Chapter 189: The Sentinel’s Attendant

Outside the window, streetlamps passed one by one, casting streaks of yellow light into the car before going dark. Light. Dark. Light. Dark. He no longer knew whether he was counting the lamps or counting his own breaths.

Laviana’s tongue was longer than that of any woman he had ever known. It did not hurry. It curled, tightened, and slid around him the way a snake savored its prey, patient to the point of cruelty. Whenever he thought he had reached his limit, it loosened a little, then tightened again, slower, deeper.

The car jolted lightly over a pothole.

Erik bit his lip, swallowing back the sound that had risen to his throat. His hand slipped into her red hair, unsure whether he wanted to pull her away or keep her there.

From below, blue eyes looked up at him. Curved. As if smiling.

She knew. She knew exactly how hard he was trying not to make a sound. And because she knew, she became even slower.

"Laviana..." His voice was hoarse. "We are... almost home..."

She did not answer. Only a faint, husky laugh trembled from her throat, passing straight through every inch of his body.

Another streetlamp passed. Light. Dark.

Then everything shattered.

Erik threw his head back, his whole body drawn tight like a bowstring just released. A low, hoarse moan finally escaped through his clenched teeth, even though he had bitten his lip until it bled.

Laviana did not pull away. She remained there, slow and patient, as though unwilling to waste even a single drop.

Only after a long while did she raise her head.

At some point, a small crystal vial had appeared between her fingers, its silver stopper already removed. She lowered herself, parting her red lips slightly over the mouth of the vial, like a snake releasing the most precious venom it had just hunted. Then she sealed it, gave it a gentle shake beneath the streetlights, and admired it with absolute satisfaction.

Erik looked at the vial. Then at her.

"...What are you doing?"

"Saving it." Laviana licked the corner of her lips, beaming. "Darling, something that precious would be such a waste if I swallowed it all at once."

Runi sat upright on the other side of the curtain, both hands resting on her knees.

The velvet curtain was very thick. But not thick enough.

The hurried breathing. The rustle of fabric. Laviana’s husky laughter. And a soft, low moan, muffled in his throat, his voice.

The mark beneath her abdomen suddenly grew hot.

Not the gentle warmth from inside the tower. It burned fiercely, wave after wave, surging like embers being fanned. A memory suddenly surfaced. That night. That taste. The thing she had swallowed, after which this mark had never been willing to rest.

Runi pressed her hand tightly against her stomach.

She did not understand. This body was craving something, but she did not know what it was.

Beside her, Meira did not say a word. She only reached over and pulled the edge of Runi’s scarf a little higher, covering her flushed cheeks.

...

When the curtain was pulled open again, Laviana was leisurely fixing her red hair. Her face was rosy and radiant, as fresh as if she had just been watered by spring rain. Her hand quietly slipped a small crystal vial into her pocket, the movement so light that no one noticed.

Erik reclined against the seat, staring at the ceiling of the car like someone who had just crossed a battlefield.

"Now can you talk?"

"Of course." Laviana smiled brightly. "That girl’s name is Viper."

"Viper."

"She used to be an attendant of the Sentinel. The Lord of Seasons."

Erik sat upright.

"After the Sentinel died, the men in that tower still kept her." Laviana shrugged. "Because she was very good at managing everything. Ledgers, treasure vaults, even Zeka’s medication schedule."

The Lord of Seasons’ attendant.

Erik remembered the garden of four seasons in his dream, and her hand slowly dissolving away.

"And the Lord of Seasons?" he asked. "Do you know anything about her?"

Meira shook her head. "When I came to Silver Moon, the Lord of Seasons was already gone."

"Same for me." Laviana twirled a lock of red hair around her fingertip. "When I arrived, people only spoke of her as though she were a fairy tale."

Erik fell silent.

The Sentinel’s former attendant stood beside Zeka’s chair. Meanwhile, Winter, a fragment of the Sentinel’s power, was chained directly beneath that tower. The pieces hovered before his eyes, lacking only a thread to string them together.

He sighed and rested his head against the seat.

It seemed he could only investigate everything himself. But tomorrow morning, he had to set out for the ruins. And the dome was growing weaker by the day.

He did not have much time left.

...

At the top floor of the Sun Tower, the lights had come on.

The shattered crystal fragments had been cleared away. But five deep claw marks remained on the armrest, and no one dared touch them.

Zeka sat alone.

He had driven all the Succubi out. For the first time in many years, his white hair spilled across the stone floor without anyone lifting it. His long claws rested bare on the armrests, without velvet cushions beneath them.

He looked through the window at the city lighting up below.

Click.

The door opened. Viper entered, holding a silver tray in both hands. Resting atop the red velvet was a dark purple pill, placed neatly and solemnly like a precious treasure.

"God Zeka." Her voice was even. "It is time for your medicine."

Zeka looked at the pill.

Then, for the first time, he reached out himself.

His thin fingers trembled as they rose from the armrest. His claws, over half a meter long, swayed through the air, heavy and cumbersome, clattering against the edge of the silver tray. He tried to close the tips of his claws together, tried to pinch that tiny pill.

Clatter. Clatter.

The pill rolled across the velvet. He could not pick it up.

His hand trembled harder.

The power he had once proudly displayed to Erik. Every inch of claw represented a year in which he had never needed to lift his own hand to do anything. Now, it was precisely that power which kept him from being able to hold even a single pill.

Zeka withdrew his hand.

