"Monster?" Khan asked before thinking about something. "Wait. Don't tell me about that stuff. I don't want to risk using you."
"You are my boyfriend," Liiza said while wearing a sober expression and placing a hand on his cheek. "I won't keep secrets from you due to political reasons. Deal with it."
Khan opened his mouth, but the words remained stuck in his throat. He didn't have a proper response, and Liiza's eyes made him lose the desire to speak.
"What is it?" Liiza asked when she saw that Khan limited himself to stare at her. "Either kiss me or leave."
Khan couldn't help but place his hands on her waist to pull her closer, and the two exchanged a long kiss.
"Now give me a proper goodbye," Liiza whispered when their lips separated, and Khan wrapped his arm around her waist while pointing his feet to the ground and standing up.
Khan straightened his position while lifting Liiza with him. The Niqols gave voice to a cute giggle before kissing him again. She remained wrapped to him while he slowly walked toward Snow.
Liiza bit her lower lip when the two separated, and Khan couldn't move his eyes from her while her legs left his waist and returned to the ground. That was only the second day of their relationship, and the few minutes they had managed to spend together weren't nearly enough to satisfy them.
"On a positive note," Liiza continued while diverting her gaze and playing with her hair. "I'll have to oversee the Niqols class during the hunt, so I'll get the chance to see you fight."
"Are you looking forward to that?" Khan teased her while pulling her closer.
"A bit," Liiza turned to show a smile, and the two inevitably kissed again.
Khan had to muster the entirety of his mental strength to push Liiza away. He lightly squeezed her sides to enjoy her softness before giving a short kiss and turning toward his eagle.
Liiza and Khan exchanged a meaningful glance as their fingers left each other. They both could understand their desires, but neither of them acted to delay the separation even further.
"How strong are you anyway?" Khan asked while climbing on his Aduns.
Khan could sense the intensity of the mana inside Liiza's body. She didn't feel like a first-level warrior, but that feature sounded strange when he considered how Niqols had a great understanding of mana.
"Humans fill their bodies with mana before understanding how that energy works," Liiza explained after wearing a calm smile. "Niqols don't do that. We accept mana only after proving our understanding. I probably started my training after you."
"How can you be so strong then?" Khan asked in a shocked tone.
The mana contained inside her body put her near his level in terms of attunement. Khan knew that his similarities with the Nak had made his meditations quite effective, so he couldn't understand how Liiza could have reached his level in a shorter time.
"Nitis developed through mana for a long time," Liiza revealed. "The Niqols are like the other animals. Our starting point is above humans."
Khan understood at that point. It even made a lot of sense when he thought about it. The Niqols probably had mana inside their bodies since birth, so they could make up for the late start of their training with that advantage.
"Hurry up now," Liiza pressed.
Khan smiled and kept his eyes on Liiza while he patted Snow's neck. The Aduns set off and made sure to fly in a circle above the flat area a few times before shooting toward the camp.
Khan managed to arrive on time for his first lesson, and another long day started. His few hours of sleep were more than enough to keep him up and running until late afternoon arrived and he could leave for the mountain chain again.
Nitis allowed Khan to experience true freedom. He had a mandatory appointment to attend for ten hours a day, but he was more independent than all the other humans on the planet after that.
His Aduns gave him the chance to fly in areas that the other humans couldn't reach. Khan could move between different regions in a matter of hours. No one could even bother him due to his achievements on Onia and Istrone.
The meetings with Liiza went better in the following nights. The Niqols managed to sneak out of her home early, so the couple could spend a lot of time together.
The relationship ended up affecting Khan's sleeping schedule badly, but he felt the tiredness only when he reached the morning lessons. Curiosity took control of him when he attended the subjects necessary to become an ambassador, and his energy seemed endless when he was with Liiza.
Truth be told, Khan had the chance to rest, but his training would have suffered at that point, and he preferred to avoid that, especially with the new martial art and the Wave spell waiting behind the corner.
Stepping on the competent proficiency level with the Lightning-demon style would give him the chance to start studying the Divine Reaper without affecting his current ability. Meanwhile, the mental training for his element only needed him to clear three more exercises before approaching his first spell.
Khan ended up clearing the tenth mental exercise on his fourth night spent on the mountains. He didn't have to attend lessons the next day, so he didn't leave the flat area even after morning arrived.
Liiza had fallen asleep on his lap after spending the entire night flirting, kissing, and joking around, and Khan had used that chance to take a nap and resume his training. The captivating figure in his embrace had only benefited his already great mastery over the mental barrier and had made him clear the tenth exercise in no time.
'Paul has yet to call,' Khan thought when the mental exercise ended.
The beauty on his lap had revealed that the human troops would have to join a hunt during the three free days, but Paul didn't mention anything during the last period. Khan knew that Liiza didn't lie to him, so he expected a message to reach his phone soon.
