"Well, you shouldn't look past her." She repeated his words, squeezing his hands.

"How about you look at it, purely from a strategic standpoint, she's your single most valuable asset. Kayla is a Tier-One. Bonding with her is the most efficient path to power.

The surge you'd gain from her Vitae isn't something you can stumble upon easily."

She leaned closer, her breath warm against his ear, her body pressing against him with deliberate intent. The curve of her breasts brushed his chest as she shifted. Her violet eyes locked onto his, intense and unwavering.

"The stronger you are, the safer you are." She said, and Zaeryn knew for a fact, there was a lot of truth in her words.

If he was strong enough to defend himself and fight anything, then he was safer from this world, from whatever enemies he was going to make at the academy, and more importantly, from his mother's family and the Matriarch Tribunal when they inevitably find out about him.

This wasn't about liking Kayla. It was about survival. And maybe Sage was right, and he should seriously think about making her one of his priorities. However just the thought of him, forgetting her dislike towards him so easily didn't sit right with him.

He didn't even think too much about her words before he brushed them away. "No," Zaeryn responded, his voice low but final, his hand sliding to her hip, fingers digging in just enough to feel the heat of her skin through the thin fabric of her leggings.

He shifted beneath her, pulling her tighter into his lap, but his gaze held steady, serious.

"That's where you're wrong." He met her eyes, the air between them thickening with unspoken tension. "Let's not talk about her right now. You're ruining my mood." He let out a heavy sigh, his thumb tracing lazy circles on her thigh. "Why don't you suggest other targets instead? We'll see if they're achievable."

Sage studied him for a moment, her lips parting as if to argue, but she bit it back, her body relaxing against his instead. "Fine," she conceded, though her tone carried a hint of playful exasperation. "But you're being stubborn about this. As always"

"I'm being sane," he countered, a smirk tugging at his lips. No matter how he would look at it, his ego just would not allow that.

"Debatable." She leaned her head on his chest, refocusing with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Alright. It's not about whether they're achievable or not. I believe no one is truly immune to you, you could bed anyone you set your sights on. But for bonding, you need to choose wisely. Only those powerful enough to amplify your Vitae, to make you unstoppable."

"Yeah, that has been the plan," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave as his hand slipped under her coat, fingers exploring the smooth skin of her lower back.

He'd been mulling it over himself. Bonding was sacred, and permanent, but his sex life? That was his to enjoy freely.

He'd fuck whoever caught his eye. There didn't need to be strings attached, savoring the thrill without the commitment. But bonds... those he reserved for the ones who could elevate him.

And the two people he would never want to be his bond mate were Kayla, or Zia, the council member.

Although he literally did not know much about Zia, his one encounter with her was enough for him to decide that she was a nasty person. Hell, the woman spoke to him like she knew him well enough to know he was an arrogant anomaly who needed to be put in his place.

"I think High Commander Lysara is my endgame," he said, his breath hot against her collarbone, "She's a Tier-One outlier, a political powerhouse. But she's a fortress. Honestly I think she might be out of my league, I don't think she would be interested in anything romantic. I'll treat her like a long-term project."

Sage smiled. She liked this side of him, the calculated hunter beneath the charm. "She could more than make up for Kayla. But imagine if you could harness both their powers? Kayla's raw strength and then Lysara can use political influence..."

Zaeryn's expression darkened instantly. He pulled back just enough to break the intimate haze, his hand dropping from her hip, the sudden distance like a chill in the air. "Sage," he said, his tone flat and final, laced with warning. "Stop talking about Kayla. We're done with that topic."

"Alright, sorry," she whispered, her hands sliding down his chest in apology, reigniting the spark. She realized now how deep his dislike for Kayla ran. There was no room for debate. Shifting in his lap again, she pressed her thighs against him, her voice turning conspiratorial, husky with desire. "Who else do you think would make a good ally? Or bond mate?"

"Apart from Lysara, there are the other council members," he replied, his smirk returning as the tension eased. His hands found her waist again, pulling her flush against him, feeling her heat through their clothes. "They'd be a massive power gain."

Sage's eyes lit up, the strategist in her fully engaged now, even as her body responded to his touch. "Excellent. The Council is a treasure trove, political leverage, high-tier Vitae. Every one of them is a high-value target."

Zaeryn chuckled, low and throaty, his fingers tracing the curve of her hip before dipping lower, teasing the edge of her skirt. "You make it sound like a campaign."

"It is," she breathed her voice a sultry whisper. "Your life is a campaign now. And I'm your strategist... among other things."

"Anyways, I think Daphne is my easiest point of entry into the citadel," he continued. "We already get along, and I'm sure the High Commander knows about our... connection. I can use her as an excuse to visit the Citadel and try to..." He paused, searching for the right word, "Form relationships."

It sounded lame even to him, the idea of scheming his way into their beds and bonds felt pathetic, but what choice did he have? Sit back and wait for the Tribunal to come knocking? No. He'd play the game, seduce his way to safety.

"You got it," Sage purred, her breath hitching as his fingers explored further, stoking the fire between them. "Seduce as many council members as you can. Bond with the ones who'll make you a god among everyone."

