"Where did you learn this?" I managed after she reduced a stubborn knot near my neck to putty.

"Hunter training," she said, shifting her attention lower. "Basic field first aid and recovery techniques."

"They taught you massage?"

"They taught us how to keep our teammates functional when medical resources are limited." Her thumbs dug into my lower back, making me stifle another groan. "Muscle fatigue can get you killed in the field just as easily as an injury."

We lapsed into silence after that, the only sound my occasional muffled noises when she hit a particularly sensitive spot. It was strangely intimate, maybe more so than sex. There was something about willingly putting yourself in someone else’s hands, trusting them not to hurt you when you’re vulnerable.

Natalia’s hands eventually slowed, her touch becoming less therapeutic and more like a caress. Her fingers traced the lines of my shoulders, then down my spine, feather-light.

"Better?" she asked, her voice much closer to my ear than I expected.

I turned my head, finding her face inches from mine. "Much better."

Her eyes dropped to my lips, then back up. "Good."

A knock at the door made both of us jump.

"Yo, Nakano!" Skylar’s voice called from the hallway. "Fifteen minutes is up. Let’s go."

Natalia’s face darkened. "Where are you going?"

"I promised Skylar ice cream," I said, wincing internally.

"Ice cream." Natalia’s tone was flat.

"Yeah."

She stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. "Fine. Go. But we’re not done talking about this morning."

I nodded, relieved she wasn’t pushing it further. "Fair enough."

She climbed off the bed, straightening her clothes. "And make sure you stretch tonight. I don’t want to hear you complaining tomorrow when everything locks up again."

"Yes, ma’am."

She rolled her eyes and headed for the door, opening it to reveal Skylar leaning against the opposite wall, scrolling through her phone.

"He’s all yours," Natalia said coolly, brushing past her.

Skylar watched her go, then turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"

"She’s not thrilled about this morning," I said, standing and grabbing my jacket.

"Ah. The unauthorized Gate run." Skylar pushed off from the wall. "Ready for sugar and interrogation?"

"Can’t wait."

We headed out of the dorm and across campus toward the small commercial district that served the Academy. The sun was still high overhead, the heat making the air shimmer above the stone pathways.

"So," Skylar said after a few minutes of comfortable silence as we walked the sunlit path, her voice cutting through the ambient noise of distant training grounds, "you and the Queen."

I kept my gaze forward, watching the shimmer of heat rising from the stone. "What about us?"

"Nothing about ’us,’" she corrected with deliberate emphasis, her tone turning slightly sharper. "Just you and her." She glanced sideways at me, one eyebrow arched with that particular brand of skeptical curiosity that she wielded like a scalpel. "Interesting pair for a Gate run, is all I’m saying."

I shrugged, keeping my expression neutral. "She asked. I said yes. Simple as that."

"Nothing’s ever simple with you, Nakano." She nudged my arm with her elbow, a casual gesture that somehow felt like an accusation. "Come on. What did she really want? And don’t give me that ’simple favor’ bullshit."

I sighed, feeling the weight of her attention. Skylar was too perceptive for her own good, and trying to deflect her was like trying to hide from someone with thermal vision. "She was curious," I admitted, letting a thread of truth slip through. "About me. About what I can do."

"Aren’t we all?" She smirked, but there was genuine interest flickering behind those gradient purple eyes. "So? Find anything interesting in the Gate itself?"

"Standard C-Rank stuff, mostly," I said with practiced boredom. "Beetles the size of dogs, spiders that thought they were clever, and some weird-ass Boss creature at the end that looked like someone’s fever dream of a mantis."

"Sounds boring."

"It was," I agreed easily. Then I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "Except she spent the entire fucking time analyzing me like I was some kind of lab specimen under glass. Every move I made, every skill I used—she was taking mental notes."

Skylar snorted. "That’s just how she is. Back in my old guild, she used to attend all the strategy meetings even though she wasn’t officially part of the leadership. Never said a word, just watched. Made everyone nervous as hell."

We reached the ice cream shop, a small place with colorful awnings and outdoor seating. The line was short despite the heat—most students were probably in afternoon training sessions.

"What’ll it be?" I asked as we approached the counter.

