The twilight glade hummed with suppressed tension as Zhan Xuan materialized from the shadows, his presence instantly altering the air. The nymph froze mid-movement, her pale skin glowing ethereally against the dark waters of the pool where she'd been bathing.

She'd felt him watching for days. Felt his eyes on her as she moved through the forest, as she sang to the twilight birds, as she slipped into these sacred waters each evening. But now he was here—tall, devastatingly beautiful, his features sharp as a blade's edge, eyes glowing with the same violet hue as the skies of his cursed realm.

"You've been hiding from me, little nymph," he purred, his voice low and dangerous as he took a deliberate step forward. The mist curled around his booted feet, parting like a lover's touch.

She backed away instinctively, water sloshing around her thighs as she tried to put distance between them. "I don't know you," she whispered, though her body betrayed her—skin prickling, heart racing, a strange heat coiling low in her abdomen despite her fear.

"Don't you?" He tilted his head, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips as he continued advancing. "Then why does your body remember mine?"

Before she could respond, he'd closed the distance between them, moving with inhuman speed. One large hand grasped her jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze, his thumb brushing roughly over her lower lip. The other hand slid around her waist, pulling her body flush against his, leaving no room for escape.

"Your skin still craves my touch," he murmured, his face inches from hers, his breath hot against her skin. "Your lips still part for me. Your body..."

His hand dropped from her jaw, sliding down her neck, over her collarbone, tracing the curve of her breast beneath the water. She gasped, arching against him despite herself as his fingers found her nipple, pinching roughly.

"...still betrays how much you want me."

The nymph tried to squirm away, but his grip tightened, his fingers digging into her hip hard enough to leave bruises. "Let me go!" she demanded, though her voice trembled with something that wasn't entirely fear.

Zhan Xuan laughed—a low, dark sound that sent shivers down her spine. "Never. You belong to me, body and soul, in this lifetime and every other."

His mouth crashed down on hers, hard and possessive, tongue forcing its way inside as he explored her roughly. She found herself responding despite her better judgment, her fingers tangling in his dark hair as he kissed her senseless.

When he finally pulled away, her lips were swollen and parted, her chest heaving. "You'll learn to remember, little one," he whispered against her throat, his teeth grazing her delicate skin. "I'll make you remember everything."

And with that promise hanging in the air, he lifted her easily, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the shore, his intention clear and utterly, terrifyingly inevitable.