The moon had waned, and nearly a week had passed since the battle with the Abyssal Wolf. The forest had returned to silence, but echoes of that night stirred quietly in two very different places.
The Velressi Clan – Inner Palace
Silken banners swayed with each gentle gust inside the Velressi Sect's crystalline inner palace. Within a secluded courtyard of blooming moonlilies, she sat alone beneath the silver trees.
Her name was Velariah—inner disciple of the Velressi Clan. A beauty once known for her composure, clarity, and skill. Her discipline had earned her many missions, some lethal, others delicate. Her last had been the latter—a honeypot operation, a dangerous game of seduction and deceit that she had failed.
That failure should've consumed her thoughts. But it didn't.
Instead…
She clutched a robe.
Kael'theron's robe.
The one he had given her under moonlight—when her garments had been torn, when her body had been exposed, when his voice, cold and commanding, had cut through the chaos like a sword.
She'd meant to return it.
She'd meant to wash it.
But she hadn't.
She'd brought it home that night, cradled against her chest, and simply placed it on the edge of her bed. But when her hand brushed the cloth again, a strange warmth pulsed through her palm. Her breath caught.
It smells like…
She had frozen, eyes widening.
It smells divine.
Like dark forests after rain. Like cold steel and warm skin. It was subtle but intoxicating, like a thread that wound into her lungs, then down into the very core of her being. Her heart raced. Her mind blurred.
For a full day, she had fought the urge to touch it again.
On the second day, she gave in.
She wore it to sleep.
The robe was far too large. The sleeves draped over her arms, and the hem slid low on her thighs. But wrapped in it, she felt… safe. Warm. Enveloped in something masculine, something primal. She dreamed vividly. Her body woke flushed.
By the third night, she had begun dreading the moment she had to remove it each morning.
By the fifth, she refused to take it off at all in her quarters.
Now, seven days later, her expression was vacant, her Qi unstable, and her cultivation sessions completely unproductive.
One of the elders had reported her erratic behavior.
That's when the Matriarch summoned her.
---
Velressi Sect – Matriarch's Hall
Matriarch Elyssira Velressi was a towering presence, her white hair flowing like a river of snow, eyes cold as glacier stone. Her cultivation surpassed the Core Formation Realm, reaching late Nascent Soul.
And she had noticed the corruption in Velariah's energy.
"You've lost control," Elyssira said bluntly.
Velariah knelt, head bowed, robe still clutched around her despite protocol.
"I haven't—"
"You have," the Matriarch cut her off. "You were never the most talented, but your mind was your greatest asset. Now you tremble like a mortal maiden dreaming of a man's touch. What is that robe you wear?"
Velariah's fingers tightened around it. "It belongs to the one who saved me. Kael'theron."
The name lingered in the air like incense.
"The Incubus," Elyssira whispered, more to herself than to Velariah.
"I don't know what he is," Velariah murmured, eyes glazed, "but I need to see him again…"
"You're craving him." The Matriarch's voice was sharp with realization. "His very scent disturbs your balance. Seduction magic… or perhaps something deeper?"
Velariah didn't deny it.
"I only want to… speak with him."
"No, you want to breathe him. You want to taste his presence, bathe in his essence, don't you?"
That hit too close to the truth. Velariah's nails dug into her palms, face burning.
Elyssira sighed. "Your obsession is dangerous. Whatever that man is—he's not meant to be trifled with. I forbid you to leave the clan walls."
That was expected.
What was unexpected was Velariah's reaction.
Her eyes flashed.
"Then I will resign from the inner circle," she said, rising. "Demote me. Make me an outer disciple. I don't care. Just let me leave."
The chamber fell silent.
Several elders gasped.
Even Elyssira's lips parted slightly, shocked. "You would throw away your cultivation path, your rank, your future—for a man you met once?"
Velariah didn't blink.
"For a scent I cannot forget."
---
Elsewhere – Kael'theron's Return
Atop a high mountain shrouded in clouds, Kael'theron walked the path back to the stone pavilion where Lady Seraphyne waited.
The silence of the air here was heavy, sacred.
He stepped into the chamber where she cultivated, lowering his hood.
Seraphyne opened her eyes—and immediately frowned.
"You used your Qi," she said, her voice smooth and regal. "In the forest. I felt it ripple."
Kael'theron gave a small nod. "A corrupted beast attacked a disciple. I intervened."
"And you gave her your robe." Seraphyne's eyes narrowed. "I can still sense your aura all the way from the Velressi lands."
"…What of it?"
"You're leaking something," she said, folding her hands. "Something I cannot explain."
She stood, and for the first time, Kael'theron noticed a faint strain in her usually impassive demeanor.
"Each time you release more of your Qi, I must cleanse myself of the impurity it leaves in me. Do you understand how unnatural that is?"
Kael'theron's eyes darkened slightly. "If it disturbs you, I'll remain here longer."
Seraphyne approached slowly, her heels soft against the temple floor.
"No… I need to understand it." Her fingers lifted, brushing his collarbone lightly, as if testing something unseen. Her own Qi swirled—a probing thread of divine light against the strange seductive pull within him.
She flinched.
It responded.
"Not charm," she murmured. "Not illusion. It's something biological—instinctual."
She stepped back.
"This is why I've kept you hidden. You're not ready. The world isn't ready."
Kael'theron said nothing.
But somewhere, deep within him, the sensation stirred again. A faint echo from afar—a craving. A heartbeat.
Someone was thinking of him.
---
Velressi Clan – Outer Courtyard
Velariah stood at the gates now, a simple outer disciple's robe over Kael'theron's far more lavish one, her eyes set forward.
The guards at the gate stared, confused.
"You… left the inner court?"
"I was demoted."
"…Voluntarily?"
She didn't answer.
Her fingers grazed the edge of the robe.
Her thoughts were a storm.
"Kael'theron…"
Each breath she took made her stomach flutter, her core tighten, her thoughts slip. She didn't care what others said.
She would find him again.
Not for love.
Not for gratitude.
But for something far deeper, more carnal, more maddening.
__________________
----------------------
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°