She captured his mouth in a deep, hungry kiss, her body arching into him, the conversation dissolving into raw need.

When they pulled back from the kiss, her expression turned thoughtful and he could tell that she was about to come up with some idea.

And surely enough, she had something. "I think Cassia should be on your list," Sage said, her voice normal, as if she didn't just say something so taboo like asking her boyfriend to be in a relationship with her mom,"And maybe… my sister." She finished.

Zaeryn didn't respond immediately as he was so shocked that he had no words.

"What? Are you crazy?" Finally finding his voice, Zaeryn shot back, pulling away slightly to look at her. "Your mom? The woman who called me a 'pet' and looks at me like I'm a lab spill?"

"Yes, her. The same Cassia Stellan." She said, "Think about it strategically," she insisted, her eyes gleaming. "With Cassia on your side as a bond mate, you'd practically have influence over all of Stellan Innovations.

And the Queendom needs Stellan Innovations. It's the ultimate leverage. You would literally have her protection."

"And you're okay with that? Me, and your mom?" he asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

"More than okay. I want it to happen," she said, her expression surprisingly earnest. "I've thought about it a couple of times. She's my mother, and you're the most important person in my life. I want the people I care about to get along." Her lips then curved into a wicked, vengeful smile. "Besides, wouldn't you enjoy having someone like her? She's always so rude to you. Imagine making her beg."

In all honesty, Zaeryn had never, in his wildest or most absurd fantasies, considered seducing his girlfriend's mother. But now that Sage had put the idea on the table, a dark, thrilling part of him knew it was something he intended to pursue.

"And your sister?" he pressed, his voice rougher now, testing her. "What's the angle there?"

Sage's lips curled into a sly, knowing smile. Her fingers trailed down his chest, teasing the edge of his uniform. "Ah, Ivy," she began, her smile turning softer, more genuine, but her eyes held a firm resolve. "She's the exception that proves the rule."

She paused, meeting his gaze directly, with a seductive glint, "From a purely strategic standpoint, she's a Tier five. Bonding with her won't give you a significant power boost like the others. But this one isn't about strategy, Zaeryn. It's about family, I don't want her to be left out."

Zaeryn let out a low, incredulous laugh, shaking his head. "You're unbelievable. You're sitting here, planning out how I should fuck your family to climb the ladder. You don't see anything wrong with that?"

Princess Viora walked through the halls of the palace, her steps quick and precise, her mind a maelstrom of fractured loyalties.

Treason. The word echoed in her mind, cold and sharp.

No matter how many times she tried to make herself feel better. She just couldn't. Because her mother, the future Queen, had not just broken the most sacred law of the matriarchal order; she had poisoned the entire family with her secret.

Today she came to find out that, the Queen's coldness, the constant tension, the chasm that ran through the heart of the Lumina line all had a name now. Zaeryn. He wasn't here to cause them directly, but that didn't mean he wasn't to blame, because his existence alone was enough.

The word , 'brother' still tasted weird and foreign in her mouth. He wasn't family; he was a walking calamity, a secret that had torn them apart from the inside out. And now, the burden of that secret was hers.

And now that she thought about it, she could only blame him for another thing, for Athea turning into a less caring mother. She remembers that Athea always showed Aphrodite all the love and Viora barely got any. She put all that blame on Zaeryn.

Her path led her to the crystal arena, the site of her morning's death-combat session. The air was still cool, carrying the faint, metallic scent of ozone and shattered ice. It was empty now, the polished crystal floor gleaming under the palace's ambient light.

This was her sanctuary, the one place where thought could be silenced by action. Here she was allowed to vent with no consequences, and it's what she came here to do.

She didn't summon a sparring partner. She strode to the central console.

"Activate combat simulation. Vorthak swarm. Level nine," she commanded, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

>WARNING: LEVEL NINE SIMULATION IS RATED FOR A FULL SQUAD OF TIER-TWO WARLADIES. ARE YOU SURE?

The artificial intelligence voice chimed.

"Confirm."

The arena floor shimmered. Hard-light constructs flickered into existence, dozens of them, hulking Vorthak shapes with crystalline fangs and razor-sharp claws.

Viora didn't wait for them to fully form.

A storm of pure, unrestrained ice magic exploded from her, not with the surgical precision of her training, but with raw, unrestrained cold fury.

The temperature plummeted faster than Athea could come up with a lie.

Shards of ice the size of daggers came down down, shattering against the Vorthak constructs. She teleported into the heart of the swarm, a sharp blade of pure winter in her hand, and began to cut them down.

She fought not with tactics, but with rage. Every parry, every thrust, every wave of freezing energy was a release. She was shattering the face of her mother's betrayal, the Queen's silent complicity, and the ghost of the boy who was the source of it all.

But for every construct she destroyed, two more flickered into existence. The simulation was relentless, designed to overwhelm. She was panting now, the edges of her vision starting to blur from the sheer exertion.

She was losing. And she didn't care.

For a moment, as a hard-light claw raked across her arm, the pain was a welcome, clarifying shock. In this arena, the enemy was clear. The objective was simple: destroy or be destroyed.

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