Marked by the Four Beast Lords After Transmigration

Kael’s mouth stayed against hers long enough that Nia forgot the spoon still hanging loose in her hand.

The kiss disrupted her thoughts so completely that she could no longer separate the hearth heat from him anymore.

His hand remained firm along the side of her neck, rough fingers warm beneath the loose curls near her jaw while the kiss deepened with slow restraint that somehow unsettled her more than urgency would have.

The spoon slipped against the edge of the pot.

Metal clicked softly against iron.

Kael drew back only far enough for breath to pass between them.

Nia looked up at him.

Her breathing refused to settle no matter how hard she tried to steady it.

The stew simmered beside them while snow hissed softly beyond the entrance curtain and the hanging herbs near the hearth swayed faintly from the corridor draft.

Kael watched her steadily when he said her name again, and the sound disrupted the breath she had just managed to regain.

“Nia.”

She swallowed once.

“You—”

Her voice failed completely.

Nia tightened her grip around the spoon handle before she realized she was doing it.

Kael’s thumb brushed once beneath her jaw.

“I know.”

That answer nearly destroyed what little composure she still had left.

Nia stared at the stew before the first thing that reached her mouth escaped anyway.

“The stew’s going to burn.”

Kael glanced toward the pot once.

“It won’t.”

“It absolutely will if nobody stirs it.”

She tried to sound normal. The result came out breathless anyway.

Kael finally stepped back far enough for colder air from the corridor draft to reach the space between them again.

Nia fixed her eyes very firmly on the stew while forcing her hand to move the spoon again.

The broth had thickened slightly near the bottom from neglect.

She stirred too fast at first.

Then slower once she realized she had nearly splashed broth over the edge of the pot.

Behind her, Kael remained quiet enough that she kept losing track of the stew whenever he shifted.

Neither of them spoke for several breaths.

Then the rear curtain shifted.

Nia jerked hard enough that the spoon struck the rim of the pot again.

Shen stepped back into the residence carrying two small storage hooks beneath one arm.

His attention moved toward them before his expression smoothed again.

“The lower shelf brackets warped,” he said evenly while crossing toward the side table. “I replaced them.”

Nia’s ears warmed.

Kael said nothing afterward, and the quiet around the hearth pressed harder against her skin than the fire heat.

Shen set the hooks beside the storage shelf with careful attention.

No one spoke.

Even the bubbling stew sounded loud.

Then Shen looked toward the pot.

“You lowered the fire too late.”

Nia blinked.

“What?”

“The broth thickened.”

He stepped toward the hearth and reached for one of the water jars.

Shen added water to the stew with the same calm precision he used arranging herbs, and Nia finally managed to breathe properly again.

“Oh.” She cleared her throat quickly. “Right.”

Shen poured a careful amount of water into the stew while Nia stirred.

Kael stepped back just enough for Shen to move between them without brushing shoulders.

Shen stirred once, checked the consistency, then handed the ladle back to her.

“There.”

“Thanks.”

Their fingers touched briefly during the exchange.

Shen’s gaze lifted toward her face for one quiet moment before lowering again.

Nia’s stomach tightened strangely.

Kael returned to the entrance wall and reached for the repaired harness buckle again.

The movement would have looked casual to anyone else inside the residence.

Every time Kael crossed behind her, Nia lost track of the rhythm of stirring entirely while Shen’s hands slowed briefly over the herbs near the hearth.

The stew simmered steadily beneath the hanging herbs.

Nia stirred carefully while scraping the spoon too hard against the bottom of the pot before correcting the motion again when the lingering heat along her mouth disrupted her thoughts.

Shen moved toward the drying hooks above the hearth.

“The eastern runners reached the lower stores before the drifts closed,” he said.

“That’s good.”

She cleared her throat before speaking again.

“That’s good. We needed more salt stock before the next freeze.”

Shen adjusted one of the herb bundles overhead.

“Mm.”

Kael tightened another strap loop against the repaired harness.

“The east paths stay clearer longer.”

Nia nodded too quickly.

“Because of the cliff break.”

Kael looked toward her.

Then he lowered his attention toward the harness again.

Nia looked away first.

She scraped the spoon harder along the bottom of the pot before easing the motion again.

Shen lowered the herb bundle from the hook and began separating the dried leaves into smaller storage bowls beside the hearth while Kael tightened the harness straps near the entrance and the stew simmered lower between them.

Outside, wind rattled harder through the outer corridor supports.

Inside, the residence settled back into steady winter warmth while the stew simmered lower over the hearth.

Eventually Kael rose to hang the repaired harness beside the entrance.

When he moved behind Nia this time, his hand rested briefly against the middle of her back without guiding her anywhere before disappearing again.

Nia realized several seconds too late that she had stopped adding roots to the stew entirely.

Shen’s hands stilled once over the herbs before continuing again.

No one acknowledged it.

Nia lowered her attention toward the stew.

“This is getting ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath.

Kael heard her.

“What is?”

She looked back at him before she could stop herself and regretted it at once.

He still looked at her the same way he had while repairing harness straps earlier, and her grip tightened harder around the spoon handle.

Nia opened her mouth.

Nothing useful appeared.

Shen reached for another herb bundle and loosened the ties around it carefully.

“The northern storage runners asked whether the lower bath vents are stable now,” he said.

“Yes. Stable. Very stable.”

The answer came out too quickly. Shen lowered his attention toward the herbs while Kael’s mouth shifted faintly near the hearth.

