Marked by the Four Beast Lords After Transmigration

The stew thickened further while Kael stacked bowls beside the hearth.

Nia adjusted the pot hook again.

It still did not need adjusting.

Crushed mountain herb and softened root filled the warmer air between them while faint wind moved through the outer entrance corridor.

Kael reached for the ladle.

“I can serve.”

“You serving food yourself makes me nervous.”

“You keep forgetting the stew exists.”

Nia opened her mouth, then closed it again because he was not wrong.

Kael’s attention shifted toward her face before he dipped the ladle into the broth.

The movement pulled his shoulder against hers lightly.

Nia reached toward the salt jar before realizing it already sat open beside the hearth.

Kael filled the first bowl steadily before serving the second without looking away from her.

Kael settled beside the hearth while the bowl remained warm between Nia’s hands.

His hand brushed near hers reaching for the bowls while pottery scraped softly against stone and she became increasingly aware of how often he leaned close now without hesitation.

Kael handed her one of the bowls.

Their fingers brushed.

Nia accepted the bowl carefully before retreating half a step toward the hearth rug.

The thick fur beneath her feet still held warmth from earlier in the evening.

Kael settled beside the fire instead of returning toward the harness straps near the entrance while Nia lowered herself carefully onto the edge of the rug with the bowl balanced between both hands.

The broth smelled rich now after the added herbs.

Across the hearth Kael stretched one leg slightly toward the firestones before tasting the stew.

Nia tried very hard not to watch his mouth and failed anyway.

Kael drank another mouthful of broth while watching her over the rim of the bowl.

Nia looked back down into the stew quickly enough that she nearly missed the next spoonful entirely.

Kael exhaled softly through his nose.

“You’re staring.”

“You were looking first.”

“Hm.”

Nia blew across the broth harder than necessary before taking another bite.

The roots had softened properly despite everything.

Shen had been right about the broth thickening too much earlier.

The added water balanced it again.

Outside, wind moved through the outer corridor supports with a low hollow sound before fading deeper into the mountain.

Kael rested his forearm loosely against one knee.

“You’ll need heavier boots tomorrow.”

Nia lifted her head.

“For the grain sacks?”

“The lower tunnels flooded near the west incline.”

“Oh.” She shifted the bowl slightly between her palms. “Ice?”

“Melt runoff.”

Nia frowned.

“Already?”

“The lower vents changed the flow.”

They shifted into discussing tunnel temperatures, storage routes, and whether the western grain sacks needed moving before the next snowfall sealed the lower paths while broth steamed steadily between them.

Every time Kael looked toward her across the hearth, Nia realized several seconds too late that she had stopped following the tunnel discussion again.

At some point she realized she was sitting close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed whenever one of them shifted.

Nia broke another softened root apart with her spoon.

Kael continued watching her across the hearth.

“Eat before it gets cold.”

Nia stared at the spoon in her hand a moment too long before breaking the softened root apart.

The entrance curtain shifted before she recovered.

Cold air moved through the residence.

Shen stepped back inside carrying an empty herb basket beneath one arm.

His attention moved toward them once before lowering toward the hearth.

“The corridor shelves are freezing near the outer wall,” he said while setting the basket beside the storage table. “The moisture already started icing.”

Kael nodded once.

“We’ll move the roots higher tomorrow.”

Nia pressed her thumb along the rim of the bowl.

“You already knew?”

“The floor stones were colder earlier.”

Shen crossed toward the hearth before lowering himself onto the opposite side of the rug while faint corridor drafts moved through the residence again.

Shen glanced toward the stew bowl in her hands.

“You remembered the salt this time.”

Nia narrowed her eyes.

“I remembered the salt every other time too.”

“The second batch yesterday was missing it.”

“That was one time.”

“The grain mash three nights ago.”

“That one barely needed salt.”

Kael drank another mouthful of broth.

“It was bland.”

Nia adjusted the bowl against her knees again before answering.

“I cook for both of you and this is what I get.”

Shen’s attention lowered toward his bowl while restrained amusement softened near the corner of his mouth.

Kael looked entirely untroubled.

“You’re both getting comfortable criticizing food you didn’t make yourselves.”

“We’re alive,” Kael said.

Nia pressed her lips together while focusing very hard on the stew instead.

