Marked by the Four Beast Lords After Transmigration

A younger wolf beastman passed them in the corridor carrying a stack of folded drying cloths against his chest.

"Chief."

Kael nodded once without stopping, and Nia looked past him into the wider chamber beyond.

Warm vapor rolled through the open stone doorway carrying heated mineral water, damp cedarwood, and sharper herbal oils set near the lower vents. The warmer air touched Nia’s cheeks almost immediately after they stepped inside.

The bath chamber opened deeper into the mountain than she expected, the heated stonework stretching farther beneath the chief caverns than most of the communal steam rooms.

Smooth stone floors sloped gently toward narrow runoff channels cut along the edges while steam collected beneath the darker ceiling beams overhead. Several pools sat recessed into the stone beneath the rising vents, their surfaces shifting softly as geothermal heat moved upward through the mountain.

One of the side pools remained partially drained near the outer vent channels where fresh mineral sealant still darkened the stone around a recently repaired pipe. The chamber had already been cleared for the evening by the time Kael brought her inside, and once the coverings settled shut behind them, the room grew quiet beneath the low rush of water moving through the vent channels.

Steam drifted between her and Kael while water moved beneath the stone floor.

Nia folded her arms loosely while looking farther into the chamber.

The private bath connected directly into the chief household caverns through the rear passageways. During heavy snowfall, nobody in the household needed to cross the outer mountain routes to reach the heated chambers.

Nia moved toward one of the side pools where cooler runoff flowed through a shallow channel cut into the stone. Water slipped through narrow cuts along the floor while fresh warmth rolled steadily through the geothermal vents beneath the mountain.

She crouched slightly to touch the edge of the water.

The water held deep steady heat without the sharp bite of boiling springs. Warmth soaked slowly into her fingertips where they rested near the edge.

Nia let out a slow breath while her fingers rested near the water.

Kael's attention shifted toward her.

"You're tired."

"Everybody is tired."

"Not like this."

Nia glanced back toward him.

Kael had removed his outer cloak while she studied the pools. Dark hair rested loose against his shoulders now while steam collected faintly along the bronze skin exposed near his throat and forearms. His gloves and wet outer layers lay folded across the cedar bench near the wall instead of dripping onto the warm stone.

He watched her steadily.

Damp heat lingered through the chamber.

Nia stood again and reached for one of the folded cloths on the cedar shelf, mostly so she had something else to look at.

"We've all been working since before sunrise," she muttered.

"You stopped twice for tea yesterday and still drifted off sorting grain."

"I closed my eyes for a minute."

"Long enough that Shen took the grain scoop away from you."

"I'm still not used to how quickly all of you notice things."

Kael moved past her toward one of the side shelves, and his hand settled briefly against the small of her back as he passed.

His hand stayed warm against her back through the fabric layers.

Nia looked down at the folded cloth in her hands while thicker steam moved between them.

Kael picked up one of the soapstone jars and loosened the lid.

Sharp cedarwood and herbs spread through the heated air.

"Sera made more oil for the dry weather," he said.

"Mm."

Nia recognized the blend.

After the first hard freeze, Sera had started carrying heavier oils through the storage corridors once people began splitting skin along their knuckles from hauling cold grain sacks, scrubbing frozen runoff channels, and carrying wet cloth bundles between heated rooms.

Nia rubbed her thumb against the cloth edge.

"The lower caverns are probably packed again after the storm," Nia said.

"They will be for a few days." Kael set the jar aside again.

"The younger ones always crowd the hottest vents first."

Nia laughed softly. "Of course they do."

"It becomes dangerous once they stop listening to whoever's supposed to be watching them."

Nia looked toward him suspiciously. "How many times did you nearly boil yourself as a child?"

Kael's mouth shifted faintly.

"Enough that my mother started assigning people to watch me near the southern pools."

Apparently Kael had spent enough of his childhood trying to boil himself in geothermal water that his mother still remembered.

Nia pointed toward him immediately. "See? This is exactly why your mother stopped trusting you near boiling water."

