Looking at the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on, lying beside me, makes me feel like we are the most perfect living beings in this world. I healed her wounded hand—no, it was more than healing. It was an honor, my pride, to bond with not just the most beautiful woman, but a goddess as well. It might be wrong of me to feel comforted seeing her in such a delicate state, but when she shows that side of her to me, I feel needed.
She's powerful—not only because of the goddess within her, but because she truly is one. Sometimes, I don't think she knows that. Her instinct to throw herself into danger just to save another, her need to carry everyone else's pain, makes me admire her even more. No beast would ever act the way she does. And I am here to remind her of that.
I know her weakness. And if others ever learn to use it against her, this world will end.
A dark presence crept through the aerie. I felt it immediately. It wouldn't be the last time. I had sensed it earlier. Slowly, I slipped away from Sienna's side and went to meet it.
The figure waiting for me was Lira.
She wore a twisted smile, her aura warped and poisonous, her intent clear—kill.
"I was right," she said. "I will never fool your instincts, Talon, King of Avion. So why don't you just step aside and let me kill her?"
"You are Vera," I snarled. "How dare you use my own kind against me?"
"Easy," she replied smoothly. "Their hearts are weak—full of jealousy and hate. The green one was fragile. But this one?" She laughed softly. "She hated the vessel. She loved the king of Bolivé, envied your beauty, and thought you weak. I only nudged her. Promised I could remove you and the vessel."
She moved in a blur.
In a blink, she was in front of me. Dark energy surged through her body. She swung.
I was ready to block it—when an arrow sliced past my face and struck her shoulder, sending her flying back.
What the hell?
That could've killed me.
I turned.
"Sienna?!"
She stood there, breathless, eyes blazing. "Behind you!"
I twisted just in time.
She charged Lira next—wild, unpolished, reckless. Lira dodged every strike, then slammed Sienna to the ground, straddled her, and wrapped her hands around her throat.
That was when I lost control.
I tackled Lira off her. The moment she hit the ground, she changed—crying, begging, pretending to be herself again. I hesitated. She was my kind. My people. My doubt gave her an opening.
She struck.
I dodged—but Sienna shoved me aside and took the blow instead.
They rolled, clawing and fighting, until Sienna ended up on top. She summoned a flaming dagger, the air shifting around her.
"Can you feel it?" she asked coldly.
Lira's eyes widened. "How did you—"
"I'm not stupid," Sienna said. "Lira would never talk to bats. She'd be terrified. And she'd never go near them—they're too ugly for her. There's no way she found Lina's body without you. You used her pain. You twisted her."
The air darkened.
"Your power is fading," Sienna continued. "So leave this body now, or I'll lock you in it and burn you with it."
A shadow tore free from Lira's body.
Lira collapsed.
Sienna hurled the flaming dagger and whispered, "Burn."
The shadow screamed as it vanished into ash.
She rushed to Lira first.
"She's alive," Sienna breathed in relief, then looked at me. "Heal her."
I stared at her. Of all things—she wanted Lira saved.
I did it.
Only then did she turn back to me, smiling weakly. "Thank goodness… she's okay."
"Since when did you know she wasn't herself?" I asked.
"You told me to be confident," she said. "So I was. Are you proud of me?"
Then she swayed.
I caught her.
"I'm fine," she whispered stubbornly. "Put Lira somewhere safe."
"You are not fine," I snapped, lifting her. "Stop pretending."
I carried her back to the nest and healed her properly this time. She thanked me with soft, shining eyes—told me she could only act because of me.
I couldn't stop myself.
I kissed her.
Each kiss was a renewed promise, an endless vow, a reminder that I would never abandon her. Her breaths, her quiet sounds, pulled me closer until all I could think about was keeping her safe—keeping her mine.
The other kings could prepare themselves.
I am not giving her up.
As she finally slept in my arms, I studied her face. There was something different about her in that fight—something deeper, older.
Whatever it is…
It only proves one thing.
She will need me more than ever.