Chapter 458: Burning alive

Paros finished off the rogue beasts with swift efficiency, but the moment he turned around, he caught sight of the dark powder the female had flung at Rory in her dying breath.

A jolt of alarm shot through him, and he barked out a warning: "Rory, hold your breath!"

Still, he was a fraction too late.

"Cough, cough!"

Even as Paros spoke, Rory had already inhaled several lungfuls of the powder, choking out a few hacking coughs. What in the world was this stuff? Why was it so pungent?

Paros rushed back to her side, his expression tight with anxiety. "How are you feeling?"

"What is this powder?" Rory’s eyes watered from the irritation. "Why is it so suffocating?"

"It’s a specialized substance engineered to target females." Paros scooped Rory up into his arms without a second thought. "I’m taking you to find Vincent and the others right now."

As Paros carried her away, Rory felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. "Paros... what kind of drug was that?"

She lay weakly in his embrace as her head grew heavier. Beneath her clothes, her body began to radiate a strange, mounting heat.

"It’s a drug designed to force a female into heat." Paros explained as he strode quickly out of the alley.

Just as she thought.

The moment her body started burning up, Rory had already guessed what the powder was. Given how harsh and choking it had been, she had initially mistaken it for some kind of interstellar chili powder. It turned out she simply hadn’t seen enough of the galaxy’s darker side.

"Rory, hold on a little longer. I’ll get you to Vincent and the rest in no time," Paros promised.

Rory trusted Paros’s character as a dragon. Though he had been arrogant and cold in the past, his personal integrity was absolute.

"Okay." Rory nodded weakly against his chest.

Emerging from the alley, Paros’s expression darkened as he surveyed the street, which was choked wall-to-wall with people.

With a crowd this dense, trying to force their way through on foot would simply take too long. The only way to move fast enough to get Rory to her mates was to shift into his beast form.

However, the Females Festival strictly prohibited beastmen from transforming on the streets. To prevent any accidents, the ban extended beyond the ground—the airspace above the city was entirely locked down by automated barriers. Any beastman who shifted would be instantly struck down and vaporized by the defensive grid.

This measure was meant to protect the females out celebrating tonight. Once a male shifted into his massive beast form, it would be far too easy to accidentally harm someone in the crush.

Looking down at Rory, whose face was growing flushed and increasingly distressed in his arms, Paros knew he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

He knew Rory didn’t love him, and he refused to take advantage of her in a vulnerable state. But the drug was vicious; she needed to be handed over to Vincent immediately. Even if the defensive barriers tore him to shreds tonight, he couldn’t let anything happen to her.

Though miserable, Rory hadn’t completely lost consciousness. Catching sight of the jam-packed street ahead—and the sudden flash of dragon horns sprouting from Paros’s head—she realized instantly what he was planning to do.

Gathering every ounce of remaining strength, she gripped his sleeve.

"Paros, you can’t shift. If those barriers hit you, you could die."

Before heading out tonight, Rory had heard Vincent mention that the Central District was blanketed in defensive arrays. They were ancient safeguards left behind by the Beast God, activated only during the Festival. Their power was terrifying—even someone as strong as Paros would be severely injured or killed by them.

Paros looked down at her, panic edging into his voice. "Rory, there are too many people here. If I don’t change forms, I can’t get you to them fast enough."

"I can hold on," Rory forced herself to say, fighting through the rolling waves of discomfort. "Paros, listen to me—you are not allowed to shift."

His mental force had only just recovered; he couldn’t take such a reckless risk.

She had already weighed her options. If she couldn’t hold out, it wasn’t the end of the world. At worst, she could just find some empty spot and complete a mating bond with Paros. She wouldn’t lose anything out of the deal, anyway. Gaining an extra partner was far better than sacrificing Paros’s life. If Paros died here because of her, she knew she could never forgive herself.

