The forest beyond the city’s edge was still—too still. Streets gave way to dirt roads, then faded into moss-covered paths. The bartender hadn’t given me much—just that a cursed Zan? lived out here alone. Small. Sharp. Untouchable.

  It reminded me of others I’d met.

  I followed the trails until the earth turned soft beneath my steps, and the air grew heavy with magic. That’s when I saw her.

  She hovered beside the cracked roots of a dying oak, no rger than a curled hand, followed by her small A-cup breasts. Her pale gold hair fell in heavy waves around her like a cape. A gown of torn petals and mist clung to her frame, but from what I could smell, nothing was beneath. A thin crown of thorns sat upon her brow. Her body glowed faintly, not bright—but sharp.

  Defiant.

  She saw me instantly.

  “Turn back,” she said. Her voice was small, but it carried. “I don’t want company.”

  I kept still. Hands at my sides. My robe moved with the breeze.

  “I can leave if that’s what you want,” I said. “But I’d prefer to speak first.”

  She hovered closer, never losing that wary edge. “Most don’t ask.”

  “I’m not most.”

  She folded her arms, and the vines around her waist tightened. “What do you want?”

  “Only a conversation,” I answered. “Nothing more… unless you choose otherwise.”

  She circled me slowly, her feet barely disturbing the air.

  “You talk smooth,” she muttered.

  “Practice.”

  She nded on a low branch, arms crossed, expression unreadable. “You got a name, ground-walker?”

  “Lu Senzuvel.”

  She tasted the name as if uncertain whether it suited the shape of her mouth.

  “And you?” I asked. “Or should I call you Zan? until you say otherwise?”

  She looked like she might snap but stopped herself.

  “…Aurelina,” she said.

  I nodded once. “Aurelina. It suits you.”

  She huffed and looked away. “You can talk, Lu Senzuvel. That doesn’t mean I trust you.”

  “I don’t ask for that,” I said. “Only time.”

  She hovered again, this time above my open palm.

  “You’re bold,” she said.

  “Just careful.”

  Slowly, without touching her, I lifted my hand. She nded in it.

  She weighed nothing. But I felt her all the same—like the sharp edge of a secret that had never been cradled. Her body gave off a faint warmth. She sat, arms folded, rigid but not pulling away.

  I said nothing more.

  I moved toward the tree and sat with my back against it, careful not to jostle her. She didn’t leave.

  The silence between us was expectant.

  “I’m not the first to come here,” I said after a while.

  “No,” she replied. “The others bled.”

  I nodded. “Let me guess—grab first, speak second.”

  “Some didn’t speak at all.”

  “Then I’ll ensure I don’t end up like them.”

  She didn’t argue.

  “You’re not afraid,” she said again. Not a question.

  “No.”

  “You should be.”

  I looked down at her. “You’ve already shared more of yourself than most ever do.”

  She snorted. “I sat in your hand.”

  “You told me your name.”

  That made her pause. Her eyes lowered.

  “You’ll ruin it if you keep talking like that,” she said.

  “Then I’ll ruin it gently.”

  A sound escaped her—not quite a ugh, but not far off.

  She shifted, folding her legs beneath her.

  “I hate fake silence,” she said. “When people pretend not to look.”

  “I don’t fake anything. If I look, it’s because I want to see.”

  She stared at me.

  And I didn’t look away.

  “You talk like you’ve met monsters,” she said.

  “I have.”

  “And what am I?”

  “Someone who seeks comfort while not looking weak.”

  She didn’t reply.

  But she stayed.

  Her body rexed slightly. The glow around her dimmed to a steady pulse. Her legs stretched out across my palm. She y back, arms at her sides, head turned just enough to watch me.

  When I touched her leg again—a single finger from her knee to her ankle—she didn’t flinch.

  But I saw the tremble.

  “You could fly off,” I said softly.

  “I know.”

  “But you haven’t.”

  No reply.

  I let the silence return before I spoke again.

  “There’s something I can offer,” I said. “Only if you want it.”

  She turned her head, eyes narrowed. “Offer what?”

  “A glimpse. What it feels like to be wanted, touched, and held… as someone worthy.”

  Her breath caught.

  “I’m not offering pity. I mean intimacy. Love, if you want it. The kind that sees all of you.”

