I found what I was looking for when I dove into Kai’s mind. It took him going through a dozen cycling methods—but I found it. Not enough to use it—but I found it.

  I also found things that I expected but couldn’t have possibly understood—and when it was over, I backed up and said, “I-I need to test this out on Sina,” and left.

  It felt rude, but it’s not like the guy was a vegetable. I wasn’t delving deep into his mind. I didn’t go searching for memories or emotions. I got the minimum standard package of things you get when you delve into anything—a blast of emotions and flash feelings—and he got some mild tickling sensations. When I left, he got up and chased after me, but I had something to do—and it wasn’t testing out the blueprint on Sina.

  The second I closed the door, I let my back crash into the wall, took a deep breath, and said, “Lithco… I need a new skill.”

  2.

  Kai knew Mira would hate him. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he had killed enough people that tips casual observers over the scale of “He’s a serial killer,” and into the realm of, “Damn, I respect that guy.” Not everyone respects it, though. There are always still people who hide their children when you get near them and others who sneer and spit or whisper behind your back. He was hoping Mira wasn’t one of them. He didn’t expect she would be—after all, she had killed a good many people herself.

  Still, he was reminded that what people think they can handle is different than what they can. And more sharply, what people think they want is not what they really want.

  It wasn’t just Kai’s secrets that could’ve thrown her off. If she felt his emotions, she might’ve felt the need to make a hard decision about their relationship—and it wasn’t necessary.

  It was obvious that Mira liked Kai—and also that she didn’t love him or have the time for a relationship. But that was okay with him.

  There hadn’t been any romance between them. Maybe if he got that kiss and she didn’t go away for three months, they might’ve had that. Maybe if he didn’t suck at threading and she didn’t need to use some mysterious elixir Kyro warned him not to talk about, there wouldn’t be a power dynamic. But those things did happen, and it cut off that fire that was building after spending so much time indoors together during the winter. So it wasn’t just Mira who lacked anchored, smitten emotions; he lacked them as well. That’s why it was frustrating that she could’ve been put off by that.

  He didn’t know, so he went out, bought some tea, said hi to Tyler, roamed the town a bit, and then brooded in his room, wishing he could time travel till the eight-hour mark when it was reasonable to knock on her door. It wasn’t great timing with her doing critical research, but…

  Mira owed him an explanation.

  She didn’t owe him anything else. If she wanted to never see him again, he’d silently hate his life, but he’d respect her wishes. But he just offered his mind to her, which, while incomparable to her saving him, was still extremely intimate. He didn’t think it was that much to ask. So he watched the time tick by.

  It was excruciatingly slow. So when he heard the knock, he was grateful to get a distraction. He still had five hours before he could go to Mira’s.

  Hell, he didn’t even care if the person was there to kill him. So he got up and opened the door, only to find Mira staring at him.

  “Oh, hey,” he said. “I… don’t know what to say. You want to—”

  “We need to talk.”

  Kai blinked a few times in confusion, but Mira had already pushed herself into his house, shut the door, and turned back to him. “Right now.”

  His heart pounded when he saw the primal intensity in her eyes. “Uh, sure.”

  “I can’t, under any circumstances, be in a normal relationship with you,” she said.

  Of course she went there, he thought with a grimace. Then, the second part of her statement hit him like a bolt of lightning.

  “I’m a guardian, a queen, a god’s candidate, I’m running a multiversal auction, I’m weak and I need power, so I’m risking my life, and I’m a trainwreck in all ways, shapes, and forms.”

  His heart pounded.

  “But if you’re okay with long breaks, not living together, and just—space—take me. Right now.”

  Kai had absolutely no clue what was going on—but his queen gave him an order—and he followed it.

  3.

  It’s reasonable to assume that if you’ve been a virgin for twenty-seven to twenty-eight years, you’ll have your first time with someone that you love. That there would be some great romance involved and that it would be “beautiful.”

  My first time wasn’t like that at all.

  It was primal, confusing, and absolutely everything that I needed.

  As we lay in bed afterward, breathing hard, pressed up against each other, I suddenly understood why most college girls spent their free time pursuing accidental pregnancies instead of enjoying the most illuminating years of their lives. I also felt vindicated for my behavior.

  It wasn’t quite impulsive. I spent three months in a house with him during the winter, thought about him for three months in Helfine, and yet I still waited when I returned. I only took the plunge when I got five things from his memory: One, the blueprint network that would give my family their magic back, something that was worth a borderline legendary elixir I never planned to use on myself. Two, a skull-load of sincere emotions indicating that he was serious about serving me for life. Three, gratitude for saving him. Four, confirmation that he liked me. And five, as he warned, a blast of primal sexual fantasies about me that brought out all the fantasies about him that I repressed.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  The last set sent my mind going haywire, and I went home to find some sort of magical birth control skill. It was what I wanted, what I needed, and I definitely didn’t regret it.

  It still wasn’t perfect. I didn’t feel like I communicated well enough, and I didn’t want to be selfish with my needs; we needed to compromise on something that was fair for the both of us.

  I just didn’t know what that was. I had zero relationship experience.

  I glanced at him and then stared at the ceiling, still breathing hard. “I liked that… a lot.”

  “Uh… yeah,” he said, chuckling and rubbing his nose. “Me too.”

  “And are you okay with… doing this without… a normal thing?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “And… being monogamous? ‘Cause I’ll only do monogamous. I want a relationship, I just have… duties.”

  He laughed and turned to me with a wide, sincere smile. “Use me.”

  I snorted. “Everyone says that, but they never mean it.”

  “Hoh? That’s what everyone says?”

