The sun had already risen when Damon realized that pretending to go to sleep was pointless anymore.

He had been sitting on the edge of the bed for far too long, elbows resting on his knees, his gaze lost on some undefined point on the floor. His eyes burned, his head throbbed, and every time he closed his eyelids… there she was.

The garden.

The nightgown.

The smile.

“Great,” he murmured to himself. “Zero hours of sleep. Perfect.”

He got up, splashed some water on his face, and put on whatever was within reach. He didn’t bother to fix his hair. There wasn’t enough dignity left for that.

The mansion’s hallway was silent at that hour, with the distant sound of servants beginning their daily routine. Damon walked, dragging his feet slightly, when he turned a corner and almost bumped into someone.

“Damon?”

The voice, too cheerful for that hour, could only belong to one person.

Lily. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, wearing light clothing and a curious smile already on her face. One glance at his face was enough to change her expression.

“…Wow,” she said, tilting her head. “You look terrible.”

Damon let out a short, tired laugh.

“Good morning to you too.”

Lily moved a little closer, analyzing him without any shame.

“No, seriously. You look awful. You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”

“Sleep is a relative concept,” he replied. “I… lay down.”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

“And you were staring at the ceiling thinking about bad decisions?”

He sighed.

“I saw something I shouldn’t have seen.”

Lily’s smile widened immediately.

“Oh.”

She crossed her arms more tightly, leaning forward.

“What?”

Damon hesitated for half a second. Too long.

“Nothing,” he said too quickly. “Forget it.”

“Too late,” Lily retorted. “Now you’re going to talk.”

He ran a hand over his face, too tired to fight.

“Let’s just say… the garden isn’t a safe place at certain times.”

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

“Wait,” she said slowly. “Did you see Morgana in the garden?”

The world seemed to stop for a second.

“I— what?” Damon almost choked on his own saliva. “How did you—”

“You did, didn’t you,” Lily concluded, laughing. “Judging by your face, you did.”

Damon looked away.

“It wasn’t my intention.”

“It never is,” she replied with a mischievous little smile. “But it happens.”

She stepped away from the wall and began walking beside him down the hallway, as if it were the most natural conversation in the world.

“Was she wearing a nightgown?” Lily asked casually.

Damon stopped walking.

“Lily.”

“Just confirming.”

He closed his eyes for a moment.

“Yes.”

“Skinny?”

“Lily.”

“Leaving nothing to the imagination?”

“LILY.”

She burst into laughter.

“Relax! I saw it too.”

Damon stared at her, incredulous.

“You… saw it?”

“Yesterday morning,” she confirmed, shrugging. “I was going to get water. I almost dropped the glass.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again.

“And you’re talking about this… like this?”

“Well,” she said. “What can you do? The woman is quite hot.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

“…What did you say?” Damon asked slowly.

Lily repeated, without a trace of shame:

“Well. Hot.”

She made a vague gesture with her hand.

“Like, dangerously hot. The kind that walks into a room and everyone forgets their own name.”

Damon felt his face heat up.

“You can’t just say that.”

“Yes, I can,” she replied, smiling. “And I did.”

She watched him for a moment, thoughtful.

“I mean… if she weren’t straight…”

She stopped walking.

“I’d probably fall in love.”

Damon almost tripped.

“What?!”

“Yeah,” Lily said thoughtfully. “Or at least I’d be seriously confused about my life choices.”

She tilted her head to the other side.

“Although… now that I think about it…”

Damon looked at her as if she had just announced that the sky was green.

“Lily.”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“Completely,” she replied. “Just reflecting.”

She put a finger to her chin.

“Would I ever date a woman?”

He choked again.

“That’s not a question you should be asking me.”

“True,” she agreed. “Terrible audience.”

She shrugged.

“But, look… I’m a succubus. Technically, supporting everything is part of the package, right? Well, I’ve only ever experienced your penis, never a vagina. I’m still figuring myself out.”

Damon stood there, staring at her.

“You… really don’t care?”

“About what?” Lily asked.

“About… all of this,” he gestured vaguely, encompassing Morgana, the situation, the implied chaos.

She smiled slightly.

“Damon, my life is already strange. I’m a succubus, I need these things to live. Not ironically, and so do you, you’re an incubus.”

Damon let out a long sigh, one that seemed to carry the weight of several bad decisions piled on top of each other.

“…Yeah,” he said finally. “I guess that’s it. That’s life.”

