56.- Dance in The shadows

Days had passed since Kaili gazed at herself in the mirror wearing the dress, days of fragile calm following the chaos she'd woven in Veridian. In the underground garden on the second floor, soft golden light filtered through the ceiling's crack, bathing Aurora's face as she watched Sebastián work. Vines climbed the walls in vibrant green, magical flowers cast a glow that filled the air with gentle hues, and the poisonous plants he'd nurtured stood as silent guardians, a deadly gift for any intruder. That day, Aurora had stepped away from the main chamber, seeking respite in the greenery Sebastián had made his own, a sanctuary they shared in quiet.

He hummed an off-key tune, his hands buried in the soil as he transplanted a purple-flowered vine, aided by a small earthen golem toddling at his side. The tiny creature, with its clumsy clay hands, carried water in a miniature jug or held tools with a dedication that drew a smile from Aurora. She stepped closer, her dress of leaves and blue flowers whispering against the ground, and leaned against a nearby rock, her amber eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and warmth.

"You've turned into quite the master gardener, Sebastián," she remarked, her voice warm as it cut through the air, a smile lighting up the space.

Sebastián glanced up, his dirt-streaked hands pausing for a moment as he spotted her there. Lately, Aurora had spent more time in the main chamber or training with Kaili, so her presence in the garden caught him off guard. "I've had time to practice," he said, his tone steady but tinged with quiet pride. "The Codex Florae Arcanum has been a big help, though some of its secrets still slip through my fingers."

"Anything giving you particular trouble?" Aurora asked, leaning toward him, her fingers brushing the rock with a possessive gesture that made him grin.

"This vine," he replied, nodding toward the plant. "It should be blooming by now, but the buds wilt before they can fully open. I've tried different soils, more light, less light—nothing works."

Aurora knelt beside him, her green hair spilling over her shoulders like a river as she examined the flowers closely. "Maybe it needs a nudge," she said, extending a hand toward the plant. A soft amber glow radiated from her palm, enveloping the vine in a warm light that seemed to breathe life into it. Sebastián watched, mesmerized, as the wilted buds revived, slowly unfurling to reveal a vivid purple flecked with golden sparks, a color he'd never seen in that species before.

"Incredible," he whispered, his eyes tracing each petal as it opened. "How'd you do that?"

"Just gave it a little push," Aurora said, her enigmatic smile gleaming in the golden light. "The dungeon answers to me, remember? Even the plants."

Before he could reply, a figure appeared at the garden's entrance. Kaili stepped forward with steady strides, her purple skin shimmering under the light, her golden, silver, and red runes pulsing with a steady glow. Her iridescent wings rustled with a whisper that sliced through the air, and her sharp gaze settled first on Aurora, then on Sebastián, and finally on the vine now blooming with newfound vigor.

"My Queen," she said, bowing with a formal reverence that clashed with the curiosity her eyes couldn't hide. "It's time for our strategy lesson."

Aurora nodded, but before rising, she turned to Sebastián, brushing his shoulder with a possessive touch. "Keep at the garden," she said, her voice warm and claiming. "It's turning out beautiful." With a final smile, she stood and walked away, her steps echoing faintly as she left the garden.

Kaili didn't follow immediately. Her eyes lingered on Sebastián, who'd returned to his task, humming as he patted the soil around the plant. The little golem settled in a corner, molding a clay figure—a crude imitation of Kaili, with sticks for wings—in a focused silence that nearly drew a laugh from the Throne.

"What's rattling around in that head of yours, human?" Her voice jolted him, cutting through the air with a warmth she didn't mean to let slip.

Sebastián turned, finding her standing beside him, arms crossed and an eyebrow arched in a blend of arrogance and curiosity. "Just the vine," he said, his calm smile meeting the boldness in his eyes as he took her in from head to toe. "And how much I still want to figure out."

Kaili let out a soft "hmph," her runes flaring with a golden glint that betrayed her interest. "More human nonsense?" she growled, but her gaze drifted to the plant, tracking the petals shimmering with Aurora's light.

"Not quite," he shot back, his voice steady as he rose, brushing the dirt from his hands. "They've got their own beauty—and some are more useful than you'd think." He plucked a purple flower, his fingers grazing the petals with care, and held it out to her. "Look at this—it strengthens the others, holds them up. Not everything's about fighting. There's room for beauty, even in a warrior like you."

Her dark eyes met his with a playful spark, her wings rustling with a whisper that filled the air. She didn't speak, but she didn't pull away, letting him hold the flower before her. Sebastián grinned, his shameless gaze roaming her face, and with a slow, deliberate motion, he tucked the flower into her hair, nestling it near one of her gazelle-like horns, where the embedded jewels caught the light in subtle gleams.

