CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124: WE MEET AGAIN.

Arina’s boots crunched faintly against the broken marble, but her thoughts wandered far away from the chamber.

The fire of the potion still lingered in her veins, but with it came something else. Something foreign.

She had felt Aiden’s pain. His ache. His breath inside her breath.

And just before the bond had set, when the light had closed around them, she had felt something else—something she dared not name.

She glanced at him. His body was bruised, his face pale, but his eyes carried that same maddening steadiness. She shut her mouth quickly, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Not here. Not in front of the elf.

The mission was done. Her sickness was cured. Their work here was finished.

"lets Leave," she muttered, voice taut. "We’ve lingered long enough."

But before they could move, Ilyana’s voice pierced the silence.

"...Wait."

The elf woman rose, still clutching her daughter against her chest. Her gown shifted like living leaves, and the crown of wood gleamed faintly in the dim light. Her green eyes shone—not with pride, but with desperation.

She lowered her head, trembling. "I ask... favor. From you. Chosen one."

Aiden tilted his head. "Favor?"

Her voice quavered. "Take her. Take child. The ’abomination’... he may return. If he sees us alive, he will not spare again. Please. You—" her eyes lifted, searching Aiden’s face with something close to reverence, "—the savior. You are marked. Take her."

Her daughter whimpered softly, clutching tighter at her mother’s gown.

For a long moment, the chamber breathed only with their silence.

Aiden’s gaze trailed down—lingering on Ilyana’s curves, the fullness of her hips beneath the emerald gown, the regal softness that not even desperation could strip away. The hunger in him burned, shameless.

[Ember: 20%]

He smiled faintly. "I’ll take her... I’ll protect her." His voice lowered, curling like smoke. "But only... if you come with me too. And work

for me."

The elf woman froze, her lips parting in shock. Her eyes flicked to the body of her husband slumped nearby, blood dried into his robes. She glanced down at her daughter, still clinging and crying. Her breath shuddered.

"You..." she whispered, stunned. "You would bind me so?"

Before she could speak further, Arina’s hand clamped around Aiden’s arm. She dragged him aside with a sharp tug, her face storming red—not only with anger, but with something far messier.

"You’ve lost your goddamn mind," she hissed, eyes flashing. "Demi-humans like elves aren’t allowed in our world. Only officials can invite them in. You—" she jabbed his chest hard, "—you’re no noble. You’re a knight stripped of rank, a nobody! What in the bloody hell makes you think you can keep one elf alive—let alone two?"

Her voice shook, and not from reason alone. A flicker of jealousy—raw and sharp—flared in her words.

But Aiden only smirked. He lifted a finger and pressed it gently to her lips.

"Shhh."

Her eyes widened at the boldness.

"Don’t worry about that," he whispered. "You’re alive. That’s all that matters. The rest?" His grin sharpened. "Let me handle it."

"Think-"

Before she could bite back, his hand slid around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her breath hitched.

Then his lips crashed onto hers.

The kiss was fierce, hungry, claiming. His tongue pressed against hers, his heat pouring into her like fire stoked in the cold. For a heartbeat, her mind blanked—her body melting against his, trembling with the sheer force of it.

When he finally broke away, his breath brushed her ear.

"....i said shush...You’re mine now. Listen. to. me."

Arina’s cheeks burned scarlet. She turned her face away, unable to meet his eyes. "I..." Her voice faltered, softer than she wanted. "I...i hate you..."

But then she shoved him back, though her hand lingered a fraction too long on his chest. "Don’t get the wrong idea. This feeling—it’s only because of the potion. Because of the bond. Nothing else."

Her words were sharp. But the lack of steel behind them betrayed her.

She forced her gaze to the floor, whispering almost to herself, "I’ll find a way to break it. I will."

The vow hung hollow in the air.

.

.

The air grew thick before they even realized it.

The road back wound along the forest ridge, where the canopy parted just enough to glimpse the horizons. That was when they saw it—fire. Smoke curling black against the sky, thick plumes rising from beyond the second giant tree. And further still, flames licking around the third.

Arina stopped in her tracks, her cloak snapping in the wind. "No..."

Ilyana clutched her daughter tighter, her lips trembling. "The others... the other colonies..."

"...Burning," Aiden said grimly. His jaw clenched. "That bastard’s work. He’s wiping them all out."

Another plume erupted, fire staining the sky red. The world seemed smaller beneath that smoke, as if even the heavens were shrinking from what stalked below.

They didn’t waste another breath.

Through brush and broken stone, across shattered roots, they ran. Every path, every trail, led them back toward the jungle where the gate lay hidden. Yet something was wrong.

The forest was silent. Too silent.

Even the smallest life—birds, snakes, insects—had vanished. No. Not vanished. They were here. Trembling. Huddled. Crawling low as though the very air pressed them into the soil.

Aiden’s skin prickled. He felt it in his bones before his mind shaped the thought.

The abomination.

Its aura seeped everywhere. Heavy, choking, a weight that bent the jungle itself.

Even the fiercest beasts recoiled like frightened pups. Trees stood crooked, their leaves quivering, bowing as though in worship—or terror.

He was near.

They ran faster.

At last, the mouth of the cave came into view. The place where this nightmare had begun.

"Go!" Arina barked, urging the elf and her child forward.

But the ground beneath them trembled.

Crack.

The trees quivered. Roots tore from the earth, collapsing in thunderous waves. The jungle itself seemed to scream.

Then the sound came.

A roar. A dragon’s roar.

Not beast. Not man. A thing between, saturated with hatred and triumph. The cry of blood-dragon lungs, shaking the marrow of the world.

Aiden froze, heart slamming in his chest. He turned—

—and there it was.

Through the haze of falling trees, the silhouette of despair. Tall, horns curving like broken spears, wings half-formed of shadows. The abomination’s eyes glowed with a hungry scarlet. Each step shattered stone, sent fissures racing through the ground.

"Move!" Arina screamed.

They burst into the cave, sprinting through the winding tunnel, light flickering at the end—the dungeon’s exit, the gate to the human world.

The roar followed, closer, too close.

And then—

Aiden felt it. A hand.

Not a hand.

Four fingers, scaled black, claws gleaming. Gripping his throat.

The world lurched as his back slammed into rock. Air ripped from his lungs.

"Aiden!" Arina’s scream echoed like a blade cutting air.

He saw the terror in her eyes, the tears streaking Ilyana’s face, the small arms of the child reaching out desperately.

And still, he used his ember.

[Aura of allure used ]

[Target acquired: Arina.]

"Runs away.."

Arina hands suddenly shoved them forward—, Ilyana, the girl—thrusting them through the glowing threshold.

The gate shimmered around their silhouettes.

And then it closed behind them.

Leaving Aiden alone.

Dangling in the abomination’s grip.

The scaled fingers tightened around his neck, cutting the breath from his chest.

The abomination leaned close, its eyes burning into his.

"...we meet ...again.."