Shadow Slave: The red Goddess of War and her dragon

Nearly half an hour later, Kai was still sitting in the same cushioned chair beside Cassie. He smiled awkwardly, nodding along with the conversation that was unfolding before him, but his mind was too preoccupied to contribute anything meaningful.

Cassie meanwhile, remained silent, her gaze fixed on Effie and Morgan as they engaged in a heated argument. Kai assumed she had been mentally communicating with Neph ever since the argument had started, discussing something privately and ignoring the two tall women in the middle of the room.

Sigh

'This woman…' Kai sighed in exhaustion. 'She tells me to talk to her, then steals her away from me with all this unnecessary banter…'

"Antarctica was a lost cause anyway, but at least we saved some people," Morgan shrugged, crossing her arms under her chest indifferently.

Effie scoffed, likely biting back something she definitely shouldn't say. "Just to trap them in your daddy's Domain with no way out? You do realize not everyone who fled to Bastion from Antarctica actually wants to be there? Some people can't just go back -not because they don't want to, but because they don't want to get infected and die in the Trial."

The princess's brow twitched in clear irritation. She took a sharp breath, forcing herself to stay composed, then shot Effie a glare so sharp it could have cut through steel.

"If you want to keep talking about the Dream Realm, politics and ethics-" she pointed at the door behind her with a thumb, "-then go find someone outside this room to bore. But if you -so desperately- want my attention, then speak about something interesting, like battle."

Athena smirked, clearly amused, but before she could add anything Nephis intervened.

"Let's calm down. We aren't enemies to fight each other," she said with her usual calm and steady tone. Then, noticing Effie's smug smile, she cleared her throat and added, "Or at least we should try not to fight each other."

Morgan smirked -though the irritation in her eyes was burning as bright as a star- as she looked past Effie. "I wouldn't mind a fight against the famous Saint Raised by Wolves."

Kai was lost in his thoughts, no longer paying attention to the conversation as it went on. He fully trusted Neph and Cassie to handle things if the two of them seriously decided to fight.

Suddenly he felt a slight nudge on his elbow.

Snapping back to reality, he turned to the side and toward Cassie.

[Now might be the best moment]

He raised an eyebrow. [She is clearly mad, though…]

Cassie shook her head mentally before responding, her usual sweet voice echoing in his mind.

[Well, she isn't going to get any less mad at you if you don't make a move.]

Gulp

'She's not wrong,' Kai thought, his gaze shifting back to Morgan. 'At this point I either fix things or just give up.'

And Kai did not want to give up. If he did, he would have done so at least a week ago.

But he hadn't.

For some reason -one that was actually crystal clear to him, yet too terrifying to admit- Kai wanted to stick by the princess a little longer. As long as possible, actually.

'Phew… C'mon, Kai, you got this…' he told himself, trying to muster some needed confidence.

Clearing his throat, he pressed his hands against the soft armrests and pushed himself up. "Morga-"

Before he could even finish though, Morgan snapped her gaze toward him, her brows furrowing in clear frustration -like she had no desire to hear a single word from him.

Nearly stumbling back, he fought the overwhelming urge to just sit back down.

"Morgan," he repeated stubbornly, forcing an awkward smile. "How about a little walk outside? I'd really love to see your gardens."

It took every ounce of his courage not to stutter, but he somehow managed to get the ridiculous excuse out.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Effie's flabbergasted expression. She quickly shook it off, replacing it with a wide grin and a raised thumb, as if to say, "Good job!"

Morgan raised an eyebrow, her sharp gaze scanning him from head to toe, clearly taken aback by the pathetic excuse he had come up with.

Just as Kai braced himself to get rejected again, Morgan chuckled, amused by what Kai came up with to get her out. "Sure, as long as I don't have to endure your stupid friend."

Turning to Neph, she added, "I will be back soon, sister. Don't leave without telling me."

Then, shifting her gaze back to Kai, Morgan nodded toward a door near the bar -where Effie's husband was already downing his third bottle. That poor man was on the verge of passing out. 

Without asking any questions, Kai followed her command and stepped after her nervously. As he threw a quick glance back, he noticed his three friends smiling at him, and even Neph had a tiny tug at the corners of her lips.

---

"Your friend is really a handful. How did you manage to spend so many years alongside her?" Morgan said sharply, tugging a lock of her black hair behind her right ear. A small, sword-shaped crimson earring dangled from it.

Kai quickly looked forward -not wanting to come off as a creep staring at her- as they stepped onto a terrace made of white wood and marble. "She can be a bit much sometimes, that's true... especially her teasing," he said with a sheepish smile.

He tried to act calm, but if Morgan could see his heart at that moment, she'd probably think it was about to explode.

Before them stretched a vast garden -almost as big as a large field- filled with trees, bushes, and flowers of every kind. The moon hung high in the starless sky; its glow faint due to the pollution that obscured even the stars. Yet despite that, the bright orb's soft light stubbornly illuminated the sprawling garden before them.

Inhaling the cold air deeply, Morgan marched forward, stepping off the terrace. Kai followed closely behind, his mind racing as he wondered when exactly he should apologize.

'Would it spoil the mood now?' Kai thought indecisively. The longer he took to decide, the longer he stayed silent -and obviously, now wasn't really the best time to keep his mouth shut.

Clearing his throat, Kai looked at her back, the way her dress opened at the nape and followed down the spine for a bit, exposing glimpses of her ivory skin through the veil of her black hair.

"I actually kind of wanted to apologize fo-" Kai started, but was immediately cut off as she turned around.

At that moment, Morgan was as imposing and beautiful as anyone could get for him. Her sharp features and red eyes made her look dangerous, yet every other detail about her radiated a strange kind of beauty. 

In a way, she was similar to her brother -both carried the same intense and deadly presence- but at the same time, she was so different.

Kai's lips were slightly parted, but no words escaped them as Morgan's vermillion eyes seemed to cut into his very soul. Those two piercing orbs held all of his attention, leaving him fully captivated.

Morgan's pale skin seemed to glisten in the moonlight as she regarded him with a raised brow. "Is there something on my face? Stop staring." Her voice was slightly irritated.

His eyes widened as he snapped back to reality. Trying to calm his racing thoughts, Kai smiled awkwardly and uttered something without thinking first. "Sorry, I just couldn't help but admire you."

'Huh...' Kai thought, the realization hitting him a second too late. The base of his exposed neck immediately flushed a deep reddish hue in embarrassment.

"No. Wait, I didn't mean it lik-" he started mumbling apologetically, but Morgan cut him off.

The Princess snickered, her lips spreading into a devious smirk. "How bold all of a sudden." Not letting him say anything more, she added, "Much better than whatever the hell you were doing last time."

Her voice was clearly annoyed as she said the last part.

"And for your apology," Morgan pointed a finger at him, leaning on one leg as her other hand rested against her hip. "I don't need it. I want you to do something instead of just mumbling an apology like a little boy."

"Actions speak louder than words," she said with a smug smile, then looked aside for a brief moment as if lost in thought. "Or whatever it is that they usually say."

Kai was slightly flabbergasted, his expression frozen in confusion.

'What was that just now?' he thought, all his worry and nervousness replaced by a mix of confusion and slight amusement at the Princess's unexpected behaviour.