Ever since Miu cast her spell into the universe, a peculiar feeling emerged around her heart. It wasn't a painful or unpleasant feeling. The sensation simply felt as though an infinitely long, thin string had been tied around her beating organ. As though the other end of this loosely wound cocoon was connected to another entity because, occasionally, Miu would experience a sudden tug within her chest. As though this unseen entity was pulling at her from murky, faraway places like a leash.

Miu existed in this state of perpetual particularity for the next two moon cycles.

During this time, she thought of Cassian often. She thought of him when she seduced other mortals, when she felt lonesome, and especially when she dreamt at night.

Miu thought of Cassian so often that he almost became real to her. She felt connected to him in a way that made very little sense.

On the eve of a new moon, the silver-eyed water god came to Miu while she was in the thick of slumber.

***

The God of Water stood before her atop an endless sea of blue and green waves. Soft, billowing mists danced around his feet. The skies behind him were cloudy and gray. Cassian looked as handsome as ever. His hair gleamed black like obsidian, and his bronzed, golden skin appeared as though it had been kissed by the sun.

Something cool and wet splashed against Miu's ankles. She looked down and gasped. She, too, was floating above the shimmering, sifting waters. Miu glanced back up to the water god. "How is this possible, my lord?"

"Anything is possible," he answered calmly, "in the realm of dreams."

"Is this a dream?" Miu mumbled in muted disbelief. "Everything here feels so real. The ocean. The clouds. And you. Especially you."

His silver eyes darkened. Displeasure clung to his voice when he remarked, "You are the one who made it so, Miu of Seven Tails. You are the one who bound us together."

"What do you mean?"

"I am here because of your trickery."

Was he referring to her spell?

Miu beamed. "Are you telling me that my spell worked? Truly?"

Perhaps, this was why she had been feeling all of those strange, tugging sensations within her chest?

He scowled. "I see, at least, one of us is happy about it..."

Guilt flashed across Miu's lovely face. "Does it not please you, my lord?"

"It does not."

Her expression crumpled with dismay. "You were free to reject me, though!"

"I know."

A small smile graced her lips. "So... you chose to not reject me, then?"

Cassian grunted crossly, but he neither confirmed nor denied her statement with his reply, "Your sorcery was too wicked and too strong to resist."

Miu laughed melodiously. "I swear, my lord, I never meant to entrap you! I simply wished to express the depth of my feelings for you in a manner that could not be easily ignored."

"Rest assured, my lady, your message was impossible to ignore."

Miu glided over the water to Cassian until they were mere inches apart from one another.

She gazed at him with adoring eyes. "I have been thinking of you often, you know..."

A faint blush tinted his cheeks. "You need not tell me, my lady. I am well aware of the perverse thoughts that have crossed your mind."

Miu's eyebrows rose with interest. She teased, "Are you blushing, my lord? How could you possibly know anything about the perverse thoughts that have run through my mind?"

Cassian's blush seemed to deepen in hue even while he cleared his throat in a most perfunctory way. "Let it be known, your dabbling in the dark arts has made it possible for me to catch glimpses of you... and what you choose to do in your... spare time."

"Oh!" Miu's eyes widened with understanding. "Oh..."

Had Cassian been spying on her?

Had he been watching all those times when she was pleasuring herself in the comfort and privacy of her woodsy alcove?

She smiled. "My lord, did you enjoy what you... glimpsed... of me?"

"Please refrain from looking at me in such a coy manner, my lady. That is quite enough mischief from you," he chided sternly. "I do not know how your conjurations came to be so powerful, but I must insist that you find a way to break it at once.

Cassian's harsh tone crashed into her like stone shattering glass.

Miu's lower lip trembled. "What?"

"I do not wish for our souls to be bound to one another in such an intimate manner."

"Why ever not, my lord?"

"As I have told you before, I value my solitude above all else. I hope you can respect my request."

"What if I do not wish to break our bond?" she challenged.

His silver eyes narrowed sharply. "Then... I shall find a way to destroy it."

***

Miu awoke with a start. Sweat dampened her skin. Her blue eyes flickered in the dark as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She was no longer floating atop a vast, endless sea.

She was back inside her underground burrow. The same cozy den that she had slept in since her days as a fledgling two-tailed cub. The smallness of it brought her comfort. The scent of dried lavender and rich, earthy soil filled her nostrils. These familiar smells comforted her as well.

