Chapter 56: Blades in the Water, Hunger in the Trees
I woke in a float of afterglow and half-lidded bliss. Every muscle felt weightless, liquified by the memory of Kimchi's thighs and the kind of pleasure that left gods jealous and mortals extinct. The cool pool water soothed my skin, still tingling from hours of metaphysical cardio. Naturally, I reached out to caress her hair.
My hand brushed air.
That was... off.
Kimchi usually slept on me like a proprietary house cat with combat training. Groggily, I opened my eyes. No redhead. No sultry sighs. No sleepy purring. Just the dull glisten of post-orgasmic solitude.
She was gone.
"Guess she had shit to do," I mumbled, and sat up—only to feel my palm rest on something unnaturally cold.
I looked down.
Kiya.
The floating sword—my psychic alloyed bestie, my sarcastic murder-stick—was lying beside me, partially under my hand.