He remained silent for a long time.

"...You."

Viper stepped forward, picked up the pill, and placed it against his lips. Zeka swallowed it. A pale blue ring of runes appeared around his veins, slowly rotating before fading away.

His sunken eyes still looked out the window. But the dim light within them had vanished. In its place was something else, hard and cold, like someone who had just made a decision from which there was no return.

Viper bowed, lifted the tray, and withdrew.

The golden door closed behind her.

In the empty corridor, Viper stood still for a moment. Then the corners of her lips slowly stretched upward. Further and further, past the limits of a human face. Beneath the hallway lights, her pupils narrowed into two thin slits, sharp and cold like a snake’s eyes.

Her footsteps faded away, so light they were almost nonexistent.

...

The moment the car stopped at the gate, Erik smelled smoke.

Not the smoke of a fire. It was the scent of glowing charcoal, fat sizzling as it dripped onto flames, pepper and fragrant roasted herbs, carried by the wind all the way out to the road.

"You’re back!"

Elowen was the first to rush out. Before reaching the gate, she abruptly stopped, put her hands on her hips, and looked him over from head to toe as though inspecting merchandise.

"You are not hurt, are you?"

"No."

"That old man did not do anything to you, did he?"

"No."

"Then where is my scarf?"

Erik froze. Then he pointed behind him. Elowen followed his finger and saw her scarf wrapped around Runi’s neck, crooked and slanted to one side.

She narrowed her eyes at Runi for a long moment. Then she gave a huff.

"You wrapped it terribly. Come here, I will fix it."

...

The garden behind Meira’s house had completely changed.

Strings of lanterns were draped across the trees, warm golden light covering the pale purple lavender. In the middle of the garden stood two blazing charcoal grills, white smoke billowing upward in waves. A long table had been set against the fence, piled with plates of skewered meat, vegetables, bread, and several bottles of chilled fruit juice.

"It was my idea." Elowen puffed out her chest. "You are going far away again tomorrow morning. Tonight, we need to have a proper feast."

"I am only going to look at some ruins."

"You said you were only going to take a look last time too, then people had to carry you home!"

Erik had no answer.

By the grill, Saraya had rolled up her sleeves, her face flushed from the heat, both hands gripping tongs as she repeatedly turned a skewer of meat that was blackened on one side.

"Saraya, that is burnt." Vylana stood beside her, offering no help at all, only folding her arms and smiling.

"It is not burnt! It is... charred around the edges! Carmilla said it tastes better when it is charred around the edges!"

"I did not say that." Carmilla quietly passed by, gently took the skewer from Saraya’s hand, and placed a new one there. "I said you need to turn them evenly."

Saraya blushed all the way to her ears. Vylana clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Felyn sat at the end of the table, feeling across its surface with both hands as she carefully arranged slices of bread in a basket by touch.

Elowen quietly crept up behind her, winked at everyone, then placed something in Felyn’s hand.

Felyn froze.

The thing in her hand was long. Very long. Hard. Slightly cool. Its surface was rough, slightly curved. It was so thick that even when all five fingers wrapped around it, they could not meet.

Felyn’s fingers slowly ran along it from one end to the other. Then the face beneath her blindfold gradually turned red.

"A... ah..." Her voice trembled. "This... what is this? Why is it... so big?"

The entire garden went silent for a second.

Then Elowen collapsed over the table, laughing until tears streamed down her face.

"It is... it is a cucumber! A cucumber for grilling! Felyn, what did you think it was?!"

"Elowen!!!"

Felyn screamed, her face red as a tomato, swinging the cucumber toward the sound of laughter. Elowen quickly dodged.

Smack.

The cucumber struck Erik squarely in the forehead.

"..."

Laviana had just stepped out of the house. Leaning against a porch pillar, she covered her mouth and giggled. "Felyn, saying that in front of Erik will hurt his pride."

"Laviana!"

This time, Meira, Felyn, and Erik spoke in unison.

...

Runi stood in a corner of the garden beside the table holding the teapot.

An old habit. She intended to pour tea for everyone, as she did every breakfast. But before she could reach for the handle, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

"What are you standing there for?" Elowen dragged her toward the grill. "Tonight, nobody has to serve anyone. Take this."

A skewer was shoved into her hand.

Runi looked at the skewer. Then at Elowen. Then at the glowing charcoal, crackling softly.

"I... do not know how to grill."

"I will teach you." Saraya leaned closer, guiding Runi’s hand as she placed the skewer onto the rack. "Wait until the underside turns golden, then flip it. Do not let it end up like mine earlier."

"Earlier, yours was charred around the edges," Vylana teased.

"Be quiet!"

Vylana giggled, then while Runi was not paying attention, she smeared a long streak of charcoal across her cheek.

Runi raised a hand to her face, looking at the black mark on her fingertips, and blinked.

Vylana burst out laughing. Saraya laughed too. Even Carmilla, walking past, lightly pressed her lips together, then used a handkerchief to wipe Runi’s cheek clean, only wiping one half and leaving the other untouched.

Out of habit, Runi began to count.

Three times someone pulled her hand. Two times she was teased. One streak of charcoal on her cheek. Four times...

Four times what?

She could no longer remember.

Laughter overlapped with more laughter, with the crackling of charcoal, with Elowen arguing with Saraya about which skewer would be cooked first. Everything rushed toward her at once, too much to count.

And Runi, for the first time, forgot that she needed to count.