45. Lukene
T he freezing rain has made a bloody mess of the ground, transforming the path into a slick, muddy quagmire that clings to our boots. The mud is thick, mirroring the tension swirling between Reign and me. After a tedious hike down the hill, we finally reach the cave. Once we enter, I have Reign use her fire magic to light the torches in the cave, illuminating our path ahead. After a few moments we make it to the hot spring. Its steam bellows up and rises to greet us, wrapping around us like a comforting embrace.
Light slices through the cave from cracks in the rock, casting a tranquil glow to the spring, as the sound of the beating rain echoes all around us. Walking over to the hot spring, I bend down and dip my hand into the water—it’s hot and inviting. Perfect. Standing back up, I rip my shirt off and start to undo my belt.
“What are you doing?” Reign asks, raising a brow.
“Getting in the spring.” I drop my pants with a casual confidence.
“Prince!” she hisses, while she covers her eyes.
Chuckling loudly, I step into the spring. “Come on, Reign, no sense in freezing to death. I can hear your bones rattling from here.”
“You just want to get me naked.” She finally uncovers her eyes, and I can’t help but grin. She is adorable.
“I’d be lying if I said differently.” My grin widens.
“Turn around. Then I’ll get in.” She is so stubborn, so beautiful, and so undeniably made for me.
Turning away, I hear her undressing before I hear her enter the water with a long sigh of relief. “Okay, you can turn around.”
Reign is near the edge, her arms wrapped around her chest, a nervous yet defiant stance. I notice her little stone blade and the dagger I got her resting on the edge nearby, and I grin. My Reckless. Always prepared to stab someone. We both sit there, enjoying the warmth seeping into our freezing bodies, while sharing unspoken words through glances.
Reign slowly sinks under the water, then reemerges until her shoulders are bare. My breath hitches as my heart skips a beat. She is perfectly enchanting. As she reemerges from the water, she brings her hands up, wiping the water and hair off her face.
The water cascades down her face and hair, the light peeking in from above shining directly on her like a spotlight, giving me the perfect view of the goddess before me. Her lavender hair flows down her back, as her magically mesmerizing eyes sparkle, like hundreds of stars twinkling in the night sky.
She is a vision of perfection—a light in my shadows, a gentle whisper of hope in my deafening despair, a pop of lavender in my bleak black world, the cure for my haunted broken soul.
She leans back against the stone. “What is the plan, Prince? When we get to the palace, and they learn I have failed, what will happen? Will they send me to the Hollows or execute me on the spot?”
“No one will touch you, Reckless,” I reply, feeling a surge of protectiveness. She lets loose a long sigh, unconvinced.
“Why didn’t you want me to kill him?” She dips a little lower in the water, covering her shoulders, her vulnerability evident.
Leaning my head side to side, I crack my neck, relieving some of the tension. “Prince Elliot is a good man. He cares for his people and his kingdom. He will be a wise king.” I decide to get closer to her, treading through the water until I tower above her. “If he weren’t a good man, I would have killed him myself. I wouldn’t have risked you.”
She stares at my tattoo, inspecting it closely. “The scar underneath your tattoo is large. Is that why you don’t like it being touched?” Unsure if I’m ready to talk about it, I dip under the water and reemerge beside her, shoulder to shoulder. I still don’t say anything.
“Why don’t you let me in? Just let me in, Luke! Let me know every dark part of you, so I can love it anyway. Show me the parts of you that you loathe, so I can kiss them to ensure you know how worthy you are.”
With a huge sigh, I relent. “My mother died when I was eleven. Lilyana was one. She was sick with a mysterious illness for weeks, and just... died. No healer could fix her.” I grunt out an abrasive sigh. “A few hours before, she gave me the necklace.” I pick up the black stone necklace. The silver twine around it still hangs around my neck. “I haven’t removed it in twenty-one years, except when I gave it to you.”
“I’m so sorry.” She touches my shoulder, but I keep my eyes on the necklace before I drop it and stare at the water and steam in front of me.
