In a single heartbeat, the warm, comforting steam filling the grand room completely vanished. The air turned biting and cold, heavy with a sudden, suffocating dread.
Arkin and Koa stopped moving. They stood perfectly still, looking like two massive statues carved out of solid stone. Their glowing eyes stared blankly at the painted paper screen where the bleeding guard had collapsed. The fierce, playful rivalry that normally sat between them was instantly erased, replaced by pure, absolute horror.
Lexianna, however, could not understand the danger.
She was trapped deep inside the heavy, sweet haze of her spiking heat. Her body was burning, aching for their touch, her mind clouded by the overwhelming need to balance her magic. But she felt the sudden shift. She felt the warm water go still, and the comforting pressure of their bodies pull away. The silence in the room was sudden and frightening.
