(Lisa's POV)
I'm off work today, but Valin has been on his laptop since I woke up. I sat beside him and laid my head on his shoulder.
"What are you up to?" I asked.
"There was an error made by one of the new workers. I'm just trying to locate it. I might also add some new coding for the characters they haven't started on yet since Jey sent over the dialogue script for a few of the NPCs," he replied, still scrolling through paragraphs of text.
"Oh, so you're working."
He kissed my forehead without taking his eyes off the screen. "Duh. I just said that."
I laughed. "Don't get sassy with me."
He smirked at my response... It's been two days since we've done anything beyond kissing. I thought today would be the perfect time to admit defeat and try something, but he's working... Would it annoy him if I interrupted?
I sat with him silently for nearly twenty minutes. Then he broke the silence.
"Are you hungry? I can order breakfast."
I sat up and shook my head. "No, not yet... Um... Valin?"
He glanced at me. "Yeah? What is it?"
I cleared my throat.
"I want to suck your ****. Is that okay?... You don't have to stop working."
He blinked at me. The fact that he wasn't flustered made me even more embarrassed.
"Right now?" he clarified.
I nodded.
He looked at his computer screen, then back at me. "I guess you've reached your limit."
I blushed harder and shoved his shoulder. "I was trying to be considerate by asking! I planned to jump you as soon as I woke up, but you were busy!"
I realized what I just said and buried my face behind a couch pillow. "Forget I asked."
"Nope," Valin said curtly. "I've already recorded this as a core memory. I'll look back on it fifty years from now if I need a good laugh."
I groaned and peeked at him. His laptop was on the coffee table, and his pants were undone. I hid my face again.
"I can take a break for you..." he whispered, pulling the pillow away and tossing it to the floor.
Still shy, I quickly tucked my hair behind my ears and gave him the blowjob. I feel like I improve each time we do this, which makes me happy. I like knowing I've satisfied him.
We eventually moved to the bedroom and spent about 45 minutes being intimate. Afterward, he kissed my forehead and left the room. Even though it was shorter than usual, it was somehow more than enough. I was wiped out.
I figured he was getting back to work, but then he returned—with the box he mentioned before.
"We can open this now."
I sat up and crawled to the end of the bed. Just then, his phone rang. He clicked his tongue, handed me the box, and left the room to answer it.
Inside... were numerous sex toys. Some had very obvious uses. Others flustered me to even think about what they were for.
"Um... V-Valin," I mumbled, voice trembling.
He came back in, phone in hand but clearly done with the call. He bent down and kissed my lips, licking and sucking my tongue in a way that made me forget my fatigue and apprehension.
"I have to go," he mumbled, pulling away.
I wrapped my arms around his neck to stop him from moving. He laughed, leaned in, and kissed me again.
"Where are you going?" I asked as our lips parted.
"There's a family emergency. They need me."
I looked into his eyes. "Can I come?"
He ducked out of my arms and started getting dressed.
"Not this time... but maybe another. I'd like to meet your family too."
My heart fluttered.
"Yeah... I'd like that... Oh, and I'm going on a business retreat next month. I'll have to get your ticket, but I'd like you to come. We're staying at a beachside resort."
He pulled on his shirt and tilted his head. "How long is it? I don't like your co-workers."
I thought he was getting along with everyone at the party.
"Three days, two nights. You seemed to have fun at the dinner. You even got drunk and gave a very... seductive performance at karaoke."
He tried not to laugh. "I wasn't drunk."
He did all that sober?!
"And that was for you, not them... It's fine. I'll go."
I squealed from joy. Valin surprised me again with an affectionate attack, tickling my neck with his lips.
"I wonder what you'd be like if you were drunk," I murmured to myself.
He kissed my cheek and rolled his eyes. "Maybe one day I'll show you."
That's when I remembered the box still in my hands.
"Oh yeah... Valin, what are these for?"
"Oh... they're for you."
I knew that much! "They're all new, don't worry."
"I would hope so! That's not even what I was worried about!"
He chuckled. "We'll talk more later. Love you ♥"
I sighed and turned away so my heart could calm down.
