Chapter 287: The Women Inside His Soul

Victor continued climbing the long staircase with Rakshasa in his arms, carrying her like a princess while she seemed completely satisfied with her position. One of her arms remained around his neck, while her other hand absentmindedly played with his hair. Every now and then, Rakshasa brought her face closer and left a kiss on Victor’s neck, without any concern for the disciples who might appear along the way.

"You know we need to talk a little before you simply throw yourself on top of me, right?" Victor commented while continuing to climb without difficulty, despite Rakshasa seeming determined to make any serious conversation impossible.

"I know." Rakshasa replied while leaving another kiss near his jaw, her voice making it clear that talking was not exactly at the top of her priority list. "But I also already know part of what you want to tell me."

Victor glanced sideways.

"Really?" Victor asked while adjusting his arms slightly beneath her legs and continuing upward.

Rakshasa moved her face away from his neck and looked toward his back, more precisely at the place where Gram’s presence seemed to follow Victor even when the sword was stored away.

"I’ve felt that little sword full of draconic energy ever since you arrived." Rakshasa commented while slightly narrowing her eyes, analyzing that energy that had not existed the last time she saw him. "That thing must have a soul too, like the werewolf who’s in there, right?"

Victor stopped in the middle of a step.

Rakshasa stared at him.

Victor remained silent for two seconds.

"How do you know about Rowena?" Victor asked while his expression showed genuine surprise, something Rakshasa rarely managed to get from him.

She sighed.

"Victor, I’ve been sensing that woman since the first day of training." Rakshasa replied while resting her head against his shoulder again, as if she were stating something completely obvious. "I saw her sitting calmly on a rock while you were doing push-ups and talking to yourself like an idiot."

Victor blinked.

"You saw her?" Victor asked while resuming his walk, now trying to remember how many times Rowena had appeared during those training sessions.

"I did." Rakshasa replied while tracing small circles on his shoulder with the tip of her finger. "Then she’d disappear shortly before I got close. I think you two actually believed you were hiding something."

Victor spent a few seconds unsure whether he should laugh or feel betrayed by his own attempt at secrecy.

"And you never said anything?" Victor asked while the staircase began reaching the higher parts of the mountain.

"Why?" Rakshasa replied while shrugging in his arms. "Unlike Serafall and Chysis, my energy perception is much more sensitive. I noticed she wasn’t trying to do anything against you. I also realized there was a bond between you."

Victor slowly nodded.

That made sense. Rakshasa had always possessed almost absurd sensitivity to energy variations, especially when they involved blood, soul or some form of hostile intent. If Rowena appeared near him frequently, perhaps it really had been impossible to hide her.

"And you were calm knowing there was a werewolf sealed with me?" Victor asked while looking at her, especially because he knew very well the current relationship between Vampires and Werewolves.

Rakshasa raised her head.

"I didn’t say I liked it." Rakshasa replied while her eyes became slightly more serious. "I just know there’s no point trying to attack a sealed soul that’s bound to you."

She paused briefly.

"Besides, considering your personality, she’s probably not a bad person." Rakshasa added while relaxing in his arms again. "Even if she is a werewolf."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"For a temperamental woman, you’re pretty calm about that information." Victor commented while a smile began appearing on his face.

Rakshasa lightly tightened the arm around his neck.

"Don’t push it." Rakshasa replied while bringing her face closer to his ear. "I’m trying to be mature."

Victor started laughing.

"That’s new." Victor replied while receiving a small bite on the neck as punishment for the comment.

Rakshasa released his skin shortly afterward.

"Keep talking and I’ll go back to normal." Rakshasa warned while seeming perfectly capable of fulfilling that threat.

Victor decided to cooperate.

"All right." Victor replied while finally beginning to explain. "I got access to Vlad’s Vault because of that political engagement with Anette."

Rakshasa immediately narrowed her eyes.

"I still want to hear that part very calmly later." Rakshasa commented while her voice became slightly colder when mentioning Anette.

"You will." Victor replied while maintaining his pace. "But inside the vault, I found Gram."

Rakshasa focused again.

"And it’s exactly like you said." Victor continued while feeling the spiritual connection with the sword. "There’s a soul inside her."

Rakshasa looked back.

"A woman?" Rakshasa asked while her expression suggested she already knew the answer.

Victor remained silent.

Rakshasa narrowed her eyes.

"Victor." Rakshasa called while beginning to look dangerously amused.

"A woman." Victor confirmed while preferring not to try hiding something that would be discovered within seconds.

Rakshasa let out a short laugh.

"Of course." Rakshasa replied while shaking her head. "You really attract this kind of thing."

Victor was about to argue when two presences began appearing behind him.

Rowena appeared first.

Her spiritual form materialized a few steps below, walking calmly with her arms crossed. Fafnir appeared shortly afterward, her long golden hair falling down her back while her black horns and naturally aristocratic posture made her look even more out of place in that eastern environment.

Rakshasa immediately looked at the two.

This time, without pretending she could not see them.

Rowena stopped.

Fafnir did the same.

For a few seconds, the three merely analyzed each other.

Victor continued climbing.

"So you finally decided to admit you can see her?" Rowena asked while casting a look toward Rakshasa, clearly finding the entire situation amusing.

"I never denied it." Rakshasa replied while remaining comfortably in Victor’s arms. "You two just never asked."

