Christa’s Obsession (Obsessions #3)

Chapter Twenty

Christa

Christa felt that hateful wave of fear from her blissful one once more. It was strong enough to make her shake her head and defy the king, despite the possible consequences.

“I’m not leaving Wanda.” She added as much force to make her point without being rude.

His eyes revealed exactly what he thought of her denial as she held his gaze, never wavering. She ignored the clutch in her belly, having promised Wanda to protect her no matter what.

“Is that so?” There was zero infliction in the king’s voice, giving nothing away, but it still caused a shiver to run through her.

She swallowed hard, her throat clicking. “Wanda does not cope with being left alone in a demon's company after the attack and kidnapping .” She gave him her best winning smile, pushed on by her human side. “I’m sure you understand that causing my blissful one distress is something I would never do intentionally. Leaving her would be an intentional act.”

A flicker of what looked like pain came and went over his stern features. Confused, Christa searched his expression, going over what she said, looking for what could cause such a reaction.

She came up blank as his lips thinned in obvious displeasure. She felt the atmosphere crackle with the strain of not bowing to his wish, but not once did she shift her attention to Wanda like she wanted to.

“I’ll be—”

The king held up the hand still holding the peach and stopped Wanda from whatever she’d been about to say. “She can stay.”

“Thank you,” Wanda murmured, her grip finally relaxing, though the tension in the body pressed close to Christa’s never eased.

Christa knew this was a big win, given the king’s reputation and lack of tolerance for those disobeying his orders, so she acknowledged it.

Bowing her head, she said, “King Asmodeus, I’m grateful for your understanding.”

He never acknowledged Christa and kept staring at Wanda. “When did you know Christa belonged to you? How did you feel?”

Huh?

What kind of questions were these? They taught a demon to recognize their blissful one in their soul.

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Wanda looked at Christa frowning, eyes full of worry. “Belong?”

“Yes, belong. I speak perfect English,” he snapped. The sigh that followed when Wanda winced at his tone was unexpected, as was his apology, which left Christa slack jawed.

“I apologize. We are taught about Blissful Ones as young demons. Yet I have no recollection of ever meeting a couple who had—have such a connection until Dakata… then Merihem and Peni.”

“I can see how that would give you some concern,” Wanda replied softly. “I only knew of such a connection before Christa, because of my brother. He felt an attraction to Dakata upon sight and became intrigued.”

“Intrigued? How so?” King Asmodeus came forward in his seat, making it creak. The glass he held appeared forgotten as the juice swished dangerously close to the rim.

Wanda rubbed a knuckle over her eyebrow, pushing back her tumbling curls. “He couldn’t stop thinking about Dakata after he saw him.”

“Was it the same for you?”

Christa now found herself fascinated by the many emotions she could see as Wanda nibbled on her lower lip, looking down at their joined hands. “I have no recollection of seeing Christa in the demon realm.”

Was she hedging?

“I see.” Asmodeus brought the glass to his lips, sipping. His eyes widened as he looked at what he held. “Why, it’s delicious.”

Wanda giggled when her trees made sure to let the king know they were pleased he liked it.

Looking back towards the trees, the king’s long hair shifted around his shoulders like a black silk cape. The girls swayed and Christa caught Wanda’s eye roll before the king returned his attention to them. “So when you did meet, what did you feel?” he asked, clearly not letting the subject drop.

“The first time Christa came to the forest to see if I was alright, something about her tugged at…” she blushed, plucking at the fabric of her dress, once more not looking directly at anyone. “She touched me, and I felt”—her brow furrowed—“alive.”

“Alive. How?”

Her slim shoulders shrugged. “My soul, it connected to Christa’s, even when my head was terrified of what it meant with Christa being a demon and what happened in your realm.”

“What changed?” Wanda held all of Asmodeus’s attention.

Her lips formed a wobbly smile. “Dougal, a troll who lives in the forest, is a dear friend. Between him and my trees, they explained Christa would never harm me.” She sighed and lay her head on Christa’s arm, regret lodging in her stomach. “I knew it, deep down, but my fear wouldn’t let me acknowledge it. I spoke with Silas, too, trying to make sense of it all.”

Asmodeus’s eyes narrowed, his chest moving rapidly. “Have you?”

“Made sense of it?” she questioned, and he nodded. “I don’t think we’re meant to make sense of it.”

He could not deny the honesty in her words, yet Christa could see the skepticism in the sneer. “How can that be so? To determine the world around us, we must be able to make sense of things. Reason them out.”

Wanda shook her head. “No, I don’t believe that when it comes to bonds like this. Fate, they decide if someone should receive the gift of a mate—blissful one. How can we apply logic to this when there is no reasoning as to who gets such a gift? And it is a gift, one our souls recognize and accept with no need for any clarification. It just is. Logic comes from the mind and not the heart and soul. How can we apply it to something that has no logic at all?”

