CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: THE SISTER HE NEVER KNEW

The kiss lingered, Ysmeine’s lips soft yet delicious as they pressed against Zaeryn’s, the warm water making the heat between them intensify.

This time, he didn’t just sit still and accept it; he kissed her back. He was tentative at first, then firmer, his lips parting against hers in a way that sent a sharp jolt through both of them.

The candlelight flickered, casting golden shadows across her glistening skin as she pulled back slightly, her arm still looped around him. Her smoky green eyes searched his face, her breath coming uneven now. For the first time, she saw him as more than just the kid she had been caring for. Now, she looked at him as a man, a quiet, unspoken desire swirling in her gaze.

Her wet hand rose from the water to cup his cheek, thumb brushing over his jaw as though memorizing the lines of it. The innocent pecks she used to give him were gone, replaced by something charged, something that made her heart race.

Zaeryn shifted closer, their bodies now fully pressed together as he leaned in, closing the gap again. His lips grazed hers with deliberate slowness. She shivered, not from the water, but from the warmth radiating off him. Her thigh slipped alongside his beneath the surface as she turned more fully toward him, testing whether he’d pull back.

He didn’t.

Her other hand slipped along his chest under the water, palm flattening against the solid warmth there, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat. The boy she used to comfort was gone. This was a man, answering her kiss with a fire of his own.

The bath’s ripples swelled around them, carrying the heat higher as she pressed her body closer against his, their lips meeting again—longer, deeper, lingering in a way that left no room for innocence anymore.

Zaeryn’s lips moved with more confidence now, and suddenly, his tongue brushed hers.

Ysmeine froze for a heartbeat, surprised, before heat rushed through her. She hadn’t expected him to be so bold—so... forward. And unlike in the past, whenever she kissed him now, it made her feel something she didn’t expect. Even being close to him made her feel things she had never felt before.

Her lips moved against his, a single soft moan escaping her throat that she couldn’t help, ’mmm...’ The kiss deepened, tongues dancing together, playful yet charged, sending shivers down her spine. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she shifted to face him more directly, her body pressing closer as she realized he wasn’t holding back.

His hands slid over her sides beneath the water, teasing the curve of her waist, drifting higher until his palms cupped her breasts under the surface.

She gasped, tilting her head back as she gave him better access to her lower lip.

When they finally pulled apart, both breathless, Ysmeine remained close, their foreheads nearly touching. A teasing smile curled on her lips. "Hmm... impressive," she murmured, fingers brushing a lock of wet hair from her face. "You’ve... grown. And it looks like Sage has been teaching you some... naughty kissing technique’s I see."

Zaeryn’s cheeks colored slightly, but a sly grin spread across his face. "Maybe, who knows," he replied, voice low, teasing.

Ysmeine’s laugh was soft, teasing, and full of delight as she settled back against him, still intimately close. "I’ll have to... see what else you’ve learned soon."

—-

Not long after, Zaeryn and Ysmeine moved out of the bathtub. Both dressed, they were now sitting on her bed with Zaeryn lying across her lap. She sat up against the headboard, one hand gently stroking his damp hair while the other rested on his chest.

"Zaeryn..." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper, "You said you can mimic Vitae through bonds... Does that mean—?" She trailed off, her fingers brushing his cheek.

He swallowed hard, looking up into her smoky green eyes. "Yes. When we kissed... I felt it. But I already had your signature, so it was more like I was recharging my reserve."

"Your reserve?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yes. It’s like an internal energy pool or something like that," he explained.

Ysmeine nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on his face. A spark of wonder flickered through her concern. By now, she had already accepted that Zaeryn was a vitae wielder. It was still strange, after all, he was a male, and wielding vitae was supposed to be impossible for him. But despite the confusion, all she felt now was pride. He always was different to her.

She looked down at him, a teasing glint in her eyes. "You said you gained another ability today. So whose Vitae signature did you mimic?"

Zaeryn hesitated, his heart pounding against her palm, but her expectant smile pushed him forward. "Daphne’s." He didn’t want to say that he had absorbed it through sex. He was afraid she might look at him differently. The last thing he needed was her thinking he had incubus powers after all.

Her expression shifted, something sharp flickering across her features when she heard that name. Her hand stilled in his hair. "Daphne? That chief scientist who wanted to treat you as a threat, or a lab rat?"

