He walked out of the grand throne room, his boots clicking softly against the marble tiles. Female guards standing in the corridor watched him pass, their eyes dropping to the fresh bite mark on his lip, but nobody dared to ask him any questions.

Returning to his private suite felt like stepping into a freezer. He locked the double wooden doors and leaned against them, letting out a long, slow breath. The sweet, corrupted scent of her perfume still clung to his skin, and the taste of her blood lingered on his tongue. He walked over to the washbasin and splashed cool water onto his face, scrubbing the smell of her magic off his neck.

The frustration of stopping right at the edge gnawed at his stomach, but the looming danger fueled a much colder, sharper resolve in his chest.

’Two days,’ Kai thought, staring at his dripping reflection in the polished copper mirror. ’She thinks she’s setting a trap, but she just handed me the schedule for her own execution.’

He wiped his mouth with a linen towel, ignoring the slight sting on his lip. The game was finally reaching its climax, and he was fully prepared to let the desert queen burn in her own fire.

Morning sunlight crept through the glass balcony doors, waking Kai from a restless sleep. He sat up, pushing the crimson silk sheets aside, and found a silver tray resting on his bedside table. Scented jasmine oils and several new robes woven from sheer black silk sat next to a folded piece of parchment. He cracked the wax seal and read the demanding note.

"Join me for a private lunch, Kai. Do not keep me waiting."

’She thinks she can just buy my patience with expensive gifts,’ Kai thought, tossing the parchment onto the floor. ’She wants me dressed up like a pampered pet, so she feels in control.’

He ignored the delicate robes for now, pulling on a pair of loose fighting trousers instead. Walking down to the open palace courtyards, he spent his morning running through brutal combat drills to burn off his lingering frustration. Sweat beaded on his bare chest as he practised his footwork, throwing sharp strikes into the warm morning air. He channelled small bursts of freezing mana into his palms, turning his hands into lethal weapons, perhaps just to remind the watching guards exactly how dangerous he really was.

Female guards lined the marble walls, gripping their spears tight while they watched his muscles flex with every calculated movement. A group of wealthy noblewomen gathered on a shaded terrace above the courtyard, sipping chilled wine and openly discussing his fate as if he couldn’t hear them.

"I’ll wager fifty gold pieces she drains him by midnight," a Duchess laughed, tapping her painted nails against her crystal cup. "No man survives her bed for more than a week. He’s just another disposable battery waiting to be used up."

"You’re underestimating him," a younger noble countered, biting her lower lip as Kai executed a flawless spinning kick. "Look at his stamina. I think she’ll keep him as a permanent consort. I’d give up my estate just to borrow him for one single night."

Kai didn’t bother looking up or acknowledging their whispers. He let them gossip, knowing their bets wouldn’t matter very soon.

A young servant girl carrying a wooden bucket approached him when he finally paused to catch his breath. She kept her eyes glued to the stone floor, offering him a folded linen towel with trembling hands. As Kai took the cloth, she quickly slipped a crumpled piece of parchment into his palm before scurrying away toward the kitchens.

Kai wiped his face and walked into the shade of a stone archway. He unfolded the note, instantly recognising Yena’s sharp, pragmatic handwriting.

She accelerated the timeline. Ritual is tomorrow night. She started sacrificing slaves in the lower levels to power her celestial array. Hundreds are dying right now to feed her magic. I found a hidden drainage route near the royal kitchens, and some angry servants are willing to help us slip out unnoticed. Give the word, and we vanish.

Kai crushed the note in his palm, letting his freezing mana turn the paper to brittle ice before shattering it into white dust. He wasn’t leaving this city. Running away meant giving up the throne and letting Meriel win. He refused to back down now when the prize was sitting right in front of him.

The afternoon arrived, bringing an oppressive, suffocating heat to the grand throne room. Kai wore one of the sheer black robes she gifted him, letting the fabric hang open to expose his torso. He sat right beside the Matriarch’s bone-carved throne while she held court, listening to her advisors drone on about grain taxes and border patrols.

She looked wildly unstable today. Her glowing red veins pulsed vividly against her pale skin, and she couldn’t keep her hands off him. Right in front of her high-ranking generals, she traced her manicured nails up and down his bare thigh, resting her chin against his shoulder like a possessive predator claiming her meal.

One of her female advisors glanced up at Kai a second too long, her eyes lingering on his exposed chest. The Matriarch noticed instantly. Her crimson eyes narrowed into lethal slits, and the temperature in the room spiked dangerously.

"If you look at my consort again, I’ll order my guards to carve your eyes out of your skull," she hissed, her voice echoing loudly off the stone walls. "He is mine. Look at the floor when you speak in my presence, or I’ll feed you to the desert beasts."

The advisor dropped to her knees, trembling and apologising profusely while pressing her forehead to the marble tiles. Kai just smirked, playing the part of an arrogant prize perfectly.

She dismissed the terrified court a few minutes later, clearly unable to focus on trivial politics. As soon as the brass doors clicked shut, she practically pounced on him. Pulling him down onto the throne, she straddled his lap, grinding her hips against him with desperate, frantic hunger.

"You looked so beautiful sitting there," she panted, crashing her lips against his. She tasted like spiced wine and pure madness. "Every woman in that room wanted to steal you from me, but you’re mine. You belong to me."