"And you're sure you haven't made a deal with any other infernal entities or beings of higher power?" Lilith mused.
Vaela scoffs, rolling her eyes for the fifth time since they started their hike toward Moonglow Cove in search of Kai. She swats at leaves and branches as she heaves through the undergrowth. Each step filled with frustration.
"I swear, it's uncanny. You're like a rare flower that only blooms near tragic backstories and chiseled abs."
"For the last time, Lilith. We're not here for that! Talking only!"
"Yes, of course, darling." Lilith purrs, now in her cat form as she pounces between branches. "I'd be a little worried if he got you to bed without talking to you first."
Vaela just groans in response and performs a sixth eye roll, crushing dried leaves and branches under foot, mumbling to herself about unread novels and strawberry cocktails.
"Just look at you, kitten." Lilith says with a proud smirk. "Forging through miles of untamed, mosquito-infested jungle, in a bikini-top and platform sandals, just to talk to a man that looks like Poseidon's younger, hotter cousin."
Vaela slapped a mosquito at the back of her neck, sweat curling down her barely-covered body. She had tied up her hair in a ponytail, while her sun hat and shawl had been replaced with a peak cap and barely-there cotton shorts. Platform sandals cradle her feet, their long, golden tassels wrapping around her carved calves.
"Maybe if I didn't have a little demon whispering her horny fanfiction into my ear every 5 fucking seconds, I could actually focus." Vaela yelled.
"Oh, come now, kitten. I was—"
"Just shut up you little imp! You're just trying to soften me, get me distracted, make it easier so you can corrupt me."
Lilith freezes on a branch, blinking quietly as Vaela forges on, taken aback by her sharp tone.
"That is your job, right? Evil demon!"
There was no answer from the succubus. She disappeared without a word, leaving Vaela to carry on alone.
Vaela barely noticed.
She was too tangled in her own web of self-doubts and uncertainty. Lingering thoughts of Lucien and Damian, lurking urges brought on by Kai's presence. The people of Aquesteria that cry out of help. Every thought is a thread that pulls her heart in different directions.
But something told her to keep going forward and keep looking for a heart to help.
So she kept walking, stumbling over roots and battling swarms of insects until finally the trees and brush gave way to sunlight and sparkling water.
"Moonglow Lagoon… beautiful as ever." Vaela grinned as she stepped onto the warm sand.
The water shimmered in soft shades of turquoise, framed by dark, shining sea-rocks and a beach lined with lazily waving palms, all smothered in the song of sea birds.
She half expected a comment from Lilith but there was only silence, slapping waves and salted winds whispering through the trees.
No Lilith, no Kai.
Vaela sighed. Then smiled. She was alone.
She was actually alone.
The thought pulls her towards a strange sense of melancholy, but the warm water lapping at her toes quickly helps her remember why she was in this paradise in the first place.
She flops onto the sand, digs a book out of her tote bag and grins like a Cheshire cat as she happily reads about sweaty pirates and maidens in distress.
She eventually takes to the water, then strolls along the beach, then hops among the sea rocks, poking at wildlife and weird things.
She had finally found a moment of peace, but still no Aquarian royalty.
"Still waiting to get swept off your feet, I see." Lilith purred as she bubbles to the surface, floating next to Vaela who basks in the middle of the lagoon.
"His loss. At least I finally got some peace and quiet. Even you left alone for once."
Lilith responds with a scoff and bent lip.
"At least I tried." Vaela shrugs.
With a solemn sigh, she steps out of the water and wrings dry her hair. As she turns to the shoreline, she sees it.
A perfectly placed conch shell stood upright in the center of her towel. Glinting in the sun like a tiny shrine. Beneath it was a small folded note featuring strong, elegant handwriting.
"To a goddess that deserves to be worshiped, but wished to be left alone - K"
Vaela's mouth slowly curls into a grin as she reads the note.
A soft chuckle escapes her as she reads it a few more times.
She holds the conch up, letting sunlight dance across its iridescence as her mouth slowly falls open, eyes wide as she stares at it in awe.
The sight is magical. Colors fusing to create combinations that flow like an ocean covered in millions of merged rainbows.
As she gazes deeper into the light show playing across the shell's surface, she notices something tucked inside. Another note.
"If you think this is beautiful… come back tonight, I'll show you this island's true beauty."
She sighs. Smiling.
Lilith reappears, peeking over Vaela's shoulder as she sits staring at the shell with quiet admiration.
"You're smitten." Lilith says with soft sincerity.
"He didn't even show up."
"Exactly! Someone who actually respects your boundaries."
Vaela doesn't respond, eye's softening into dreamy stares as she simpers softly at the glimmering shell.
"A Prince that can make a goddess swoon with nothing but some fancy handwriting and a shiny shell…" Lilith chuckles. "You need him."
At that, Vaela cracks into laughter. A wordless admission.
------------------
Night fell over the island, bringing a full moon and sky brimming with stars.
Vaela trudges through the jungle yet again, cursing every bug, branch and cloth-staining berry that gets her in the way.
"Honestly, I didn't even curse you to be this predictable." Lilith giggles.
"Shut up!" Vaela hisses. "Or help!"
"Really wish I could, kitten." Lilith shrugs as she poofs through branches and giant leaves. "Against the rules more me to help an accursed."
"Argh!" Vaela groans. "So you're just here to watch me suffer."
"And scream. Don't forget the orgasmic screams." Lilith replies before bellowing a laugh.
"Definitely evil!" Vaela sneers.
"Ugh! So dramatic!" Lilith hisses.
She snaps her fingers wrapping Vaela in a tendrils of smoke. As it cleared, Vaela found herself at the edge of the jungle with Moonglow Lagoon hidden behind bushes just ahead of her.
Vaela blinks in confusion, before turning her head to Lilith who glares at her.
"Lil… I didn't mean—"
"Just go…" Lilith scoffs, "Maybe your sexy sea-prince has more shiny shells to woo you with."
"Lilith—."
But the demoness vanishes in a swirl of smoke.
Vaela sighed and continued forward.
Ahead of her, as the trees parted and Moonglow Cove slowly came into view, she quickly understood how it had earned its name.
The water glowed with a surreal silver-blue shimmer as filaments of luminesce danced about the water's surface like moonlight given form.
Candles flickered across the sand and rocks, leading to a table edging the water, draped with simple linens and adorned with petals of every color.
And beside it stood Kai. Ruggish and regal.
His plain, white shirt hung open, fluttering behind him softly as he stared at Vaela, his eyes warm and reverent,
For a moment, Vaela forgets how to move. She stood staring at a scene so perfect she feared her presence would spoil it.
"Vanessa Moonblood," he says, his voice deep, regal and soft. "Thank you for allowing me this privilege."
Vanessa blinked, her mind raptured by the glowing light of the lagoon dancing across his emerald eyes.
His deep, beautiful, soulfully sincere emerald eyes.
He stepped forward, extending his hand like a prince out of a fairytale.
"May I?"
All logic and calculations forsake her as her mind, body and heart all urge her in unison.
All screaming one simple word— YES!
She places her hand in his.
And with the gentle touch of his skin, her night of magic began.