"Mango sorbet. Double scoop." She flashed a rare, genuine smile at the server. "With extra spoons."

I paid for her sorbet and got a simple chocolate cone for myself. We found a table outside under the shade of an umbrella.

"So," Skylar said, digging into her dessert, "want to make a bet?"

I raised an eyebrow. "About?"

"About when Isabelle’s going to make her move."

"What move?"

"Oh come on." She waved her spoon at me. "She’s interested in you. Not romantically," she added quickly when I opened my mouth to protest. "But she’s definitely fascinated by whatever she thinks you’re hiding."

"And you want to bet on when she... what? Confronts me?"

"Exactly." She took another bite of sorbet. "I say within the next three days. She’ll corner you somewhere private and demand answers."

I considered this. "And what are the stakes?"

"If I win, you have to do whatever I say for twenty-four hours."

I nearly choked on my ice cream. "That’s a dangerous bet."

"Scared?" Her violet eyes glittered with challenge.

"And if I win?"

"Same deal. I do whatever you say for twenty-four hours."

I leaned back in my chair, studying her. Skylar rarely made bets she didn’t think she could win. "What makes you so sure she’ll make a move that soon?"

"Because I know how her mind works." Skylar licked her spoon clean, the gesture oddly mesmerizing. "She’s methodical. She’s been gathering data points for weeks now, probably has a whole file on you. The Gate run was her final field test. Now she’s ready for confrontation."

"And you think I’ll lose this bet?"

"I think you’re underestimating how quickly she works." Skylar offered me a spoonful of her sorbet. "Want to try?"

I leaned forward and accepted the bite. It was tangy and sweet, the cold a pleasant shock against the heat of the day. "Fine. You’re on."

She grinned, a predatory expression that reminded me that Skylar might look like a bored indie kid, but she was actually one of the most dangerous people at the Academy. "Excellent. Should we shake on it?"

I held out my hand, and she took it, her grip firm. Her skin was cool from holding the sorbet cup.

"May the best schemer win," she said, holding my gaze for a beat longer than necessary before releasing my hand.

We finished our ice cream in companionable silence, watching other students pass by. Some nodded in recognition, others whispered behind their hands. Word of my draw with Reyna had spread fast.

"You know," Skylar said suddenly, "you’ve created quite a problem for yourself."

"Just one?"

She snorted. "One immediate one. All five of us—we each think we’re your favorite."

I blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt change in topic. "What?"

"Your women." She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Each of us believes, deep down, that we’re special to you in a way the others aren’t. It’s quite an accomplishment, really."

"I don’t—"

"Don’t bother denying it." She scraped the bottom of her cup, gathering the last of the melted sorbet. "Natalia thinks she’s your true partner because she was first. Emi thinks she’s special because she’s the only one who can heal you. Celeste thinks she understands you in a way the rest of us can’t. Akari thinks she’s your guilty pleasure. And I—"

She paused, the spoon halfway to her mouth. Something flickered across her face—vulnerability, maybe, though it was gone so fast I might have imagined it.

"And you?" I prompted when she didn’t continue.

She smiled, the expression not quite reaching her eyes. "I think I’m the only one who sees through your bullshit." She put the spoon in her mouth, holding my gaze. "That makes me dangerous, doesn’t it?"

Before I could answer, her phone buzzed. She checked it, then stood abruptly.

"Duty calls. Braxton wants me for something." She gathered her trash. "Thanks for the ice cream."

"Anytime."

She turned to go, then paused, looking back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Satori? When I win our bet, I’m going to make your life very interesting for those twenty-four hours."

With that promise hanging in the air, she walked away, her headphones already back in place, hips swaying slightly with each step.

I watched her go, feeling like I’d just made a deal with a particularly attractive devil.

You’re so screwed, Nel commented cheerfully. She definitely knows something you don’t.

Shut up.

But she was right. I probably was screwed. The question was, by whom? Isabelle with her surgical analysis of my inconsistencies? Skylar with her bet and her knowing eyes? Or all five women who each thought they held a special place in my life?

Maybe all of the above.

I tossed my napkin in the trash and headed back toward Onyx House, where someone undoubtedly waited to pull another piece of my carefully constructed facade away.

What a fucking day. And it wasn’t even dinner time yet.