"I survived."

"That is not the same thing as making good choices."

Kael stepped closer again while heat moved between them through the damp air.

"You say that often."

"Because everybody here keeps proving me right."

His hand lifted toward her hair before pausing.

Nia still wasn't entirely used to that pause. For all Kael's certainty, he never forced contact once he noticed hesitation.

She gave the smallest nod.

His fingers slid carefully along one damp braid near her shoulder.

"Your hair still smells like smoke from the lower kitchens," he said quietly.

Warmth climbed sharply into her face quickly enough that she turned back toward the cedar shelves before he could see it properly.

"You say things like that too casually."

"Mm?"

"Compliments. You say them like they're nothing."

Kael looked unconcerned. "They aren't."

Nia turned partly away under the excuse of setting the folded cloth back onto the cedar shelf.

Lantern light softened through the damp air while water ran through the lower channels beneath the stone. Heat eased gradually into her shoulders and stiff hands while she stood there.

Behind her, Kael loosened the wraps around his wrists.

The soft scrape of leather against stone carried through the steam.

Nia became abruptly aware that the chamber had gone completely quiet around them.

No workers moved through the chamber now, and no voices carried nearby from the household corridors. Water ran steadily through the vents while Kael stood close enough that heat settled along her skin.

She reached for another topic before the silence settled too deeply between them.

"Did the eastern vent channels fully clear yet?"

"Mostly." Kael set the wrist wraps beside his gloves. "The lower lifts are still freezing near dawn."

"Mara said the drying cloths blocked drainage again."

"They always do after storms."

Nia glanced back toward the largest pool where dark water rolled softly beneath the lantern glow while pale steam rose against the stone.

The darker water and rising steam made it harder to ignore how near he stood beside her.

Kael moved beside her near the pool edge.

Close enough that heat settled steadily along one side of her body.

"You should soak before dinner," he said.

Nia looked up. "Right now?"

"You're exhausted."

"You keep saying that like I don't already know."

"Then stop arguing with me about it."

Nia opened her mouth to argue, reconsidered, and closed it again.

A low sound left Kael's chest while steam moved between them.

"You know exactly what you're doing," she muttered.

Kael looked down at her. "You stopped sounding annoyed by it days ago."

He was probably right.

Steam curled slowly upward around them while mountain water moved softly against the stone edges.

Nia looked toward the nearest pool again.

Warmth soaked through the chamber deeply enough that the colder corridors outside already sounded unpleasant. Her shoulders still carried the ache from grinding grain and hauling winter stores all week, and the thought of lowering herself into heated water while snow buried the outer mountain paths outside became harder to refuse the longer she stood there.

Kael stayed beside her quietly long enough that the sound of moving water filled the space between them before he finally said, “Stay.”

The single word settled into the damp air between them.

Nia looked at him.

Kael stood close enough that steam collected along the loose dark strands of hair near his throat while warmth from the pools touched the bronze of his skin beneath the lantern glow.

His gaze stayed on her.

Beyond the stone walls, voices carried faintly through the household routes while runoff water moved beneath the vents and workers crossed the corridors carrying cloth bundles and wrapped heating stones.

Inside the bath chamber, cedarwood steam drifted through the heated air while water moved through the vents beneath the stone. Kael waited for her answer without looking away.

Nia looked back toward the nearest pool.

The surface shifted softly beneath the steam while heat rolled upward in slow waves from the vents below. Meltwater from the outer mountain routes still clung faintly to the ends of her braids and the edges of her sleeves from moving between corridors all morning, and the deeper warmth inside the chamber only made her aware of how tired the rest of her body felt.

Her shoulders carried the slow heaviness that settled in after days of winter work inside the mountain — grinding grain, lifting storage sacks, and standing beside preparation fires long enough for steam and heat to dry the skin along her hands.

Kael remained beside her without speaking.

Silence around Kael no longer kept her bracing for uncertainty the way it had during her first days inside the mountain, and she found herself paying attention to smaller things instead — the scrape of leather against stone, the warmth of his hands, the way he always noticed cold before she admitted she felt it.

