what happens to these two?"
Selene fell silent.
She stared at the eggs for a long time.
Then suddenly her eyes brightened.
"We take them."
Kael looked up.
"What?"
"We bring them back with us."
Her excitement rose rapidly.
"We'll figure out how to hatch them later."
Kael blinked.
Then slowly grinned.
"Sure."
He leaned closer.
"We can raise them ourselves."
Selene nodded eagerly.
"Yes!"
Then she froze.
Her face went red.
Very red.
Kael's grin widened into something wicked.
"We'll be their mother and father."
Selene's jaw dropped.
Then realization slammed into her.
"You—!"
She shoved his shoulder.
"You did that on purpose!"
Kael laughed.
"You agreed."
"I did not!"
"You absolutely did."
He leaned in close.
"No taking it back later."
Selene's face burned hotter.
"In your dreams."
Kael stared at her flushed cheeks, trembling lips, and furious eyes.
And suddenly all coherent thought left him.
He grabbed her.
She gasped as he pulled her against him and kissed her hard.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Rainfall made of heat and hunger.
"Kael—"
"Too late."
"Let go of me—"
"You don't sound convincing."
He kissed her neck.
Her breath hitched.
Then he whispered into her ear.
"We should imitate their parents."
Selene blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"We're already adopting their children."
His hands slid over her body.
"Shouldn't we make our own too?"
Her entire body stiffened.
Then trembled.
"Our own…what?"
He exhaled hot breath against her ear.
"Our own children."
Her knees nearly gave out.
Heat flooded through her body so fast it made her dizzy.
Kael's wandering hands grew bolder.
"I heard someone in town say that what we were doing earlier can make babies."
Selene's thoughts collapsed into chaos.
"What kind of woman tells you things like that?"
Kael grinned shamelessly.
"The shopkeeper near the mountain."
His fingers slid lower.
"She sold me a very educational book."
Selene's eyes widened.
"That filthy book was from her?!"
Kael kissed down her throat.
"You ripped it apart before I finished reading."
His hand slipped between her thighs.
Selene shuddered violently.
"But I remember enough."
His fingers found wet heat.
Her body instantly melted.
"Kael—"
"We can learn the rest together."
Her legs buckled.
Kael caught her and lowered her against the edge of the nest.
Her lips trembled.
To stop him from saying anything more humiliating, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him first.
He made a rough sound of approval.
Then his fingers moved deeper.
Selene cried into his mouth.
She was already soaked.
Already trembling.
Already wanting him again despite how recently they had stopped.
Kael groaned at the feel of her.
Then he lifted her leg.
Spread her wider.
And drove into her.
Selene cried out.
Her body arched violently.
"How is this happening again—"
But she knew exactly why.
Because she wanted it.
Because his touch had already become addictive.
Because the memory of what he did to her earlier had haunted every breath since it ended.
She clung to him as he thrust harder.
Their youth made them reckless.
Their mutual desire made them insatiable.
The nest became their bed.
The sky became their ceiling.
And they lost themselves in each other again.
Kael buried himself deep inside her.
Then deeper.
Searching.
Selene trembled violently.
She knew what he was hunting.
That hidden place inside her.
That secret point that made her lose all control.
Her Bashful Bloom.
He found it faster this time.
Experience had made him dangerous.
He shifted his hips.
Pressed upward.
And struck it.
Selene screamed.
Her legs locked around him.
Her nails tore across his back.
Her entire body spasmed as wave after wave of unbearable pleasure crashed through her.
Kael nearly blacked out from how tightly she squeezed him.
He kept thrusting.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Her body shook violently.
Liquid warmth spilled over him.
But he didn't stop.
He was too lost.
Too intoxicated by the way she looked beneath him.
Then his gaze dropped lower.
A memory surfaced.
One of the illustrations from that forbidden book.
A position.
He suddenly shifted.
Selene yelped as he turned her around and bent her over the edge of the nest.
Leaves rustled beneath her.
Wind brushed against her flushed skin.
Then she looked down.
And froze.
They were dozens of yards above the ground.
The lake below looked like polished glass.
"I don't want this—"
Her voice shook.
"I don't want it like this—"
Kael pressed against her from behind.
His chest covered her back.
His arms wrapped around her.
"I've got you."
Then he thrust into her again.