"Why don't you ever rest?" Liiza complained in a sleepy voice while moving her hand on Khan's torso. "I caught a glimpse of your sleeping face only on the second night."
"I slept a few hours before," Khan said in a soft voice before kissing her forehead and sliding his hand over her back to reach her head. "A few naps are enough for me."
Khan couldn't help but smile when he noticed Liiza pouting with her eyes closed. He began to caress the back of her head, and Liiza replied by snuggling closer and putting her hand between the buttons of his uniform.
Khan had no experience with relationships, but he knew that it was impossible to reach the same level of intimacy with a human after only four days. The two were already sleeping together in the end, and Khan thoroughly enjoyed those moments.
Holding back was a problem at times, especially since Liiza was quite bold with her actions. She lay on him whenever she had the chance, and her hands had even started to sneak inside his uniform lately. Khan could suppress his arousal through his training, but Liiza had caught him right after completing the mental exercise now.
"I know," Liiza commented while caressing Khan's bare chest with her cold fingers. "You move and sweat a lot when you sleep."
Khan didn't say anything. Liiza was usually curious about those things, but she didn't question him at that time. She limited herself to point out that she knew about Khan's messy sleep, but no inquiry arrived from her side.
Liiza couldn't possibly imagine that Khan experienced the same nightmare whenever he fell asleep. Still, she knew about his azure scar, and he had even revealed that something had happened to him before Nitis. She connected the messy sleep with one of those events, but she decided to let Khan talk about it only when he felt ready.
Liiza never let go of her curiosity, so Khan could understand that she was remaining silent on purpose. That care for his feelings made him feel warm, and his mind grew messy when that sensation fused with her cold touch on his chest.
"Human girls would never sneak under my clothes so soon," Khan teased.
"I studied what you humans call decency," Liiza announced before sneaking her whole palm past the opening between the buttons and placing it on Khan's bare side. "You can be so stupid at times. Why would you even wait to get this?"
Liiza squeezed Khan's side and revealed a satisfied smile when she felt his firm muscles. Khan almost lost his mind, and his free hand went on her thigh while he bent forward and gently put her on the ground.
A white glow shone on his face at that point. Liiza had opened her eyes, and she fell in a daze when she noticed Khan's serious face. He appeared on the verge of exploding, and her grip on his naked side inevitably tightened.
Khan descended on her, and Liiza welcomed him by wrapping her free arm behind his neck. The two exchanged a passionate kiss, and one of the uniform's buttons came off as Liiza's hand began to move freely on Khan's naked skin.
Khan didn't hold back either. He felt slightly shy, but his desire was cutting off most of his restraint. The hand that had been on Liiza's thigh slid upward, caressed the side of her butt, and found the opening in the upper part of her tracksuit to reach her bare waist.
Thoughts stopped flowing when the coldness of Liiza's soft skin spread through his mind. The two became more passionate during their kiss, and their clothes suddenly started to feel uncomfortable.
However, Khan's phone suddenly rang, and a groan escaped his mouth. Liiza's relaxed her grip and gave him the chance to leave her lips. Still, a teasing smile appeared on her face when she saw that Khan used the hand behind her head to pick his device and left the other under her tracksuit.
'Mandatory meeting in one hour,' Khan read Paul's message on the screen, and the faint desire to destroy his phone filled his mind.
That desire intensified when his eyes moved on Liiza. She had her gaze on him while an arm rested on the ground above her head. Her foot was scratching Khan's leg, and part of her waist was in the open.
"I'm starting to hate humans," Liiza sighed. "When do you have to be there?"
"One hour," Khan replied while storing his phone. "I can stay a bit more."
Liiza's smile broadened, and she quickly spread her legs to catch Khan's waist in their grasp. She pulled him closer, and he let her guide him above her.
"You'd better set the alarm," Liiza said as more of her arm slid inside his uniform and made another button come off.
"I'd better set the alarm," Khan repeated as his hand slid over Liiza's naked side and reached her bra.
.
.
.
Paul and the other recruits had gathered at the center of the camp. Even Lieutenant Kintea was there, but they all wore awkward expressions while they waited for Khan to arrive.
"How long?" Lieutenant Kintea asked when turning toward Paul.
"He still has five minutes," Paul replied while looking at his phone.
The Lieutenant was clearly annoyed that the time wasn't up yet, but a white figure suddenly appeared in his vision when he looked at the dark sky.
Snow dived at full speed toward the camp and unfolded its wings right before touching the ground. Khan quickly jumped off the eagle, and the scene made the recruits, Paul, and the Lieutenant wear confused expressions.
Khan was shirtless. Everyone could see his naked torso covered with small patches of grey snow. Meanwhile, the Aduns next to him had the torn upper part of his uniform in its beak, and it seemed happy when it swung it left and right.
"I'm on time, right?" Khan asked while wearing his best innocent face and patting his eagle. "I'm sorry. I would have come sooner if this bad boy stopped playing around."