From the balcony of their skyscraper hotel, the city in the night glowed with holo-signs drifting like jellyfish, sky rails humming in the distance and digital lights floating lazily through the streets far below. Vastarael leaned his elbows on the glass railing, staring out with that oddly nostalgic expression he only got when he was thinking about Earth.
Lower Rise was straight-up a cyberpunk civilization and it still blew his mind.
"I literally had to reincarnate into a whole different world, become absurdly wealthy, gain Divinity, lose Divinity, gain more Divinity, and fight like twenty disasters before I got to actually live in something that looks like a sci-fi movie. Fantastic."
Her thoughts drifted right back to the long discussion earlier. Four hours with King Xerelion and Queen Callisare had been… intense and exhausting. They were handling the loss of Divinity surprisingly well, but the political ripple effects were going to be a nightmare. And of course, everyone expected Richinaria to stabilize everything because Richinaria had always stabilized everything.
Even if he wasn't king, Vastarael had inherited the damn responsibility.
"Great. I didn't ask to be the emotional support Divine for an entire continent, but here we are."
Her eyes drifted over the neon-plastered cityscape. Despite everything, a weird warmth settled in her chest. He had love that wrapped around him like a shield and occasionally like an overbearing blanket that cut off his breathing.
He snorted at the thought.
'Five women trying to tie me to a bed and devour me alive. Fantastic. Absolutely great. Truly, a life of dignity and—'
"Veneri?"
The voice behind him cut his thoughts clean in half. He turned and froze. Phaenora stood in the doorway to the balcony, leaning casually on the frame.
She wore a white nightgown. A transparent one.
Her silhouette blurred through soft, luminous fabric. Her hair, normally wild and messy, flowed loose over her shoulders. The faint glitch drifting over her eyes was the only thing grounding her look back into reality.
"What… what are you wearing?"
"A nightgown."
"That is not a nightgown."
"Oh? Are you going to arrest me, Darling?"
Vastarael opened and closed his mouth like a fish struggling with existential shock. She stepped closer, the city lights washing over her in neon blues and pinks.
"I called your name three times but you were off in your little internal monologue. Must have been something juicy."
He coughed hard. "I was thinking about politics."
"You were also blushing."
"No I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
"I was thinking about the Divinity situation—"
"Sure you were."
She poked his cheek and moved to stand beside him at the railing. Her presence made the balcony feel warmer somehow.
"You know, for someone who says he doesn't rule Rise, you sure look like someone who's carrying the weight of it anyway."
"I don't rule it but you know how it is. Richinaria always ends up cleaning up after the continent."
"You sound like someone's exhausted mother."
"Phae."
She laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder.
The neon from the city bathed them both in soft chromatic hues, like they were inside one of the cyberpunk movies Vastarael used to watch on Earth. It felt strangely… peaceful.
"Amazing view," Phaenora whispered.
"Yeah," Vastarael said without thinking. "It is."
She tilted her head up. "You were looking at the city."
"Right..."
"Liar."
Before he could argue, she hooked her fingers in his cloak and tugged him a step closer. Her voice dropped to a teasing whisper.
"So, Veneri. Are you going to keep staring at skyscrapers? Or are you going to come inside and stop overthinking everything like a stressed-out ruler?"
"You ambushed me."
"With a nightgown?"
"Yes."
"Well," she placed a hand on his... her chest. "Maybe I wanted your attention."
"You had my attention the moment you walked through the door."
Her glitch flickered, just for a second.
"Oh. Are you... not daring to do it?"
Vastarael exhaled through his nose like someone who just realized the universe had set him up. Then, with that resigned, dangerously calm tone he only used when he was absolutely about to do something insane, he shifted back into his original male form. The clothes didn't adjust of course.
"You really shouldn't provoke someone like me."
Before she could smirk again, he scooped her right off the floor, slinging her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. Phaenora let out this shocked, half-laughing sound that instantly turned into a pleased hum. He pushed open the balcony door, closed it and walked straight to the bed, dropping her onto the bed. She propped herself up on her elbows, hair messy from the landing and her gown slipping just enough to make him swallow.
"Veneri, you think I'm scared?"
He opened his mouth and that was all she needed. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down into a kiss so deep it practically surprised him. Her lips were warm, insistent and way too hungry. Vastarael had to break away for air, leaning over her with both hands pressed into the bed to keep from collapsing on top of her.
And that's when he saw her. Phaenora was beneath him with her flushed cheeks and slightly parted lips and that wild sparkle in her eyes… honestly, it was unfair.
"How did someone as pretty as you end up with someone like me?"
Phaenora's grin softened around the edges.
"Darling, I'm the lucky one. And don't even start pretending otherwise."
She tapped his sternum with two fingers.
"Also, don't hold back. I know how you are. You overthink. You restrain yourself. Not here. This bed is made of Divine Metal. It will survive you."
He huffed out a laugh. "That was not the reassurance you think it was."
But he sat up, tugging the blouse over his head and tossing it aside. The light from the neon city outside cut across his skin, picking up the lines of his torso, every refined angle and every subtle glow of divine energy under the surface. Phaenora stared. He reached for her hand and placed it on his chest.
"You can touch. It's not like you're not entitled to."
Phaenora yanked him down. Her arms wrapped tightly around him as if she intended to keep him there forever. The velocity sent him stumbling right onto her, catching himself with a soft grunt. She buried her face against his neck for a moment, laughing breathlessly.
"if you keep talking like that, I'm tying you up and doing it myself."
He leaned in close, lips brushing her ear as he whispered.
"You wouldn't dare."
He kissed her neck and Phaenora made a sound that absolutely confirmed that she was thrilled. She finally had him exactly where she wanted him. And tonight, she was not planning on letting go.
'Ah... finally...'