Tsukia's POV
The basement felt different now. The air was thick with the scent of Lori's embers and the metallic, lingering ozone of Nightshade's magic. After Nightshade finished explaining the fractured memories he'd seen inside my mind, a heavy, stunned silence fell over the room.
Lori and Jasmia looked at me as if I were a glass sculpture already beginning to crack. Nightshade himself seemed uncharacteristically shaken, his usual mask of arrogance slightly askew. Yet, in his eyes, I saw a new, terrifying spark—a hunger not for my blood, but to solve the riddle of who I was.
I wandered over to the corner where the dragon's egg sat. I reached out, my fingers trembling, but pulled back as the radiating heat from Lori's protective flames singed the air.
"Hey," a voice murmured. I turned to find Nightshade standing inches from me. "Are you really back? Or are you still drifting in that field of void?"
"I'm here," I whispered, my heart doing a traitorous little skip at his proximity.
"Good." He reached out, his thumb grazing my cheek to brush away a stray hair. As I snapped his fingers away from my face,The touch was brief, almost clinical, but it burned. "Jasmia and I have to head back to the T.A. for another commission. We need the points after the... mess at the lair."
I nodded, caught in his silver-white gaze. Behind him, I saw Lori watching us, his expression unreadable and dark.
"Lori will stay with you as he requested." Nightshade added, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips before he turned to leave.
What the hell did he eat? Why did he suddenly become so kind? It's not like him.
Once the heavy door slammed shut behind Nightshade and Jasmia, Lori walked over. He didn't say anything at first; he just handed me a small square of chocolate.
"Can we talk?" he asked. His voice was firm, but his hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his shoulders hunched.
"About what?" I asked, unwrapping the candy.
"Us."
We sat on the worn brown couch. I munched on the chocolate, watching the way Lori's pulse hammered in his neck. He looked everywhere but at me.
"If I'm being honest..." he started, finally meeting my eyes before flinching away. "I don't like Nightshade. I really, really don't like him... for you."
I tilted my head, the sweetness of the chocolate turning slightly bitter. "He has an ego, Lori. I know."
Lori let out a sharp, jagged breath. "But, do you like him?"
The question hit me like a physical blow. My eyes widened, and I felt a heat crawl up my neck that had nothing to do with Lori's fire magic. "No," I said, my voice higher than usual. "Of course not!"
Lori sighed, a hollow, defeated sound. "You're a terrible liar, Kia. Your face is the color of a tomato." He looked at his boots, scratching his head sheepishly. "The truth is... ever since I met you, I've fallen for you."
I froze. I'd always seen Lori as the steady anchor, the older brother I never had. Hearing him say those words felt like the ground shifting beneath the basement floor.
"I kept trying to act cool," he continued with a self-deprecating chuckle. "But then nightshade shows up. He's 'The Prodigy.' He's the high-ranker. He's been clinging to you since the day he met you. I feel... I feel like I'm losing a race I didn't know I was running."
"Lori, stop," I said softly, reaching out to pat his back. "Don't compare yourself to him. That just hurts you. What makes you 'you'—the way you lead us, the way you protect Jasmia and me, that is what's actually cool. I like you because you're reliable. Don't try to be a vampire like him."
Lori looked at me, a genuine, weary smile finally breaking through his gloom. "Thanks, tsukia. I needed to hear that."
[At the Tasukai Association]
Nightshade Ash's POV
Jasmia was leaning against the waiting room wall, staring at me with a smirk that was starting to itch.
"What?" I snapped, leaning back and crossing my arms.
"You're finally sweeter to her huh?" she whispered, nudging my shoulder. "Admit it. You're obsessed."
"Being the Aile Tsukia love interest is finally taking its toll on your soul," Jasmia teased.
"I'm interested in her potential." I corrected smoothly, my voice a mask of ice. "She's a Level Five Disaster waiting to happen. It's professional curiosity."
"Does the kiss count as 'professional curiosity'?"
The memory hit me like a lightning strike—the taste of her blood, the softness of her lips, and the way her soul felt when I linked our essences. I felt my face flush a deep, traitorous red. I bit my lip, unable to find a witty retort.
Jasmia burst out laughing. "Oh, you are so gone, nightshade!"
"Shut up," I hissed, leaning in closer to her ear. "At least I'm not the one who's been pining for their childhood friend since the seventh grade. How's that working out with Lori, by the way?"
Jasmia's laughter died instantly. Her eyes went wide, her face turning as pale as a sheet. "How... how did you..."
"Silly girl," I chuckled, my composure returning. "I see everything."
Before she could interrogate me, the receptionist called us into the main hall. The room was packed with the dregs of the Association—muscular, scarred men who looked at Jasmia like she was a snack. She instinctively tucked herself behind my back.
"Ahem," the receptionist began, her eyes scanning the room. "Regarding the Jamana Mountain mission... Group A was wiped out. However, the dragon's head was turned in by the Terlos Group."
The room erupted into whispers. A massive bald man covered in facial tattoos—Terlos—let out a booming, victorious laugh from the back of the room.
"Foolish runts," Terlos mocked, loud enough for the whole hall to hear. "They did all the work, got scared, and left the prize behind. Easiest points I've ever earned."
Jasmia gripped the back of my jacket, her hands trembling with rage and fear. I remained perfectly still, my eyes fixed on the front of the room.
Terlos could have the points. He could have the gold. But he didn't realize that by taking that head, he had marked himself. I didn't care about the ranking—but no one insulted my team and walked away with a smile.
"Let him laugh, Jasmia," I whispered, a dark, cold shadow flickering in my eyes. "The higher they climb, the louder they break when I undo them."