Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 87: The Level 20s

The Nephilim wasn’t surprised - as he entered the dim room, lit only by the moonlight pouring through the open window, he found Ezra had already fallen asleep.

Oberyn entered the room without a sound.

Ezra lay curled on the bed, one hand resting over his side where the wound had been. His breathing was steady, chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. The tension from earlier had softened - the human looked as if he had no worries at all. Peaceful. Vulnerable.

Oberyn’s heart ached.

He closed the door behind him, careful not to let it creak too much. The Nephilim moved across the room with quiet grace, shedding his pants and crouching beside the bed.

For a moment, he just watched Ezra sleep. A quiet breath. A little snore. The familiar slope of his nose, the messy strands of hair that clung to his forehead with dried sweat.

"I’m sorry," Oberyn whispered, voice barely audible. "I didn’t mean to upset you earlier."

There was no reply. Of course not.

He sat on the edge of the bed, unsure if he was welcome - but Ezra didn’t stir. He laid beside him on top of the covers and began to emit a faint orange flow.

His eyes wandered across the room, then up toward the ceiling.

He reached, tentatively, and brushed a strand of hair from Ezra’s face.

"Sleep well, Ez," he whispered. "We’ll be okay. I promise."

He closed his eyes and tried to match Ezra’s breathing.

It took longer than he expected, but eventually, sleep came.

He didn’t know how long he was unconscious, but he was stirred awake in the dead of night - a soft voice. Ezra’s.

"Oby...?"

Ezra’s eyes blinked open in the dark.

Oberyn turned toward him, half-asleep, lids heavy.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming back."

"This is where I belong, Ez. Of course I came back."

Ezra wrapped an arm around his Nephilim and passed out almost immediately again, his head resting on Oberyn’s shoulder.

Oberyn leaned into it, and they spent the entire night in that position, wrapped together.

Then, morning came quicker than either of them were prepared for.

The morning sunlight spilled into the room, casting warm beams of light over them as they lay in bed cuddling. Oberyn blinked slowly, waking to the warmth across his face and the steady weight of Ezra’s arm still draped across his chest.

Neither of them moved for a while.

Ezra stirred first, stretching slightly and muttering a groggy, "Good morning, Oby."

"Morning," Oberyn said, voice thick with sleep. He looked over and found Ezra already watching him.

They didn’t rehash the argument. No apologies, no explanations. Just the quiet of two people choosing to stay close even when it’s hard.

Ezra shifted onto his side, propping his head on his hand. "You sleep okay?"

Oberyn nodded. "Better with you." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He brushed his delicate fingers against Ezra’s rugged frame, looking over the injury. Compared to even last night, it was significantly healed.

"That wound is healing fast. Rav’s magic? Or is your body some sort of superhuman? You’re healing even faster than I did as a Nephilim..."

"I do feel pretty superhuman," Ezra smirked.

Oberyn’s hand shifted lower, tracing the taut lines of his six-pack abs with the tips of his fingers. Both of them, easily excitable, stiffened and grew from the sensual touch. It didn’t take long for them to both reach full mast, and the tips of their rods touched together, growing against one another and the soft sheets.

Oberyn moved closer, pressing his slender body into his human. Their rods slid across each other and they locked eyes with deeper intensity than either was used to.

The silence that followed wasn’t heavy. It was comfortable, full of things they didn’t need to say out loud. Ezra reached out, brushing his thumb along Oberyn’s cheek.

But before the moment could settle into something more, a voice rang out - loud, shrill, unmistakably Deek’s.

"I DID IT! I DID IT!"

They both jolted, sitting up as the shout echoed from just outside the pagoda.

"What the hell..." Ezra mumbled, scrambling for pants.

Oberyn peered through the open window. Sure enough, Deek stood in the courtyard, fists pumping the air.

"LEVEL TWENTY, BABY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "THE LEGENDARY DEEK HAS ARRIVED!!"

Ezra let out a disbelieving laugh. "No way she did it solo..."

"Sounds like she did," Oberyn said. "I guess now we’re all caught up."

Their moment together officially shattered, they threw on enough clothing to greet the day and stepped outside.

Rav was already there, arms crossed, leaning against one of the pagoda’s support beams with a smirk on his face.

"Well, well," he said. "Three little prodigies, all grown up. Guess it’s time for a graduation test, hm?"

"A what now?" Ezra asked.

"A final test," Rav explained. "To prove you belong in the big leagues. Though I must admit, I never thought you’d all get there so fast. Quite the determined bunch, hm? My best set of pupils yet."

Deek grinned. "Bring it on. I didn’t become the baddest Ferin girl ever by luck alone, Mr. Rav!"

"I’ll test you first, then," Rav said with a wink, tail flicking lazily. "And, Ezra - we’ll hold off on testing you. Don’t need you reopening that wound. I’ve seen enough of what you can do, anyway."

Then, with a sharp glance toward Oberyn, he added:

"Though we are doing yours today, fairy boy. After all, I can’t take you to the Northern Country without a good trial. Oh, and I know just the thing for you, my fellow Magician..."

Ezra froze.

Oberyn turned toward him, the weight of Rav’s words hanging in the air.

He hadn’t told him.

Not yet.

The smile fell from Ezra’s face.

And just like that, the morning light felt colder.

They’d gotten so distracted the night before with Rav’s shenanigans that they hadn’t even addressed the biggest elephant in the room...

"Oh, yeah," Oberyn said nervously. "I’m...going with you guys."