Chapter 39: Firelight Promises IV
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The thought came, cold and clear. He did not celebrate it. Because power was not a gift.
Power was responsibility, danger, attention.
If he removed the training tool, his displayed battle power might jump.
And if it jumped, predators who hunted by sensing power might notice him from farther away.
That was risky. But also necessary.
Because the city would be full of people who measured you by what you displayed.
A merchant world. A politics world. A survival world.
He could not walk into that world as a man with fifteen hundred battle power if he wanted answers or influence.
He needed strength. He needed presence. He needed to be able to protect what he cared about.
Sekhmet’s eyes flicked toward Lily, sleeping under her cloak, face turned slightly toward the fire.
His jaw tightened.
"I cannot let her die."
He did not say it out loud. He did not need to. He already proved it by jumping into that fight.
The wind shifted.
Woooo...
Sekhmet’s senses sharpened instantly.
He listened. A faint rustle. A scrape.
Tap... Tap...
Not from the guards. Not from Lily. Not from Bat Bat.
From beyond the perimeter.
Sekhmet’s muscles tightened.
He did not move abruptly. He did not panic. He simply reached inward and touched the void connection.
Whooomp...
He pulled out five minion bats silently, letting them form in the shadows near the perimeter.
Pop... Pop... Pop... Pop... Pop...
They clung upside down on a rock, waiting.
Sekhmet whispered a command through intent.
"Scout the perimeter. Quiet."
The minions fluttered outward, wings soft.
Flap... flap...
Sekhmet stood slowly, stepping away from the fire to blend into deeper shadow.
One guard noticed his movement and glanced at him, but Sekhmet raised a hand slightly, signaling calm. The guard’s eyes sharpened, then he nodded and shifted his stance, ready.
Sekhmet listened.
Tap... Tap...
A branch snapped faintly.
Crk.
Then silence.
Sekhmet waited.
The minion bats returned after a minute, circling back, squeaking softly.
No immediate threat. Probably a small beast passing through.
Sekhmet exhaled slowly. He dismissed the minions back into Void Land.
Whooomp...
He returned to the fire and sat again, letting his body settle.
Bat Bat snored louder.
Snrrrk...
Sekhmet stared at the fire again and let his mind drift to Lily’s words.
I missed you.
He replayed the sentence like a blade turning in his mind.
"Why would anyone miss me?"
He had never been good at believing he mattered in people’s lives. He mattered to his father as an investment, maybe. As a legacy. As a blood relationship. He never knew the truth. But Lily missing him felt different. It felt personal.
It made him feel something he had not felt in years.
Wanted.
Not for power.
Not for wealth.
For himself.
Sekhmet frowned slightly.
"This is stupid."
He told himself that, because it was easier.
But even as he told himself, his gaze drifted again toward Lily.
She was sleeping lightly, breathing slow. One of her guards sat nearby, eyes open, watching the darkness. Lily’s hand was tucked under her cloak, but her posture looked less tense than it had earlier.
She felt safer now.
Because he was here.
That realization landed like weight.
Sekhmet stared at the fire until it became a blur.
Eventually, the night shifted again.
The moon climbed higher, pale and cold. Shadows deepened. The temperature dropped.
Sekhmet’s thirst stirred quietly.
Not screaming. Not violent. Just... present.
He could feel it in the back of his throat, like a dry heat that water could not touch.
He swallowed.
"Not now."
He would not drink blood in front of Lily. He would not let her see that side of him. He would not let her associate him with what he hated about himself.
So he endured it.
He breathed through it. He focused on the fire, on the wind, on the guards’ shifting steps.
Tap... Tap...
Time passed.
Then Lily stirred.
She sat up slowly, hair falling loose over her shoulders. Her eyes were half-open, sleepy and soft. She glanced around, then her gaze found Sekhmet by the fire.
She blinked, then spoke quietly, voice rough with sleep.
"You are still awake."
Sekhmet nodded. "I told you," he said.
Lily yawned softly, then rose and walked toward the fire.
She sat beside him this time, closer than before, cloak wrapped around her shoulders. The warmth of her body and the fire combined, making the cold feel less sharp.
Bat Bat lifted its head sleepily, saw Lily, and smiled like a child seeing a favorite person.
"Pretty lady," it mumbled again, then fell back asleep.
Lily giggled softly.
Ha...
Sekhmet glanced at her.
"Why are you awake," he asked.
Lily shrugged.
"I woke up and realized you were alone by the fire," she said. "And I remembered... you always sat alone."
Sekhmet’s jaw tightened.
"That is how I prefer it," he lied.
Lily’s eyes flicked to him, amused.
"You are lying," she said.
Sekhmet stared at her.
"I am not," he said.
Lily leaned slightly closer, voice gentle.
"You are," she repeated.
Sekhmet exhaled slowly, irritated that she could still read him after years.
"I am not used to... company," he admitted reluctantly.
Lily’s expression softened.
"I know," she said. "That is why I came."
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"You came for something else too," he reminded her.
Lily nodded.
"I did," she said. "But you are part of it. Why don’t you understand?"
Sekhmet frowned.
"That makes no sense," he said.
Lily smiled.
"It makes sense to me," she replied.
The silence between them became warm again, filled with the crackle of fire and the whisper of wind.
Crackle...
Woooo...
Lily’s gaze drifted toward Sekhmet’s hands again, then to his face.
"You look tired," she said softly.
Sekhmet frowned.
"I am not," he replied automatically.
Lily’s brows lifted.
"You are always saying that," she said. "Even when you were twelve. You would get bruised and pretend it did not hurt."
Sekhmet’s mouth tightened.
"It did not hurt," he insisted.