Page 256 of Emylia

“Look closely—see how their wings twitch, just before the color shifts?”

He was right. There was a ripple, a millisecond flick of movement, just before the entire canopy shimmered in a different hue. Like they breathed in unison. After a few more steps, we stood directly beneath them.

“Think they’ll attack you like the air jellies?” I teased.

Maalikai’s mouth pulled into a scowl. “You do realize they onlydidn’tsting you because of your magik, right?”

“Supposedly. Or maybe they just liked me,” I shot back with a grin.

My fingers brushed the bark of Xayreia. Power surged beneath my skin—hot, pulsing.

Maalikai stepped forward, protective in an instant. “Is that a good idea?”

Before I could answer, the butterfliesdropped. A thousand tiny bodies fell like a wave, plummeting toward the ground in a blur of color and speed that defied logic.

Without thinking, I reached for Maalikai, yanking him against me as a shimmer of power flared to life. A sphere—pure, glittering light—snapped around us, shielding us as the butterflies barreled past, then spiraled away like a sea of fractured glass.

“What in Nexus,” I whispered.

“Princess…”

My gaze flew to his, drawn by the sudden gravity in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“You made a ward.”

I turned to him, heart still pounding. He was right. That protective shield—it had come fromme. Not consciously. I hadn’t summoned it.

But it had answered anyway.

“Fuck me.”

He leaned in, teeth brushing my ear. “That can be arranged.”

Heat surged through me, licking across my skin like wildfire. “Maalik,” I breathed, his name a fevered plea.

“Come on,” he said, the corner of his mouth curling. “I think it’s time we cooled down.”

I didn’t argue. Gods knew I needed it. Protecting him from all the deadly forest fluffies had worked up a sweat.

I trailed behind him, still half in a daze… until he peeled off his shirt. It hit the ground next to his sword. Then came his pants—leaving him in nothing but his underwear.

Gods almighty.

What in Nexus was he doing?

Then I remembered:cool downclearly meantswim.

I was fully on board to just stand there and watch.

Yep. Full creeper mode activated.

Sunlight kissed his bronzed skin, sliding down the ridges of his torso. His abs caught the light, each line carved with brutal precision—like they’d been sculpted by the hands of war itself.

I was lucky I wasn’t drooling.

Okay, I might’ve been.

Justseeinghim did things to my body I wasn’t proud of. He was destruction wrapped in temptation.

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