CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 62: RIVAL SPARKS

"Oh, he has a girlfriend, huh?" Ravena’s arm, still around Zaeryn from their hug, tightened just enough for her nails to press into his shoulder. It was light—so light Zaeryn barely felt it but he knew she did it on purpose. A quiet warning. Sharp.

Leaning close, she whispered in his ear, her voice low and full of both disappoinment and a challenge. "Traitor. We made a promise."

Zaeryn sighed, carefully moving away from her grip. "You were the one who made the promise. I didn’t," he whispered back, his tone flat and defensive.

Before Ravena could answer, a new voice, smooth as glass, cut through the tension.

"A promise?" Sage stepped forward, her violet eyes sharp with curiosity. She looked at Ravena’s tight grip and Zaeryn’s slightly guilty face with a cool, studying gaze. "How sweet. Childhood promises are cute, but..." She let the pause hang, her smile turning razor-thin. "...they don’t really matter in the real world, do they?"

She held out her hand to Ravena, her smile perfectly pleasant and disarming. "I’m Sage, by the way. His actual girlfriend."

Ravena’s eyes flashed as they moved to Sage, dismissing her with one look before locking back on Zaeryn. She completely ignored the offered hand.

"This has nothing to do with you," she snapped, her voice tight with years of built-up feeling. "This is about history. Something a temporary replacement wouldn’t understand."

"Who says I’m his temporary girlfriend?" Sage shot back.

Zaeryn let out a low groan. "Okay, ladies, can we maybe not turn the room into a fighting ring? Ravena, we were kids. Sage, let’s maybe turn down the mind games for now?"

From her seat, Aeris took a slow sip of her drink, a wicked smile on her lips. "Oh, I don’t know. I’m finding this interesting. Please, keep going, Sage and Ravena."

Ravena finally let go of Zaeryn, but only to cross her arms, her body language screaming anger. Her green eyes, which had been sparkling with joy moments before, were now hard as stone. "He was supposed to wait for me," she said, her words aimed at the room but her glare fixed on Sage. "I came back for him."

Sage’s calm didn’t break. She simply let her hand drop, her face unchanged. "He didn’t seem to be waiting around when I met him. In fact, he was quite eager to move forward." Her gaze swept over Ravena slowly. "But I can see how you might have missed that, being gone for three years."

The insult hit its mark. Ravena’s cheeks turned red, her hands making fists at her sides.

"Alright, that’s enough, girls," Marceline’s voice, rich with amusement, finally stepped in. She patted the cushion beside her. "Ravena, dear, come sit. And Sage, you too. There’s no need for bloodshed before breakfast."

Ravena shot one last, poisonous look at Sage before she stood up and walked out. "I think I won’t be talking to you anymore," she said, her tone half-serious, though her eyes still held a hint of hurt.

Zaeryn didn’t know how to react to that. Should he stop her, or not? "Ravena wait!" He called out.

Before he could stand up and follow her, Sage stepped in. "I’ll try to talk with her," she said.

"Are you sure?" Ysmeine asked.

Zaeryn nodded, trusting her judgment. "Yeah, let her." If anyone could handle Ravena’s storm of wounded pride, it was Sage. She had a way of cutting through emotion with logic so sharp it was almost a weapon.

Sage gave a brief, confident nod to Ysmeine and followed Ravena out of the room.

In the hall, Ravena spun around the moment she heard the door hiss open and shut behind her, followed by footsteps. Her green eyes blazed when she saw Sage. "What do you think you’re doing? Following me?"

"Just want to have a talk," Sage replied smoothly, her posture relaxed as she approached. She stood before Ravena and leaned against the polished wall, crossing her arms.

Ravena glared at her. She took in Sage’s appearance and even in this state, she had to admit to herself that she could understand why Zaeryn was attracted to Sage.

Not that Ravena was attracted to other women, but as she looked at Sage, she had to admit that she was easily a goddess level beauty. Tall, and her silver-white hair fell down her shoulders in soft, beautiful waves.

She was gorgeous, and Ravena couldn’t deny it.

"Why would I want to talk with you?" Ravena shot back coldly.

"You seem upset," Sage noted.

"Upset?" Ravena’s laugh was sharp and without humor. "I leave for three years, and you swoop in and sink your claws into him. We had a promise."

"Don’t blame me. I don’t know you, so it’s not like I swooped in and stole him from you. I’m not going to feel bad about it." Sage tilted her head, her Violet eyes studying, not sympathetic. "Besides, a promise made between children. Let’s be logical, Ravena. People grow. Things change. Did you really expect him to put his entire life on hold based on a childhood dream?"

"Shut up!" Ravena snapped, her fists clenching. "It was real."

"Oh, darling, I’m not questioning the validity of your feelings," Sage’s voice was a smooth, calculated melody, entirely devoid of jealousy. "I’m simply pointing out a logistical bottleneck. You can’t get what you want, and I already have what I want. Which means you have two choices. You can either accept the current arrangement and find a place within it, or you can continue to be miserable. The variable is you, not me."

"What are you even talking about?"

Back in the atrium.

Aeris, Ysmeine and Kayla had left the atrium one by one. So only Zaeryn and Marceline were left.

Marceline teased, "Honey, it looks like you got yourself in quite a tangle." She leaned back against the cushions, her head tilting toward him, lips curling into a slow smile.

"Seems that way," Zaeryn admitted. He felt bad about Ravena, but at the same time he knew that he had nothing to really feel guilty about.

"Don’t worry, I’m sure Ravena will understand." Her eyes glittered with mischief as she shifted languidly on the plush seat, the silk of her dress sliding higher up her thigh, revealing smooth skin that caught the low light. "There is plenty of you to go around, I’m sure."

"Yes, there is," he said smoothly, his gaze deliberately tracing her curves before locking on her eyes. "Dealing with all this drama... Don’t you think I deserve a proper distraction?" He let the words hang in the air, playful and suggestive.

Marceline’s laugh spilled out low and husky, intimate as velvet. Heat radiated off her body, the rich, floral haze of her perfume curling around him like a spell. She laid a hand on his chest, her fingers drawing lazy patterns across his collarbone, nails grazing just enough to tease.

"I think you’re right... a distraction is needed for you," she murmured, her voice dropping to a sultry whisper. She leaned in, her full breasts brushing against his arm as if by accident—but her smirk said otherwise.

Zaeryn’s hands moved with bold confidence, gripping her narrow waist and pulling her fully to face him. His palms slid down to her hips, fingers tightening as he explored the curve of her body.

Marceline gasped softly, then grinned at the deliberate touch, her eyes half-lidded. "Mmh... getting bold now, are we?"

"You can stop me," he teased, his tone daring.

"Why would I ever do that?" she shot back, her smile flashing with wicked delight.

Before he could answer, her mouth was on his. It wasn’t a playful peck—it was a deep, claiming kiss that burned with hunger and confidence. Her lips were soft yet demanding, moving against his with practiced heat that left him breathless.

"Mmm..." she moaned into the kiss, savoring him as if she had every intention of not letting go.