Inside the Chamber of Truth, silence reigned.
The walls pulsed with memories—not Kade's, not the island's. Hers.
Calindra stepped barefoot onto a shifting obsidian floor, and the door sealed behind her with a sound like weeping stone.
The temperature dropped. Her breath turned to mist.
Then—she saw herself.
Not the enchantress of today, but a girl. Barely seventeen. Shivering. Bloodied hands. A hunger in her belly and a dagger tucked into her belt.
"Do you remember me?" the girl asked, voice trembling.
Calindra's lips parted. "You're not real."
"I was real. I'm what you buried." The girl stepped forward, eyes gleaming. "Before the power. Before the seduction. You were nothing."
"I survived."
"You sold yourself to survive."
Calindra's breath caught.
---
Outside the chamber, the island rumbled softly.
Kade stood at the threshold, watching. Elandra leaned against a stone pillar, arms folded tightly.
"She shouldn't be trusted," Elandra muttered.
"She's already proven she's dangerous," Seraphine said as she joined them, crimson silk flowing behind her. "But she's not loyal."
"And you are?" Elandra turned sharply.
Seraphine smiled thinly. "He chose me first."
"He kissed me first."
Kade raised an eyebrow. "You both need to stop."
They ignored him.
Seraphine stepped closer to Elandra. "You think your quiet power makes you his equal?"
"It makes me essential," Elandra whispered. "Unlike you, I don't need to be seen to be powerful."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed. "We'll see who he turns to tonight."
---
Inside the chamber, Calindra's younger self now had the dagger in hand.
"I remember everything," she said, circling the older Calindra. "You let them use us. You took pleasure in it."
"No," Calindra said, trembling.
"You did. You kissed them with poison in your heart. Smiled when they bled. You fed on their desire until it changed you."
"I had to survive," Calindra said, fists clenched.
"You became a monster to escape being a victim."
Silence.
Then the girl flung the dagger at her.
It stopped mid-air—hovering, spinning, gleaming with guilt.
Calindra stepped forward, took it from the air, and drove it into the ground.
"No more guilt," she whispered. "I own who I became. And I will never beg again."
The ground cracked.
Light burst around her. The girl vanished.
And the door opened.
---
Kade was waiting.
She emerged—not broken. Not wounded. But calmer.
There was no smile.
Just a nod.
"I faced myself," she said.
"And?" Kade asked.
"I forgave the girl I was. But I will never go back."
Kade extended a hand. "Then you're welcome back… as more than just a memory."
---
Later that night, the hall was quiet, lit by soft purple fire.
The harem was gathered for dinner—wine, fruit, and flame-seared meat from the island's beasts. Everyone was present… except Kade.
Elandra sipped her wine. Seraphine watched her.
"I wonder who he's with tonight," Seraphine said casually.
Elandra tilted her head. "Does it matter?"
"To me? No. But to you?"
Elandra stood. "Let's not pretend. We're all wolves here. Just wearing perfume."
Seraphine's smile widened. "Then let's howl honestly, shall we?"
From the shadows, Mika whispered to Arva, "They're going to tear the walls down fighting over him."
"Good," Arva smirked. "Maybe then I can slip in and steal his heart."
---
Meanwhile, in the secret chamber beneath the garden, Kade sat across from Calindra.
She was still glowing faintly from the trial.
He poured two glasses of bloodwine.
"No harem talk tonight," she said.
"No games, either," he agreed.
A pause.
Then, softly: "I never stopped thinking about you."
"I know."
She reached across, fingers brushing his.
"I'm not the girl you left behind."
"And I'm not the man who let you go."
Their hands clasped.
No flames. No battle. Just silence, and something more dangerous: peace.
A horn sounded. Deep, guttural. Alive.
The entire island shuddered. Birds scattered. Flames lit themselves in braziers made of bone and crystal.
It had begun.
The Feast of Blades.
An ancient tradition. A contest held once every century on Pleasure Island. Not of death—but of dominance. No woman ever won without bleeding. No master ever watched without choosing.
Kade stood on the edge of the obsidian arena, shirt open, wind whipping through his dark hair.
"This isn't about possession," he told the women. "This is about power. Show me what burns beneath your beauty."
Seven women stood across from him.
Only one would end the night beside him.
---
The Rules Were Simple:
1. No killing.
2. No illusions.
3. And no mercy.
One-on-one duels.
The winner of each round earns a kiss from the Master—or a truth from him.
By sundown, only three would remain.
---
First Duel: Seraphine vs. Arva
The fire witch vs. the jungle huntress.
Seraphine stepped into the ring, robes falling from her shoulders like silk torn by wind. Flames gathered around her fingers, dancing like serpents.
Arva came barefoot, skin painted with green runes, twin blades on her hips.
"You're all flash," Arva hissed.
Seraphine's eyes gleamed. "And you're all bark."
They moved.
Flames surged, but Arva spun beneath them—one blade up, the other slicing low. Seraphine caught it with a wall of steam, then twisted and kissed Arva's cheek mid-duel—burning a rune into her skin.
Arva howled.
Seraphine ended it with a whisper of fire to the chest—not enough to scar, but enough to sting.
Kade descended into the arena. "Your reward?"
Seraphine stepped close. "Tell me your darkest desire."
He stared at her. Then: "To be wanted without being worshipped."
She blinked. "Then I'll stop bowing… and start claiming."
---
Second Duel: Elandra vs. Mika
The shadow-walker vs. the silver-bard.
Mika moved like music. Her weapon was a chain of notes—blades that sang as she spun.
Elandra? Silent. Cloaked in dark mist.
It wasn't a battle. It was theatre. Until Elandra vanished completely.
"Where did—"
A blade touched Mika's throat.
"I win," Elandra whispered from behind.
Kade stepped down again. "Your reward?"
"I want your past," Elandra said.
"…What part?"
"The night you were broken."
He nodded once. "It was in the desert. I bled for a woman who smiled as she left. She said I had the soul of a king, but the heart of a slave."
Elandra's fingers brushed his chest. "She was half right."
---
Third Duel: Calindra vs. Seraphine
Now things turned brutal.
They circled like lions.
Magic roared. Calindra shattered the earth with a stomp. Seraphine turned sand to fire.
Their kisses were poison. Their touch burned.
They wanted Kade.
But they also wanted to destroy each other.
It ended with Calindra pinning Seraphine, dagger at her throat.
"I could make you beg."
"You'd enjoy it too much," Seraphine hissed.
She yielded. Just barely.
Kade approached Calindra.
"What do you want?"
She stared at him. "Not a truth. Not a kiss. I want a night."
"Then win again," he said, voice low.
---
Final Duel: Elandra vs. Calindra
The two quietest. The most dangerous.
Mist vs. Mind.
It wasn't flashy. It was psychic. Calindra fought with memories—projecting guilt, lust, betrayal. Elandra dodged with shadows—whispers from the past, countering pain with pain.
They collapsed into each other, bloodied.
Kade stepped into the ring. "You both win."
Calindra looked up. "What?"
He offered a hand to each. "Tonight… I choose both."
---
That Night
The palace opened its silver-winged doors. Candles lit themselves.
The island sighed, satisfied.
Kade entered the bathhouse with both Calindra and Elandra.
No words.
Only touch. Steam. Confession in every kiss. Forgiveness in every moan.
Not all battles end with blood.
Some end with surrender.