King Asmodeus’s lips parted, closed, parted, then closed again. His dark eyes swirled with so many emotions that Christa found it difficult to take a breath waiting for him to respond, when clearly he didn’t like, or perhaps understand, what Wanda had said.

Christa understood. Accepted it. Wanted it with all of her being. It didn’t need to be justified when Wanda now wanted what they shared.

He brought the glass to his lips and drained it, then it disappeared a moment later along with the peach he’d held before he stood. Wanda’s brows arched as she leaned back when the king towered over her.

“I’ll protect the forest and surrounding lands, you’ll have nothing else to fear, Wanda. No being, human or otherwise, with malicious intent will get past my wards. You have my word on this.” He gave a curt nod.

Christa became confused by the sudden change in topic and the mask of indifference Asmodeus now wore.

“Do you need anything from… me?” Wanda asked bravely, her hand trembling in Christa’s.

“No, it is already done.”

“How do we know it’ll work?”

Christa braced, wary of how the king could perceive Wanda’s question as a challenge to his ability.

His laughter, so unexpected, came with a smile that revealed a handsome man, and left Christa gawping. “You have nothing to fear, tree fairy. The wards will persuade those who wish to venture here to go elsewhere. They will also detect those with thoughts and intentions to cause harm. Those individuals will suffer pain, the likes they cannot comprehend, if they attempt to enter this forest. Anyone with an invite and with pure intentions will gain access without issue. Those you will know about because my wards will alert Christa of their presence. Does this answer your concerns? Fears?”

It wasn’t any one thing, but Christa felt the weight of the invisible blanket of Wanda’s fear lift at what Asmodeus promised her. She let go of Christa’s hand and rose, taking the few steps to the king. Christa was up and right behind her, just in case.

She placed her trust in her blissful one to handle whatever her intentions were. That didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to snatch Wanda away from the king if things became a problem for Wanda.

Dwarfed next to Asmodeus, Wanda had to stretch her head back at an awkward angle. “Saying thank you seems so little after what you have given me.”

She opened her hand and there, on her palm, lay a rooted branch with a few lush, green leaves.

“I offer you this as a gift from my trees. If you plant it and look after it, you will have the deliciousness of fresh peaches whenever you wish. And a little part of the forest to remember what you have protected.”

The sweetness of the gesture gave Christa’s heart a little bump. She was also very curious about the king's cheeks, which looked to darken as he stared at the offered gift.

“That is very…” he met Wanda’s stare and back was the smile, shocking Christa once more, “generous of you.”

He took the offered gift, hesitated, then patted Wanda on the shoulder. The plant disappeared from his hand and became replaced by a small tumbling stone of blood red. It lay in the center of his palm, glowing in the sunlight. “A gift for you.”

Wanda looked at the stone, then up at the king, frowning. “But you’ve already given me a gift.”

He wore a look of impatience as he huffed. “Take it. You need only to rub your fingers over the surface three times and it will summon me… if there should ever be a need.”

He was most definitely blushing. Christa would bet her life on it as she was back to being slack jawed at the gift. One that meant Wanda need never worry about being scared again, because she had the protection of Christa’s king.

Her heart slammed against her ribs at the generosity of such a gesture. Never had she heard of him ever being this kind.

Wanda took it and bowed her head. “I will treasure it and hope I never need to use it.”

The king’s returning nod was curt, then he disappeared along with the chair he’d used.

Wanda looked about, then at the stone, before smiling at Christa. “That was… interesting.”

That was one word for it! Christa wasn’t sure she’d ever recover from the shock. “It was most certainly that. I do not believe he has ever offered a stone of such value to another soul. And the questions, I’m sure he never asked those of Dakata.”

“Really?”

Christa gave it some thought, then shrugged, doing her best not to think too hard on the reasoning behind such magnanimous actions. Slipping an arm around Wanda’s shoulders, needing the contact, she brushed a kiss over her forehead. “How about a trip to see Silas and Dakata to ask?”

Wanda gave her a searching look. “Is this a test?”

Was it? “Did I not feel you release the fear, my love?”

“I…” Wanda hesitated and leaned into Christa’s touch, seeking comfort. “I did… it’s just, I thought maybe we would take a walk to the house first… talk about what you feel needs to be done there? What you think would work for visitors?”

Warmth of the love they shared flooded Christa’s chest and her demon receded. The size difference was still very noticeable, but Christa didn’t need to bend as far when she wanted to kiss the upturned mouth.

Joy at all the possibilities effervesced inside her. “I think that’s a perfect idea.”