Chapter 68

(Lisa's POV)

Valin returned home with a tired expression. I had decided to work from home today on my laptop to stay productive—it also helped pass the time faster while I waited for him.

He approached me and kissed my forehead, then released a long sigh and sat beside me, leaning against my shoulder. The contact made my body tense, making it impossible to stay focused on my work.

"What are you doing?" he murmured into my ear.

I jolted and screamed, "Working!" while squeezing my eyes shut. My outburst made him chuckle, and then he slid his right hand over my left, pulling it from the keyboard and intertwining our fingers.

"We… need to talk."If he wasn't being so gentle and affectionate, I would have panicked at those words.

"I'm here to listen," I replied, mostly calm—but still mildly aroused by his closeness.

"I… might be gone for a while. There's some crazy stuff going down in my hometown, and my family needs me…"His voice wavered—unusual for Valin. He always seemed so confident, even when saying the most ridiculous things.

"What's going on?" I asked.

He pulled away, expression downcast. I immediately scooted closer to close the gap between us.

"It's cold…" I offered as an excuse.

He laughed and put his arm over my shoulder."Sure it is. Sadly… you might not want to touch me after I tell you this…"

My heart began to race."What? I don't think you're cheating on me… but I also can't imagine any other reason I wouldn't want to touch you."

He tried to suppress his laughter and snorted."You're good at ruining a serious atmosphere."

I pouted."I'm not joking!"

He laughed harder."That just makes it funnier."

"I just… I always feel like I'm not doing enough for you. Physically. It seems like you're never fully satisfied, and it makes me… aware of why you had so many casual relationships before."

His laughter stopped. He hugged me close and whispered,"It's nothing like that. I'm never satisfied because it's you. Do you think I get like this with every woman? If that were true, I wouldn't be able to function—nothing would get done. You're an anomaly. I've never felt this way about anyone else."

I blushed furiously.

He sighed."It's not that you don't do enough—no one turns me on the way you do."

...My blushing intensified.

"The truth is… I'm an Afarion."

I froze.

Valin? My sweet Valin? One of those creatures I've only ever heard about in the news or horror stories? This beautiful man… is one of them?

When I looked up, I saw tears forming in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and moved a few feet from me.

"That's hard to believe… you're so sweet. So good," I whispered.

He scoffed."Well, it's true. I'm serious about you. I want to meet your family. I want you to meet mine. I don't want to be separated—but it would be wrong to take things further without being honest about what I am."

Fear filled my chest. Not fear of him hurting me… I still didn't believe he would. My fear was that if I said the wrong thing, I'd never see him again.

"I… care. Of course it matters. But I still want you. I want to be with you, no matter what you are."

He stayed silent for several long seconds. I started to wonder if I'd said the wrong thing.

"No… Think about it. Truly think about what it means to be with me—and give me your answer when I get back."

He stood and walked toward the door. I rushed after him and hugged him from behind.

"Are you doing something dangerous?"

He didn't respond.

"I'll let you go… if you promise to return safely."

He gently pried my arms from around him and said,"I can't promise that… but…"He sighed again."Fine. I'll stay safe."

Then he opened the door—and somehow vanished before even stepping outside.

He was telling the truth...

That explains some things—but the only things I know about Afarions are awful.

After gathering my thoughts, I returned to my computer and searched:"How do you know if you've encountered an Afarion?"

I found a forum listing warning signs:

You'll feel exhausted after interacting with them.

You'll lose your vigor and appear to age faster.

Even though you feel negative, it's hard to stay away.

They look down on humans and treat relationships as casual—you're just food to them.

…This all sounds horrible. But none of it fits Valin.

Wait… weren't Afarions and Infaniyans originally the same? I revised my search to say "Infaniyan" instead.

I read:

Infaniyans don't age, rarely get sick, recover quickly from injury, and are physically attractive. They eat little and often don't menstruate. They can see through lies.

If they love you, they'll share energy with you—this increases stamina and can start transforming your body.

Their eyes glow when feeling intense emotion (especially arousal). Long-term partners may see this glow, though they try to hide it.

Infaniyans rarely choose humans as partners, but when they do, it's serious.

...This fits Valin a lot more. And confirms what I've felt all along.

He's been cherishing me. Protecting me. Loving me.

It didn't even take an hour for me to realize…My first answer was the right one.

I just hope he comes home soon.He should still be able to text me.I'll message him now—maybe we can have a proper goodbye.

(Tana's POV)

Insinz's clone sat watching me as I struggled to control the shape of the Smoke gathering in my palm. The original Insinz made it look easy, but it was hard to keep it from dispersing into the air.

I'd read that this was an expert-level skill—but it still surprised me how difficult it was in practice. My brow furrowed.

That's when the clone leaned in and rested his forehead against mine.

"You're doing well… you've improved so much in no time," he said gently.

I'd been practicing since the earlier meeting—just a few hours.

"It's not enough," I muttered.

He placed his hands under mine, and suddenly the Smoke obeyed, forming a near-perfect sphere.

"I need to be able to do this on my own."

He laughed."You are. I haven't done anything but boost your confidence."

He pulled his hands away—and he was right.

I had made a sphere of pure poison!

It was still more translucent than his, and likely only caused mild dizziness… but still!

"If you want to grow stronger faster, there's one way…" he said.

I looked up at him, and accidentally kissed his lips from how close we were. I backed up until I hit the bedpost.

"H-how?" I asked shakily.

"Poison intake. My power weakens if I don't consume poison—it eventually affects my health. You're not Chosen by Smoke, so you won't get sick without it. But… if you want to grow stronger, it might help."

I thought hard.

"Like… acid? Ink? Nightshade?"

Insinz laughed."Yeah, that works. But a more potent poison is sitting right in front of you."

I looked around. He closed the gap between us, cupped my chin, and forced me to meet his eyes.

"I'm talking about me."

"You want me to… consume you?"

He shook his head."Just kiss me. The longer you can stand it, the better."

My face burned. It should be illegal for him to say things like that—with Insinz's face and body.

"I'd rather not."

He pouted."Fine. I'll find another poison. But I promise, nothing on this planet compares to me—and we might have to leave tomorrow."

I bit my lip. If I can't master this soon, I'll just be a burden out there…But that feels unfair to Insinz... He's out there fighting, and I'm making out with his clone?

Besides, this clone is far from the original body—he's acting autonomously. I shouldn't trust him so easily.

"If you're that opposed… There is one more way," he offered.

"Oh—tell me!" I said, too eagerly.

"You could let me go down on you… that way, you'd absorb the poison directly."

"I'll try the kissing!" I blurted flustered.

"Are you sure?"

The clone teased while smirking and sliding his hand up my thigh, fingers grazing the hem of my dress.I slapped it away, hard."I said I'm sure."My heart was pounding. I wasn't sure at all.