CHAPTER 278: 278: FLAMES AND FLUSTERED FACES

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"I built something that will never bow again," he said. "Not to kings. Not to fate. Not to the ones who eat the weak and call it law. I will build a future... without innocent sacrifice."

Lirien stared at him. For a heartbeat. Then another. Then she knelt before him.

"I will forge your future," she said. "So long as the fires never go cold."

"I want to build with you." Her tone sharpened. "Forge-bonding with a lord is an ancient rite. You provide the prey. I make the weapons. Your enemies become your blades."

Azhara whistled. "Oh, I like her. She talks like a volcano and reads poetry."

Akayoroi studied Lirien silently. "Do you know what bonding entails?"

Lirien stepped forward and extended a hand, her palm glowing with emberlight. "Brand me with the Crest. My forge is yours. My strength, my hands, and my loyalty will follow, as long as you don’t harm any innocent."

Kai didn’t hesitate. The system already told him she will be useful to his future development. Kai didn’t need to impress her. She only wants one thing not to harm any innocent species. Kai also agreed on that same life value. So, he reached out and placed two fingers on her forehead.

The brand ignited.

A glowing mark seared into her skin — the sigil of his Monarch’s Crest / Mark, shaped like a rising pattern flanked by pure aura. She didn’t flinch. Her eyes remained on his.

[Ding! System notification - Monarch’s Mark Applied — Lirien Flamepaw is now a Bonded Subordinate of host Kai.

New function Unlocked: Personal Forge building Access | Core Infusion Templates | Companion Forging Queue. ]

Lirien let out a slow breath. "It’s been centuries since my bloodline knelt to anyone."

"You didn’t kneel," Kai replied. "You chose a king."

A warm hum rose in her forge beetles. "Then let’s build something worthy of that choice."

Vel stepped closer and poked Lirien’s arm. "Muscles like baked steel. You sure she’s not here to romance our king?"

Azhara looped her arm through Lirien’s. "Maybe she’s the forge. Maybe we’re the blades."

Lirien blinked. "I do not understand the metaphor."

Sha muttered, "It wasn’t one."

Kai raised a hand, silencing the chatter. A new sound rumbled across the horizon.

A deep, gutteral growl. One that didn’t echo like a voice, but rolled like an avalanche of claws and teeth. Far beyond the western ridge, red eyes blinked in the dark.

Kai narrowed his gaze. "A predator’s call," he murmured.

Lirien turned slowly. "That is no scavenger. That is something... old."

Akayoroi’s antennae twitched. "Its aura is distorted. Shrouded. But powerful."

Kai stepped forward, standing between his girls and the distant glow. His body ached a little, but his will stood firm.

Behind him, Lirien raised her hammer and rested it on her shoulder. "Then let us temper ourselves again," she said quietly.

Azhara grinned. "Welcome to the family."

Sha nodded. "Welcome to the fire."

The night air cooled slowly across the camp site, but heat still rose from the cracked earth. Sparks had long faded, but tension lingered in the air like fading battle cries.

Kai stepped up and cracked his shoulders. The silence around them had changed. The far-off growl of the unknown star rank predator had ceased. No tremor followed. Only heavy, wary breath.

"We are not fighting," Kai said, his voice calm, but firm. "Not yet. That beast... It is warning something, not us. I can feel its voice was not aimed at us."

Vel raised an eyebrow. "Warning?"

Sha stood still, listening. "He’s right. The direction of the echo... it wasn’t targeted here."

Kai nodded. "It’s warning someone. Or something. Not our concern. Not for now."

He turned to the group, his tone softer now. "We will rest a bit longer. Two more hours. Then we continue east. My lair, our home. The Monarch Mountain. That is our next stop."

Azhara tilted her head. "Monarch Mountain sounds so dramatic. Do we get titles too when we reach it? Can I be your Grand bodyguard or Fluffy Bed doll for your anaconda?"

"You already sleep on me," Kai replied dryly. "You do not need that. You can be a royal guard or something else. I will figure it out when we get home."

Lirien, who had been silent, finally spoke. Her tone was low, curious. "Where is this mountain of yours?"

Kai looked toward the eastern ridges, a silhouette barely visible beyond the jagged skyline. "East. Hidden beyond southern valleys and a river of sand. It was an abandoned nest once. Now, it is mine. And it will become the foundation of my... no, our kingdom."

Lirien blinked. "And you intend to build my forge there?"

"I will build you more than a forge," Kai said. "You will have volcanic vents, cooled obsidian ridges, channels of molten essence, a cave system with pressure veins to temper star ore and iron. If someone dares to attack my lair, I will defend it with everything I have. And I will need your skill to forge weapons worthy of that fight."

She stared at him in silence for a long breath. Her ember glowing antennae twitched once, then curled behind her horned helm.

"...Then I will forge for you," she said, voice quiet but clear. "You are my king now. I will do what I can."

A low whistle came from Vel. "That was fast."

Sha crossed her arms. "I like her. She’s direct."

Azhara giggled and draped herself across Kai’s back. "Another sister of steel joins the harem. That makes us what now? Seven?"

"Twelve," Naaro corrected her. "Don’t forget to count the twins and our four injured sisters."

Alka thinks from the edge, still resting near the injured ants. "I am not a harem member."

"So many... it makes less anaconda time," Azhara muttered.

Akayoroi’s mandibles twitched. "If anyone harms our lair... they will suffer. I will burn their bones to ash and feed their marrow to my hubby Kai."

Vel stretched her arms above her head. "I will stab their hearts through their eye sockets and use their skulls as flower pots."