BOOOM!
A high-yield magical explosion slammed into the ceiling of the antique shop, collapsing the old wooden structure and setting the narrow alley of the Dark Market ablaze in an instant.
Black, poisonous ice shards came raining down like a storm of daggers through the thick smoke.
"Look out!"
Before Serin could draw breath to cast a protective spell, a broad-shouldered shadow lunged at her.
Kaelen wrapped Serin tightly in his arms, twisting them in midair until his own back slammed hard against the stone floor.
The man's powerful body became a living shield, taking the impact of burning timber and poisonous ice crystals against his back and shoulders.
ARGH!
A pained groan escaped Kaelen's tightly clenched jaw. The poisonous chill from the enemy's ice crystals immediately ate through his tactical uniform, searing the skin of his back until black vapor rose from it.
Thick smoke filled the air, making Serin's throat itch and burn. She lay rigid in Kaelen's embrace. The scent of fresh blood mingled with tobacco and rusted iron, stabbing at her senses.
Against her chest, she could feel Kaelen's heartbeat pounding wildly, irregularly—and growing weaker.
Through the billowing smoke surrounding them, unfamiliar figures in black robes began circling the wreckage.
The attackers raised magic staffs tipped with dark ice crystals, intent on making certain their target would never breathe again. Their footsteps were slow, ringing with a cold clang against the poisoned rubble.
Kaelen—his consciousness nearly drained away—opened one bleary eye. With the last of his strength, he pulled a tactical dagger from behind his waist.
His movements were painfully slow, driven by pure instinct to protect the woman beneath him.
"Stay... beneath me..." Kaelen rasped, channeling the remnants of his pure ice magic into the blade until it shone with a blazing blue glow.
Before the attackers could unleash another magical blast, Kaelen drove his dagger into the underground marble floor.
A shockwave of ice spikes shot horizontally from the point of impact, stabbing through and instantly freezing the attackers' legs.
A temporary ice barricade formed around them, holding back the enemy assault for a few moments and trapping Serin and Kaelen inside a cramped space that was relatively safe.
The reckless move consumed the last of Kaelen's strength. The man's head drooped limply, coming to rest against Serin's neck.
"Kaelen..." Serin whispered as pure panic suddenly seized her chest.
Serin gently pushed against Kaelen's chest, trying to see his face through the darkness of the wreckage. His eyelids were half-closed, and his gray irises were beginning to turn white as his consciousness was slowly eroded by the ice poison racing toward his brain.
The man's full lips had turned blue, and he exhaled a heavy breath as cold as ice.
"Don't... close your eyes!" Serin snapped, her trembling fingers clutching Kaelen's uniform collar.
Kaelen's breathing grew more labored, dwindling to a faint sigh barely audible. The ancient ice poison had locked the Commander's airways.
At the height of her panic, under the pressure of a storm of conflicting emotions—rage over the truth of the past and terror at the thought of losing this man—Serin's rationality crumbled.
She knew the ice poison would kill Kaelen's nerves within seconds if it wasn't neutralized from within.
Serin cupped Kaelen's freezing cheeks with her fingers, which glowed with soothing warmth. She lowered her head, erasing the last sliver of distance between their faces.
Serin's lips pressed firmly against Kaelen's cold, lifeless ones.
Serin breathed an antidotal spell into him, forcing pure warmth from her lungs directly into Kaelen's throat. This was more than physical contact—it was a dangerous, high-level transfer of life energy.
Yet the reaction that followed was completely beyond their control.
The instant their lips met, a mystical shockwave exploded from the point of contact. The Peach Blossom Tattoo on Serin's chest pulsed violently, radiating a blazing golden light that pierced through her dress.
At the same time, the ice-magic core in Kaelen's blood responded to that radiance aggressively.
DUB-DUB!
A single, shared heartbeat thundered through both their chests. Two opposing elements—the fire of the Peach Blossom and the Ancient Ice—collided violently within the forbidden bond of union.
Serin's eyes flew open against Kaelen's lips. Excruciating pain exploded through her veins, as if the Peach Blossom Tattoo on her chest were being torn apart by blazing iron hooks.
The curse in her body was no longer dormant. It awakened in full fury, threatening to burn all of Serin's internal organs from the inside out.
NO! That kiss made Serin's curse flare up again! What do you think will happen in Chapter 8?