RE: Monarch-Chapter 251: Fracture LVI

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But it also implied that, even for a second, the thing wasn't looking at me at all.

I lowered my shoulder and tackled it artlessly, intending to use the distraction to brute force my way through any obstacle. It gave some but never yielded, instead, exerting sudden overwhelming pressure on my shoulders attempting to counter my momentum and shove me face first down into the floor. I whipped away, barely avoiding the reversal, and backpedaled across the room as balance left me. My bare back collided with the mirror, sending a long fissure spider-webbing to either side. Warm blood dripped from the resulting gash as I lashed out for balance, overturning a pitcher filled with boiling water that hissed as it poured over the heated stones, filling the air with thickening mist.

A tendril of darkness slashed an X through the mist, creating an opening. The figure stepped through it. As it approached, the wreath of shadow that covered its face receded, revealing violet features that were immediately familiar. "Has there not been enough conquest for the day, Ni'lend?"

I forced myself to relax, though the smile was slow to come, and it took considerable effort to pry my own fingers off the pitcher's handle as I set it down. "Apologies, for the bucket."

"Apologies to the bucket. I get the impression I've startled you from rest." She murmured. Her eyes scanned me up and down only once before coming to rest on my face.

There was something different about her. Something difficult to place. It wasn't the attire, though the dark flowing slip she wore that shimmered in the mana-light was certainly pleasing to the eye. It was her air. The gentle gravity of her presence. Typically Maya comported herself with seemingly effortless confidence around nobles in public, all wit and charm, but observing the way she sort of deflated afterward, shrunk into herself once she was away from watchful eyes, revealed it to be not so effortless after all.

I caught a glimpse of her as she circled behind me and used a flash of life magic to mend the cut on my back. Her light eyes danced with amusement and something else—she carried herself with the same confidence she displayed when addressing a room full of nobles. Only there was no audience left to witness it.

"You often catch me off-guard. It's one of your many charms. Is everything alright?" Suddenly very aware of my nudity, I reached for the towel beside the heated rocks. To my surprise, a small tendril of shadow stopped me, wrapping around my wrist in a similar manner to the way her tail moved.

"It is." She cocked her head, glancing towards the steaming pool. "Don't stop on my account. Only a monster would deny a man his bath after what we just went through."

I snorted. "So you can ogle me as I lounge? How scandalous."

"Then we shall ogle equally." Maya turned her back on me and ascended the quartet of stairs. With every step, the dark slip she wore dissipated, her violet coloring aubergine in the soft light, the fading white scars that accented her skin growing more numerous until every curve and line of her was on full display, the cruelly fleeting moment fading as she sunk down into the water, careful to keep the dark braid of her hair over the side. I realized I'd been standing there, dumbstruck, for entirely too long. "Do you intend to join me?"

"Ah. Yes." I swallowed, not used to being so easily flustered. Still, I managed to move, and with effort, quickly followed after her. By the mercy of the gods, she was kind enough not to openly stare as I stepped into the tub, drawing her knees to her chest and hugging them as I settled in.