The Everwake’s brow furrowed, and a disgusted sound rumbled in his throat. "Get... off—"

But before he could finish, he and Evangeline plummeted from the giant tree. The world spun around them. On instinct, he reached back and grabbed her by the waist. Her dark hair flew about, and it was as if a scorching ball of fire had fallen into his arms.

His powers were currently sealed, preventing him from changing his form, yet he felt no fear.

The Everwake lowered his gaze to Evangeline, a dark storm churning in the depths of his eyes.

Her features were flushed with desire, the corners of her eyes a burning red. She held him tightly, her nails almost digging into his back. In a daze, this intimate posture overlapped with the memory of that bloody, rainy season...

But the cloyingly sweet scent on her now, and the heat of her breath on the side of his neck, felt alien.

It was a foreign heat that made him tremble.

He wanted to push her away, but it was difficult to exert any force in mid-air.

Evangeline sensed The Everwake’s struggle and abruptly released her arms. The night wind howled between them.

The wind whipped her dark hair into a frenzy and sent her red silks fluttering wildly.

The Everwake watched with cold eyes. Suddenly, he felt his body lighten—the power that had bound him was gone.

The bewitching butterfly markings on The Everwake’s cheek flashed. He spun sharply in mid-air, his black hair flying, and in an instant, he had switched places with Evangeline. He stared at her, then suddenly let go, allowing her to fall toward the giant tree below.

A venomous delight floated in his iridescent eyes. "It’s time you had a taste of being abandoned."

’She’s a Witch; she won’t die from the fall. But I just don’t want to hold her. I don’t want to see her looking so smug!’

Evangeline’s eyes curved in a slight smirk. As her red lips parted, a captivating smile bloomed, as if she had expected this move all along. She wasn’t the least bit panicked; her gaze was fluid and dazzling.

Just then, a pleasant birdsong suddenly echoed around the giant tree.

A massive Iridian Beast with a trail of fluttering tail feathers swept past The Everwake, cutting through the air straight for Evangeline. Its feathers, like a rosy sunset cloud, shimmered with light. In an instant, Evangeline had landed lightly on the Iridian Beastman’s back.

"Perfect timing." Evangeline gently stroked the emerald feathers on the Iridian Youth’s back, her voice bewitching.

The Everwake stared at the Iridian Beastman’s taut back, his eyes instantly filling with sinister fury.

’This meddling, mongrel bird!’

The next moment, he dove downward. The magnificent twelve butterfly wings on his back suddenly unfurled, their iridescent scales scattering like a brilliant river of stars in the night sky!

He seized Evangeline by the waist with a force that nearly snapped her in two.

The wind whipped Evangeline’s long hair about, her dark strands tangling with his butterfly wings.

The Everwake’s expression was grim. His thin, cold voice held a dangerous edge. "You’d better sober up!"

Evangeline laughed, her body swaying seductively. Her fingertips traced a light path across his heaving chest. Beneath her palm, his heart hammered out of control, proving that no amount of hatred could mask the possessiveness in his bones—the instinct of a male.

Holding Evangeline, The Everwake strode through the air, quickly leaving the Iridian Tribe far behind.

He felt the woman in his arms tremble slightly. Lowering his eyes, he caught the delighted smile on her face. His iridescent, glass-like pupils darkened instantly, and a cold question was ground out between his teeth: "What are you smiling about?!"

Evangeline curled up in his arms, tidied her disheveled hair, and laughed even more brightly. "Why don’t you guess?"

The cold glint in The Everwake’s eyes grew more savage. He shoved her out of his embrace, but his fingers remained clamped around her wrist.

"Don’t think I’ll help you just because you saved me." A grim sneer rumbled in his throat. "If you hadn’t used your witchcraft to seal my powers, would I have been reduced to being humiliated by that flock of mongrel birds?"

The word "humiliated" was practically forced from between his teeth.

’The memories of the Oasis Tribe... the past I’m most unwilling to recall since my rebirth from the chrysalis!’

That "humiliation" was a collection of bloody scars, like venomous insects gnawing at his heart.

Evangeline’s gaze rippled softly. Her red sash drifted on the wind, brushing against The Everwake’s taut waist and abdomen. The movement carried her increasingly rich, cloying scent, stirring a tingling numbness that made him tremble.

"Then go on," Evangeline said with a brilliant smile, her stunning features tinged with a flirty glimmer. The raw desire in her gaze was utterly captivating. "Someone else is waiting for me over there."

As she spoke, she lazily lifted her eyes to the sky.

The Iridian Youth was still circling high above, his colorful Feather Wings catching the light, stubbornly refusing to leave.

As if sensing her gaze, the Iridian Youth suddenly let out a high, piercing cry.

The veins on The Everwake’s knuckles bulged, as if he were about to crush her wrist. He spoke one word at a time, his voice thick with a savage energy, each syllable seemingly steeped in the stench of blood: "On... to... the... next... one!"

Evangeline shot him a sideways glance and shook her head, a smile touching the crimson corners of her eyes. "A female in heat can die. If I die, can you live?"

Her fingertips traced an ambiguous path across the back of his veined hand as she said bewitchingly, "If you don’t want to go, then you can just watch from the side. We’ll talk after I’m finished."

After saying this, Evangeline actually began to struggle out of his grasp.

Her wrist slid in his palm, her struggles gentle, an ambiguous dance of feigned resistance and subtle invitation.

A dark light churned in the depths of The Everwake’s eyes. He reached out and again seized her slender waist—one he could span with a single hand. With his other hand, he delivered a punishing slap to her full, shapely backside. "Don’t move again!"

He leaned over her, his voice turning savage. "You’re right. If you die, I can’t live either."

’My goal from the beginning was never to kill Evangeline, but to imprison her in the Abyss for all eternity.’

"So... you’ll help me then?" Evangeline’s voice lilted with seduction. Before The Everwake could answer, her slender fingers had already deftly unfastened his collar and slid onto his scorching chest, tracing ambiguous circles.

A vein bulged on The Everwake’s temple. He violently seized her mischievous wrist, his voice filled with a dangerous chill. "Do you think now is the right time?"

Evangeline blinked, the blush at the corners of her eyes as vivid as blood. "Are you afraid that Iridian will see?"

She let out a low laugh and pressed her body even closer. "Wouldn’t that make it more exciting?"

As she spoke, her crimson lips brushed against his tense jawline, leaving a searing kiss on his bobbing Adam’s apple. Her palm rested against his heart. "See? Your heart is about to leap out of your chest."

The Everwake’s temples throbbed. He looked at Evangeline as if she were some kind of monster.

"Before, didn’t you despise me most of all?" As he thought of the past, his iridescent eyes seemed to be laced with shards of ice, yet the pad of his thumb uncontrollably caressed her slender waist.

Evangeline’s eyes curved into a slight smile as she whispered by his ear, "Didn’t you also say that was all in the past? That we should start over from now?"

The Everwake’s brow furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, a sharp pain shot through his lip. Evangeline had bitten the corner of his mouth, the sweet, metallic taste of blood invading his senses.

His breathing grew heavy and ragged, and the hand on her back was searing hot.

The brilliant butterfly wings suddenly spread, and they fell from the sky into the treetops, pressing her down into her red silks.

Their breaths tangled, and gasps mingled with shimmering flecks of scale dust.

In that moment, all other thoughts were thrown to the wind.