  “And how would you do that?” she asked, voice hushed.

  “Through my eyes,” I said. “If you’ll let me.”

  She didn’t speak.

  Then: a single nod.

  “Show me, then.”

  I looked into her.

  Desire’s Gaze.

  Her vision filled with light.

  She saw herself in my hand, writhing, breathless. Her body opened for worship, not control. My tongue traced her legs. Her glow fred with every cry. My lips caressing her thighs, my voice whispering her name. She saw herself grind against me, glowing brighter than any star, trembling under the weight of being adored.

  She saw herself straddling my palm, hips moving, tiny hands braced against my skin, moaning my name louder each time.

  She saw herself arching, spilling light, her body alive in ways it never had been.

  When the vision faded, her body shook. Her glow burned hot. She was panting in my palm, dazed.

  “I want it,” she whispered.

  I nodded. “Then let me give it to you.”

  She y back in my palm, glowing and breathless, her small body trembling from the vision alone. Her thighs were parted, and her chest rose and fell with shallow gasps. Her golden hair clung to her flushed skin like strands of starlight. She looked up at me, dazed but sure.

  “I want… more,” she whispered hoarsely. “But… different.”

  I loosened the sash around my waist.

  When I freed myself, her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened, awe repcing hesitation as she saw my fully erect cock.

  “That… won’t fit,” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching with something like nervous ughter.

  “It doesn’t have to,” I murmured. “Just feel me. If you want to.”

  She nodded once—small but definite.

  I adjusted my grip, ensuring she stayed safe and steady in my hand. She remained reclined, legs slightly spread, her body open and ready. Her arms shifted behind her to brace against my fingers, though she trembled.I brought her closer.

  The underside of my cock rested against her tiny folds. The heat between us radiated instantly. Her back arched on contact.

  A sound escaped her—sharp, needy, involuntary.

  Her body pressed harder into me, her glowing form grinding instinctively against the shaft that dwarfed her. The moment my cockhead slid up and down along her center, gliding gently across her clit, her voice broke.

  “Oh gods,” she whimpered. “That—feels—”

  I rocked my hips slowly, carefully.

  Still ying back in my palm, she matched my rhythm—her tiny frame moving with each pass. Her soaked folds traced along the underside of my length, her cries rising with every drag of friction. Her moans turned frantic, breath catching in broken gasps.

  Her fists clenched in the air.

  Her glow brightened, pulsing like a storm barely contained.

  Then she screamed—high, raw, euphoric—as she came.

  Her legs kicked, back arching with uncontrolble force. Nectar spilled from her, coating my shaft, slick and hot. Her body glowed white-hot with magic, flickers of energy snapping around her like sparks in the dark.I groaned.

  The feel of her trembling, soaked body grinding along me—so small, so powerful in her pleasure—pushed me dangerously close to the edge.I slid her up again, slowly, her back still ft against my palm. Her legs twitched with aftershocks. She was flushed and panting, her limbs sck—but she didn’t say stop.

  So I moved again.

  Each stroke dragged the length of my cock along her folds, from clit to navel and back again. She shivered with every pass, her body soaking more of me, her moans soft now—like she couldn’t speak louder if she tried.

  Her eyes fluttered. “Lu—” she moaned. “I can’t—keep—”

  “You don’t have to,” I whispered. “Just let it out.”

  She came again—smaller, shaking, almost silent. Her legs trembled uncontrolbly, her hips bucking against me weakly. Her hands pressed against the base of my shaft, trying to ground herself.

  I was close.

  I gripped the base of my cock, let her feel one st slow stroke—then groaned deep as I came, releasing thick, hot ropes of cum across my palm, over her legs, across her stomach, chest, even her face. She gasped, overwhelmed, her body shuddering with the weight of it.She y completely spent, her arms limp, her chest rising and falling in fast, short breaths. Her glow softened, settling into a warm pulse.I brought her to my chest and wrapped her gently in my robe, letting its silk cocoon her.

  She curled against me, arms hugging my thumb.

  Her voice came softly, muffled against my skin. “Am I… still dreaming?”

  “No,” I said. “You’re with me now.”

  And she stayed—safe, held, no longer feared… no longer alone.