An acrid sting twisted into her chest, tearing, oppressing and bleeding her own feelings.

The former heat turned into an icy stream at once, which sobered her so much that she forcefully pushed Raphael away from her, not noticing how a powerful stream of energy passes through her palms.

If someone else had been in his place, it would have caused significant damage, but she was not aware of her actions and everything happened too spontaneously for both of them.

She was trembling, it seemed to her that all her walls, which she had been strengthening for the last two days, began to collapse and bury her under them, and it so happened that it resulted in hysterical laughter. There was no place for tears in this.

- Nice try, Raf, but unsuccessful. - her gaze hardened so much that it was possible to question her feelings for him. - If you pull that trick again, I promise you’ll regret it.

Raphael was breathing heavily, burning with anger. Once again, he was convinced that he was still attracted to his own wife, but for him it was a revelation to taste her blood, which turned out to be an exceptional taste of Thea’s blood.

He clenched his hands like a madman until his bones ached when he realized that this was really her body, and the entire outer shell of Artemis was nothing more than a successful magic for reincarnation.

He could not go further, cross the line that he himself had drawn, delineating their positions with Artemis at the moment.

- Are you threatening me? - he flashed a playful smile, combing wet strands of hair back, but there was still aggression in his gaze. – What will you do then?

- Don’t you know? - she tilted her head slightly, playing along with his behavior and not at all embarrassed by her nakedness. – Maybe the princess should stay forever in that gloomy prison of her own subconscious? You’re my husband, not hers! I have every right to you.

A dull loud slap on the water scattered silvery sparks of water droplets when Raphael hit the water with his hand from the feeling of his defeat. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

No matter how much he tried to look like everything was under his control, but in reality everything was different. He didn’t know how to get Thea back, he had no plan, no assumptions, and he was afraid that Artemis’s jealousy would lead to disastrous consequences. He couldn’t risk making it worse than it already was.

He closed his eyes and mentally cursed himself for still not being able to put a point between him and Artemis, because they had so much in common before. He didn’t want to hurt her physically and mentally, but there was only one fundamental fact in all this, according to which he continued to choose Thea – his wife had died a long time ago and this body did not belong to her.

No matter how much he loved her and regretted her death, he couldn’t just accept that she was manipulating their marriage, forcing him to feel guilty.

Before Raphael could gather his thoughts to answer her without unnecessary emotions, She got up, wrapped a towel around her body and gracefully paraded in front of him towards the exit, trying to hide the uncertainty of her gait due to weakness and dizziness.

She did not hurry, did not try to escape, on the contrary, she did everything slowly, exuding complete self-confidence and pointing out to Raphael his worthless position. "Shut up and suck it up," the unspoken words were obvious.

He cursed and gritted his teeth, the sound of which would have sent goosebumps.

On that day, they clearly delineated their relationship. None of them wanted to make contact first. Both were hurt and depressed.

***

- I see that you are doing well. - Ivrim praised Carrick and Cornel, who were training with elven swords. – These are our latest developments. You should be careful, as the metal is impregnated with poison.

Cornel frowned and his gaze fell on the tip of a perfectly polished sword. When Ivrim said that everyone should personally inspect the weapons with which they would have to fight, everyone took it with enthusiasm and Sean was the first who decided to try the weapon in action. The others didn’t need an invitation to follow suit.

But no one knew about the features, could not appreciate the elven developments, so Ivrim’s words were quite shocking, because werewolves even in friendly sparring laid out at full capacity.

Ivrim came closer and took the sword from the men’s hands, scrolling it in different directions, noticing how the light falls on the metal in contrast.

- This is not a thing for games, so you should be careful with it. Each item has been verified by years of science, research and magical practices to be a faithful assistant in protecting its own owner. And this blade should only strike your enemies. - The elf King spoke in a monotone. – But that’s not all.

- Tell us how to use it for greater efficiency. -Terrence said.

- That’s what I was going to do if you had enough patience, Crown Prince, - Ivrim smiled briefly. – On the handle of this type of weapon, if you pay attention, there is a stone similar to a ruby.

Adeline stood on tiptoe to look over Klaus’ shoulder and see the very stone the elf was talking about.

- This stone is the center of the handle for a reason. At the right moment, if we apply strong pressure to it, we will be able to see what happens next.

Ivrim pointedly pressed the stone and with a sharp click to the sound of a metallic screech, the tip of the sword split in two.

- That’s impressive. – admired Terrence, whose eyes were burning with anticipation to try the sword in action.

- As I always said – if you swing a sword, then go to the end. Mercy can cost you your life, sluggishness can cost you your life, a weak attack, of course, too. But, instead of using swords, wouldn’t it be better to use your advantage in strength? - Ivrim turned to the male werewolves and took a small box from the hands of the blacksmith’s apprentice.

- This thing has not been tested yet, as we have not had such an opportunity. But maybe you can fix it?

Ivrim opened the box and took out a brass knuckles with metal claws coming from the base.

- The strength, power and speed of werewolves are superior to human ones, so it would be unwise to use a sword or bow. I want to see what this thing is like in battle. How about a mannequin?

Klaus nodded and immediately put the brass knuckles on his hand, passing his fingers inside the metal claws. His body began to transform, becoming overgrown with muscles, increasing in height and becoming covered with fur, before landing on four paws, one of which now had metal armor instead of brass knuckles, completely repeating the features of the elven invention.

He growled and swung at the wooden dummy with all his might. The metal claws entered the wood like clockwork, tearing the fibers into splinters. It was so easy, as if his hand had gained some incredible strength.