Miu relaxed slightly.

A dream. It had only been a dream.

Yet, visions of the handsome water god lingered inside her as vividly as a memory.
Cassian had looked so real, sounded so real, felt so real, too real, perhaps, to be a mere phantom born from her slumbering subconscious?

As though in response to her question, an invisible force began to pull upon her heart in a rather crass and inconsiderate manner. A dull ache formed within Miu's chest.

"You are hurting me," she growled to no one in particular.

Instantly, the pulling ceased, and her ache subsided. A masculine voice whispered across her mind. "Not a dream. Break the spell, Miu of Seven Tails."

Not a dream, then?

Miu recognized the low, husky timber of his voice instantly.

So, it appeared their chimeric conversation had been real, after all.

She laughed bitterly. "Your bedside manners are terrible, my lord."

When he didn't respond, Miu sighed and stretched out her lithe, supple body in a languid manner.

Did he think to ignore her?

An unruly idea emerged from her sense of indignation. There was something so irritatingly prim and proper about the water god. Miu itched to shatter his resolve and goad him into losing a bit of his hard-won control.

She dipped her hand between her thighs and released a soft, sensual moan.

His presence returned to her. "Stop."

"No one is forcing you to watch," she reminded him archly.

The silver-eyed god offered no response. His silence, however, didn't deter Miu.

With a defiant smirk, she slid her hands up her torso to cup her breasts. Miu gave them a gentle squeeze.

"If only you were here right now," she murmured in breathy tones, "you could become my hands... and I could become yours... and we could touch each other in ways that you might find very, very pleasing, indeed..."

Still, he gave no reply. It felt seducing a stone wall. Miu pouted. Her hands dropped from her bosom. "You are no fun at all, my lord."

His voice echoed through her thoughts. "I am not here to play games, my lady."

She sat up and grumbled, "Why must you always be so somber and serious?"

"Break the spell."

Miu shook her head. "No."

"No?"

"No," Miu repeated cheekily.

"I will not hesitate to act accordingly, then."

"Do it, then! Break the spell on your own—if you can!"

He didn't seem to believe in her compliance. "You will not stand in my way?"

"No, I will not stand in your way," Miu fired back sullenly, "but I have no intention of helping you, either. Since you are the one who wishes to part from me, then you ought to be tasked with the bothersome duty of undoing my magic!"

"I doubt I will need your help, my lady. I am a god, after all."

He sounded smug. Too smug.

Annoyance flared inside her. "I shall have you know—I sacrificed an ungodly amount of power and blood to entwine our souls, and I would be a fool to snip this string that I so painstakingly forged between us simply because you wish it so. Breaking this spell, even for an almighty being like yourself, will not be as easy as you think!"

There was a pause before he asked, "Why do you covet me so much, Miu of Seven Tails?"

Hesitantly, she admitted, "Because..."

"Tell me," he prompted.

"You saved me once when I was at death's door. Anyone else would have let me perish at Helios' hand without a second thought."

"Is that the only reason?"

At this point, Miu saw no reason to lie to him. Clearly, her many charms and powers of seduction didn't seem to wield much sway over the stubborn immortal.

Thus, she chose to answer frankly, "No, that is not the only reason. I also find you to be very attractive. I would like to bed you and consume more of your power. You could protect me from my enemies."

"Ah."

Miu sensed the coils of his displeasure wrapping around her heart. It felt as though an invisible hand was squeezing her organ in a tight fist. She winced slightly. "What more do you want from me, my lord? I have spoken nothing but the truth to you."

In condescending tones, he remarked, "I do not think you know what love is, Miu of Seven Tails."

His words stung, but she shrugged away the hurt. Miu mused, "Maybe you are right. Maybe I know nothing about love. Perhaps, then, we could learn to love... together?"

He ignored her suggestion. "I will find a way to break this spell, my lady."

"Your determination," she retorted, "breaks my heart."

When the water god didn't reply right away, Miu thought he had disappeared from her mind once more until he said, "At present, there are many dark, grave matters at play across our realms. I wish you would open your eyes to them instead of fixating on me."

"What do you mean by 'dark, grave matters,' my lord?" she demanded.

This time, when the water god didn't respond, Miu realized that he was truly gone, their cerebral link had been severed, and she was left to ponder the cryptic meaning behind his parting words with a confused frown on her face.