Isolde stood frozen in the center of the Great Hall, but for the first time in her life, it wasn't because of her magic. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. The spot on her ear where Caelum's warm fingers had grazed her was tingling, the heat spreading down her neck and making her breasts ache behind her stiff, silver corset.
She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Her silver Aether, usually as still as a frozen lake, was now churning and bubbling. To the other students, she looked insulted, but internally, her body was experiencing a "Chemical Shock." She had spent years perfecting her coldness, and Caelum had neutralized it in a single second.
"Isolde? Are you alright?" a fellow noble asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"Do not touch me!" she snapped, her voice cracking. She turned and hurried toward the high table, her face a mask of fury, but her mind was replaying the way his golden eyes had looked into hers—not with fear, but with hunger.
Meanwhile, Caelum reached his seat, but he didn't find peace. He found a storm.
**Lyra** was already there, her teal Aether sparking like a short-circuited wire. She grabbed his arm the moment he sat down, her soft, round shoulder pressing hard against his. "You were looking at her," she hissed, her voice a mix of pouty and pissed. "You touched her ear, Caelum! You never do that to me in public!"
Before Caelum could answer, **Seraphina** slid into the seat on his other side. She leaned in close, her heavy, honey-scented breasts brushing his elbow as she whispered into his other ear.
"The Ice Queen looks like she's about to melt, or explode," Seraphina purred, her magenta Aether curling around Caelum's arm like a possessive vine. "But don't forget, Caelum... she's all frost and sharp edges. I'm the one who knows how to keep you warm."
Caelum felt the "Resonance" between the two women. It was a beautiful, volatile mix. Lyra's energy was sharp and jealous, like a fresh lemon, while Seraphina's was thick and heavy, like dark chocolate.
"Ladies," Caelum said, his voice smooth as silk. He reached under the table, placing one hand on Lyra's bare thigh and the other on Seraphina's silk-covered knee. "The banquet hasn't even served the first course, and you're already trying to boil over."
Both women gasped at the sudden, dual contact. Caelum pulsed a wave of his gold Aether through both of them at once. It was a **Stabilizing Reaction**. The jealousy didn't disappear, but it turned into something much more physical.
Lyra's teal sparks smoothed out into a deep, needy hum. Seraphina's magenta energy grew darker and more concentrated. Under the table, both women leaned their weight into his hands, their eyes glazed with a sudden, shared lust.
"If you want my attention," Caelum whispered, looking from one to the other, "you'll have to show me you can work together. This world is full of reagents, and I don't have time for a messy lab."
Across the hall, Isolde watched them. She saw the way Caelum was handling the two most beautiful women in the room like he owned them. She saw the way they were looking at him—with a devotion that bordered on worship.
She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest. It wasn't hate. It was a terrifying, icy **envy**. She wanted to know what he was doing to them under that table. She wanted to know why her silver Aether was screaming for him to come back and "shatter" her.
She gripped her silver wine goblet so hard that the metal began to warp. *I will find out his secret,* she thought, her eyes fixed on Caelum's smirking face. *Even if I have to let him burn me to do it.*