Hard.
Selene cried out.
"It feels different…"
Kael laughed breathlessly.
"Bad different?"
She bit her lip.
"No…"
He kissed her ear.
"Then trust me."
"I can't see you."
Her voice turned small.
That struck him harder than any scream.
Kael softened instantly.
"I'm right here."
He kissed behind her ear.
"Look at me."
"I can't."
"Then listen."
He pressed closer and whispered against her skin.
"Sel."
Her breath shook.
"Sel."
Again.
"Sel."
Again.
Each whisper wrapped around her like silk.
His hand slid up and cupped her breast.
His fingers kneaded her soft flesh.
Her body weakened all over again.
She looked downward.
The lake reflected white clouds and endless green branches.
The world below looked dreamlike.
Beautiful.
Unreal.
Wind rolled across the water in slow waves.
For one suspended moment, it felt as though she were floating between heaven and earth.
Then Kael thrust harder.
Pleasure shattered her thoughts.
She moaned helplessly.
From behind, Kael watched her body move with every brutal stroke.
Watched her arch.
Watched her shake.
Watched her lose herself completely.
His desire turned savage.
He drove into her harder and harder.
The living nest creaked beneath them.
Leaves trembled.
Their breathing grew louder.
Selene bit her lip desperately when she realized how loud she had become.
Humiliation flooded her.
She tried to silence herself.
Kael noticed immediately.
And refused to allow it.
His hand tightened around her breast.
His hips slammed forward with renewed force.
And the sounds she tried so desperately to hide broke free anyway.
Selene tried to hold herself together.
That only made it worse.
Every time she bit down on her lip and fought the pleasure clawing through her body, the waves hit harder. Her body betrayed her in trembling bursts. More warmth spilled from her again and again, slick and shameless, coating Kael's length as he drove into her from behind. Their mingled fluids smeared across her thighs, her trembling folds, the inside of her legs. The living nest beneath them was a mess of crushed leaves, torn silk, and breathless sin.
Kael had already lost all restraint.
He slammed into her harder—
and suddenly felt release rising through him like wildfire.
His breath turned ragged.
Yet Selene was still trying to stay quiet.
Still trying to endure with that stubborn pride of hers.
Even now.
He leaned over her trembling body and bit softly at her ear.
"Sel…"
Her entire body jolted.
"Stop biting your lip."
Another brutal thrust.
"I want to hear you."
His voice dropped lower.
"I love hearing you."
That was all it took.
Selene's teeth finally parted from her lower lip.
A broken moan escaped her throat.
Then another.
Then she stopped fighting it altogether.
Her cries spilled out in a trembling stream as she surrendered completely to the madness consuming her.
Kael groaned.
Gods—
she sounded sweeter every second.
He drove into her harder, losing all rhythm, chasing instinct alone.
Then it happened again.
That same horrifying transformation.
His manhood suddenly swelled violently in her body.
Heat exploded from it.
The veins across it bulged like twisting dragon marks beneath burning skin.
Kael nearly blacked out from the sensation.
"Damn it—"
He jerked helplessly inside her.
Then realized he had slipped free of that impossibly sensitive hidden place buried deep within her Bashful Bloom.
He frantically thrust again.
Missed.
Again.
Missed.
"Sel…" he gasped. "I—I need that place—"
Selene was half-conscious with pleasure.
His burning heat had melted her mind into useless fragments.
Still—
some instinct understood what he wanted.
Her trembling hips shifted.
Her legs spread wider.
She tilted herself back against him.
Offering him everything.
Kael suddenly plunged back into that impossibly soft hidden chamber.
The sensation nearly killed him.
His entire body locked.
"There—!"
He nearly sobbed.
"That's it—"
Pleasure hit him so hard his vision flashed white.
But even then—
he wanted more.
"Hold me tighter…" he groaned. "Please—"
Selene understood.
Though her own climax was already crashing toward her like a tidal wave.
Fear and desire twisted together inside her.
Then she made her choice.
With trembling arms, she reached behind herself and grabbed his waist.
Then she forced herself backward against him.
Her hips rolled.
Her body pressed tighter.
Her rear moved in slow, desperate circles against him.
Beautiful.
Lewd.
Completely obedient.
"Sel…"
Kael nearly lost his mind.
