CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER-358.

"Don’t touch me," Kaya snapped, flinching away from his hand so fast she nearly fell off the stool. The words were sharper than she intended, cold and absolute.

Veer froze, his hand hovering in the air. The rejection hit him like a physical slap, and his face fell.

The sudden, tense silence was broken by Cutie. He moved slowly, deliberately, getting up and walking over to her. He ignored the warning glare in her eyes, a look that had made hardened soldiers flinch, and gently placed the back of his hand against her cheek.

She was too surprised by his quiet defiance to pull away this time. His touch was cool against her burning skin.

Cutie reached out, pressing the back of his hand to Kaya’s forehead. He frowned, his touch gentle. He looked from her flushed face back to his hand, then back to her face again.

"Her temperature is normal," he said, surprise and confusion lacing his voice.

Veer, who had been watching with a worried expression, stepped closer. "What? Are you sure? Is there something wrong with her?"

"No," Cutie said, taking his hand back. "It’s normal."

"Normal?" Kaya repeated, her own voice sounding foreign. She touched her own forehead. It felt like it was burning up. But looking at Cutie’s face, she knew he wasn’t lying. If she actually had a fever, this idiot would have already blown the house up in a panic.

She rubbed her temple, a wave of irritation washing over her. "I said so," she snapped, her voice sharper than she intended. "I think I just want to sleep a little more. That’s it. I’m tired of the murmuring and the sounds of people chattering. I just want to rest. Is there something wrong with you guys?"

They were stunned into silence. What could they say?

Still, Veer and Cutie exchanged a worried glance. This was the woman who, after being poisoned, had refused medicine from the monkey tribe and still found the energy to irritate them. She wouldn’t stay calm when hungry, let alone when she was on the brink of death. For her to take a day off was more than unusual; it was alarming.

But they knew there was nothing physically wrong with her, and they also knew they couldn’t stop the plan. If they dared to suggest it, Kaya would literally break their legs.

In all this, the calmest person was Sparrow. Today, he had no official business. Veer, as the son of a tribe leader, had his own duties. Cutie needed to keep an eye on their surroundings. Sparrow, in the eyes of the other two, was utterly useless.

But for Kaya, an idle Sparrow was an unacceptable state of affairs. How could she let this idiot just sit there?

She looked at him. "You. I have a task for you."

Sparrow blinked, looking attentive.

"Go and buy me some lemons."

Sparrow’s blank expression was all the answer she needed. Of course, this dear, demi god of fools didn’t even know what a lemon was.

Kaya sighed, her patience wearing thin. "It’s a fruit," she explained, her voice dripping with forced patience. "Sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s yellow. When you squeeze it, it tastes sour."

She grabbed a stick and drew a lopsided oval in the dirt. "It looks like this. Go and bring me some."

She sighed, watching the fool of a god trudge off on his very important mission. Maybe it was just the change in weather. A little lemon water would probably calm the heat right down.

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As everyone slowly left on Kaya’s orders, Veer defied her wishes and left some of his Vultures on guard anyway. He was too worried to leave her completely unprotected, even if she’d told him not to. The Vultures obeyed—not because they wanted to, but because in their tribe, the order of the strong was absolute, and Veer was the strongest among them.

Still, they refused to enter the house. They couldn’t handle being near her. Every time they caught sight of Kaya, anger surged through them like wildfire. Their prince—the one they’d raised, protected, and never even let wash his own arms—was now running around cooking for this woman, cleaning, washing her clothes like some common servant. Some of them actually teared up, wiping their eyes quickly before anyone noticed. What kind of magic did she possess to reduce their precious leader to this?

They wanted to storm in and tear her apart. But then the memory would surface—sharp and terrifying—of how she’d beaten Veer’s father so brutally that the man hadn’t gotten up for an hour. That memory was enough to turn their anger into cold fear. So they stood outside, a toxic mix of resentment, rage, and terror keeping them rooted in place, unable to act.

Inside, Kaya had finally sent everyone away and collapsed into sleep. Her whole body burned like she was on fire from the inside out. The strange thing was, aside from the intense heat, she felt nothing else unusual. No pain, no sickness—just an unrelenting internal blaze.

Outside, the sun climbed higher, bright and merciless. If she dared to venture out into that heat, it would be like walking into an oven. The sun would finish what the fire inside her had started. So she stayed where she was, trapped by her own body and the blazing daylight, with nothing to do but endure.

Kaya lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. The heat was unbearable. She was so irritated with herself she wanted to scream. ’What the hell?’ How many times had she said "hot" today? A hundred? A thousand?

She sat up, yanking at her collar buttons. She was already wearing the loosest thing she owned—a shirt that barely stayed on, held together by just two buttons threatening to give up entirely. But even that felt suffocating against her burning skin.

She looked around the room. Water, yes. But no ice. Nothing cold. At this moment, she genuinely missed her old world, the modern conveniences she’d taken for granted. She would’ve killed for an ice bath right now. Hell, she’d settle for a single ice cube.