“My father started courting the queen only one full moon later. Then they swiftly married. Vanna was named heir to the throne within a year.” My blood simmers—not from the water but from anger.
“For the next few years, I kept waking up feeling tired and off, like I was having nightmares but couldn’t remember them. I started to feel disgusted with myself but had no clue how or why. Well, one night when I was fourteen, I woke to Vanna—” I swallow the bile rising in my throat.
I try to calm my heart, which punches against my chest, as sweat beads on my brow. “Vanna was on top of me, one hand on my chest and the other on my head, raping me while using her mind magic. I woke up because James was knocking on the door, and she got distracted, losing her hold. She jumped off me but didn’t have time to wipe my memory. She dressed and ran out the door, locking it behind her as she passed James. I was frozen.”
Suddenly, I feel like I can’t breathe, reliving the memory. “In that moment, I shattered all her mind magic. I had known something was going on for so long, but I had no idea what. I remembered every time she did it to me, and in that moment of clarity, I leaned over my bed and threw up all over the floor.” I shut my eyes, taking in a calming breath. I hear Reign sniffle, but I can’t look at her—not yet.
“James continued to knock. I screamed at him to go away. I pulled my dagger out and cut the skin off my chest where she would touch me. When James heard my screams, he broke down my door. He took in the vomit on the floor and the gaping wound in my chest and rushed to me. I told him everything. It was the last time I cried since my mother died. We didn’t get a healer, so no one questioned what happened.” I look to Reign. Her face is tear-stained, her eyes glassy.
“Once it healed, I got the cursed rose tattooed over my scar. You have been the first person I’ve allowed to touch my chest. And as for Vanna, I told her she could never touch me again or Lilyana or my father, or I’d tell everyone what she had done to me and ruin her reputation forever. With just a simple touch, she can do so much damage. My father was so smitten with her that I didn’t think he would believe me or that he would think I made it up because he made her heir to the throne instead of me.” I take in a deep breath, feeling lighter for finally getting all that off my chest.
Reign clears her throat nervously and speaks, her voice low and soft. “My mother said she was dying, so she married me off when I was seventeen and left.” She isn’t looking at me now, and I want to see her eyes. I want to know what emotions she’s reliving. I’ve never been one to comfort people, but for her… I’ll learn. For her, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do.
After a pause, Reign looks at me, tears glistening in her eyes. “She said she didn’t want me to watch her die. And he”—she scrunches her face—”he was horrid. I don’t need to get into details, but my first time wasn’t exactly consensual either.” Hot, searing anger courses through my veins. My shadows stir, begging to emerge, but I rein them in, allowing her to get whatever it is off her chest.
“I was raped in the prison. Too many guards and too many times to remember. They would restrain my arms at first, because I fought them, but by the end…” She takes a slow, deep breath, not looking at me but staring at the water in front of her.
“By the end, I’d just lay there, praying to the Mother that they would hurry up or just kill me already. I stopped fighting because I was tired of the hole, the tub, and the whippings. But Big Al…” She grimaces with genuine disgust and gulps loudly. “He was by far the worst. My back looks like this because of him. Larah and Elm were all I had in there. They got me through it. We survived together.” Tears slide slowly down her precious cheeks, and then she looks up, her eyes meeting mine. I see a sea of turmoil there: guilt, pain, haunted memories. I reach out and wipe the tears from her face.
“I… I am so sorry Lukene. I am so sorry I touched your chest. I didn’t know. If I had, I would have—” The guilt in her saddened eyes is enough to fracture my icy heart.
I grab her hand, cutting her off, and place it next to the rose tattoo, over my heart. She shudders, releasing her breath in a soft gasp. “Your touch feels safe to me. I crave it like I crave air,” I say, offering a slight closed-lip smile that barely contains my longing.
“You are the first person whose touch I’ve actually wanted. The first person to touch me gently in that way,” she replies, her voice laced with a bittersweet vulnerability.
Now I truly understand her inexperience and my heart breaks for her.
