The Norm Lands’ court was unusually tense.Word had spread:Empress Passion was missing from the morning court.Which meant only one thing: she was avoiding Kavan again.Beast and Dream exchanged a look as they walked down the long marble hall.Dream smirked.“Let me guess… Kavan is losing his mind because she didn’t answer his summons?”Beast rubbed his forehead.“The emperor has thrown two goblets, threatened three servants, and dismissed five concubines before breakfast.Dream… do not provoke him today.”Dream laughed.“You say that every day.”BEFORE COURT, SNAKE’S LETTERPassion sat in her private chamber, reading Snake’s familiar handwriting.Kayelsa,Do not forget why you are there.You are fire and root, burn when needed, charm when needed, but never forget: your mission is larger than love.— Snake.Beast peeked into her chamber.“Snake is brutal with words.”Dream flopped onto a cushion.“She won’t forget. She’s already controlling the emperor.”Passion shrugged lightly.“Ma

Freya quieted after Passion’s departure.The harem drums fell silent, Creature went back to brooding, and Center found new victims to annoy.But at the palace gates, two figures stood restless:Snake, calm but thoughtful,And Dragon, pacing like a caged beast.Slice approached, parchment in hand.“Evilside’s orders,”He said, handing the sealed scroll to Snake.Snake broke the wax.Dragon leaned over.“Another marriage mission? Again? We just survived Passion’s wedding!”Snake read the contents aloud.“We are to escort a bride from the Artisans Guild…to the lands of Payal, Goddess of Molten Lava.”Dragon groaned.“Hot. Troublesome. Volcanic. Perfect.”Slice smirked.“The bride is a rare one. High-ranking. Trained under Rebellion himself.”Snake raised a brow.“Rebellion doesn’t train many brides personally.”Slice nodded.“Exactly. That’s why you’re needed.She must arrive alive, unscathed, and not cause a volcanic eruption.”Dragon:“Sounds like a normal Liroid woman then.”Snake:“

The throne hall of Spline City rose like a temple carved inside a living volcano.Black basalt columns spiraled upward, glowing faintly at the edges where molten veins ran through them like liquid suns. The floor itself radiated a warm, steady pulse, Payal’s heartbeat.Snake, Dragon, Wildfire, and Fascination stood before the dais as King Varyon of Spline entered with the slow, measured steps of a ruler who feared nothing and forgot nothing.His eyes, a molten gold, rested on Wildfire, then drifted briefly to Snake and Dragon.A nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of his lips.“I knew a Liroid long ago… a legend among legends.”“Blood Liroid,” the king said, voice echoing across stone and flame.“He married a woman of this city centuries ago. Payal herself blessed his union and carved a gift upon his wrist, a mark worthy of a hero who saved our people from a raiding titan.”Snake bowed slightly.“Blood’s stories remain in our halls.”The king nodded.“Liroids are always welcome in S

Spline City breathed heat like a living furnace. Rivers of molten gold ran beneath glass bridges, humming with the voice of Payal’s molten heart. Towers carved from volcanic stone rose like dark spears against the red sky. Everywhere, the air shimmered with the scent of fire and iron.Dragon walked these streets as if he were both a stranger and an heir.His scales hummed beneath his skin, reacting to every ember, every flicker of lava, every whisper of a goddess who had once held him as an infant. He felt her power on the wind, familiar, terrifying, intimate.Snake watched him from a distance.They moved through the palace corridors carved from obsidian, their footsteps echoing alongside the rumble of magma deep below. Tapestries glowed with scenes of ancient wars, heroes forged in fire, lovers burned into myth.Dragon finally stopped beneath a high arch, hand pressed to the stone as if it could tell him who he was.“You’re breathing like a man drowning,” Snake said quietly.“I am,”

The night in Spline City tasted of molten air, iron, fire, and old grief.Dragon stood alone beneath Payal’s obsidian spires, the glow of lava rivers painting him in shades of red and gold. His heartbeat felt strange now… heavier, older… as if another flame had awakened inside him. His mother’s flame.He barely heard the footsteps until they stopped behind him.“Dragon.”Seven Swords’s voice was tired, too tired for a man who had survived centuries, wars, gods, and women fiercer than storms. Dragon didn’t turn.“You came to lecture me?” Dragon’s tone was a blade. “Or to lie again?”Seven Swords stepped beside him, hands clasped behind his back. His hair, silver at the temples now, moved in the heat winds.“No,” he said quietly. “I came to ask you something.”Dragon exhaled sharply, a growl hidden in the breath. “Ask.”Seven Swords looked at the glowing horizon as if searching for a memory buried there.“If you knew,” he began slowly, “that Linx could be saved only by giving up her imm