Chapter 58: One Condition
Kyva returned to the Aquiline Quarters.
Just beyond the veranda, she found her master seated beneath the blossoming tree, dappled in shifting light and shadow. For a fleeting moment, she hoped the storm in his temperament had subsided.
First, it was Snowpuff, then her master. But at least Snowpuff had a much more valid reason to be upset than the inscrutable man ahead.
His incredulous words from the night before had lingered in her mind far longer than it should have, clinging stubbornly to her thoughts. Yet he made no effort to explain himself, nor to assure her that he had not suffered from some unseen injury. If anything, his silence had only deepened her concern.
She had been worried about him despite herself.
The last thing she needed was a master whose mind had begun to fracture. He was not suffering from any mental disorder, so she could not explain his mood swings.
Drawing closer to the veranda, Kyva averted her gaze, feigning ignorance of his presence beneath the flowering bough— as though, if she did not acknowledge him, she might pass unnoticed.
"Ow."
The soft exclamation slipped from her lips as something struck her squarely between the shoulders.
She turned at once, startled rather than hurt, her eyes searching for the source of the offense until it settled upon a small pebble resting beside her shoe. Bending slightly, she picked it up, her brows drawing together in confusion.
She looked up, just in time to lock gaze with the man settling under the tree, and the realization struck.
He—
He threw a pebble at her!
Beneath the flowering tree, Calhoun reclined with an air of careless authority, as though the world itself had arranged the scene for his leisure.A curious lightness lingered about him, no doubt a remnant of whatever indulgence he had entertained at the Bloom Quarter, but it did little to soften his unshakable pride.
He had been patiently waiting for his human to return to him, having missed her already despite being in her arms just a couple of hours ago. The familiar scent of her had reached his first, tickling his senses.
But the infuriating woman had dared to walk past him. And he was certain she had seen him. She knew he was here.
The insolence of it grated.
"Foolish woman," he uttered, his tone low and edged with disdain.
With the slightest move of his finger, a pebble stirred from the ground, carried by some unseen force.It lifted, hovered for the briefest breath, then shot forward to strike her squarely between the shoulders.
A petty act.
A deliberate one.
Yet, as the small stone made contact, the faint satisfaction that flickered across his expression was swiftly chased by something far less certain.
His gaze sharpened, almost imperceptibly, as he measured the force he had used.
He had not meant to hurt her.
Far from it.
But this woman—
She possessed an uncanny talent for testing the limits of his restraint.
When those blue eyes met his, his heart reacted with a quiet, treacherous thump, far too swift for his liking.
Even her glare was cute.
The realization unsettled him far more than he would openly admit. He, who had long since mastered himself, found his composure slipping over something as trivial as a look from her.
He could watch her frown, argue, make multiple expressions all day without ever growing weary.
It didn’t matter if she glared at him or scowled, so long as she looked at him. Her attention was what he needed, and now that he had it, however reluctant, she has no choice but to come to him now.
Kyva flicked the pebble aside, its soft clatter swallowed by the hush of the courtyard. Knowing she could not avoid the man now that she had been caught, she made her way toward him, each step measured and controlled.
Her eyes lingered briefly upon the faint, arrogant curve of his red-tinted lips, as though committing the insolence of it to her memory. A vein throbbed somewhere up in her temple at the sight.
He thinks throwing pebbles at someone is amusing?
She came to a stop before him and lowered her head in a slight bow.
"Master. I did not notice you."
"Of course you didn’t," he replied, languid and unbothered, his head resting against one hand as though the world itself existed for his convenience.
But those golden depths remained fixed on her, keen and unwavering.
He wasn’t wearing his fox mask today either.
"Sit," he offered, leaving no room for refusal as he patted the empty space beside him.
Kyva hesitated, for a breath, before lowering herself to sit at his side, reluctant and careful not to brush against him. She maintained a decent distance between the two of them, and Calhoun,though offended by the wall she put up between them, was willing to let that slide for now.
"Here."
He extended three books toward her.
Only then did she notice them, stacked neatly beside him as though they had been waiting for her all along. She accepted the books, acutely aware of the way their fingers brushed yet again.
The Aquiline crest was etched upon each one, yet a familiar crease formed between her delicate brows.
These books—
Her eyes lifted from the books to him, quiet suspicion flickering beneath her calm exterior. She had spent enough time in the library to know what the Aquiline crest upon each cover signified.
These books were not meant for hands like hers.
"Don’t worry," he said, as though reading the direction of her thoughts. His voice softened, but with a quiet assurance. "It’s just us here. No one will know."
Kyva’s fingers tightened slightly around the book, more dumbfounded by his response.
"Isn’t it... cheating?" she whispered, as if the blossoms might carry her words to the wrong ears.
Books like this were strictly restricted for new disciples, reserved only for the senior adepts who had already proven themselves worthy. Within them lay the stages of water cultivation, the refined methods, the hidden principles.... even the shortcuts that many spent years grasping blindly.
And he had simply—
Placed them in her hands.
Her gaze flicked between the books and his face, disbelief threading through her composure.
He truly gave her this?
Was he not afraid to face judgment?
If anyone discovered this, the consequences would not fall on her alone. Even he would not escape unscathed.
Yet he sat there as though it were nothing serious, as though the rules that bound others had never once applied to him. He was such a strange man. Plus, why was he doing all of this for her?
"Start reading today," he said, his tone leaving little room for argument. "Begin with the Rippling Stage. By tomorrow, we will test your progress." His gaze flicked briefly to the books in her hands. "And if you fear discovery, then keep them to yourself."
Kyva lowered her eyes to the covers once more, and temptation stirred.
But so did something else.
Something heavier.
This felt wrong.
Her reputation within the quarters had already begun to falter, and one more blow to it would not merely worsen matters, but it would condemn her entirely.
Besides...
She did not want this.
Not like this.
"No," she shook her head, the refusal soft but firm. "I can’t."
Carefully, she set the books down upon the blanket between them, as though they were something fragile.
"I appreciate that you would go this far to help me," she continued, her voice steady despite the weight of the moment. "But if others can advance without them... then why can’t I?"
The question lingered in the air.
And for the first time, Calhoun did not have an answer ready.
It caught him off guard.
To be honest, she could advance without them.
But Calhoun was not exactly a patient man.
He had never truly been.
Time, to him, was something to be bent, not endured, and waiting for her to stumble her way through each stage was a luxury he could not afford. Not when the stakes were... this high. Eventually, his secret would be revealed,and everyone will come to know his true identity.
She needed to grow stronger before that happened.
Not entirely for his sake—but for hers especially. So that when the moment came, when eyes inevitably turned toward her, no one would dare see her as a weakness to be exploited. He intended for her to be untouchable, so that he would come to have no regrets for having indulged in these feelings he could not simply get rid off.
But such thoughts were not meant for her ears.
"Fine," he said at last, conceding with her words.
With a careless flick of his fingers, the books dissolved into nothingness, vanishing from sight.
"But on one simple condition." His gaze settled on her, sharp and unwavering. "You will spend the rest of today with me."
Kyva blinked.
Little did she know, the cunning man was planning their first date.
