CHAPTER 273: 273: AFTER THE STORM COMES DESIRE

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Sha glanced at the darkening horizon. "It will be night soon. We should make camp."

"I agree," Akayoroi said, her voice steady. "He needs real recovery. His aura is frayed, and the backlash from essence siphoning weakened his star core."

Kai opened one bleary eye. "You’re going to overdo it again, aren’t you?"

Vel crouched beside him with the softest smile. "Yes. Obviously."

They set up camp outside the cave, transforming the crater floor into a cozy nest. Moss, feathers, and dried vines lined the resting area, carefully arranged like a ritual. It was embarrassingly luxurious for a war-torn battleground.

Azhara brewed a steaming tonic from her ridiculous undergarment pouch. No one dared ask how medicinal herbs, dried roots, and a tea strainer ended up inside her underwear. That way lies madness.

Sha, chopped firewood with smooth, calculated swings of her dagger. Naaro placed glowstones around the perimeter, each one releasing a warm shimmer and releasing faint citrus scented pheromones meant to ward off insects and signal allies. Akayoroi used her molten spear to heat a flat stone near the fire, crafting a makeshift healing plate.

Vel, ever the mischief healer, drew runes across Kai’s bare chest with her fingertip, then gently pressed them down with the soft brush of her lips.

"Careful," Kai muttered. "You’re writing on my ribs."

Vel hummed. "That’s where your aura roots are."

"You’re also signing your name."

"Branding rights," she said sweetly.

"You don’t need to kiss the wound, you know."

She leaned in closer, her lips barely brushing his skin. "I do. Because love makes better medicine than herbs."

"No it doesn’t."

"Hush. Let me enjoy this delusion."

Azhara appeared next, carrying a warm cloth and a smug grin. She wiped his face as though he were a spoiled prince returning from battle, humming something vaguely musical. It might have been a lullaby or just her mocking the moment.

"I thought of something," she said, leaning in close.

"Do I want to know?"

"No. But I’m saying it anyway. You should let me sit in your lap and feed you berries next time. For morale."

He closed his eyes. "If I say no?"

"Then I will do it while you sleep."

Akayoroi returned with a silver dish filled with glowing nectar and molten rock essence. The dish itself pulsed with soft heat, as though alive.

"This will restore the aura channels scorched by void-tainted energy," she said softly, kneeling beside him. She fed him with calm hands, spoon by spoon, her gaze never leaving his face.

Kai stared into her molten gold eyes. "You always carry something like this?"

"I have walked through the void before," she said simply. "I know what it burns."

He placed a weak hand over hers. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me," she said, looking away. "Just survive. And let me serve again."

"You all... do too much," Kai whispered. "But I love you for it."

There was no flare of drama in his voice. Just a simple, quiet truth.

Vel blinked quickly and turned away. Sha’s hand lingered just a moment longer near his. Azhara stopped wiping his face. Akayoroi lowered her head slightly, as if embarrassed by gratitude.

The wind had softened. The fire crackled.

And then came the teasing.

"You know," Azhara said, slipping beside him, fingers playfully tapping his stomach, "now that you’re not dying... we should test your reflexes."

"Please say you mean with a knife," Kai groaned.

"Of course not," Vel said. "She means by embarrassing you."

"Exactly," Azhara said with a grin.

Sha raised an eyebrow. "Define ’testing’."

"Kisses," Azhara said shamelessly.

"One at a time," Naaro added. "I don’t want another kissing riot."

They did not swarm him all at once. But one by one, each girl showed her affection in her own quiet way.

Sha leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss to his shoulder, whispering, "I will protect you always. That is my vow."

Vel traced a glowing rune of affection across his stomach and kissed it, her lips lingering like fire.

Akayoroi pressed her forehead to his, letting her breath mix with his. "In time, I will ask for more. But tonight, this is enough."

Azhara curled beside him like a lover and a cat in one. "This counts as emotional therapy. You’ll thank me when you’re older."

Vel brushed Kai’s damp hair back, her expression impossibly serious. "You’re not just our leader. You’re... our husband."

Azhara gasped. "Scandalous. Say it again in a seductive whisper."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Say it again."

Vel did not hesitate. "You’re ours."

Azhara nestled closer, voice dripping with affection. "So what if we act like a harem of lovesick lunatics? You’re worth it."

Akayoroi rested her hand on his chest. "You carry our burdens. Let us carry yours."

Kai let out a breath. "Alright. Just no more fighting over who gets to kiss me while I’m unconscious."

"No promises," Azhara said smugly.

They rested beside him, forming a living barrier of warmth. Vel snuggled to his right, her fingers tracing lazy spirals across his hand. Sha settled at his feet, blade nearby but expression calm. Naaro sat beside the fire, weaving a braid with her shadow-slick hair. Azhara, ever tactile, curled into Kai’s left side, teasing him with slow wandering fingers.

"Your chest is surprisingly soft," she murmured.

"I am mostly exoskeleton," he muttered.

"Exactly. Best pillow in the kingdom."

Vel leaned in and kissed his temple. "This is our way of healing."

"You’re using me as a power bank."

"Emotionally and spiritually," Akayoroi said, amused.

"I hate how true that sounds."

Azhara leaned in close to his ear. "Want to hate it more?"

Kai turned slightly — just as her lips brushed his.

It was not an accident.

Her kiss was long, slow, and far too deliberate.

Vel gasped. "Thief!"

She kissed Kai’s wrist in retaliation. "He’s mine."

Akayoroi blinked. "Perhaps we should schedule kisses."

Kai stared at the sky. "I need a vacation."

"No," Azhara whispered. "You need us... under your—"