"I’m not leaving," Leon assured her quickly. "Just adjusting so I can carry you inside. Unless you want to sleep on the ground?"
That seed to penetrate the fog of emotion she’d been wrapped in. Seraphine pulled back slightly, just enough to look at his face. Her eyes were still intense, still carrying that obsessive gleam, but the desperate vulnerability had faded into sothing more manageable.
"You promised," she said, as if needing to verify again.
"I promised," Leon confird without hesitation. "And I don’t break my promises."
She studied his face for a long mont, her purple eyes searching his mystical ones—the eyes that had apparently changed color. However, he still hadn’t had a chance to see for himself. Whatever she saw there must have satisfied her, because she finally nodded.
"Okay," she said softly. "But what’s inside? We are in a jungle."
Leon didn’t say anything, just moved his eyes to the side, pointing to sothing, and Serahine, following his eyes, could see a miniature version of her castle built behind her, made out of earth elent. She hadn’t even realized when he had created that.
However, the familiar yet miniature sight doesn’t bring her warmth, which makes her nod silently.
But even as she agreed, she made no move to actually get off his lap.
Leon waited. Then waited so more.
"Seraphine," he said, amusent coloring his tone. "You need to let go so I can stand up."
"No," she said, her arms remaining locked around his neck.
Of course not, Leon thought with an internal sigh. Why would anything be simple?
"Then I’m carrying you like this," he warned.
"Good."
Leon shook his head, but he was smiling as he gathered his strength and stood, bringing Seraphine with him. She weighed practically nothing to soone with his physical capabilities, and she imdiately wrapped her legs around his waist to secure her position, koala-style.
"Comfortable?" he asked dryly.
"Very," Seraphine replied, her face once again buried in his neck. "Don’t drop ."
"Wouldn’t dream of it."
Seeing her acting so stubbornly cute today couldn’t help but make him feel at peace with her tantrum.
As Leon began walking toward their shelter, carrying Seraphine in his arms with her clinging to him like she might never let go, he reflected on the strange turn the evening had taken.
He’d learned forty-seven skills and forty-two techniques, expanded his capabilities beyond what most warriors could dream of, and revealed secrets he’d thought to keep buried. And through it all, the most significant mont had been this—holding soone who loved him so desperately that the re ntion of his near-death had shattered her composure.
She really won’t ever let go, Leon thought, feeling her steady breathing against his neck.
And surprisingly, he found he didn’t mind that at all.
As they approached their destination, the structure that materialized from the darkness caused Seraphine’s eyes to widen slightly, despite her emotional state. A miniature castle stood where there had been nothing before—compact but elegant.
How long did it take him to make this...? Seraphine thought, her analytical mind briefly overriding her emotional turmoil.
The castle was small, hardly more than a single large room enclosed in protective walls, but it was undeniably real. Leon pushed open the door with his shoulder, still carrying her, and stepped inside.
The interior was simple but comfortable. A king-sized bed dominated the space, its fra sturdy and the mattress covered in clean linens that seed far too luxurious for sothing that had been conjured in the middle of nowhere. Soft moonlight filtered through a single window, casting silver patterns across the floor.
"You made this," Seraphine murmured against his neck, not quite a question. "While I was... while I wasn’t paying attention."
He must have created this when my emotions were too overwhelming to notice, she realized. When I was too focused on him to sense the massive expenditure of mana this would have required.
But even as her mind catalogued this new impossibility, she pushed the thoughts away. The castle, the power it represented, the implications of what he could do—none of it mattered right now. All that mattered was him, solid and warm beneath her, carrying her toward rest.
Just focus on him, she told herself firmly. Everything else can wait.
Leon reached the bed and carefully lowered her onto it. Seraphine’s legs unwrapped from his waist reluctantly, and she found herself lying on the soft mattress, still in her full light armor. The tal plates pressed uncomfortably against her skin, the leather straps suddenly feeling restrictive and wrong.
She made no move to remove any of it, simply lying there and looking up at Leon with eyes that held nothing but love and exhaustion.
I should take this off, she thought distantly. But I don’t want to move...
Leon looked down at her, taking in her armored state, and sighed with fond exasperation. "You can’t sleep like that," he said gently.
Seraphine just continued to watch him, making no effort to help as he knelt beside the bed and began working on her armor. His fingers moved with practiced efficiency, undoing buckles and straps with the ease of soone who had done this before. The breastplate ca off first, lifted carefully over her head, followed by the shoulder guards and arm bracers.
The cool air of the room touched her skin as each piece was removed, but Seraphine barely registered it. Her eyes remained fixed on Leon’s face, watching the concentration in his expression as he worked, the gentle way his hands moved despite their capability for such devastating violence.
He’s taking care of , she thought, warmth blooming in her chest. My Leon is so gentle.
The thigh guards ca next, then the greaves covering her shins. Leon set each piece aside carefully, organizing them by the bedside. Finally, he reached for the padded under-armor she wore beneath the tal—a fitted shirt and pants that clung to her form.
He paused only for just a mont, his eyes flicking up to et hers as if confirming sothing.
Seraphine smiled slightly, her first genuine smile since she’d heard about his near-death. "Go ahead," she whispered.
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