Damon’s sleep didn’t last as long as he would’ve wanted when he felt a feeling of something shifting in his bed, and he woke up with a sudden jolt.

When his eyes snapped open, he saw a pair of long legs, which he immediately followed to a figure lying beside him, with her dark green heels still on.

Aria, the leader of the female-only citadel, was right beside him, watching him with an expression he didn’t quite understand.

Damon sat up without urgency, feeling completely calm despite her sudden appearance.

"You do this type of thing often?" he asked as he rested his back against the bed’s headboard.

"This type of thing?" Aria’s expression didn’t change. She was wearing the same curious, faintly amused look she’d worn in the throne room, as though everything that happened around her was a form of entertainment she’d arranged herself.

"Walk into the rooms that aren’t yours."

"Everything in this citadel is mine," she said, "The rooms, the grass..." Suddenly, she shifted toward him, her long leg moving across him as she sat on top of him. "...The people. It’s all mine~"

A small frown settled on Damon’s face. "What do you want?"

His tone was a lot more serious now, which the woman immediately noticed, yet did not care much about.

"I’ll accept your truce and even help you kill the other leader, but I need something in return," she said.

"What is it?"

"I have an ability I haven’t been able to use. You see, it requires a man and a woman..." Her hands moved to lock around his neck. "And I haven’t met anyone worthy..."

’What the hell is she talking about...?’ he thought to himself before asking. "And I’m supposed to be worthy?"

"Who better than another leader of a citadel?" she said in an untroubled tone.

Damon’s eyes widened slightly. ’How can she know I’m the leader of a citadel?’

"If you think I am the leader of the citadel, why not just try to kill me and end the quest?" he asked.

"A girl’s needs come before any quests, don’t you think?~"

Aria suddenly leaned down, her soft lips brushing against his for a brief moment before she pulled back just as quickly, leaving behind the faint sweet scent of her lipstick and an expression that said she was entirely satisfied with the effect.

Without saying a word, she lifted herself off him and rose to her feet. She took a moment to smooth her minidress back into place as it rolled up to a dangerous height.

"I’ll see you around," she said, already moving toward the door with the unhurried click of her heels.

She didn’t wait for a response as the door clicked shut behind her.

Damon blinked a couple of times in disbelief before thinking to himself. ’I should’ve known a female-only citadel is bound to be a little... crazy’

He lay back down, fully intending to recover whatever sleep Aria had interrupted.

Unfortunately for him, he would get no more than a minute before a sudden knocking sound echoed through the room.

It was loud, rhythmic, and showed absolutely no signs of stopping on its own. He stared at the ceiling for a moment longer, accepted his situation, and got up.

Ning Xiaoyu stood at the threshold.

She looked a little different today than she had yesterday. Not just her appearance, which had just a little more eye shadow and a little more lipstick, but also the way she looked at him, there was a warmth to it that wasn’t there before.

"Would you like to train together?" she asked.

Unlike before, when she basically told him to train with her, this time it was most certainly a question.

***

The courtyard was the same as the day before, the same worn stone, the same cloud layer below the walls, and the same pale sky above. But something about the air between them was different before they’d even drawn their weapons. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Ning Xiaoyu moved differently too. She was still as sharp, still as deliberate in her movements, but this time her strikes didn’t seem to come with the same deadly force, as if for the first time she wasn’t trying to kill him.

Unfortunately for her, that difference was immediate. In their previous training, Damon was the one holding back, and so when they sparred, the girl managed to somehow keep up. But now that she didn’t have that same ferocity, her strikes were nothing but child’s play.

"Is there something on your mind?" Damon asked after knocking her longsword out of her hand for the fifth time.

She remained silent for an unusually long time before she replied. "No."

Damon looked at her for a moment, then picked up her sword from the ground and held it out toward her.

She took it without meeting his eyes. But despite avoiding his gaze she could not avoid his words.

"You’re distracted."

The statement clearly caught her off guard, but the girl did her best to stay composed.

"Again," she finally said, and Damon complied.

Wanting to teach her a lesson, Damon decided not to hold back for the next exchange. The moment the girl readied her stance, he stepped between the shadows, appearing behind her before she could react.

Her eyes barely had time to widen before the blade of his weapon pressed against her throat, promising to split it open if she drew even a single breath.

"You just died," he said before lowering his sword and letting the girl breathe.

Ning Xiaoyu let out a slow breath.

She stood still for a second, not composing herself, just processing everything he said so far.

Then she turned to face him with an expression that had settled somewhere between acceptance and resolve. The distracted look in her gaze was now gone.

Whatever had been occupying her mind had been cut through more effectively than any words could have managed.

She picked up her sword from where it had fallen, turned back toward him, and settled into her battle stance.

This time, her eyes had the exact same focus they had the day prior.

"Again," she said and charged before he could reply.