"The main streets are too packed—let’s take the alleyways," Rory urged him. "These alleys form a complete labyrinth; they should help us bypass the crowd and find Vincent."

The only downside was that the turns were complicated and would waste precious time. But compared to the human-wall of the main avenue, the deserted back alleys were far safer for them right now.

Paros cast a glance down the pitch-black alley and nodded. "Alright, we’ll take the alleys. Don’t worry, Rory—I won’t let anything happen to you."

With that, Paros clutched her tighter and plunged back into the dark mouth of the alleyway.

He moved at maximum speed, but the winding maze of narrow passages was genuinely disorienting. Even though their signals had flickered back to life and the trackers were responding, Paros—unfamiliar with this specific sector’s layout—nearly took a wrong turn several times.

"Mmm... so hot..."

Rory’s consciousness was slipping away. Her hands began to claw restlessly at the collar of her dress. The smooth expanse of her skin had flushed an alluring, feverish pink from the rising heat inside her.

"Paros..."

She gazed up at him, her burning palms pressing flat against his chest.

The heat radiating from her skin made Paros’s rapid strides stutter to a sudden halt. "Rory, just hang on a little longer. We’re about to find them. The trackers are active; they’re already heading this way."

The body in his arms was growing dangerously hot, fueling his mounting panic.

Rory didn’t want to endure it anymore; the agony was unbearable. She felt as though her entire body was melting from the inside out, every single bone burning as if forged in a furnace. She was suffocatingly hot and aching all over.

A trickle of warm liquid slipped from her nose.

"Paros, my nose is bleeding... It hurts so much, I feel like I’m burning alive."

Whimpering, she writhed against his chest, pressing her burning body against him through their layers of fabric.

Lowering his gaze, Paros saw the trace of blood on her face, and his steps halted entirely.

There’s no time left.

Rory’s condition had deteriorated past the point where they could wait for Vincent and the others.

Swiftly scanning the alley, Paros spotted an uninhabited warehouse. He kicked the door open and carried her inside. The interior was cluttered and chaotic, but he quickly cleared a relatively clean spot and gently laid her down.

Rory had completely lost her reason to the fever. Feeling herself released from his arms, her hands instinctively reached up, hooking around his neck.

"I’m so uncomfortable... don’t leave me..."

"Help me..."

"Rory, wake up!"

Paros tried to force some distance between them, his voice hoarse from the sheer force of his restraint.

But Rory refused to listen. Sensing him pulling away, she clung to him like a desperate vine, burying her face against the crook of his neck.

It’s so cool. It feels so good.

Like a block of ice. She needed more—she needed a bigger piece of ice!

Frantic, she began tugging at Paros’s clothes. The overwhelming torment wrung a soft, tearful sob from her throat.

"I want ice... I want it cold..."

Watching her suffer like this, Paros reached out and tore open the front of his own shirt. He didn’t want to take advantage of a helpless person, but watching Rory endure such agony was infinitely worse.

"Rory, look at me."

Paros cupped her face, lowering his head to capture her lips in a deep, anchoring kiss. "Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you."

Pulling her tightly against his chest, he channeled his remaining energy and deliberately slashed open his own solid chest. A single droplet of golden dragon’s blood—radiating an immense, primordial power—surfaced from the wound.

The moment the drop of blood left his body, Paros’s internal ability began to drain away at a terrifying speed, and silver threads began to creep into his hair.

Without a single second of hesitation, Paros pressed the glowing drop of blood directly against Rory’s chest, right over her heart.

The golden blood made contact with her skin and instantly transformed into a miniature golden dragon, diving straight into her body.

A searing wave of pure energy surged through her limbs and bones, clashing violently with the savage drug ravaging her system.

"Ah—"

Rory knitted her brows, a low groan of pain escaping her lips.

Enduring the agonizing backlash of dropping in rank, Paros wrapped his arms securely around her, his voice a steady, low murmur against her ear. "Just bear with it a little longer, Rory. It’ll be over soon."