This was the same proud, vicious soror who used to torment him every day on the mountain.
And now she was trembling in his arms like this—
giving him everything she had.
Selene's legs shook violently.
Her muscles burned.
Her body was numb.
She didn't care.
Because she loved him.
And if she loved him—
then she wanted him to feel everything she could give.
Every sweetness.
Every softness.
Every sinful trick her body possessed.
Did he understand that?
Did he know?
The crushing heat inside her became unbearable.
Her body clenched around him.
Tighter.
Tighter.
And Kael broke.
A strangled groan tore from his throat as release erupted from him in violent pulses.
His climax surged into her like molten fire.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Selene cried out sharply.
It felt like burning oil flooding deep into her body.
The pleasure was so intense it turned painful.
Then even that pain became ecstasy.
Her own climax detonated instantly.
Her scream echoed across the endless green sea below.
Her body convulsed.
Warmth poured from her in violent waves.
The entire nest shook.
Kael held her waist in a near-crushing grip and kept thrusting through both of their climaxes, grinding himself deeper as their bodies spasmed together.
Selene's limbs gave out first.
She had been clutching his waist—
then suddenly her arms went limp.
She collapsed against the nest like a boneless doll, still trembling through aftershocks that refused to end.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Her mind drifted somewhere far away.
At some point, she weakly remembered something important.
Her voice came out soft and sleepy.
"You bastard…"
Kael kissed her shoulder lazily.
"Mmm?"
"My clothes…"
She forced her eyes open halfway.
"Go get them."
He blinked.
"What?"
"If some bird steals them…" she muttered weakly, "…I'll kill myself from embarrassment."
Kael burst out laughing.
Even exhausted beyond reason, she was still Selene.
"Fine."
He kissed her cheek.
"I'll be right back."
He dressed quickly, still grinning like an idiot.
Then he leapt from the nest.
He raced down the colossal body of the Ancient Reed, skimmed across the lake's surface, and reached the shore where their discarded clothing lay scattered across the grass.
He gathered everything in his arms—robes, boots, stockings, undergarments—and sprinted back.
By the time he returned—
Selene was asleep.
Kael froze.
She looked…
adorable.
Her body was curled against the nest's soft interior.
Rainbow light from the massive silk cocoon nearby painted her pale skin in shifting colors.
Her face looked younger in sleep.
Softer.
Peaceful.
Nothing like the proud, sharp-tongued noble daughter who constantly fought him.
Kael quietly laid her clothes over her body like a blanket.
Then sat beside her.
And stared.
For a long time.
He thought about everything that had happened.
Their fights.
Her teasing.
Her endless torment back at the Ascendant Covenant.
The way she used to drive him insane.
He suddenly realized—
maybe she had liked him even then.
Maybe all those fights had hidden something softer.
Kael smacked his own forehead.
"You complete idiot."
He laughed quietly to himself.
Then looked at her again.
And smiled like a fool.
After another long while, his attention shifted back toward the Sevenfold Prismatic Mirror.
He stared greedily.
The thing was absurd.
The frame alone was encrusted with gemstones so rare they could bankrupt kingdoms.
Most of them he didn't recognize.
But one—
one nearly made him drool.
Goldsteel Core Crystal.
A legendary spiritual treasure capable of gathering vast amounts of ambient Aether.
And that was only one stone among dozens.
Kael swallowed hard.
"This thing is basically made of priceless treasure…"
He sighed miserably.
"And I can't touch it."
Tragic.
Absolutely tragic.
Then—
a strange sound echoed overhead.
Kael stiffened.
Wingbeats.
Heavy ones.
His face paled.
"Don't tell me those two little monsters' parents are back…"
He looked upward frantically.
Then blinked.
That wasn't a living beast.
Something strange flew past in the distance.
It had wings.
A tail.
Its silhouette resembled a phoenix—
but it looked artificial.
Gray-white.
Rigid.
Angular.
Like carved wood and metal.
Kael stared.
"What in the hells is that?"
Then he noticed something else.
A figure riding it.
Someone dressed in green.
A person.
Kael leaned forward to get a better look—
but the strange flying construct disappeared into the distance.
His curiosity immediately became unbearable.
He glanced back at sleeping Selene.
Still unconscious.
Still completely exhausted.
"She won't wake up anytime soon…"
He grinned.
