Chapter 3

Lillia's POV

A beast companion raised on my mana and fed with my best resources, and he's baring his fangs at me over some ordinary girl he's known for less than three days.

Brom clocks the shift in the air and grabs Vex's arm, hissing under his breath. "Vex, are you out of your mind? Put them away. Now."

Vex snaps back to reality. The red drains from his eyes, replaced by something he can't quite hide — pure panic. He drops his head and pulls back the fangs and claws, but his body stays stubbornly planted in front of Ivy.

"M-Master… I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight." His voice has a slight tremor. He knows exactly what my temper is like. He knows exactly what happens when someone crosses me.

I laugh, but there's nothing warm in it. I point down at the Moonlight Herb lying ruined on the ground. "My own companion, siding with a stranger against me? That herb was the only thing that could have fixed my mana core. A plant, you said? You could dig up ten thousand of them and it still wouldn't come close."

Ivy is still cowering behind Vex, pressing her swollen cheek with one hand, tears streaming down her face. "Lillia, this is all my fault — please don't blame Vex and Brom. They were just trying to be kind… I'll go. I'll stay out of your way. You won't have to see me again."

She pulls free from Vex's hand and stumbles out, the picture of misery.

"Ivy!" Vex takes one step after her on instinct, then catches my eye and stops himself cold.

He and Brom both drop to their knees in front of me.

"Master, Ivy genuinely didn't know what she was doing. She just got here — she doesn't understand anything yet. We'll figure out how to make it up to you. Please. Just give us one more chance." Vex's voice is low and desperate.

I look at them both, and all I feel is sick.

"Make it right? With what? That little sliver of loyalty you've got left?" I let out a cold laugh and pull the Guild's highest enforcement token from my spatial ring.

"A beast that won't behave isn't worth reasoning with. Take what's coming."

"Master!" Both their heads jerk up, eyes wide with fear.

The Guild has no shortage of ways to punish a rogue companion, and the token in my hand is the worst of them. It activates the estate's array and calls down wave after wave of thunder whips. Pure lightning-attribute mana. There isn't a single beastkin alive who can take that without breaking.

My mom told them both the day they moved in: thirty lashes minimum. Enough to put them in bed for two weeks. The kind of pain that goes straight to the soul and never really leaves.

Clearly, they forgot.

"I said shut up." I turn my back on them.

The moment the words leave my mouth, violent lightning-attribute mana gathers overhead. Two thick bolts of purple electricity crack down like whips across Vex and Brom's backs.

Their cries follow me out. I don't slow down once.

I head straight through the courtyard to the guest room at the far end of the estate.

I push open the door. The room carries a faint trace of blood underneath something clean and sharp — pine and ice, like cold air off a mountain.

He's been cleaned up and changed into a loose black robe. He's leaning back against the headboard, eyes shut, face so pale it's almost translucent. But the face itself is something else. Strong nose, sharp jaw, and even unconscious, there's a furrow between his brows that makes him look like he's daring the world to try him.

I walk over, sit on the edge of the bed, and reach out before I can think better of it. I just want to poke those abs. Just once.

My fingertip gets close enough to feel the warmth off his skin — and his eyes open.

Dark gold. Slit pupils. The kind of eyes that make you feel like something is looking through you, not at you.

I freeze, hand still in the air.

He stares at me, voice rough and raw. "Back off."

I blink. Then I lean in closer.

"Pretty face, nasty attitude." I glance down at his open collar.

There's a wound there, deep enough to see bone, the edges scorched with residual mana burns. My mom's work, from when she had to bring him down.

Looking at it, I feel a twinge of guilt. I'm the one who insisted on dragging him here.

I pull a bottle of Life Water and some high-grade mana jerky from my spatial ring.

"Hey, don't be like that. I'm your master now — name's Lillia." I uncap the bottle and pour it directly onto the wound.

He sucks in a sharp breath. His pupils contract. He tries to move and gets nowhere — his body has nothing left to fight with.

"You're dead," he grits out.

"Quiet. Eat something." I ignore the threat entirely, pick up a piece of jerky, and press it to his mouth.

He turns his head away, looking deeply offended.

"Not gonna eat? Fine. I'll make you." I grab his jaw and push the jerky in.

His eyes go wide — like he genuinely cannot believe I just did that. He tries to spit it out. I clap my hand over his mouth and hold it there.