The North Tower was less of a fortress and more of a glorified freezer.

Judas realized this about ten minutes after the adrenaline of the fight wore off.

The adrenaline was gone, Ignis was gone, and now he was left with a massive, hollow spire of blue crystal that hummed with a low, menacing vibration.

And, of course, he was left with the woman clinging to his left arm like a barnacle.

"Seraphina," Judas said, trying to walk toward what looked like a staircase. It was difficult because Seraphina was dead weight, dragging her feet just to stay pressed against his side. "Do you have to walk inside my ribcage?"

"Yes," she replied instantly. Her cheek was smashed against his shoulder. Her eyes were closed in pure bliss.

"She's like a leech," Summer muttered from behind them. The vampire was shivering slightly, her arms crossed over her chest. "A cold, blue, mana-sucking leech. Judas, tell her to detach before I bite her."

"If you bite her, your tongue will freeze to her neck," Nyx pointed out.

The dragon girl was currently floating a few inches off the ground, inspecting the ice sculptures that lined the hallway.

"This place has terrible feng shui. Too much white. Needs more gold."

Judas sighed, dragging his new appendage up the stairs. "We need to secure the perimeter first. Ezra, check the upper levels. Nina, sniff out any hiding guards. Luna, find the mana control room."

"On it, Husband!" Nina saluted, her wolf ears twitching. She sprinted up the stairs on all fours, happy to be moving.

Ezra nodded, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. She gave Seraphina a sharp, warning look—a look that said, 'If you HURT him while I'm gone, I will resurrect you just to kill you again'—and then followed Nina.

Luna hesitated. She looked at Judas, then at Seraphina.

"I don't trust her," the elf whispered.

"I don't trust her either," Judas admitted, lowering his voice. "But she's the key to this tower. And..."

He glanced down at the Ice Witch. She was currently rubbing her face against his bicep like a cat. "...I don't think she has the brainpower to betray us right now. She's intoxicated by heat."

"Fine," Luna huffed. "But if she tries anything, I'm putting an arrow in her eye."

As the girls dispersed to secure their new home, Judas was left alone with Seraphina and the floating Nyx.

They reached the top floor—the Lord's Quarters.

It was a magnificent room with a vaulted ceiling made of transparent ice, allowing a view of the swirling snowstorm outside.

In the center of the room was a massive bed carved from a single block of glacier ice, covered in white furs.

"Bed," Seraphina murmured. She tugged on Judas's arm. "Sleep now."

"It's two in the afternoon," Judas said.

"Nap," she corrected. "With you."

Judas pried her off him gently. As soon as he broke contact, Seraphina gasped.

She wrapped her arms around herself, her teeth instantly beginning to chatter. The frost on her eyelashes thickened.

"Cold..." she whimpered.

Judas frowned. She really was metabolizing her own life force into ice.

Without an external heat source, she was slowly dying.

"Sit," Judas ordered, pointing to the furs on the bed.

Seraphina obeyed instantly. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at him with those wide, kaleidoscopic eyes.

Seraphina said, shaking. "Can I hold you again?"

Judas decided to solve her problem with frost as he bought few things from the system market.

A golden light swept through the room. The ice floor was instantly covered in thick, plush crimson carpets.

The walls, previously bare ice, were lined with dark mahogany wood panels.

A massive stone fireplace erupted from the far wall, roaring to life with magical fire that required no wood.

The ice bed dissolved and reformed into a gigantic four-poster bed with a mattress that looked soft enough to swallow a person whole, piled high with silk sheets and heavy quilts.

The temperature in the room shot up to a comfortable twenty degrees.

Seraphina looked around, her eyes wide. She reached out to touch the fire in the hearth but pulled back.

"Hot," she said. "But... empty heat. Not like you."

"Nyx," Judas said, turning to the dragon. "Can you guard the door? "

Nyx raised an eyebrow. She looked from Judas to the bed, then to Seraphina.

A slow, mischievous grin spread across her face.

"Alone?" Nyx chuckled. "Careful. Frostbite in sensitive areas is no joke."

"Just watch the door." Judas rubbed his brows.

Nyx cackled and floated out into the hallway, slamming the heavy wooden door behind her.