“The lower floors stayed warm through the night,” Shen said.

Nia nodded firmly while nearly missing the next turn through the stew again.

“Good. Then the lower floors should stay usable through the next freeze.” She adjusted the pot slightly over the fire. “Everyone can stay focused on the vents.”

Shen laughed quietly beneath his breath.

Shen lowered his attention back toward the herbs while Nia realized the spoon had stopped moving entirely again.

Nia looked toward him.

“You laughed.”

Shen adjusted the herbs once before answering.

“Briefly.”

Kael stepped back toward the hearth.

Kael stopped close enough beside her that she lost track of the root bundle in her hand again.

Kael glanced toward the stew.

“Needs another root bundle.”

She blinked once before looking down.

It did.

“You’re distracting,” she muttered while reaching for the root bundle.

Kael adjusted the kettle hook once.

“Mm.”

He checked the stew beside her before adding, “You noticed that now?”

Nia stirred the broth once too sharply before correcting the motion again.

Nia forced herself to keep stirring.

The root bundle beside the cutting board had gone untouched long enough that the outer strips had started drying near the fire heat.

She reached for them too quickly.

One slipped from her fingers onto the counter.

Kael caught it before it rolled off the edge.

Nia scraped the spoon through the broth again while Kael set the root strip back beside her hand.

His knuckles brushed the side of her wrist lightly during the movement, deliberate enough that she lost track of the conversation for a second afterward.

Kael returned his attention toward the hanging kettle as though nothing had happened.

Shen continued sorting herbs beside the hearth, though his hands slowed briefly over the drying leaves.

Nia cleared her throat.

“We still need to finish the lower grain sacks before the next snowfall closes the eastern paths properly.”

She cleared her throat once before continuing.

Kael checked the kettle hook once more before answering.

“We’ll move them tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Nia glanced toward the entrance curtain where wind hissed faintly through the outer corridor again. “If the drifts rise overnight—”

“They won’t rise that fast.”

Kael answered with the same certainty he used discussing tunnel repairs, and Nia focused very hard on crushing the softened roots against the side of the pot.

Shen tied off another herb bundle before setting it into the storage basket beside him.

“The lower tunnels stayed clear this morning,” he said. “The western vents are pushing more heat now.”

Nia nodded.

“That helped upstairs too.” She adjusted the pot slightly again. “The sleeping room stayed warm longer after sunrise.”

Shen continued sorting herbs beside the hearth while Nia crushed softened roots against the side of the pot.

Kael looked toward her again.

Shen’s hands continued moving through the herbs with careful precision.

“The insulation layers are holding better,” he said after a moment.

Nia adjusted the pot slightly again while Shen continued separating herbs into the storage basket beside him.

“Good. Because I’m not surviving another freezing morning in that room.”

Kael shifted the hanging bowls beside the hearth without looking away from her.

“You survived.”

“Barely.”

“You complained.”

“Because I was freezing.”

Shen’s shoulders shifted once with restrained amusement before he lowered another herb bundle into the basket.

Nia crushed another softened root against the side of the pot.

Shen lowered a tied bundle into the basket.

“The entire corridor heard you,” he said.

Nia pointed the spoon toward him without turning fully away from the stew.

“I was cold.”

“You were wrapped in three furs.”

“And still cold.”

Kael checked the firewood stack beside the hearth.

“You stole mine.”

Nia opened her mouth, then closed it again because she had stolen his fur during the night.

Kael returned his attention toward the hearth while Nia turned back toward the pot before her expression betrayed her further.

“I couldn’t feel my feet by morning.”

“No,” Kael said.

Behind her, the wind pushed harder through the outer corridor for a few breaths before easing again.

The fire crackled softly beneath the stew pot.

Shen rose from the hearth rug with the herb basket balanced against one forearm.

“I’ll store these before the moisture settles into them.”

Nia nodded too quickly.

“Right.” She adjusted the pot slightly again. “The herbs will dampen otherwise.”

Shen crossed toward the storage corridor, his gaze moving between them once before he disappeared down the corridor without another word.

The curtain shifted closed behind him.

The corridor curtain settled back into place while wind moved faintly through the outer passage beyond them.

She kept stirring carefully while the broth simmered lower over the fire.

Kael stepped close enough beside her that the heat from his body reached her before he spoke.

“Nia.”

The spoon slowed through the broth.

“What?”

“You’re holding the spoon hard enough to snap it.”

Nia looked down.

The wood creaked faintly beneath her grip.

She loosened her grip before the wood creaked again.

“Oh.”

Kael reached past her toward the hanging spice pouch near the hearth beam.

His chest brushed lightly against her shoulder during the movement.

Kael reached for the spice pouch overhead while the broth simmered steadily beside them.

Kael loosened the pouch string one-handed before sprinkling crushed mountain herb into the broth.

Crushed mountain herb deepened the scent rising from the broth.

“You keep forgetting ingredients,” he said.

“You’re the reason I keep forgetting things.”

Kael glanced toward her.

“Me?”

Nia realized too late that the spoon had stopped moving again.

“You keep doing that,” she muttered.

Kael tied the pouch closed again slowly.

“Mm.”

Nia grabbed the pot handle with her free hand mostly to give herself something else to focus on.

Kael remained beside her another moment before reaching for the bowls stacked near the hearth shelf.

“We should eat before it thickens further.”

Nia shifted the pot slightly over the fire.

It did not need moving.

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