Kael kept eating as though he had said nothing unusual.

Shen reached for another spoon beside the hearth shelf before passing it toward her.

“You bent yours earlier.”

Nia looked down.

The handle of her current spoon curved slightly sideways near the center.

She had not even noticed.

Nia pressed her lips together while lowering the spoon again.

Kael’s gaze lowered toward the spoon too.

Then toward her hand.

Nia loosened her grip before the handle bent any further.

Nia realized the spoon handle had started bending slightly again beneath her fingers.

“You both keep doing this.”

Kael continued eating.

Nia shifted the bowl slightly closer toward herself again.

Nia rubbed her thumb once against the warm ceramic before looking back toward the hearth.

Shen reached for the kettle hook overhead.

“The baths should stay warmer tomorrow if the western vents continue pushing heat.”

Nia nearly splashed broth over the edge of the bowl before correcting the motion.

Kael remained still beside the hearth while Shen adjusted the kettle hook overhead.

“The lower pools held heat longer this morning.”

Nia focused on breaking apart another softened root with her spoon.

“That’s good.”

Kael leaned back slightly beside her while Nia focused on steadying the bowl between both hands again.

The kettle clicked softly above the hearth hook.

“We should refill the cedar storage before the next bath rotation,” Shen said.

Nia nodded while turning the bowl slowly between her hands.

“We’re almost out of the good bark strips anyway.”

Kael set his empty bowl beside the hearth.

“You’re distracted.”

Nia pointed the spoon toward him.

“Both of you have been annoying all evening.”

“Mm.”

Shen reached for the herb basket beside him.

“The eastern traders brought more cedar bundles before the storm closed the ridge paths.”

Nia forced her attention toward the basket before Kael could notice she had been staring again.

“How many?”

“Six full bundles. Mostly lower-grade bark strips.”

“That’s still enough for the baths if we mix it with pine.”

Shen nodded.

“The scent won’t hold as long.”

“That’s fine. The steam matters more during deep winter anyway.”

Kael leaned back slightly against the stone beside the hearth.

“You stay longer when the cedar’s fresh.”

Nia adjusted her grip on the bowl.

“The stone keeps the scent longer when it’s fully heated.”

No one spoke for several breaths after she said it.

Deep winter baths and heated stone had already settled naturally into the rhythm of the residence during storm nights.

Shen’s hands slowed once over the basket weave while Kael continued watching her across the hearth.

Nia scraped her spoon softly against the bowl.

Outside, wind pushed harder through the outer corridor before fading lower along the stone tunnels.

Shen rose first.

“I’ll check the outer shelves before the ice spreads further.”

Kael nodded once.

“I’ll come.”

Nia lifted her head toward them.

“You’re going back into the corridor?”

“The roots will freeze if the shelves ice over.”

Wind echoed faintly somewhere deeper along the outer corridor tunnels.

Shen collected the empty herb basket while Kael rose beside the hearth.

Cooler corridor air reached the hearth space once Kael stepped away from the fire.

Nia steadied the bowl more carefully between her hands.

“I can help.”

Kael looked toward her.

“No.”

Nia exhaled softly through her nose while Shen adjusted the basket beneath one arm.

“The outer shelves are icing near the cliff corridor,” Shen said. “The stone will be worse now.”

Nia tightened her fingers briefly along the side of the bowl but did not argue further.

Kael stepped close enough that furnace warmth and corridor cold mixed together around her.

“I know.”

Nia shifted the bowl closer toward her knees.

Nia lifted her head toward him anyway.

Kael rested one hand against the top of her head.

His hand rested there briefly before sliding away.

His fingers brushed lightly through the thick curls near her ear before disappearing.

“Watch the fire while we’re gone,” he said.

Nia lowered the bowl slowly toward her knees while the corridor curtain shifted behind them.

Shen lowered his attention toward the basket straps.

Kael reached for the outer cloak hanging near the entrance while Shen pushed the corridor curtain aside.

Corridor wind pushed through the residence when the curtain opened.

Then both men disappeared into the outer tunnels together.

The curtain settled closed behind them.

The hearth settled quieter again while wind moved faintly beyond the corridor curtain.

Nia lowered her bowl slowly toward the hearthstones.

Nia lifted one hand toward the thick curls near her ear after the corridor settled quiet beyond the hearth.

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