To Nathalie''s surprise, she was still inside a caravan that took them all as hostages as she thought they would''ve been better dragged by the tail of the monstrous basilisks that moved the vehicle they were in.


    The ride was the worst she had ever taken since she got to this world, with rumbles and racket sounds on the wheels turning and the blatant timber flooring of what they were occupying wasn''t comfortable at least.


    All of them were cuffed behind their backs, with a rope that restricted their magical powers.


    Albeit hers got tied by the front, and she tried to break free from it; but the more she resisted, the tighter its bindings and eventually drained them.


    She was more or less familiar with this magical item used by rogues and bandits, and this was a strong one to dispel for the most part. Which then, she couldn''t help but tinker a tad bit with a little experiment like the intrigued lady that she was then.


    "My Lady," Keith whispered as he was beside her throughout the journey. "It would be of no use resisting, you''ll tire yourself out in no time."


    "I agree." Jonathan nodded.


    Nathalie creased her eyebrows at them, giving them a side-eye from their concerns— she knew, and at least she didn''t have it worse with several ropes wrapped around their arms, legs, and even more of it hugging by their torsos.


    There were five of them inside, enough to cater to them all. Keith and Nathalie shared one side while Jonathan was on the opposite, with Dusk and Dawn from his left and right, respectively.


    Four grown men wrapped tightly, and still bore calm countenance despite the only posture deemed comfortable with them—sat on the floor with their legs open and ankles crossed.


    ''Look at them, one could tell they are into some kinky party.''


    She had only her wrists immobilized, after all.


    Regarding their things, pretty much confiscated, it was the only thing she got worried about throughout this excursion they were about to take for who knew how long and where they would''ve had to go.


    From the side, by the end of the caravan was a thick curtain with a tad slit to its center, and graced inside with a golden tangerine light. Arching her neck, she noticed the blazing sun was about to set, forming a halo on the mounds of the sand dunes.


    ''Okay, so we''re venturing far far far to the deserts now…''


    She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, for now, to calm down.


    Nathalie thought of this plan, for she was rather confident no harm would come their way, with Strav and Ashtra hiding their presence into secret ornaments adorned in their body.


    Her shin trembled to numbness from sitting on it and her heels for quite some time, which she repositioned to a squirm and was about to stretch her legs in front of Jonathan.


    But then a sudden bump came, tripping her off balance, and went straight to Keith''s groin area.


    In that glimpse of a moment her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as she noticed he suddenly got his legs and his core stiff with such close contact.


    From what seemed the sweet, earthy fragrance of the dust and sands in the desert turned the strong, musky scent of his real quick.


    Nathalie sprung upright as she blinked a few times, then glanced at Keith''s profile— his face averting away from her but a sudden redness flushed his cheeks. Yet what seemed that pricked her to the side were the mischievous smirk and gaze from Jonathan and the flabbergasted looks from the twins.


    ''This… Damn it,'' she cursed, biting her lip from the timely misfortune that befell her, of all the times she had to shift.


    She adjusted herself once more while clearing her throat to a better position. The whole ride was impossible to lean her back with the shaking ride.


    ''How much do I have to endure with this? This isn''t cute at all!'' she grumbled in her thoughts, then back to overlooking the sky that now had patches of purple and plum hues on the serene sky.


    ''Not gonna lie, my body starts to quake with this crazy numbness when I don''t feel much pain in this case…''


    When they noticed she became too uncomfortable, Keith nudged close to her, leaning, "Pardon the inconvenience, though I hope leaning by the shoulder would help."


    His polite offer always made her heart flutter in so many ways she couldn''t describe despite the stoic face she had. When he beamed a tiny smile at her, she had no choice but to take it up.


    However, Jonathan still had this smirk she wanted to wipe off so bad; but she couldn''t do so, which left her looking down, ignoring him for now. Somehow, she sought solace with a lean as it was better than she could''ve ever gotten so far.


    Jonathan decided to let go and leaned back like it wasn''t much of a problem to them. All of them did, except for her.


    ''I hate to admit it but… Keith drives me crazy every time, and I couldn''t help being irrational and greedy sometimes. Do I deserve… this?''


    The place they were in went darker and darker, and so she closed her eyes, waning her consciousness as they embarked on their journey.


    Dusk greeted, and the night stained the sky. Through the slit of the caravan, they rested for a while and basked under the solemn, bright moonlight.


    On what seemed it took too long as her derriere became all numb.


    The sudden howls of cold wind blew her, she started to squirm and even snuggled deep within Keith''s body head, despite the robe that was donned on her.


    She wanted more of it when she noticed the rumbles now went to a stop.


    Everyone inside became alert, moving and adjusting themselves to the stiff position they were once in.


    After which, the curtains now unfurled, and Nathalie''s eyes now gaped at the man that greeted them, despite the hostile gaze.