The forest's atmosphere was thick with the scent of blood and ice, remnants of the massacre Lycius had left behind. Yet his mind was not on the destruction he had wrought.
It was on the intruder at the cabin.
With a swirl of void energy, his body vanished from the scene of carnage and reappeared at the doorstep of their home. His presence was instantaneous, like a whisper of the abyss itself, silent yet absolute.
His golden draconic eyes fell upon the kneeling figure of Xylara.
She was trapped, her body pressed into the wooden floorboards by an unseen force—his force.
Even from a distance, Lycius could see the fine details of her suffering. The subtle tremors in her limbs, the tautness of her muscles fighting against his suppression, the sweat forming at her brow from the sheer weight of his overwhelming Qi.
She was completely at his mercy.
And yet—
The killing intent he expected to surge within him was nowhere to be found.
Instead, a different sensation crept into his soul. A whisper of familiarity, an echo of something deep and ancient, something that defied logic.
His brows furrowed, his instincts flaring in confusion.
This feeling…
It was unlike anything he had encountered before, yet at the same time, it was eerily similar.
To Vynessa.
The realization sent a jolt through him.
The same unexplainable, primal connection that had tied him to Vynessa—the same silent claim that had bound their existences together—was now present between him and this woman.
His gaze darkened.
A test.
He lifted his hand, and with an effortless thought, the oppressive force dissipated.
Xylara gasped sharply as the invisible chains binding her body shattered into nothingness. Her arms trembled, struggling to push herself up from the floor.
Before she could collapse, Lycius stepped forward.
His hand extended.
Xylara hesitated, her violet eyes meeting his golden ones.
The air between them was thick with tension, a silent war of uncertainty and instinct battling in the depths of their souls.
And then—
She reached out.
The moment their hands connected, a violent spark erupted between them.
It wasn't a physical spark. It was something far deeper.
A flash of heat raced through their veins.
A shuddering pulse of recognition crashed into their minds.
It was intoxicating. Overwhelming.
It wasn't natural.
Yet it felt as if it had always been there, waiting for them to acknowledge it.
Lycius's pupils dilated.
Xylara's breath hitched.
And across the Kingdom, Vynessa felt it too.
Vynessa stumbled, clutching her chest as an invisible force pulled at her soul.
She gasped, her body tingling with an indescribable sensation—warmth, pleasure, something both thrilling and terrifying.
Lana and Elizabeth, who had been casually watching over her, immediately turned their heads toward her reaction.
Their golden draconic eyes, capable of perceiving even the finest details across vast distances, flickered as they shifted their gaze toward the source of Vynessa's distress.
Despite still being in the heart of the Incubus Kingdom, their evolved eyesight pierced through the world itself, seeing clearly into the dark forest where Lycius stood.
And what they saw—
Their expressions darkened.
There, in their cabin, Lycius stood before the unknown woman, their hands still connected.
Their son—
Their treasure—
The one they had raised, cherished, and claimed as their own—
Had found another one.
Another woman.
Another intruder.
Lana's jaw clenched, her sharp nails digging into the skin of her crossed arms.
Elizabeth's golden irises flickered with a dangerous glow, her fingers twitching with restrained emotion.
The sight before them was unacceptable.
They had tolerated Vynessa.
Barely.
And only because it had been unavoidable.
But this?
Another woman entangled with Lycius's fate?
Another one who would dare lay claim to their Lycius?
A flicker of anger sparked in their veins.
Yet deep beneath that anger, beneath the cold rationality that had governed their actions for centuries—
Something else stirred.
Something far darker.
Something they had long buried in the depths of their souls, refusing to acknowledge its existence.
A feeling they had always suppressed.
A desire they had convinced themselves did not belong to them.
But now—
Now, as they watched the scene unfold before their eyes—
As they saw the bond forming between Lycius and Xylara—
They could no longer deny it.
Lana's fingers twitched.
Elizabeth's lips curled into a tight line.
Their golden eyes gleamed, filled with something sinister.
Something twisted.
Something they could never allow to come to light.
But no matter how much they tried to resist it—
That possessive hunger clawed at them.
And soon—
It would consume them whole.
