"They cause chaos... destroying everything," Analisa hissed, her eyes burning down at him as the fiery circle pressed closer.

Cassian’s body jerked violently as the crackling lightning intensified, arcs snapping through his hair, his veins glowing faintly under his skin. The moment the two elements overlapped, small explosions rippled across his body—tiny bursts of raw destruction chewing through flesh and muscle, erasing cells into nothing. Not even ash remained; only flickers of pure energy danced where pieces of him once were.

If he were a normal man, his organs would have long since turned to sludge, his lungs collapsed, his heart stopped. Only his brain might still sputter faintly, trapped in a body already ruined. But Cassian wasn’t normal. As a Circle Warrior, his endurance held him in that razor-thin space between life and death, nerves screaming though his pain immunity blunted it into a suffocating haze. His body was breaking, but still—his damn smirk clung to his lips.

He forced a rasp of a voice out, choking against the invisible grip on his throat. "Now I wouldn’t even fuck you... even if you begged for it..."

Her fury spiked at those words. A murderous glow flared in her violet eyes, and for a moment it seemed she might finish it, erase him completely. But instead, she snapped her hands back, withdrawing the magic. The invisible bind vanished as well, and Cassian fell hard to the floor.

He caught himself on one arm, coughing, his body still smoking, charred patches flaking off. His red hair sparked faintly with static, strands singed and curled. For a terrifying moment, Analisa thought she had killed him despite holding back. But then—slowly, impossibly—the blackened flesh began to scab, crack, and peel, new skin knitting beneath. His body was healing faster than her eyes could track.

Her lips twisted into a wide, dangerous smirk. "I thought you were going to die... leaving me with all this anger I haven’t unleashed. But it seems..." Her hands glowed again, fresh circles forming—one blazing with fire, the other chilling with a deadly frost. "You can take some more."

Cassian groaned as he forced himself upright, still half-dazed. Inside, his thoughts were less defiant, more sarcastic: ’Fuck. I should’ve controlled my dick better.’

He coughed once, smoke puffing out. ’Now here I am, crispy on the outside, raw on the inside, and about to be turned into some overcooked stew.’

But luck spared him. A voice from outside cut through the charged air, saving him from becoming a half-burned, half-charred corpse.

"Cardinal, your daughter is waiting outside. She says she has something important to discuss with you."

’Thank the gods,’ Cassian thought, relief flooding his chest. He’d called Brigid in haste through the slave ring, saying if she won’t come, both of them might have ended up dead soon.

"You’re lucky..." Analisa muttered, her tone dripping with cold fury as the glowing circles vanished with a faint puff of smoke. Her eyes narrowed, but then her lips twisted into a smirk. "No matter. I can always ask her again for another night."

Raising her voice toward the door, she commanded, "Tell her I’ll be there in a moment."

Then, turning back to Cassian, her eyes lingered on his body—already healed as if nothing had happened. Her lips curled, and she muttered, "Next time... you’ll be the one screaming, not me."

But as the words left her mouth, heat rushed to her cheeks. It didn’t sound nearly as fierce as it had in her head.

Cassian’s shoulders shook with the effort of holding back his laugh. He managed to smother it, though the glint in his eyes betrayed him. Analisa, now visibly flustered, snapped her gaze away and stormed back toward the washroom.

"Now, go greet her first," she ordered, regaining her composure. Her voice turned sharp as a blade. "And make sure you never utter a word about this night. Unless..." Her smirk returned, edged with menace. "Your answer is that I toyed with you. "

Cassian only nodded, silent this time. He knew better than to tempt her wrath again.

Once outside, Cassian finally let out a breath. He wasn’t all that worried anymore—if a woman like Analisa truly wanted him dead, she would’ve done it already. The fact that he was still standing, healed up and without a shred of trauma, was proof enough his circle ability had done its job.

Now all that was left was the real challenge—finding a way to get her frustrated again, of course sexually , before she ever treated him like that another time.

As he stepped into the hall, where he’d spent most of the day on his feet, Brigid stood waiting. Her lips curved into an amused smile."You seem alright..." she teased.

"For now," Cassian sighed, still kicking himself for pushing Analisa too far that morning. If he’d just held back another day or two, he could’ve had her begging instead of blowing up on him. But no—his pride had gotten in the way, and he’d paid for it. At least Brigid had bought him a little breathing room.

"That aside," he muttered, leaning closer, "take me away from your grandmother for today and tonight. Make up some excuse. If you can’t..." his grin turned wicked, "...just say you want my dick and can’t stay without it."

Brigid shot him a weird look. "Fuck you, why the hell would I say that?"

"If you do it, I will owe you big time," Cassian shot back, smirking. "And don’t act like you two don’t talk that way already. From the shit you said yesterday, you sounded closer than two slutty whores gossiping like best friends." He leaned casually against the back of her chair.

Sure, a Grandmage-level circle warrior could hear through walls—or even across a kilometer—if they pushed their magic. But Cassian doubted Analisa was doing that. No one wanted to be under constant surveillance, especially cultists who thrived on doing shady things in private.

Brigid, though, just frowned at him in confusion. "Why? Did she make you do something embarrassing?"

"Nah, it’s not like that. She was wild, sure—but not crazy. I fucked her brains out till morning," Cassian said with a wide smirk.

Brigid’s grin matched his. "Really? Then why stop? I know how low you’ll stoop just to get laid. I bet if you were desperate enough, you wouldn’t even spare men."

Cassian’s eyes widened. "You think I’d go that low?"

Brigid nodded dead serious, making Cassian curse her in his head. "I wouldn’t. And it’s not about that. I just want to see how far she’ll go to crawl back to me for more."

"Get off your damn high horse," Brigid scoffed. "I doubt she even remembers you after today. But fine—if she comes asking for you, I’ll make up some excuse."