At the same time, Therius also seemed to feel the same way. When he touched Emma so closely, his chest was pounding for the first time in his life.

Their skin, which was mostly exposed, touched each other, and for some reason, his hands that were hugging Emma's waist felt so warm.

At that instant, he felt an electric feeling that he had never experienced before. For a moment, the man held his breath.

"Uhm ... I ... can fly by myself, thank you," said Emma with a hoarse voice.

"Oh, yes, of course ..." Therius, who was usually calm, suddenly sounded nervous. He reluctantly released his hug from Emma's waist. "Can you really fly alone?"

"Of course, I'm an aeromancer," said Emma. She had also released her hands from Therius's neck. Her face somehow felt so hot.

"Well, you were almost drowned down there, even though you are a hydromancer," said Therius, pointing to the river below them.

The massive wave of water that had dropped from the sky when Emma lost her control had pooled beside the river. Some of it was advancing into the middle of the valley.

"I panicked over the sudden onslaught," Emma grunted. "This is all Xion's fault."

She immediately spread her gaze, trying to find that annoying young man.

"Xiooooonn !!! Where are you, you rascal!" shouted Emma. She flew around, trying to find Xion, while Therius stayed in his place and watched the girl.

His mind drifted to a moment ago when he held the girl in his arms when they were in the water and then flew to the air.

Emma's skin was just as smooth as it looked. Therius suddenly felt addicted to the feeling that had taken over him when he touched her. Somehow, it seemed like he was also addicted to the girl's distinctive scent.

Therius had never touched Emma intimately like that before. At most, what he did was handing over food or drinks or books to her.

He never dreamed of touching her skin, let alone hugging her exposed waist as he did a moment ago. Now, he couldn't get the thought out of his mind.

He was not a virgin who never slept with a woman ... However, for some reason, this was the first time he felt how special it was to touch someone.

His pair of topaz eyes watched Emma with great interest. Emma's body in her bathing suit was stunning, and Therius could already imagine how it would look like if she wore nothing.

Oh ... he'd definitely go crazy with happiness when that time came, and he could have that girl to himself, wholly, completely, inside and out.

He would adore her and satisfy her ...

"Don't you dare having any perverted thoughts about me!" Emma scolded him suddenly. She hit Therius's back several times, stirring the prince from his reverie.

"What did you say?' asked Therius, blinking his eyes in surprise.

Could Emma read his mind? No way, right? The girl's energy level was still below him. Emma shouldn't be able to invade Therius' mind and read what he was thinking.

"I said, don't you dare having any lewd thoughts about me," said Emma, ??pursing her lips. "I know what's in your mind."

She didn't need to read Therius' mind to recognize that longing expression on his face. Moreover, when they were hugging as they shot into the air, she could feel Therius panting, his body temperature rising, and his heart thumping

There was no other explanation than Therius was aroused when he hugged her earlier.

Emma couldn't blame him though. Therius was a normal guy, probably with a healthy sex drive, and he really liked Emma. And he did it to save her from drowning when she got a panic attack.

The situation was quite unfortunate because they ended up in such an intimate position. Even Emma felt her chest thump and her face flush red.

"I am sorry. I can't help it," Therius confessed.

He then looked away, trying not to look at Emma again. He didn't want that girl to read his expression.

"Gosh ... I'm sooorrrrrrry!" They could hear Xion suddenly shouted from afar. The man was flying towards them from the middle of the valley. "I didn't know Emma was practicing hydromancy. I was swept away by the giant wave into the middle of the valley."

"Next time, have a look before you do something. Rascal!" Emma scolded the man. She darted towards Xion and punched his shoulder several times. The man truly looked like he was feeling guilty because he didn't try to dodge her punches at all.

"All right.. I'm sorry. I forgot that you are a girl," said Xion sighing. "I will not do it again."

"You forgot that I'm a girl?" Emma frowned. "Crazy! Do I look like a man to you???"

Therius cleared his throat. "That's not what he meant. Xion forgot you're a girl because he treats you as our friend."

Emma was stunned at Therius' words.

Ah, that's right. Xion truly treated Emma as a part of him and Therius.

Hmm ... somehow, Therius' words managed to calm Emma's anger. She no longer frowned and glared at Xion.

In her heart, Emma felt happy to be considered their friend. The friendship between these two men was very close, and Emma was flattered that Therius and Xion seemed to let Emma in and be a part of them.

This made her think of Haoran, who became her first friend on Earth. It was through Haoran that Emma made new friends in Alex, Dinh, Eric, and David. Haoran allowed Emma into his group, and she could become a part of their friendship. For the first time, she felt that she belonged.

Somehow, now she felt that the same thing was happening between her and Therius and Xion.

"All right, I will let this pass, this one time," Emma grumbled. "Watch out if you do it again."

"I promise, my lady," said Xion with a big smile. He then pointed down. "Would you like to accompany me to catch water animals for supper? I think all this exercise is making me hungry again."

Emma nodded. She was happy to catch fish with Xion because she didn't take part in their hunt for small animals for dinner earlier.

"Let's make it a race, like usual," said Therius suddenly. "Whoever catches the biggest animal first, they win."

"Wait ... what will the winner get?" asked Emma hastily.

"The winner can ask for anything from the losers, and the losers must grant it," said Therius, smiling. "Are you afraid of losing?"

Emma weighed her chances. She was a hydromancer. Even though her energy level was lower than Therius' and Xion's, still, water was her element, unlike the two men.

This brought them into a level playing field.

"What request? Can I ask for anything at all? Or is there a limit?" asked Emma, ??staring deeply at Therius.

The young man nodded. "Anything reasonable. Meaning, you cannot ask the other people to kill themselves. Xion and I usually asked trivial stuff, like he would do chores for me, and I would do his homework."

"Oh... that doesn't sound interesting," Emma scoffed. "I thought the stakes are higher."

Therius' eyes gleamed when he heard the girls' words. He was fascinated by Emma. The girl seemed to want something big, and he wondered what it was.

"Okay, we can raise the stakes today. The winner could ask ANYTHING, not just trivial matters, except for our lives, of course." He smiled slightly. "You can ask me and Xion anything. The only limit is you cannot ask me to cancel our agreement, because we've made a separate contract for it. We still have to fulfill our agreement and settle it in five years."

"Hmm ..." Emma let out a sigh. She had hoped that she would win their race and, as a reward, she could ask Therius to cancel their agreement.

"Are you joining?" asked Therius attentively.

Emma frowned and thought quickly.

Ah ... if she won and could get a request each from Therius and Xion, she would not mind delaying her request for five years, until the day when she had to fight Therius came.

Emma would ask Therius to back down and let her win, five years from now.

She still didn't know what to ask from Xion. But it's always good to make Xion owe her one.

"All right. I'll join the race," said Emma.

"Great. We can start on the count of three," said Xion. "After the count of three, we all have to dash into the river and catch the biggest water animal and then bring it to this clifftop. The one who catches the biggest animal first is the winner."

"Agreed," said Emma. She subconsciously flashed a faint smile. Emma truly believed she will be able to beat both of them.

"One. Two ..." Xion took a deep breath and then shouted his final word. "THREE!!"

With lightning speed, three figures immediately shot down from the sky and were about to dive into the river, catching the animal they were referring to.

Since Emma's energy level was the lowest among the three, she was a little behind Xion and Therius who darted like flash and in no time were nearly touching the water.