Nia rubbed her thumb once along the folded cloth still hanging loosely from her hand.

"If I stay in here too long," she said, "Mara's going to decide I've abandoned the kitchens completely."

"Mara already thinks I steal you from the kitchens too often."

Nia glanced up immediately. "That's because you do."

Kael looked unconcerned. "You stop paying attention to how long you've been working once you start organizing things."

"Somebody has to make sure people stop storing damp grain beside heating stones."

"Mm."

"That sound means you think you're right again."

"I usually am."

Nia narrowed her eyes toward him while Kael crouched beside one of the cedar shelves near the water.

The movement pulled the heavier muscles across his shoulders beneath the damp lantern glow while steam drifted slowly around him.

He reached for one of the folded drying cloths before holding it toward her.

"At least take off the wet outer layers before you decide whether you're staying."

Which would have been easier to resist if he had sounded unreasonable about any of it.

Nia accepted the cloth carefully.

The fabric held warmth from the chamber already, thick enough that heat spread immediately through her fingers.

Kael rose again afterward and crossed toward the farther side of the room near the deeper vents.

He wasn't leaving, only giving her space while she decided what to do. She watched his back for a moment longer than necessary before lowering her eyes again.

The mountain had changed around her slowly enough that she still noticed certain things gradually.

Nobody inside Kael's household acted surprised anymore when she moved through the chief caverns carrying baskets or grain ledgers. Her cups stayed beside the fire without being moved, blankets appeared before she realized she was cold, and someone always saved her portions during late kitchen shifts. Kael kept making room for her inside spaces that already belonged to him long before she fully noticed he was doing it.

Nia lowered her eyes before her thoughts wandered further than she wanted.

The outer ties of her winter layer loosened slowly beneath her fingers.

Damp fabric shifted away from her shoulders while heat from the chamber spread gradually along her skin.

Behind her, water moved steadily through the lower channels.

Kael spoke without turning fully around.

"Your hands are dry again."

Nia looked down automatically.

Fine pale lines crossed the skin near her knuckles where the cold weather kept drying them faster than the oils could fully keep up.

"Everybody's hands are dry right now."

"Yours split easier."

She flexed her fingers once. "I noticed."

Kael crossed back toward her carrying the small soapstone jar from earlier.

Nia immediately stepped backward half a pace.

"Oh no."

His brows lowered slightly. "Oh no?"

"You have that look again."

"What look?"

"The one right before you decide I've stopped taking care of myself properly."

Kael stopped close enough that heat from the pools moved between them through the damp air.

"Your hands hurt."

"They're fine."

"Nia."

Kael rarely needed to raise his voice. He only looked at her steadily until resisting him started feeling pointless.

Nia exhaled through her nose before holding one hand out reluctantly.

"You're becoming difficult to argue with."

Kael took her hand carefully.

Warm fingers closed around hers while he opened the oil jar with his other hand and worked a small amount carefully across the dry skin near her knuckles.

The cedarwood scent spread stronger once warmed against skin.

Nia watched his hands instead of his face.

Focusing on his hands instead only made the situation worse once she noticed how carefully he handled even ordinary contact.

Kael handled her carefully even during ordinary things.

Steady and deliberate, like he paid attention to every small reaction before deciding how much pressure to use.

The warmth of his hands against hers made it increasingly difficult to keep her thoughts organized.

"You don't have to do all this every time I get dry hands," she muttered.

"Mm."

"That still isn't an answer."

"Your skin's already splitting here." His thumb brushed lightly across the side of her hand. "It'll hurt worse tomorrow if you ignore it tonight."

Nia tried very hard not to focus on the warmth of his hands.

Outside the chamber, faint footsteps crossed one of the upper household corridors before fading deeper into the mountain again.

Inside, steam moved through the lantern light while Kael continued rubbing oil into her hands with calm familiarity, like this belonged beside every other winter task carried through the mountain.

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