"Hang on," he said, his voice low and thick with intent as his fingers hovered near the horn. "Can I touch them? They're gorgeous." Without waiting for a flat no, but with a carefulness that showed respect, he brushed the jewels with his fingertips, tracing the gems with a tenderness that clashed with the daring in his eyes. Kaili's runes flared with a golden spark, a subtle heat rippling across her skin, her wings quivering faintly at the touch.

Kaili raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into an arrogant smile that barely masked her curiosity. "What do you think you're up to, human?" she growled, her tone warmer than usual, a challenge that beckoned him to keep going.

"Highlighting what's already perfect," he replied, his grin widening as his fingers left the horn and grazed her shoulder with a playful touch. Then, with a gallant flourish that seemed plucked from a tale he'd never read, he dropped to one knee, extending a hand to her. "Would you dance with me, my beautiful lady?"

Kaili let out a low laugh, a sound that echoed through the garden with a mix of disbelief and amusement, her runes glowing brighter. "Dance?" she said, her voice sharp but laced with a warmth she couldn't shake. "What kind of madness is this?"

But she didn't pull back, and when Sebastián stood and took her hand with the boldness she'd come to expect, she didn't resist. His other hand slid to her waist, fingers brushing the edge of her tunic with a tender caress that climbed slowly, nearing her chest as he drew her close. Their bodies met in an improvised rhythm, their steps awkward but charged with a tension that thickened the garden's air. Kaili let him lead, her wings rustling in time with the beat, her runes flashing golden as her dark eyes locked onto his with a blend of arrogance and a pleasure she wouldn't name.

Sebastián grinned, his hand on her waist tightening with a warmth he didn't hide, his fingers grazing her curves as they spun beneath the golden light. "Knew you'd be good at this," he said, his voice low and dripping with desire, leaning close enough that his breath brushed her neck. "You're a sight, Kaili—even dancing."

She twirled under his lead, her wings grazing him with a whisper that filled the air, and for a moment, her runes shone with an intensity she hadn't felt before, a heat she didn't push away. "Don't be absurd," she growled, but her tone was playful, her lips curving into a smile that betrayed how much she savored the game. Their bodies drew closer, the gap between them vanishing as the rhythm wrapped around them, a private moment that seemed to still the garden's time.

But before their next turn could pull them tighter, a sound shattered the silence—hurried steps and the crunch of clay. The little earthen golem scurried in, its rough face twisted in alarm, clutching a tablet in its clumsy hands. Sebastián paused, his hand still on Kaili's waist, and took the tablet, reading aloud with a sigh: "'Disturbance at the southern edge—cosmic ashes detected. Intruders.'"

The air shifted in an instant. Kaili pulled away, her wings snapping open with a crack that echoed through the garden, her runes flaring with a chilling glint she'd never shown before. But it wasn't just the motion that broke the spell—a shiver rippled through the dungeon, a cold that wasn't mere air, an icy inferno spilling from her subtle anger, trembling the walls, the pools, and stretching beyond to the outside, as if the world itself felt her restrained fury. It was the first time since her summoning that such a feeling took shape, a whisper of her cosmic power that didn't roar or shatter but sliced like a frozen blade, subtle yet overwhelming.

Inside her, something had shifted. The dance—that human game she'd started to relish, the warmth of Sebastián's hands on her waist, the daring brush against her horns—had sparked something she hadn't anticipated. It wasn't just the interruption that gnawed at her; it was the theft of that moment, a pleasure she'd begun to claim as hers, snatched by a petty message. Her runes, once golden with delight, now pulsed with a silvered edge, a cold that wasn't blind rage but a frustration she couldn't name. She'd been a vessel of chaos since her creation, a force of destruction, but this—this was personal, a flicker of something new that the dance had kindled, now smothered beneath an icy veil.

Sebastián felt the chill crawl up his spine, a shiver prickling his skin as his eyes tracked Kaili. She turned toward the exit, the flower still trembling in her hair under the light, her wings rustling with a sound that was more threat than farewell. "Stick to your plants, human," she said, her voice flat but laced with a frosty edge that cut deeper than her words, a trace of her anger that didn't shout but lingered like frost. Her dark eyes flicked to him for a moment, and in them was something fresh—a mix of irritation and a longing she wouldn't voice, a spark the dance had fanned and that now simmered beneath the ice.

With a flicker, the Precursor Throne of the Plague vanished, leaving Sebastián alone in the garden, the purple flower in his hand and a lingering chill in the air. The ground quivered faintly beneath his feet, the plants bowing as if wary of the cold, and a frozen whisper slipped beyond the dungeon, reaching the outside like a breath of winter in midsummer. The peace they'd built had fractured—not just by the message, but by Kaili's anger, a subtle fury that didn't lash out but pierced, born of a moment she'd claimed and lost, rising now as an icy inferno that hinted at more than a mere disturbance.