"Yes, but we get along now. She doesn’t see me that way anymore," he said quietly.

Ysmeine’s jaw tightened slightly. She didn’t get that impression from Daphne at all. The woman seemed more interested in keeping him as her research subject than actually caring about him. "Are you sure about that?"

Something told Ysmeine that Zaeryn might not be safe if he trusted her.

"Yes, I trust her. And I know it sounds naive, but I’m convinced I can. After all, I can’t mimic her vitae signature unless she feels a bond with me too," he said earnestly.

"Oh, you mean, you can’t just mimic vitae by kissing someone, they have to feel things for you?"

"Yes, I can’t. We have to have a strong bond." He explained, "So you see, now that I have Daphne’s vitae signature, that means she feels something for me."

"Tell me all about it."

"Hmmm?" Zaeryn looked confused.

"Tell me about how you absorbed her vitae. I’m sure she didn’t just suddenly decide to have feelings for you."

"Well, yeah.... We... kissed?" He responded, still holding something back.

"Oh, is that so? Was that all?" Her tone grew more pointed.

"Then.... We had sex." He admitted reluctantly. "But, she already felt something before that, and the intimate moment only made her accept that," he added quickly.

Ysmeine’s fingers paused in his hair for a moment, her jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. A flicker of something dark crossed her eyes before she let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

"Well," she said with a wry smile, her tone light but with an edge underneath, "I suppose it was only a matter of time before you started catching the eye of multiple sexual partners." She stroked his hair again, her touch gentle. "After all, you’re the only male in our family. I always knew this day would come—women throwing themselves at you left and right."

Her smile widened, though there was something possessive in her gaze as she looked down at him. "Just promise me you’ll be careful who you let into that collection of yours."

Zaeryn was surprised by that statement about him having multiple partners. Still he just laughed it off and said, "I promise I will. And don’t worry about Daphne." he said, "Although I’ll admit, at first she only wanted to get close to me after she found out I’m Athea’s son."

"Of course she did. I can read people like that, dear. I think you should be careful—she might still be trying to get close to you for the wrong reasons, and I believe she is." Ysmeine’s voice carried the weight of someone who’d seen too many people try to use the ones she loved.

"Okay." Zaeryn’s voice grew quieter, more hesitant. "And speaking of Athea... How did the conversation with her go? Why did she suddenly help?"

Ysmeine’s expression hardened, her hand stilling in his hair. "I had to persuade her, honey." She sighed heavily, as if the memory itself was exhausting.

"I think we should forget about her for now," Zaeryn said, trying to sound casual but failing to hide the hurt in his voice. "It’s like she doesn’t care."

Ysmeine’s heart ached seeing the pain he tried so hard to hide. She leaned down and kissed his forehead gently. "Don’t be ridiculous, honey. She cares. She’s just..." Ysmeine hesitated, her own doubts creeping in, "occupied with royal matters. But I can promise you that she cares." The words felt hollow even as she said them.

Zaeryn didn’t believe that. He couldn’t understand why Ysmeine even defended her at all. Athea had been showing signs of emotional distance from him ever since he was exchanged at birth.

He had never even had a word with her. Zero. Not even a call or video call. She probably didn’t even know what he looked like.

Ysmeine watched the hurt flicker across his features and felt her chest tighten with conflicted loyalty. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth—that Athea’s neglect was inexcusable, that a real mother would have found a way to connect with her son despite the circumstances.

But she couldn’t. Athea had made it clear from the beginning: Ysmeine’s job was to ensure Zaeryn never turned against his birth mother, to always paint her in a loving light, no matter how distant she remained.

"Do you know that you have a sister?" Ysmeine said, grasping for anything that might soften the blow of Athea’s absence. "She looks just like you. Blue eyes, and blonde hair, just like yours before you dyed it."

She hated herself for the manipulation, but Athea’s instructions echoed in her mind: ’Make sure he understands that I love him. Make sure he never hates me.’ Even now, with Zaeryn’s pain so obvious, Ysmeine found herself following orders rather than following her heart.

The princess Athea’s lumina’s reach extended even into this intimate moment, forcing Ysmeine to be Athea’s advocate when she should have been Zaeryn’s protector.

Zaeryn on the other hand, was intrigued to hear about a sister. The hurt momentarily replaced by curiosity. ’hmm, i have a sister?’