Seven Devils and a Rose

Book 3: A Kingdom of Roses and Magic - Chapter 113

He nodded. "Since they are where qi veins gather. The bigger and lusher the mountain, the stronger the qi. Different mountains emanate different types of qi. Each mountain will have several Meridian points, which is where qi is the strongest."

I cocked my head to one side, the phrase Meridian point sounding familiar. I vaguely remembered Grandfather Kenjiro saying something along the lines that his shrine sat on a Meridian spot at the base of the mountain.

Aaron said, "We have the dictionary of the mountains, with their names and types of qi they emanate, if you're interested. Unfortunately, it's one of a kind and cannot be issued out of the palace's library."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm interested."

But I'd have to wait until we returned to get my hands on that dictionary, which I assumed was probably as thick and heavy as that spell book I had seen Lord Noah use when he needed to make references.

Aaron continued to point out certain locations of the land to me, and I was engrossed. It was a moment later when I turned my head and realized he was sitting very close to me.

He was so close, in fact, that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. I noticed his emerald-green eyes were twinkling as he smiled at me.

I blushed and asked, "What? Something on my face?"

He shook his head. Suddenly, he leaned in and planted his lips on mine, which took me by surprise. Though, I must admit it was a pleasant one.

His kiss was gentle and slow, and it was beautiful. Suddenly, I felt sparks and pleasure charging through me. My body started heating with such intensity, the likes of which I hadn't felt before, and I was shaken.

Aaron coaxed my lips to part for him, and I was about to mindlessly oblige when the sound of a throat clearing came our way. Swiftly, Aaron terminated the kiss and moved back, his gaze flying to the door.

My face flushing hot, I, too, turned my attention to the door and saw Felix standing there. The handsome man looked...amused as he came to sit on the sofa beside me. And Felix, being Felix, wrapped his ironlike arms around my waist and pulled me onto his lap.

My body reacted, and I started heating up even more. Oblivious to my dire circumstance, Felix proceeded to snuggle his masked face against my neck and beg for a kiss. Not that he hadn't received one this morning, though.

My body felt like it melted against him, and I knew if I didn't move out of the man's arms soon, I'd be in trouble.

Aaron rolled his eyes. "You're beginning to piss me off, Felix. Can't I have Alfie to myself for a second?"

Felix retorted, "What are you going on about? You've spent the last three hours with her today. That's long enough, in my opinion."

"Felix, you're being mean," I said, trying in vain to remove his arms from around me. "I was enjoying my time with Aaron. He's very good at explaining things to me, and I want to learn about this world as much as I can."

At this, Aaron gave Felix a satisfied smirk. "You heard Alfie. Now leave. I'm teaching her important stuff."

"Like hell, I'll leave," Felix said. "I'm bored. It's been a week, and nothing has happened."

I laughed because I couldn't help myself. Being stuck in this airship must be hell for a man like Felix, who spent most of his time either on the battlefield or training his armies.

I said, "Then why did you come in the first place? You knew it was going to take a couple weeks to reach Wulin and there would be nothing to do except to sit tight and wait."