Rowena opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

"Fair." Rowena admitted while following the two.

Rakshasa examined Rowena from head to toe.

The she-wolf possessed a very different kind of beauty from the women Rakshasa was accustomed to. There was obvious physical strength in her body, a wild presence and that tanned skin that immediately drew attention.

"Tanned skin really is sexy." Rakshasa commented while looking at Rowena without any shame, making Victor turn his face toward her.

Rowena raised an eyebrow.

"That’s an interesting way to introduce yourself." Rowena replied while a small smile appeared on her face.

Rakshasa shrugged.

"I compliment things when I think they’re beautiful." Rakshasa replied while looking at her again. "And you’re beautiful."

Rowena seemed to accept the answer perfectly well.

"You too." Rowena commented while examining the woman who had once been called The Most Beautiful Under Heaven. "Now I understand the old title better."

Rakshasa narrowed her eyes.

"You know about that?" Rakshasa asked while her expression changed immediately.

Rowena smiled.

"I’m old." Rowena replied while avoiding explaining any more than that.

Victor started laughing.

Rakshasa decided to leave that conversation for later and turned her eyes toward Fafnir.

The Dragon was a few steps behind, observing the entire structure of the Cult and clearly trying to absorb every new detail of the place.

Rakshasa spent a few seconds analyzing her.

The long golden hair, the horns, the elegant dress and especially that naturally superior posture created a very specific impression.

"And you look like an aristocratic socialite." Rakshasa commented while discreetly pointing toward Fafnir. "You smell like money."

Victor could not hold himself back.

He started laughing loudly.

Fafnir slowly looked toward Rakshasa.

"Smell like money?" Fafnir repeated while seeming unsure whether that had been a compliment or a provocation.

"It’s a compliment." Rakshasa replied while observing the details of her dress. "You have that face of someone who walks into a place and asks why everything is so cheap."

Fafnir fell silent.

Victor laughed even harder.

Rowena had to bring a hand to her mouth.

"She got it right." Victor commented while trying to catch his breath. "You literally kept mountains of gold for fun."

Fafnir crossed her arms.

"I liked beautiful things." Fafnir replied while slightly raising her chin. "I don’t see a problem with that."

Rakshasa smiled.

"I like her." Rakshasa commented while resting her face against Victor’s neck again.

Fafnir seemed surprised that conclusion had come so quickly.

Victor did too.

"That was easy." Victor commented while the final steps began appearing ahead.

Rakshasa left another kiss on his neck.

"I’m an easy person to live with." Rakshasa replied while telling one of the greatest lies Victor had heard that month.

Rowena and Victor looked at her at the same time.

Rakshasa ignored them.

Shortly afterward, they reached a wide corridor built directly into the mountain. There were few doors there, all far apart from one another, making it clear that the area was not intended for ordinary disciples.

Rakshasa pointed toward the far end.

"My room is that way." Rakshasa explained while remaining in his arms, apparently without any intention of putting her feet on the ground.

Rowena followed the direction of her finger with her eyes.

Then looked at Victor.

Then back at Rakshasa.

"Well, I’m leaving." Rowena commented while beginning to slowly disappear. "I’m going to seal myself away before I have to listen to moaning through the bond."

Victor looked at her.

Rakshasa started laughing.

"Coward." Rakshasa commented while watching Rowena begin to disappear.

"Experienced." Rowena corrected while her spiritual form became increasingly transparent. "There’s a difference."

Fafnir stared at her.

"I’m going with you." Fafnir immediately replied while her own projection began losing form. "I have absolutely no interest in finding out how Vampires express how much they missed each other after being apart for a month."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t you want to learn new things?" Victor asked while clearly only trying to irritate her.

Fafnir stopped disappearing for half a second.

"Not that kind of thing." Fafnir replied while giving him an irritated look.

Then she disappeared completely.

Rowena followed shortly afterward.

Rakshasa let out a small laugh and tightened her arms around Victor’s neck.

"I liked both of them." Rakshasa commented while seeming satisfied with the result of that first meeting.

"You’re frighteningly calm." Victor replied while continuing down the corridor.

"I’m happy you came." Rakshasa explained while her smile became a little softer. "Today you’d have to do a lot to genuinely make me angry."

Victor looked at her.

"That sounds like a challenge." Victor commented while finally reaching the indicated door.

Rakshasa smiled.

"Don’t ruin it." Rakshasa replied while pointing toward the dark wood in front of them. "It’s this one."

Victor held Rakshasa with only one arm for a few seconds and opened the door with the other.

The room was much simpler than he expected for someone of her position. There was a large bed, several shelves, a low table, weapons arranged along one of the walls and a wide window overlooking part of the Cult’s mountains.

Victor barely had time to observe.

As soon as he crossed the doorway, Rakshasa grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him into a kiss.

Victor immediately responded.

The door closed behind them with a movement of Rakshasa’s blood energy while she remained wrapped around him, kissing him with all the longing accumulated over that month. Victor walked several steps into the room while still carrying her, and Rakshasa finally abandoned any previous attempt to appear serious or controlled.

"Now we can talk." Victor murmured when the two pulled apart for a few seconds, their faces still very close.

Rakshasa looked at him.

"Later." Rakshasa replied while grabbing the collar of his clothes again and pulling him into another kiss. "Now we’re going to fuck."