"I love you too, Valin... Call me when you're done."
He nodded and left.
Thirty minutes later, someone rang the doorbell. I was dumb enough to assume it was him. I mean, why would he ring the bell if he has a key? It was a delivery driver—bringing me breakfast.
It was several days before I saw Valin again.
(Tana's POV)
Valin was the last to arrive—after Cera. He had changed the most of the four Chosen who left Afaria. His hair, once long enough to reach the center of his back, now barely brushed his neck. He was bulkier, maybe to offset his soft facial features. Cera hadn't changed much, aside from growing a few inches taller. Zai looked like an older, taller version of the boy I saw over a decade ago, now with piercings and a more upbeat demeanor.
As soon as Raijian and Aluma saw each other, they embraced and kissed, recounting the major life events they'd missed.
"I'm sorry," Raijian muttered. "I thought you'd forgotten me... so I tried to forget you. I never imagined you'd wait for me all this time."
There was pain in his voice.
"I wanted to move on," Aluma replied. "But there was no way I could love your father. I had no other options. So I was stuck thinking of you. I did think you'd forgotten me... but I couldn't forget you, Rai. Even though you tricked me, you were my first, and I loved you."
Raijian's eyes brimmed with tears.
"I understand... But does that mean you don't love me anymore?"
She giggled, held his cheeks, and kissed him repeatedly.
"I'd care for you even if you looked completely different, acted differently—even if you didn't love me anymore. As long as you're you, I think the answer is no—I still love you, Rai."
They stared into each other's eyes. Then Cera sighed.
"Is this what you gathered us here for?" he asked, turning to me with a bored expression.
"No..." I cleared my throat. "Truthfully, the King has threatened me—with all of your lives."
Aluma and Rai sat together, fingers intertwined. Zai stood in the corner with his phone on speaker. Valin sat alone in an armchair, fully focused on me. Cera stared at the wall but occasionally glanced toward Zai.
"When you entered the castle, he implanted you all with explosive crystals. They're set to detonate when you've lived twenty years—unless he deactivates them himself. He only planned to do that if you proved your loyalty. At this point, he considers you all failures. So there's no way he's disabling them."
Cera was finally paying attention. Aluma gripped Raijian's hand tighter.
"He's going to kill them?!" a woman's voice rang through Zai's phone.
"First, let me apologize. I regret how I treated you while you were growing up. I was going through a lot, but that's no excuse. I care deeply for all of you."
I hesitated, then added, "Vetro was going to warn you and tell you to return before the detonation. But... the plan changed. That's my fault... because I... I'm pregnant."
"So what? What's that got to do with us?" Cera asked. "Why would that change anything?"
"Whose is it?" Valin asked. He probably already knew, thanks to his element.
I opened my mouth, but Zai beat me to it.
"It's Insinz's, right?"
I blushed and lost my voice. That's when Insinz's clone manifested from my necklace, wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and answered for me.
"Yeah. That's right."
The room exploded.
Cera yelled, "How are you here?!"
Zai and Insinz shouted over each other:
"I f**king knew it! You were always so sensitive about anything related to Tana!"
"That's because you always commented on s**t you knew nothing about!"
They stood, glaring. I got up to de-escalate the situation. Rai watched calmly, probably reading everyone's minds. Then Valin stood and barked:
"Stop fighting! She hasn't even gotten to the point yet!"
The room fell quiet.
"Okay... it's up to you. But Insinz knows how to remove the devices in your necks. In return, we ask that you help us take down the King. I believe it's possible—if we work together."
Silence.
"Why should we help you?" Cera said. "I'd appreciate the kill switch being gone, but I'm not going back to Afaria."
"I'll do it," Zai murmured.
Cera and the voice on the phone shouted, "What?!"
"I... I'll go too," Cera said after a pause. "You guys might need me. My support skills are God-tier."
"I'll go as well. Aluma should stay here, but I need to support my best friend," Raijian added.
"I'd rather not kill anyone... but I'd love to fight the person who thought it was okay to kill me on a whim," Valin said.
What a relief.
They're all on board.