-----
A strange silence filled the cabin. The air between Lycius and Xylara crackled with an unspoken tension, heavy and suffocating.
Xylara's breath was uneven, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the young boy before her—the very one who had effortlessly crushed the High Council without a second thought.
And yet…
Something about him felt familiar.
Not in the way an enemy felt familiar. Not in the way a hunter knew their prey.
It was deeper. More instinctual.
A bond—something beyond logic, beyond reason—tied her to him. She had never felt this before, not with anyone.
Except…
Her eyes widened slightly.
Vynessa.
The essence flowing through Lycius's being, the energy that pulsed from him like a silent storm—it mirrored her daughter's.
She didn't understand how.
She didn't understand why.
But it was there.
And that terrified her.
Xylara clenched her fists. No matter what emotions threatened to take root in her soul, one thing remained absolute—this boy was dangerous.
He had torn through powerful figures like they were nothing.
He had suppressed her with sheer will alone.
He was something beyond her comprehension.
And now, he stood before her, watching her as if he had already decided her fate.
I won't let him take Vynessa away from me.
Before she could think further, her body moved.
A step forward.
Muscles tensed.
Her stance sharpened into one of combat.
A battle stance.
Lycius's eyes widened.
For the first time in his short existence, he felt genuine surprise.
The woman before him—who had barely survived his suppression, who had just experienced the same bond that tied him to Vynessa—was now challenging him.
She knew what he was capable of.
She had witnessed what he could do.
And yet… she still chose to fight.
A slow grin curled on Lycius's lips, his sharp canines glinting in the dim light of the cabin.
Interesting.
His golden draconic eyes met hers, locking onto the desperation that burned behind them.
Desperation, but not for herself.
For someone else.
For Vynessa.
His fingers twitched.
He had felt many emotions before—curiosity, amusement, even the intoxicating thrill of battle.
But this?
This was something he only felt towards his mother and aunt.
Respect.
She was willing to throw everything away to fight for something she held dear.
That was a strength he could understand—now he knows, she's worth to be by his side.
Even as his entire being screamed at him not to hurt her—not even a single inch of her hair—he still chose to acknowledge her challenge.
A soft hum rumbled in his throat as he raised his hand.
The air distorted.
A rift tore through reality itself, space cracking apart like shattered glass.
From within that abyss, something emerged.
A weapon of pure darkness.
A scythe.
Its onyx blade gleamed under the soft glow of the cabin, humming with an eerie, insatiable hunger.
The very space around it twisted, pulled into its gravitational pull as if reality itself feared its existence.
Lycius grasped the weapon's midnight handle, his fingers tightening around it as he felt its power course through him.
This scythe was his—though it was of the lowest of qualities.
In his hands, it was a disaster-class weapon —that is bound to him alone.
And now, it would taste blood once more.
Within the Incubus Kingdom…
Lana and Elizabeth watched the scene unfold.
Their golden draconic eyes, honed through eons of evolution, pierced through the layers of space, allowing them to see everything.
They had expected something entirely different.
After the undeniable connection between Lycius and Xylara, they had assumed their bond would settle—perhaps even lead to something intimate.
A touch.
An embrace.
Maybe even the beginning of something they weren't ready to acknowledge.
Instead…
They were about to fight.
Lana's fingers curled tightly against the stone railing of the kingdom's street, her sharp nails nearly cracking the material beneath them.
Elizabeth exhaled sharply, her expression unreadable—yet her golden irises flickered with something dark.
Amusement?
No.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
A twisted sense of joy coiled in their chests.
Because they knew how this would end.
Lycius was beyond monstrous.
His power was devastation incarnate.
Xylara had no chance.
The outcome had already been decided the moment she raised her stance against him.
She would meet her death at the hands of her own mate.
It was fated.
And yet—
Lana's smirk faltered.
Elizabeth's confidence wavered.
A forgotten truth clawed its way back into their minds.
One they had overlooked.
Mates can never harm each other's souls.
Their expressions darkened.
Their fingers tensed.
And in that moment, for the first time, a flicker of doubt slithered into their certainty.
Because this battle…
Would not end as they had predicted.
And they hated that.
_______________
--------------
°°°°°°