I certainly wasn’t plaining that while I shared my childhood wound with Kassie, she was worried about wood. So we checked around for wood and—surprise, surprise—couldn’t find any. The cold was already getting intense, and the coat they’d given us was being practically useless.
’Great. Just great.’
With every passing minute, it got worse. Frostbite was making its way into my system, creeping through my fingers and toes like tiny needles of ice.
I glanced at Kassie as we ventured deeper into the cave tunnel, searching for wood or anything bustible. Her pale skin remained unchanged—exposed even in this cold—and that made me worried despite myself.
"Aren’t you... cold?"
She was silent for a moment, her breath barely visible in the frigid air.
"I’ve been through worse."
’So she is cold. She’s just built different.’ I sighed, letting the silence settle between us as we pressed deeper into the tunnel.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from stealing glances at her hips, watching her ass through my peripheral vision—the way it curved, full and round, almost spilling off her frame with each step. The way it bounced with every movement.
"Perhaps you really want me to stab your eyes out."
"I wonder if you can actually do that." I kept my tone casual. "You prefer to get summoned by a blind man?"
She shot me a dirty look.
But I pressed on anyway.
"Very few people can admire the gracefulness of your body. It’s an object deserving of worship—something to be treated right, cared for, loved." I paused. "With or without your consent."
I met her gaze with a determined glare.
"I will leer at you whenever I want and however I want. It’s the least you could let me do since you won’t let me fuck you."
’What the hell did I just say? What bunch of BS did I just spit?’
Kassie stared at me, and for a moment—just a moment—her face flushed red.
’Wait. It... worked?’
She frowned and looked away, her voice quieter than before.
"But don’t touch me."
At that moment, I could feel my nonexistent home boys gripping my shoulder, slapping my back, celebrating this absolute win while I stood there wide-eyed and taken pletely off guard.
The celebration was short-lived.
Kassie shifted, and the air around her changed—became charged, dangerous.
"Kassie?" My tone turned cautious, hand poised to summon my dagger.
The cave trembled.
Everything shook violently, like a massive section had just collapsed. Dust and ice crystals rained from above. Thirty seconds later, another tremor hit—less severe, but close enough to rattle my bones.
Kassie locked in, standing rigid and staring forward into the darkness. I positioned myself behind her, alert and hoping to be ready for whatever was about to hit us.
’One thing’s for damn sure—whatever’s ing is different.’
Then another tremor struck.
The cave shook, and with it came an explosion of snow and wind from ahead—so sudden neither of us thought to run. But Kassie moved at the last second, positioning herself in front of me, turning her back to the ining storm.
It ravaged us nonetheless. Snow and ice pelted my face, stinging like frozen needles. But thanks to her serving as a shield, I wasn’t swept off my feet by the blizzard.
’I’d rather nothing sweeps me off my feet, really. I prefer to do the sweeping.’
Kassie suddenly twirled, her legs swinging through the air with lethal grace. She used the momentum to shove aside a golden sword that appeared out of nowhere—then the second leg followed, smashing into the neck of the attacker and sending him staggering back two steps.
I frowned as recognition hit me.
That summon.
"What is—"
"Oh... oh... it’s you, Cade! That was a mistake!"
I straightened and relaxed as Kai emerged from where the snowstorm had been. He looked ragged, breathless—like he’d been thrown around and attacked whatever he saw first.
As he reached me, he staggered and nearly fell. I caught him. His summon stood behind him, unceremonious and imposing, red cape fluttering calmly at his back, crimson light glowing from within his helmet.
"Are you okay?"
He collapsed to the floor, exhaling heavily. All his silver armor with gold-trimmed edges looked scathed, scratched and dented. His golden shoulder cape was tattered, torn in several places.
"There..." He gasped for breath. "There was a spirit beast. It was different. I couldn’t kill it alone." Another heavy breath. "I had to run."
I narrowed my gaze, thinking through the possibilities.
"Maybe the guardian?"
Every spirit gate had a guardian beast—the strongest creature in the gate. There was a chance Kai had run into exactly that kind of problem.
’Still, Kai’s summon is the strongest besides Kassie. If he couldn’t deal with it...’
Then again, Kassie couldn’t be pared to these gooners. She was two full tiers above Kai’s myth tier.
"No." Kai shook his head, still breathing hard. "It’s not the guardian. It certainly wasn’t... but whatever it was, it was stronger than the Blizzard Maulers we’d been fighting."
I narrowed my eyes, running through what I knew.
"We were taught there are three categories in spirit gates—mobs, elites, and the boss. That’s the hierarchy." I crossed my arms. "They’re all technically the same tier, but their abilities and physiology can be built for more power. Even though they share a rank, their danger levels can differ massively."
Kai chuckled weakly. "Ha, you pay attention in class after all."
I looked at him with a flat expression.
"We might be dealing with an elite Blizzard Mauler."
He nodded, grimacing.
"Yeah. I mean, it looked like their grandfather."
The cave shook powerfully, making me snap my head up. The tremor sounded closer this time.
Much closer.
"That’s it! It’s getting closer, Cade!" Kai shouted, scrambling to his feet.
I frowned and glanced between Kassie and his golden-armored summon.
"We need to lure it to an open expanse—somewhere both of them will have room to maneuver." I locked eyes with Kai urgently. "Follow me!"
I sprinted back the way we came. Kai followed, calling to his summon.
"Rex!"
His golden summon barreled forward. So did Kassie without me needing to call her.
So did the elite spirit beast.
Without our permission.
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