Chapter 36: THE LOST SHEEP (18+)
The moon hung low over the cracked windows, spilling pale silver light across the bare, reclaimed floorboards of Raiven’s former room. The once-imposing space, stripped of its opulence, now felt like the interior of a temple or a den.
Yomi sat cross-legged in the centre, his breath steady but his pulse pounding beneath the stillness. The last threads of chaotic Ki still curled in his chest like black serpents, coiled and restless. They writhed just beneath his skin, begging to be tamed or fed.
A soft knock stirred the silence.
He opened his eyes slowly. "Come."
Lirien stepped through the door.
She looked like a fevered dream, the aftermath of discipline and desire in one trembling form. Her training shirt clung to her flushed skin, translucent with sweat, darkening around her heaving chest. Her nipples, stiff and betraying, pressed against the fabric, visibly hardened beneath her damp tunic. Strands of pink hair stuck to her cheeks and neck. Her thighs pressed together instinctively, her breath a touch too deep for composure.
"You wanted to see me," she said. Her voice was calm, but tension leaked from every pore.
Yomi’s gaze traveled the length of her frame, not with hunger, but with assessment. Predator’s focus. His Ki pulsed in response to her presence.
"I need your help," he said plainly. "I don’t understand this world. I’ll need someone to navigate it until I’m ready."