Lily offered a simple smile, almost too calm for someone who had just dropped a philosophical bombshell in the middle of the hallway.

“See?” she commented, shrugging. “There’s no point in fighting who we are. The world already does that for us.”

They resumed walking, the sound of their footsteps echoing softly through the still half-asleep mansion. Damon rubbed the back of his neck, trying to organize his thoughts, but it was like trying to align cards in a gale.

“Still,” he murmured, “it doesn’t mean everything has to turn into… chaos.”

Lily tilted her head, pretending to think seriously.

“I disagree somewhat.”

He gave her a suspicious look.

“Of course you disagree.”

She smiled slightly, her eyes gleaming with that dangerous spark that Damon had already learned to recognize.

“I mean… don’t you find it curious?” she continued. “Morgana appears, beautiful, mysterious, full of secrets… and suddenly everyone gets tense, uncomfortable, distracted.”

“That’s not curiosity,” Damon retorted. “It’s trouble.”

“Or opportunity,” Lily corrected, humming.

He stopped walking and turned to her.

“Lily.”

“What?”

“No.”

She made an exaggerated pout.

“I didn’t even let me finish.”

“I know that tone,” he said. “Every time you use it, something goes wrong.”

Lily moved a little closer, lowering her voice as if she were about to reveal a state secret.

“I was just wondering if… maybe I should get to know her better.”

Damon winked.

“Get to know her.”

“Uh-huh,” she confirmed, with a teasing smile. “Evaluate. Analyze. For science.”

“For science’s sake,” he repeated, emotionlessly.

“Exactly.”

She crossed her arms, pleased with herself.

“After all, how am I supposed to know if I really like it, if I’ve never tried anything different?”

Damon ran a hand over his face.

“You’re talking like you’re choosing dessert.”

“And aren’t you?” Lily retorted, excitedly. “Life is short, Damon. And certain… needs don’t like to wait.”

She took a step forward, almost touching him.

“And speaking of needs… don’t you think we’re both… kind of hungry?”

He stared at her for a few seconds, assessing whether he was too tired to deal with this.

Then, without warning, he gave her a light tap on the head.

“Ow!” Lily complained, bringing her hand to the top of her head. “Why?!”

“Pervert,” Damon said, with a tired half-smile.

Her eyes widened, playfully offended.

“Was that a compliment?”

“No,” he replied, already walking away. “And that’s enough for today. I’m going to practice.”

“Practice?” Lily repeated, quickly forgetting her indignation. “Great! I’ll go with you.”

“You’re not,” Damon replied without even looking back.

She frowned.

“What do you mean I’m not going?”

He stopped and turned again, pointing at her.

“First, you’re going to clean yourself up.”

“Clean up?” Lily blinked. “I’m clean.”

Damon raised an eyebrow.

“Lily… you smell like… recent activity.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped. She looked at herself. Then, discreetly, she lowered her gaze.

The silence lasted exactly two seconds.

“…Oh… I got all wet.”

Damon crossed his arms.

“See?”

She cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed for the first time that morning.

“Well,” she said, trying to maintain her composure, “maybe I… overdid it a little.”

“A little,” he repeated.

Lily gave a nervous little laugh.

“Okay, maybe more than a little.”

She looked up at him, with a half-guilty smile.

“I got distracted.”

“That explains a lot,” Damon replied.

She took a step back, stretching out her arms.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take a shower, change my clothes, pretend I’m a respectable lady.”

“The pretending part is essential,” he commented.

“Hey!” she complained, laughing. “You adore me.”

“Sometimes I wonder why.”

She moved closer again, standing on tiptoe to be at his eye level.

“Because I make your life interesting.”

Damon didn’t answer immediately.

“That’s one word for it,” he finally said.

Lily smiled contentedly.

“So, it’s settled. You’ll train, try not to think about certain dangerous people…” — she paused meaningfully — “and I’ll come back later, presentable.”

“Do that,” he said. “And try not to cause an international incident along the way.”

“No promises.”

She turned around, already walking away down the hallway, but stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“Damon?”

“Hm?”

“If I really decide to… ‘get to know’ Morgana better…”

He sighed deeply.

“Lily.”

“Just kidding!” she said quickly, laughing. “For now.”

And she practically skipped away, leaving behind an exhausted, confused Damon, dangerously aware that the day had barely begun.

He ran a hand through his hair and resumed his walk to the training yard.

“Training,” he murmured to himself. “Just training.”

But even as he walked, he knew. Certain distractions weren’t so easily resolved.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep