Cyrus set his tablet down, then tried to get some sleep. Half an hour passed before he checked his tablet again, finding a message from SnK.

Do you think about her a lot? Do you want to be with her a lot? Do you want to have sex with her not just for your own pleasure, but hers as well? Would you rather she stopped having sex with others and became exclusive with you? Do you want to see her happy? Make her smile and laugh? See her succeed? Would you rather be snuggling with her right now rather than sleeping on your own? Do you find yourself admiring even the small things about her? - K

Cyrus read through all of that, and realized that his answer to all of those were 'yes', so he told his uncle that.

There's your answer, Cy. - K

I'm pretty sure she'd be happy to have sex with you again, too. Just ask her. She's awake, so you can even do it now. - S

The young god looked at Lyda, frowning as he realized her mind wasn't in the same state it normally went into when she was asleep. Rather than slightly relaxed, there was tension there. He had initially dismissed it as her just sleeping uncomfortably because of the location, but realized there might be more to it than that.

"Are you awake?"

"I'm finding it hard to sleep while in a Dungeon," she turned onto her side and looked at Cyrus. "Especially since I could feel you staring at me."

"Sorry," he muttered. "Just trying to figure some stuff out."

"So you were staring at me?" She asked curiously.

"I think I fell in love with you," he admitted. "I'm not sure how, though. I just asked my mother and uncle, and they told me-"

"That it was about damn time you noticed?" She asked, and Cyrus frowned. "I figured it out with your reaction to Jared, and the kiss confirmed it. I also realized you'd locked away that part of yourself because it wasn't 'rational' to you to fall in love after realizing your brothers would go after anyone you dated."

He remembered her words after he kissed her, and concluded that was what she had meant.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I suppose I did. This is confusing. I'm only helping you with your quest. Why would I fall in love with you?"

"You don't choose who you fall in love with," she told him. "You simply… fall in love. I fell in love with you, despite telling myself that this was ending after I finished the quest."

"You're in love with me?" He asked. "Are you sure it's not lust and desire from me being both rich and a god? I know how mortals can be, and-"

"I'm positive," she interrupted him. "I see the cute side of you, Cyrus. The way you're oblivious to some things while intelligent about others. The way you lay with one hand under your head on the couch as you read. How you get awkward on some occasions, yet confident at others. You're attractive, you're intelligent, you're kind – those are all desirable traits in a partner. And I've spent time with you."

"So you fell in love," Cyrus nodded. "Even though our companionship is meant to end as soon as you complete the quest."

"Yeah," she told him. "Though I wouldn't mind getting with you while we do this quest, Cyrus. I'll accept that it'll end in a couple of months, the two of us going our separate ways."

"Mortals tend to form attachments," Cyrus shook his head. "It is doubtful that would be a good idea for you."

"I'm willing to risk it," she told him. "Though if you'd rather not… I'm still willing to sleep with you anyway."

Cyrus thought over that for a few minutes. He didn't want her to form an unhealthy attachment to him, as he was a god, but knew that if she had fallen in love, then it was already a little too late for that. If he did anything further with her, it might deepen those feelings in her. However, he also knew that mortals would do anything for their own temporary pleasure, even if they knew it might hurt or upset them in the end.

He could sense that she was genuine as well, without a trace of deception in her thoughts. Letting out a sigh, Cyrus nodded.

"I would not mind sharing a bed with you," he told her. "While we travel together. As long as you understand this is a temporary arrangement, and not one built on romance."

"That's fine," she smiled at him. "You said 'share a bed', does that include physical contact?"

"Yes," he decided almost immediately. "If it is you, I am sure I can handle it. We can put our bedrolls together now, if you want."

Lyda sat up and moved her bedroll beside Cyrus's, and the young god placed his hands on both of them, moving them so their edges were touching. He flexed his magic, and the bedrolls merged into a single one, leaving no trace of where the two had merged together.

"There," he told Lyda. "Now, they won't separate while we sleep."

She laughed at his simple statement, then lay back down on the bedroll. Cyrus put his tablet away and lay down as well. After a few minutes of staring up at the ceiling, Cyrus turned onto his side and placed a hand on Lyda's stomach.

Content with that, Cyrus closed his eyes and tried to sleep, though found it difficult to. With how close he was to her, and the contact he had made, plus the thought his mother had put in his head with her message, Cyrus found himself a little horny.

Deciding not to approach Lyda about that until they were back at the lodge, he did his best to focus on Lyda beside him instead.

"Oh, my goodness, Cyrus!" Lyda eventually exclaimed. "You keep moving your hand up, as if about to touch my breast, then pulling it back down!"

"Sorry," Cyrus mumbled. "I didn't realize I was doing that. I was trying to fall asleep."

"What I'm complaining about," she told him. "Is that you're basically teasing me, Cyrus."

She sat up, and Cyrus pulled his hand back, confused. Then he watched as Lyda pulled off her shirt, then removed her bra, leaving her breasts exposed.

"There," she told him with a smile as she lay back down. "Now just grope them like you want to do."

Cyrus put his hand back on her stomach, feeling the softness of her skin for a few minutes before giving in to his temptation and fondling her breasts. Her breathing picked up a little, and Cyrus knew that he wasn't going to fall asleep that night unless he got off, but he wasn't sure if she was up for sex, even if she was letting him fondle her.

As Cyrus admired the feel of her breasts, Lyda slipped a hand behind Cyrus and began rubbing his back. He noticed after a minute that she had begun subtly trying to pull his shirt up, so he sat up and pulled his shirt off, then returned to his position on his side as he fondled her more, feeling her rubbing his back.

"Let's get the rest of our clothes off," Lyda suggested to Cyrus, who paused for a moment, then nodded and stripped the rest of the way, Lyda sitting up to do the same.

When she lay back down, Cyrus surprised himself by laying not just beside her, but against her, his erection rubbing her leg as he began kissing her as he continued fondling her breast. He felt her beginning to rub his boner.

Deciding to see if she'd let him go all the way, Cyrus broke their kiss, which he had found himself enjoying.

"Do you want to-"

"If I ever don't," she told him. "I'll tell you when you try, Cyrus. So if I don't tell you and am able to, assume I'm willing, because it means I am with you."

He nodded, then climbed onto her and pushed inside as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He supported himself with his arms on the ground, focusing on pleasuring her as he fucked her. After they both reached their climaxes, Cyrus pulled out of Lyda, kissed her on the cheek, then spooned her again, quickly drifting off to sleep.

When morning arrived, Cyrus woke to find himself in the same position, Lyda sleeping peacefully beside him. The fact that he managed to sleep while in contact with her surprised him, but he was even more surprised by his decision during the night to actually get with her.

After pulling his clothes back on, Cyrus woke Lyda up and served them a breakfast of bagels and strawberries, then she dressed and Cyrus put the bedroll away. The two left the safe room and descended deeper into the Dungeon, spending the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon collecting various herbs, berries, leaves, roots, and mushrooms, in addition to crimson scarab beetles Cyrus called flame scarabs.

Once Cyrus had collected everything he needed for not two but three batches, gathering a few extra things from the higher levels, he led Lyda back up to the surface, stopping at the fifth level to let her change back into her winter clothes before they finished returning to the surface.

There, they drove back to the lodge and showered together, before ordering pizza for dinner. They ate dinner once it arrived, then Cyrus began making the potion for Lyda to train with, Lyda helping him prepare it.

"About last night," Cyrus spoke as he bottled the first batch of the potion, leaving her wondering when and where he butchered the flame salamanders, as he had slipped out of time to do so.

"It was nice," Lyda told him. "I mean, you're no experienced lover, but you have your own charm, you know."

"Thanks," he muttered, then cleared his throat. "That's not what I was intending to discuss. When I mentioned sharing my bed, I meant it. But don't expect sex every night."

"I won't," she laughed. "A month is enough for me to tell that you aren't the kind of guy who's horny twenty-four-seven, even if you're only eighteen. However often you feel comfortable with it, I'm good with that."

"Okay," he said, then hesitated as he thought over what else he wanted to ask. "Last night, you said that if I wanted sex, to just start it. That you'd tell me if you didn't want it."

"Yes," she told you. "I gave you explicit consent to have sex with me at any time, Cyrus. I just ask that if I tell you 'no', you understand I'm not willing to at the moment. There will be times I won't want to have sex, but for the most part I'm going to be willing with you."

"I'm not a rapist," he shook his head. "And I'm not going to become one. I just… I'll probably still ask you before, okay?"

"If that makes you comfortable," she told him.

He nodded and capped the last bottle, then sent them all to the warehouse before cleaning and sanitizing his equipment to begin the second batch.

"If you're making thirty potions," Lyda said as she begin grinding berries into paste. "That's ten day's worth?"

"Yeah," Cyrus told her. "They last around fourteen or so, so it's fine. This is just so we only go every week and a half rather than every week, to save us some time. Normally, I'd spend two or three nights in a Dungeon, then all day making batches of the potion to sell."

"Next time we go in," Lyda told him. "Could we use a blanket? The air was a bit chilly in that room, and while you're pretty warm, you weren't all around me."

"Sorry," Cyrus told her. "I don't actually need a blanket, so hadn't thought about that. Yeah, I've got blankets in my warehouse I can pull, so we can use those. Also, you were warm, too. And comfy."

"Thanks!" She laughed.

They returned to working on the potion, talking little so they could focus on it and ensure they made as few mistakes as possible, if any. After finishing making all three batches, Cyrus cleaned and sanitized his equipment, then sent it back to the warehouse.

He moved to the couch to read, and Lyda asked if she could practice her magic with one of the new potions.

"Sure," Cyrus summoned a tray and trio of candles from the warehouse, along with a box of matches and one of their new potions. "Keep in mind that it'll make your magic harder to use. When under its influence, don't try to use the same level of magic as you're used to. Instead, do something weaker, then work your way up to what your limit is under the effect of the potion, so that you can tell where the limit it and don't risk injuring yourself."

"Okay," she said. "Thanks."

Lyda lit the candles, then drank the potion and began to manipulate the flames. Cyrus split his attention between the book and watching her practice. Over the past month, her mana pool had increased enough that she could practice for two minutes before running out. Under the effects of the new potion, however, Lyda struggled to make it forty seconds of continuous use of magic before she had to stop.

That wasn't from lack of mana, but rather, from her mental stamina when it came to magic. The more someone struggled with a spell, the more mental energy it took to use it. Because of that, the potion she was using had an additional effect Cyrus had forgotten to inform Lyda of.

In addition to pushing her limit by making it lower, it also increased mental stamina. He estimated that if she used the potion three times a day for the next month, apart from when they were in the Dungeon, Lyda would find herself able to use magic constantly for two minutes while under the potion's effects, or up to ten while not under its effects.

As long as her mana pool increased enough to let her do that, he added to himself.

The potion's effects lasted for nearly an hour before they ran out, and Lyda played around with the fire until her mana ran out after the potion faded, then let Cyrus put the stuff back in the warehouse.

"That was exhausting," she told him as she stood. "I'm getting some water. Want some, too?"

"Sure," he told her. "I bought lemonade the other day, by the way. If you wanted to have some, I put it in the cabinet by the fridge. There are pitchers in the cabinet beside that."

"I like lemonade," she told him. "I'll make some. Do you want some?"

"No, thanks," he told her, then began to stand. "If you're exhausted, I can-"

Someone knocked at the door, and Cyrus turned his attention to it.

"You answer that," Lyda told him. "I'll fix us our drinks."

Cyrus nodded, then walked over to the door answered it. He froze up upon seeing the person on the other side, taking several seconds to speak. When he did, it was a single word.

"Mother!"