Judas walked over to the fire and sat in a velvet armchair. He gestured for Seraphina to sit in the one opposite him.

She didn't. Instead, she walked over and sat on the floor between his legs, resting her head on his knee.

"Closer," she mumbled.

Judas didn't push her away this time. He rested his hand on her head.

Her hair was incredibly soft, like spun silk, but cold to the touch. As his hand made contact, he felt her tension melt away.

"Seraphina," Judas started. "Why did you give up the tower?"

"Didn't want the tower," she mumbled into his trousers. "Wanted quiet. The Three Kings are loud. They wanted me to fight. I just wanted to sleep."

"So you froze the district so no one would bother you?"

"Yes."

"And now?"

She looked up at him. Her pupils were dilated. "Now I found a stove. A walking, talking stove with a nice heartbeat. I don't need the district. I just need the stove."

Judas sighed. "I am not an appliance, Seraphina."

"You are warm," she countered, as if that settled the argument.

[Diagnosis: Cursed Core]

[Origin: Artificial Experimentation]

[Cure: Requires 'Sun Flame' or continuous infusion of high-purity Yang mana to repair the cracks.]

Judas stiffened. Artificial experimentation?

"Who did this to you?" Judas asked softly.

Seraphina flinched. For a second, the dopey, infatuated look vanished, replaced by a flash of jagged fear.

"The White Coats," she whispered. "In the labs below the Academy. Before I came here. They wanted to make a weapon that could freeze time."

She squeezed Judas's leg tighter. "They failed. They made me instead."

Judas felt a surge of anger. He knew the Academy was corrupt—it was a dog-eat-dog world—but human experimentation on children?

That was a different level of darkness.

"Is that why you hate people?"

"People are cold," she said. "They want things. They want power. They touch me, and they freeze. Then they blame me."

She looked up, her eyes shimmering. "You touched me, and you didn't freeze. You melted me."

Judas leaned forward. He used both hands to cup her face. Her skin was icy, but he pushed his own mana into her.

"I'm not going to let you freeze," Judas promised.

Seraphina let out a long, shuddering breath. For the first time, her natural skin tone returned, a soft flush of pink appearing on her pale cheeks.

She looked... human. And breathtakingly beautiful.

"Judas," she whispered, testing his name.

"Yes?"

"Can we fuck now?"

Judas choked on his own spit. The emotional moment shattered instantly.

"What?"

"Mating," Seraphina said matter-of-factly. "I read in a book. Body friction creates heat. Mating involves maximum friction. Therefore, maximum heat."

She stood up and began to undo the clasps of her ice-blue dress.

"Whoa, whoa!" Judas stood up, grabbing her hands. "Stop! That is not how this works!"

"Why?" She tilted her head. "Are you broken?"

"No! We just... we don't start with that! We need dates. Or at least dinner."

"I have a frozen fish," she offered.

Before Judas could explain why a frozen fish was not a romantic prelude, the door slammed open.

"We found the kitchen!" Nina yelled, bursting in. "And it's full of... oh."

Nina stopped. She saw Seraphina with her dress half-undone.

She saw Judas holding her hands. She saw the massive, comfortable bed.

Nina's eyes narrowed. She turned her head and shouted down the hallway.

"SISTERS! THE ICE WITCH IS TRYING TO JUMP THE QUEUE!"

"She is WHAT?" Summer's voice shrieked from the floor below.

Within seconds, the room was full.

Ezra stormed in, her face a mask of calm fury. Summer was right behind her, fangs extended. Luna had her bow again.

"I leave you alone for ten minutes," Ezra said, crossing her arms. "And she is already undressing?"

"She thinks sex is a heat transfer protocol!" Judas defended himself, raising his hands.

"I will transfer my boot to her ass," Summer growled.

"I am cold," Seraphina stated simply, ignoring the angry mob. She looked at Judas. "If we cannot mate, can we sleep? Pile?"

She pointed to the massive bed.

The wives looked at the bed. Then they looked at the blizzard raging outside the window. Then they looked at the warm fire.

It was a very large bed.

'Did he ever made such a bed for you?' Zephriya, whom silent for days sounded, Judas hoped she should've continued silence.

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