"I'll take one quick look and come back."
That was how disasters always began.
Kael launched himself from the nest.
He rushed down the Ancient Reed, crossed the lake, and hit land running.
The strange flying machine had vanished.
He immediately circulated Vitae and activated the Ground-Sprint Art.
He shot forward like an arrow.
He chased for what felt like forever.
Nothing.
Then frustration drove him upward.
Kael leapt onto the crown of a giant bamboo and finally spotted it again.
"Oh."
It had lowered its altitude and was flying just above the endless forest of colossal bamboo.
"That's why I lost it."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why's it flying so low?"
As he prepared to continue—
chaos erupted ahead.
Green blurs exploded upward from the bamboo forest.
They struck the gray construct in a frenzy.
Kael couldn't even process what he was seeing before the phoenix-like machine spiraled downward and crashed into the bamboo sea below.
Kael stared.
"What now?"
This valley really was cursed.
And naturally—
he had to investigate.
He descended carefully through the bamboo canopy and moved forward on foot.
The sounds grew louder.
Wingbeats.
Wood grinding.
Mechanical clicking.
Kael hid behind a massive stalk and peeked out.
Then his eyes widened.
The attackers weren't beasts.
They were constructs.
Birds crafted entirely from bamboo strips and sharpened wooden components.
Falcon-shaped killing machines.
Over a dozen of them.
They swarmed the gray phoenix construct.
The larger machine fought desperately—but it was badly outnumbered.
Chunks of wood flew everywhere as the bamboo falcons tore into it.
And riding atop the damaged phoenix—
was a girl dressed in green.
She looked young, no older than her mid-teens.
Her dark hair was tied neatly.
A silk sash wrapped her slim waist.
At her side hung a small pouch embroidered with bamboo patterns and a short decorative blade in a bamboo sheath.
Her face was strikingly beautiful.
But right now—
she was in serious trouble.
Kael frowned.
"Who is she?"
He watched her struggle to reach into her robes.
She finally pulled out a violet ward-script—
Then disaster struck.
CRACK.
The wooden phoenix split apart beneath her.
The girl screamed as she fell.
The bamboo falcons dove instantly.
Their beaks looked sharp enough to punch through steel.
They would tear her apart in seconds.
Kael moved before thinking.
"Shit!"
He exploded from cover.
His sleeve snapped outward.
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge roared into the air wrapped in crimson fire.
Two bamboo falcons exploded instantly.
Kael lunged through the opening, wrapped one arm around the girl's waist, and dragged her clear of the encirclement.
The remaining constructs turned as one.
Then charged.
Kael fought while retreating.
One arm protected the girl.
The other controlled the Flamescourge in blazing arcs.
Every strike shattered another construct.
Every burst of fire consumed bamboo wings.
The girl initially looked at him with clear suspicion.
The violet ward-script remained hidden between her fingers.
Ready.
Waiting.
But as she watched him fight—
her expression slowly softened.
Kael noticed.
And naturally became even more dramatic.
His movements grew flashier.
His posture more heroic.
He even found time to smirk.
One by one—
the bamboo falcons fell burning from the sky.
Soon only one remained.
Kael planted his feet.
Victory pose prepared.
He withdrew the whip smoothly.
"Watch behind you!" the girl shouted.
Kael's eyes widened.
The final bamboo falcon had silently appeared behind him.
Its beak shot toward his spine like a spear.
Kael flicked his wrist without turning.
Fire erupted behind him.
The final construct exploded.
He smoothly returned the whip to his sleeve.
Then turned toward the girl with what he hoped was a devastatingly handsome smile.
She stared at him.
Her eyes were bright and clear.
Then she smiled.
And Kael forgot how language worked.
"Thank you, big brother."
Her voice was sweet as spring water.
Kael opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
His face turned red.
He had burned nearly all his Vitae during the fight—
and wasted the rest trying to look cool.
The girl covered a laugh.
"Don't talk."
Her smile deepened.
"Catch your breath first."
Kael's pride suffered catastrophic damage.
He wheezed helplessly.
"I—"
deep breath—
"may I ask…"
She tilted her head.
"My name is Eya."
Kael blinked.
"Aya?"
She shook her head gently, still smiling.
"Not Aya."
She pointed to herself.
"Eya."
"Eya Verdane."