"Take my starrail. That way, Ms. Tibarn can travel comfortably. Once I finish handling the situation with Kael, I'll come find you." Once Damian left, Edric headed upstairs to get Emma. Knock, knock, knock. He raised his hand and tapped on her door. More than a minute later, Emma shuffled over with sleepy eyes and opened it. "Edric, do you need something?" She yawned, leaning against the doorway, barely keeping her eyes open. Her hair was crushed from sleep, a few soft strands sticking up in messy angles. Edric swallowed, his gaze drawn to the warm, sweet scent clinging to her. Therians carried inherited memories. For the Ophidian—whose needs were especially strong—their inherited knowledge in that area ranked just behind the Drakonid. "Emma, I want to take you to the Interstellar Hunter Alliance for a few days. Do you want to go?" "The Interstellar Hunter Alliance?" Emma woke up instantly. "Do we have to leave right now?" Edric nodded. "Pack a few things. We're heading out immediately." The urgency made her suspicious. "What about Damian? Is he coming?" "He has something to take care of," Edric replied. "Once he finishes, he'll meet us there." Damian's leaving without hesitation only confirmed that something had happened. Emma studied Edric, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Why did he rush off like that? What happened?"Edric didn't want to burden her with the truth about the Divine Flame. "I don't know the specifics. He got a message and left." "I see." Emma straightened from the doorway, stepped closer, and lightly tapped a finger against his chest through his shirt. A spark shot through Edric, his whole body jolting. "Em… Emma…" His pulse hammered, his throat moving restlessly. Watching his flustered reaction, Emma slipped an arm around his neck, rose onto her toes, and kissed the corner of his mouth. The warmth and softness against his lips left him blank. Boom! It felt like something exploded inside him. His heart raced so wildly he thought it might burst out of his chest. She… she actually kissed me! She really did! "Em—" "Shh." Emma lifted her hand, pressing the cool pad of her finger gently to his lips. Her soft breath brushed his ear as her lips grazed the edge, teeth catching his earlobe with a light pinch. Hiss! The mix of heat and faint sting sent a wave of uncontrollable tremors through Edric. He snapped fully awake, almost losing control. "Edric, tell me what Damian went to do. You two are hiding something from me, aren't you?" Her gentle voice, touched with a warm hint of mint, washed over him like a spell. It felt as though his thoughts and words no longer belonged to him. His mind spoke, and his mouth simply obeyed. "Emma, Damian went to deal with Kael and the Divine Flame. You don't have to worry. We won't let it involve you." Kael? Divine Flame? Emma stepped back, frowning. "I've heard the name Kael somewhere." She thought for a moment before it came back to her—he was one of her past matches. She pulled up her lightcore, and there it was—his name on the earliest match list. He was the first one whose people had come to her requesting the dissolution. She looked at Edric. "What's going on with him? And what exactly is the Divine Flame?" The warmth in Edric's arms vanished, and his awareness snapped back into place. He looked at her serious expression and felt inexplicably wronged. She really used that method to force a confession out of me. He almost broke. Only sheer willpower kept him from surrendering on the spot. He explained everything, though he intentionally omitted the part about poisoning Laura and her mates. Emma listened, rubbing her chin. "So that giant fireball that fell from the sky that night was the Divine Flame." Thank the Beast God for saving me from thatRank 11 Chitinid! "Kael must be out of his mind. He already went through with the dissolution, so why insert himself into this mess?" Edric and Damian did not know that Kael was one of Emma's matches. Now that he knew, Edric's desire to wring Kael's neck only intensified. "We found out he has been searching for a female who once saved him," Edric said. "We confirmed that the female was you. He must have traced the clue back to you and assumed Evie stole your chance to go to the Central Planet. That's likely why he did what he did."