The Blood-Daughter's piercing gaze fell upon the Aenvari boy inside the cage. She tilted her head slightly, voice low and commanding.
"Open the cage."
"Yes, Blood-Daughter," replied the bald barbarian woman who trailed behind her. She stepped forward, inserted a key, and turned it.
Clink. Scrraaape.
The metal lock gave way, and the iron door screeched as it dragged across the wooden floor before swinging open.
The Blood-Daughter stepped inside. She crouched before the boy, her eyes scanning every detail: his trembling gaze, the ragged rise and fall of his breath, the thin stream of blood running from his nose.
Ah… blood.
She stripped off her right gauntlet, her pale fingers brushing against his cheek. The boy recoiled, his head knocking lightly against the wooden wall behind him.
"Ah, don't be afraid, boy," she murmured, though what she considered gentle still carried the weight of command.
Her fingers trailed along his quivering skin until they reached the blood. With her thumb, she wiped it clean, then brought it to her lips.
She tasted it.
"Mmm… You should take better care of yourself," she said softly, almost tenderly. "Don't break your body so easily."
At that moment, another figure entered the prison—Freka, the warrior who had captured Hale in the first place. She stood behind the Blood-Daughter, her expression unreadable as her gaze fell on the boy.
"Where did you find him?" the Blood-Daughter asked, her gaze never leaving the boy.
"Near the border stream," Freka replied gruffly. "Was standin' there, starin' like lost pup."
The Blood-Daughter tilted her head slightly. "Hmm. What was he doing there? Is he a scout? Are you, boy?" she asked, her piercing eyes fixed on Hale.
But Freka answered instead. "Don't think so. He carried nothin'; no steel, no tools. Just them strange clothes he wearin' now."
The Blood-Daughter slowly turned her head, her eyes settling on Freka.
Freka stiffened, realizing her mistake. She dropped her head low in a deep bow. "Forgive me, Blood-Daughter. I spoke out o' turn."
Hale watched the whole exchange, his breathing steadier now. When the crushing pressure had first descended, it felt as if his bones were splintering. In desperation, he tried activating his Pacify skill inward. He hadn't known if it would even work on himself, but to his relief, it did. His pulse slowed, his thoughts cleared.
There was no point in trying to use Analyze on the Blood-Daughter…not that he could, with the skill still on cooldown.
Her gaze shifted back to him, piercing and unblinking.
"Well, forget it. We'll come to know each other better tonight. Rest until then, boy."
She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, ruffling it in what might have seemed a gentle gesture, but only left Hale colder inside.
Rising to her feet, she turned and strode for the exit. After locking the cage, the bald barbarian and Freka fell into step behind her.
"Send him to my chamber tonight," she ordered.
"Yes, Blood-Daughter," the bald one answered at once.
The Blood-Daughter glanced over her shoulder at the girl huddled in the corner of the cage. "And make sure he's properly cleaned before you send him."
With that, she pushed open the wooden door and left, the two warriors trailing in her shadow.
* * *
Hale let out a long breath once he was sure the storm had passed. "Haaa…"
He turned toward the corner of the cage, where Sely was already watching him with pity in her eyes.
"Am I going to die tonight?!" Hale blurted, no pretense, no circling around the question.
Sely sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Hale's lips twitched. "What's that supposed to mean? And who are you, really? You withstood her pressure like it was nothing. Are you strong enough to beat her?"
A weak chuckle slipped from Sely. "You really don't understand how power works here, do you? One punch from her could send me straight to the heavens…send us both, along with this entire wooden house, to the afterlife."
Hale blinked. "…Then how were you tanking that pressure?"
Sely smirked faintly. "Pressure like that? Once you've lived under it long enough, your body adapts. You get used to it. Doesn't mean I could stop her fist, though… hehe."
"Sigh… I'm sorry, Sely. I know you have no reason to help me since we only just met. Well, I'll find a way—" Hale stopped mid-sentence when a soft peck landed on his forehead. He hadn't even seen her move.
Sely's amber eyes locked on his. "If you trust me, stall her union as much as you can."
"You mean… never let her f*ck me?" Hale asked, innocently.
Sely gave him a strange look. "...Yeah." Then she stood and moved back to her corner. "They're coming, Hale. I hope you live through tonight. I might actually miss you if you died like that."
"Well, that was comforting," Hale muttered, touching his forehead. Melissa had already stolen his first kiss, and now Sely had taken his first forehead kiss? Was that even a thing? And his first time might end up taken by a beast of a woman.
"Damn… should I feel lucky or unlucky?!" he muttered.
The wooden door creaked open again, and his heart skipped a beat. That damn door always sounded so ominous.
In came the bald-headed woman again, this time with two girls trailing behind her, twins. They moved in perfect unison, mirror copies of each other. Unlike the rough-hewn Drakthar men and women Hale had seen so far, these two looked almost… human, more like him. They were tall, nearly his height, with soft brown hair and features that were…dare he say, cute.
The bald woman unlocked the cage and swung the door wide. "Make sure you wretches scrub that Aenvari scum clean and deliver him to the Blood-Daughter's chamber," she ordered, her voice dripping with contempt.
The twins bowed slightly before stepping inside. Hale's stomach tightened. So…the time has come. Each girl moved to his side, gripping his shoulders with unsettling ease as they pulled him upright.
"Can you walk?" one of them asked.
"Y-yeah," Hale muttered, forcing his legs to move.
The bald woman sneered as she shut the cage door behind them, her gaze dripping with disgust. Hale risked a glance back at the corner. Sely was still there, her amber eyes fixed on him. She offered him a faint, helpless smile that made his chest tighten.
He turned away and followed the twins out through the wooden door.
Stepping outside, the air hit his lungs like freedom…if only for a moment. The outpost camp sprawled before him. Drakthar tribesmen strode about, some dragging game from the hunt. In the open center, a great fire roared, the heart of the settlement.
Evening had settled. The sun dipped low on the horizon, washing the world in a bleeding orange glow.
"Follow me," one of the twins said.
They led Hale away from the camp, not deeper inside but toward the outer edge. His mind began to race. Could he slip away now? These girls didn't look nearly as imposing as the others he'd seen.
As he entertained the thought, the twin walking behind him spoke, her voice light yet edged with amusement. "Are you thinking of running?"
Hale froze. He turned, only to see her smiling knowingly. She lifted her right hand, white translucent energy pulsing faintly around her fist. Then, with a blur of movement, she struck the trunk of a tree beside the path.
CRACK!
Bark splintered, fragments scattering as a neat, fist-sized hole appeared in the wood. It hadn't pierced through, but the message was clear.
She glanced back at him, her smile widening. "If you think you can outrun that, try it."
Hale glanced at the hole in the trunk, then back at the smiling girl, and swallowed hard.
"Calm down, sister. Why would I want to run when I'm about to spend the night with the Blood-Daughter? Shouldn't I be eager?"
"Oh-ho… sister? I like that." She looped an arm around his shoulder as they walked. "Then let this sister clean up her dear brother, so the Blood-Daughter falls for him at first sight."
The other twin, leading the way, only shook her head as the three of them made their way toward a stream at the camp's edge.