Kael Virell had shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself for pain—for the searing bite, the piercing agony, the final, gnashing end. But seconds passed, then more. The expected pain never came.
Suspicious, he cracked one eye open.
...and saw a pair of eyes staring back.
Not fangs. Not claws. Not death.
Eyes.
They were deep violet, slit down the middle like a cat's. They shimmered, alive with something ancient and unsettling. But what struck Kael wasn't terror—at least, not the same kind he had felt seconds ago.
Those violet eyes were—
"...Beautiful."
He didn't even feel his lips move. The word slipped out before he could catch it.
Shit, what's happening to me? He thought, blinking rapidly.
The spell broke.
Kael snapped back to his senses, heart pounding like a war drum. The moment had lasted only seconds, but it felt suspended in time. Now fully alert, Kael forced both eyes wide open and focused on the figure standing before him.
He wasn't facing a creature anymore. He was facing a man.
A real, breathing, undeniably humanoid male.
After hours of solitude in this nightmare realm—days, years, lifetimes, or at least it felt so—Kael was finally seeing someone of his own kind.
He didn't weep. Didn't scream with joy. Didn't rush forward for a tearful embrace.
Because something was off.
Very off.
Let's ignore, for a moment, the unnatural glint in those feline eyes. There were all sorts of mutations, magical conditions, and rare species in a world like this, right? Kael wasn't so shallow as to judge people by their features.
But what he couldn't ignore was the long, smooth, sinuous tail swaying behind the man—dark violet, almost black, flicking lazily like a serpent waiting to strike.
Kael felt a chill.
The man stepped closer, and Kael inhaled reflexively. Not foul, not fishy—his breath was strangely crisp, like mint over snow.
A sudden contrast to the rotting stench of the fish monster now lying dead behind them, its mangled corpse still twitching from what must have been a brutal, incomprehensibly fast battle. The monster had been shredded—torn as if by invisible blades.
Only one culprit stood here. And Kael couldn't fathom how this beautiful, alien man had dispatched it in mere seconds.
His knees wobbled, but he stood his ground.
"You… You… what are you trying to do?" Kael asked cautiously.
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped even closer.
Kael flinched.
The man leaned down and... sniffed him.
First his neck. Then his collarbone. Then up toward his jaw.
Kael stiffened. "Uh, hello? Personal space?"
But no reply.
This man—creature—whatever he was, had long, silky hair the same hue as his tail. It cascaded around his face in thick waves, framing sculpted cheekbones and pale, unmarred skin that shimmered faintly under the cold light.
He was—objectively—beautiful. The kind of beauty that made statues jealous.
His lips were perfectly curved, his nose straight, and his face... well, unfairly symmetrical.
But Kael couldn't ignore the tail.
Couldn't ignore the subtle forked tongue that flickered past the man's lips when he inhaled.
Couldn't ignore the visceral terror rising in his gut.
He hated snakes.
He hated everything about them.
One had bitten him as a kid—its cold scales wrapping around his ankle like death incarnate. Ever since, even cartoon snakes made his skin crawl.
This man wasn't a snake.
But he was close enough.
"Hey!" Kael snapped when the man's nose brushed his ear. "What are you doing?"
Still nothing. Just more sniffing.
Kael's panic escalated.
His mind, ever the overthinker, spiraled into fantasy tropes. What if I don't speak his language? What if he thinks I'm a threat? A rival? A—
Then the man finally spoke.
"Such a lovely scent," he said in a voice like smoke wrapped in velvet. "Such a lovely… female."
Kael blinked.
...What?
[Female? FEMALE?! What in the seven hells are you talking about?!]
Kael nearly screamed—but didn't.
Because this man—this possibly snake-man—had just slain a giant fish beast like it was a tuna roll.
He was not someone to yell at.
So Kael clenched his jaw, trembling.
Bro. BRO. My little Laozi is right there—outlined in these tight pants. I'm built like a Greek tragedy. There is NO way I look like a woman.
He was too afraid to say any of that aloud.
Not when the guy kept pressing closer.
Kael leaned back, trying to crawl away.
It didn't help.
The man followed.
Kael's hands scraped over the ice, trembling. He needed to escape. He needed to run. But before he could even shift more than a few inches—
The man's hand shot out and gripped his shoulder.
Kael gasped.
Pain lanced through his upper arm like a lightning strike.
The man blinked. His expression shifted.
He withdrew his hand slowly and looked at the spot he'd touched. Kael's sleeve was already soaked in red.
The talons—those long, obsidian claws—had accidentally cut him.
The man stared at the blood, his gaze darkening. Confusion. Regret. Something else.
He whispered, more to himself, "How could… such a light touch…?"
"Light touch, your sister's ass," Kael hissed through clenched teeth.
His entire body was a wreck. He'd been dragged, burned, bruised, starved, and now skewered by some sexy lizard demon.
His lips paled. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
He swayed.
"Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't—"
He fainted.
---
The man caught him before he hit the ground.
Kael's body was suddenly cradled in strong arms. The man's grip was surprisingly gentle now, his talons careful not to touch skin. He settled Kael against his chest, wrapping his cloak—some kind of scaled, dark fabric—around him.
Kael's head rested right above the man's heart, and for the briefest moment, he felt... safe.
Cold lips brushed his forehead, as if checking for fever.
Then, just as the man began to speak—
"Your… talons… are they poisoned?" Kael murmured, barely audible.
And then he was gone—swallowed by the pull of unconsciousness.
The man stared down at him, silent.
He reached out and gently brushed aside Kael's wet hair. A flick of his tail curled protectively around them both.
The wind howled across the ice.
And beneath three moons, in a realm where monsters lurked beneath still waters and men weren't always human, Kael Virell slept—injured, shaken, but alive.
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Erato-san has something to say:
ML: Frantically searches on Uncle Google
[What do I do if I accidentally almost killed my wife on our first meeting?]
Uncle Google:
1. Dig a grave before your wife wakes up.
2. Lie down in it.
3. Pretend you're dead.
Pretend you're dead.
Or ...You'll end up really dead. (٥↼_↼)
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