  I blushed furiously. “Not to me, jerk!” I smacked him playfully, then laughed when he grinned back. “I was obviously a virgin. I just mean everyone else. Just because I didn’t sleep away my twenties didn’t mean that I didn’t hear people bitch, piss, and moan about ghosting and boundaries and things.”

  “Ah, that’s fair. I don’t know.” He stared at the ceiling. “I mean, I might feel that way, but… you’re being really reasonable. You want… a relationship… that’s good. You want monogamy, that’s ideal. And gods know I would take far, far worse terms to keep doing that. So… yeah. I’m fine with that. And I’m sure that you’ll set your boundaries, but…”

  “But what?”

  “You want to stay over tonight?”

  “I want to take tomorrow off.”

  He smirked. “If that’s what my queen wants, who am I to refuse?”

  4.

  I probably would’ve taken two days off if Trigan, and everyone else, weren’t worried that I disappeared without warning. When they did see me, they knew something had changed.

  I’m not sure what it is, but in high school, you could tell when girls lost their virginity. Like, out of the blue. You would just see them after a weekend and be like, “Wait… did you?” and it was the most bizarre phenomenon in the world. But it was true, and I found that out when I returned the second morning, and I was checking up on Tyler.

  He looked me up and down and said, “There’s something… different about you?”

  I gave him a poker face. “What? Am I… smiling or something?”

  “Well, kinda. No offense, but you’re extremely unapproachable in the mornings. Or really ever. You share your tight shoulders like it’s the flu.”

  You can always count on your siblings to tell you the truth no one else would dare to.

  “That’s… thanks, Tyler. I appreciate your rude honesty.”

  “Hey, I’m not sayin’ it like a greeting. I just mean that you’re not like that. Your body language seems… relax… ed. Wait… Where were you yesterday?”

  I blushed.

  He turned toward Kai’s house, and I blushed harder.

  “Knew it! I fucking knew it!”

  “You didn’t know shit.”

  “No offense, but everyone knew it,” Ferna said. The redhead was our diplomat, and she ran all communications between Serenflora, Helfine, and Wraithwood.

  I flushed and quickly switched the topic. “Is everything okay?” I said quickly. “I mean, I’m obviously glad to see you. It’s just that you rarely approach me off hand.”

  She laughed and flashed me a smile. This woman’s job was to read between the lines, and she was wildly experienced beyond my comprehension.

  “Yes, actually. The Nest wants to speak.”

  “Who’s… The Nest?”

  “The Vraxles.”

  My heart thumped.

  “Aiden has requested that we bring Halten back into the forest. It’s against The Nest’s vows and traditions, so you need to convince them.”

  “Oh, well, good thing that’s not a problem. I only humiliated them by restraining them in poisonous plants, but that’s no problem. I’m sure they’re also thrilled I can turn their home into a death trap.”

  Ferna smiled slightly. “It'll be harder than ideal, but easier than expected. You’re a guardian—a leader. As such, interacting with you isn’t the same as friends who have fought. They have to deal with you to avoid consequences, and by dealing with you, they can gain many advantages. They say today’s friends are tomorrow’s enemies, but it’s true in reverse—and right now you’re in between. You only need to tip the scale.”

  That was good news.

  “Okay, well, I assume you know what they want?”

  She smiled shrewdly. “It seems you’ve become a better leader. I do. I’ll prep you on the summit closer to the end of spring. It’s being held a week before summer.”

  “But I’ll be leaving during the summer.”

  She smirked. “That’s the point. Once your decisions are made and you’re unreachable, they’ll be forced to work with me, and I’m not as easily swayed.”

  I smirked. “I like it. As for gifts… should I start planning a trip into the Fifth Ring or something?”

  Her face paled, and her eyes sharpened. “Of course not! Don’t even talk like that.”

  I grinned at her chastisement.

  She rolled her eyes. “Besides, it’s not your gift to give. Start to finish, this summit is upon the request and work of Aiden Roe. You are only there as his acting guardian, and to stand behind his decisions and actions. I assume you will.”

  “Of course,” I said without hesitation. There were soul pacts that prevented Aiden from using his powers for the benefit of others seeking to conquer the forest. The only risk he posed was the information that Brexton could read between the lines—which wasn’t much. Aiden was trustworthy, and I would stand behind him—and protect him if necessary.

  “Good,” Ferna said. “I just wanted to touch base. Feel free to… carry on.” She grinned, and I blushed furiously. I didn’t think anything would be more embarrassing than me showing up with a new face, but I guess I was wrong. I prepared myself for a long week of gossip from the girls.

  I walked off after a few more jabs from my brother and remembered that, despite my constant declarations to the contrary, I didn’t have anything I had to do for Wraithwood. It ran itself.

  I wanted to go on a hike with Felio, but I had something I had to do before the summer.

  “Come out,” I said.

  Sina, Ryn, and Dain flew out of my hand and then stretched. Sina curled up in a ball underneath the sun, which she could feel, and Ryn yawned twice. Only Dain looked like he wanted attention. I petted him.

  The others seemed like they enjoyed being ghosts.

  “So… guess who has a bad personality and the key to your magic?”

  All of their eyes shot open.

  I grinned. “Let’s get to work, guys.”

  On KU, it will take readers two hours to figure out there isn't a grand ship, not a month. Writing serials has profound challenges for authors. I've also, through actionable feedback, made the request that she gave Kai a gold, and I'll be lowering the "borderline-legendary" effects down to epic. Beyond that, Wraithwood is a power fantasy. And that's that.

  In other news, there’s a cool new story out! You’ve probably seen it already, but it’s hella good.