“I never planned to give you up. I need you to trust in my words. I was trying to buy time and figure out my next move. But I would never have given you up, Reckless. Never. You are mine and mine alone.”
I grip her waist and pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her. She slides her hand up my outer chest and wraps her arms around my neck, her head resting against my heart. Surprisingly, I don’t mind it at all. We are just two people with fucked up, tormented pasts. Two tainted souls who recognize each other’s pain—two broken halves trying to become whole.
She turns to look at me, her stormy lavender eyes staring into mine. I see my whole world in her eyes, my future unfolding like a delicate blossom. Never have I truly thought about what I wanted for my future. All I have known is my duty to my kingdom. But here, with her, looking into the great depths of her lavender eyes, I know exactly what I want. I want her. I need her. I want to spend the rest of my life waking to her in my arms, sharing laughter and warmth, finding solace in each other’s presence. I want to kiss her lips until the Mother deems it’s my time to leave this continent. And even in death, I couldn’t part from her. I’d find a way to be with her. If she were to die before me… I’d follow shortly after, greeting the Mother at her side.
As if she could read my mind, she leans up and kisses me.
The kiss is soft yet electrifying, filled with understanding, apologies, forgiveness, and an unquenchable passion. I run a hand down, gripping her ass and pulling her into me, feeling the heat of my desire push against her. She moans into my mouth, a sound that ignites something primal within me.
Lifting her legs, I wrap them around my waist and press her into the wall of the hot spring. Breaking the kiss, we both gasp for air, panting and filled with desire. I lean back slightly to take her in. Her face is flushed, her eyes heavy with longing, her perky breasts rising and falling with each breath. She’s all mine. “You are a divine vision I don’t deserve—a goddess too good for me.”
As she trails her hands down the outer parts of my chest, mindful not to touch the center, I feel her fingers dance over my stomach, exploring the bumps and grooves of my abs. Then she leans up to kiss me again, and just as our lips lock, a loud roar rattles the cave, shattering the moment.
We jump out of the spring, quickly dressing. My shadows are already out, swirling around, trying to figure out the source of the disturbance.
“We need to get back to the cabin,” I exclaim, and Reign nods, her eyes wide with fear.
Once dressed, we cautiously step to the front of the cave. The rain has died down but the ominous fog has begun to creep around us, stretching in every direction since we entered the cave, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
I clutch Reign’s hand tightly, guiding her down the path with me. I hear crackling, like branches breaking. What is out there? We continue swiftly, the chill of the rain soaking into our once-warmed skin.
Then, the roar is right next to us. I fling Reign behind me, instinctively turning to face the threat—a Tremon. These fiercely cursed demons are said to be born of the dark magic that corrupts the land. Its skin resembles rough brown bark, moss clings to its shoulder, while vines trickle down its root-like arms. Its solid black eyes watch me intently.
It flings out a twisty branch-arm, which clashes with my shadows as I draw my sword.
“Reign, run! Get to the cabin!” I yell, my heart racing, but I don’t dare take my eyes off the Tremon in front of me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a ball of fire flit past, hurtling straight toward the monster. It raises another root, swatting it away, and then lets out a screech so loud it quakes the ground beneath us.
Roots begin to writhe and shift, and I hear Reign yelp. Turning back, I see her on her back, a root wrapped around her leg, dragging her through the mud toward the Tremon. Swinging my sword, I strike the root, severing it.
I lean down swiftly to help her up, but I’m struck through the shoulder. Looking down, I see the root sticking straight through. “Luke!” Reign screams, fire blazing in her hand. My shadows pour out of me, cracking against the wood. I pull the piece out and turn, flinging my power at the monster. Suddenly, my world spins. I feel dizzy. Colors blur, and my chest tightens. Fuck, I forgot about their toxic sap. My breathing hitches; I must get Reign out of here.
I drop to my knees.
I see Reign’s mouth moving, but don’t hear a word.
The next thing I know, I see flames.
Everywhere. All around.
And then nothingness. My world goes black.