ROAR!
The soundwave hit the interior of the cavernous tent like a physical blow.
The heavy black leather and white fur walls snapped violently backward, and the red crystals embedded in the tent poles flared with blinding intensity.
Before my sleep-addled brain could even process the sheer volume of the sound, the world went dark.
Kaelum hadn't just moved; he had teleported. In a blur of motion, he ripped his tail from my waist, threw me flat onto the mattress, and violently yanked the massive mountain of snow-white furs over my head.
I was instantly plunged into suffocating darkness, buried beneath seventy pounds of pelts that smelled strongly of ozone and burnt wood.
"Chieftain!"
Through the thick layers of fur, the voices of the intruders sounded muffled but panicked.
"W-We apologize for the intrusion, Great One!" It was the voice of one of the elderly tigers in ceremonial robes. His voice trembled so violently I could practically hear his knees knocking together. "We did not mean to interrupt your... your..."
"Out." Kaelum's voice was no longer a roar. It was a low, terrifying rumble that vibrated through the stone dais and straight into my teeth.
It was the voice of the Calamity of the North. "Who gave you permission to enter my nest?"
"The morning council, Chieftain!" barked the scarred warrior, the massive beastman from the canyon entrance.
Even his gruff, battle-hardened voice wavered slightly. "You did not emerge at dawn. We feared the Curse of the Fire God had finally consumed you. But... what is the meaning of this? Why is the human sacrifice in your bed?"
Under the covers, I held my breath.
My gamer brain raced. This was it. The political inquisition. In the game Primal Hearts, the White Tiger Clan was notoriously isolationist and deeply traditional.
The Winter Sacrifice was a sacred ritual meant to appease the harsh spirits of the Northern Tundra. The Tutorial Corpse was supposed to freeze on that flat altar rock to ensure a mild winter.
By surviving, I was literally breaking their religion. And by sleeping in the Chieftain's sacred nest, I was defiling their highest authority.
A translucent blue box flickered into existence in the dark space beneath the furs.
[SYSTEM ALERT] Affection Score with [Kaelum]: -2 (Embarrassment Penalty applied) Current Status: Hiding. Duration of [Blessed by the White Tiger] buff remaining: 41 minutes.
'Embarrassment penalty?!' I mentally shrieked. 'I didn't ask to be the little spoon!'
Outside the blankets, the atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense. The ambient temperature in the tent was skyrocketing.
"The human is dead," Kaelum lied. It was a terrible lie. It was the lie of a massive, terrifying warlord who had never been caught cuddling in his entire hundred years of cursed existence. "I brought it here to... eat later."
"Eat it later?" the Head Elder choked out. "Chieftain, the Winter Sacrifice is not rations! It is an offering to the cold! To bring her into the sacred tent is sacrilege! Her fragile human presence will taint the clan's spiritual aura!"
"She is my meat," Kaelum snarled, his voice dipping into a dangerous, feral register. "I will do with her as I please."
"With respect, Chieftain," the scarred warrior intervened, stepping closer. I could hear the heavy thud of his boots on the layered rugs. "The elders are right. If the clan discovers you are hoarding the sacrifice, there will be unrest. Let me take the corpse. I will throw it back into the blizzard where it belongs."
My heart stopped.
If they dragged me back out into the endless, violent snow, I wouldn't last five minutes. My single layer of translucent, ceremonial silk was currently hiked up to my thighs, and without Kaelum's radiant heat, my HP would plummet back to the single digits.
Beneath the furs, I felt the mattress shift. Kaelum was standing up.
And the moment he put distance between us, I felt the change.
The soothing, perfect equilibrium of temperature shattered. The freezing cold of the North, which had been held at bay by his proximity, immediately seeped through the floorboards and bit into my exposed legs.
But I wasn't the only one suffering.
A sharp, ragged intake of breath echoed through the tent. It was Kaelum.
"Chieftain!" the scarred warrior gasped. "Your skin!"
I didn't need to see it to know what was happening. Without my freezing body acting as a heat sink, the curse was returning with a vengeance. The sensation of molten glass flowing through his veins was back.
"Do not... approach me," Kaelum hissed, his voice tight with sudden, blinding agony.
"The fire is surging!" the Head Elder cried in terror. "Get back! The Cursed Flame will incinerate us all!"
The sound of scrambling boots filled the tent as the Elders and the warrior backed away, pressing themselves toward the entrance flap. They revered him, but they feared his touch like the plague. Anything that touched him usually turned to ash within seconds.
I lay in the dark, shivering violently as the cold set in.
'Think, Elara, think,' I commanded myself.
The master plan in a survival game was always to find leverage. The Elders wanted me dead because I was useless baggage. Kaelum was trying to hide me because he was too proud to admit he needed a ninety-pound human girl to act as his personal ice pack.
If I stayed hidden, the scarred warrior would eventually drag me out and toss me into the blizzard.
I needed to make myself invaluable. I needed to weaponize my only asset: my complete and utter physical fragility.
Taking a deep breath, I threw the heavy furs off my head.
"Ah!" The youngest of the three elders shrieked, pointing a trembling, clawed finger at me. "The sacrifice! It lives!"
I ignored them. I pushed myself up onto my knees, the ridiculous white silk dress sliding off my shoulder. The cold air of the tent hit my bare skin, and I immediately started shivering, my teeth chattering together.
I looked at Kaelum.
He was standing at the edge of the dais, his back to the intruders. He had stripped off his fur cloak the night before, leaving him in just loose trousers. His broad, bronze back was rippling with muscle, but it was horrifying to look at.