Oh God! Why the hell did I have to have pure-white qi in me? I had thought that people from another world such as Earth couldn't possibly possess any sort of qi whatsoever.
He said, "As one of the rulers of Acaedien, I can't let a defenseless little thing with pure qi like you walk around unprotected when there so many wicked beasts with dark qi like us around."
He said he is one of the rulers of Acaedien. So he was one of the seven lords, then. But which one was he? Lord Geoffrey Lancaster? He couldn't be because the president of the monarchy and a father figure to the citizens of the kingdom just didn't venture out into the woods to do soldier's work. Lord Noah Wakefield? He was a magic professor and the head magic researcher, wasn't he? So he wouldn't be here doing this sort of thing, either. In fact, Brenna did say that Lord Noah had requested them to gather wild herbs for him, which meant that he couldn't be here himself. So that meant this one next to me here could either be Lord Ethan Sherwood, Victor Rutherford, or Aaron Lancaster.
My best bet was Lord Aaron Lancaster because he looked about the right age, which was in his late twenties or early thirties, similar to both Felix and Caleb.
I nodded in understanding and said, "I don't want to cause any trouble, my lord."
He said, "Neither do I. It'd be troublesome and a headache to clean up. Will you allow me to cast a spell on you, Alfie?"
I thought about this for a second and then asked, "What does the spell do, my lord?"
"It's a barrier of sorts. The spell will mix your qi with something that's darker. It will conceal your qi and mask you from individuals with dark qi. This will, to a certain extent, protect you from potential danger."
In other words, the spell would suppress and hide my qi, and thus, I would not gain any unwanted attention from those individuals with dark qi, who would undoubtedly want to harm me.
I nodded my head and said, "I understand." I looked at him in the eye, a smile on my face. "Yes, please cast a spell on me, my lord. I don't want to cause or encounter any trouble."
He smiled, too, and nodded in the affirmative. "Now then," he said. "We can't waste any more time."
After wiping my tears from my eyes, I straightened as he started chanting words I didn't know or understand. But of course, they sounded beautiful and pleasant to my ears, and I felt I could listen to him softly whispering that strange magical language to me forever, so soothing that it was. Then he spread his hands out, and a dark hue of qi, powerful and glowing in the form of dust, flowed from his palms toward me.
He pulled me close as he continued his chanting. A moment later, he took out a small dagger. I watched in both awe and astonishment as he sliced the blade across his lips. I was about to ask him if he was all right when he replaced the dagger at his side and then pulled me even closer so that our faces were mere inches apart.
With his breath fanning warmth on my skin, he said, "Now then, let's seal the spell."
I nodded, and he cupped my face in both his hands, his fingers digging deeply into my hair. I felt frozen as his lips found mine. Then I tasted his blood in my mouth as his firm, warm flesh pressed gently against mine. Suddenly, I felt weak and my knees buckled as he slipped his tongue between my lips and into my mouth. He started to kiss me, his tongue stroking and caressing against mine until I was breathless.
"Ngh..." I groaned, as I tasted him and his blood in my mouth.
Suddenly, I felt even weaker, and my head became dazed, as if my entire body were being sucked out of qi.
When he finally released me, I collapsed against him, my face buried against his massive chest.
He picked me up in his arms and then hopped back on the winged tiger. When I dizzily looked up at him, he gave me what looked like an apologetic smile. Was he sorry that he was making me feel this weak?
I said, "I'm all right. I'll be as right as rain soon."
He stroked my hair gently and said, "I'm sorry, Alfie, but this is the only way."
I nodded in understanding. "I know."
He moved and touched my hand gently, his large one completely enveloping my small one in his. "Look," he said.
And indeed, I looked. On my hand was this dark, thin shield enveloping the skin. When I shifted my gaze to other parts of my body, I noticed the dark shield there, too. So that meant that I was protected, right? How nice.
"The dark color will disappear soon, and no one will know that you're being protected with this spell," he explained.
I raised my face to look up at him and said, "Thank you, my lord."
He chuckled pleasantly and said, "You're welcome. Now then, are you comfortable?"
With my head still dazed and my body weak, I nodded. "As comfortable as I can be," I said, snuggling myself against him even more.
I didn't miss the fact that he had a wicked grin on his face as he tightened his arm around my middle, acting like a seatbelt and protecting me from falling. Then the winged tiger flapped its mighty wings, and we ascended into the sky.