Chapter Thirty-Four Arabella #2
“It isn’t,” Felix says, and I turn to him.
He lifts his hood off his face and takes off his cloak, revealing a suit I’ve never seen before.
Even on our wedding day, he wore his usual uniform.
The suit he’s wearing today is all black, and it looks like something royalty might wear.
He usually keeps his physique hidden, but this highlights his strong body.
“It’s an enchantment,” he adds. “The curse makes it hard to maintain an enchantment like this. Even when it isn’t real, it seems we aren’t allowed any kind of sunshine. It’ll only last a few hours.”
“You did this?” I ask, confused. “You created this… for me?”
“Technically, I begged Elaine to create it, but I did transmute all the flowers for you. Those are all real.” He takes my hand, leading me to a table in the middle of a pavilion.
It’s got thousands of pink peonies growing all around it, rendering the scene utterly romantic.
I glance back at him, finding it hard to believe that the same man who once threatened my life and my loved ones would do this for me.
“I thought you might miss the sun,” he murmurs as he pulls my chair out for me. “I know I do.”
I watch him as he walks around the table and sits down opposite me. “You could leave, couldn’t you?”
He shakes his head. “Not for long. If I stay in the palace, I remain human. The longer I’m away, the less human I become.
Physically, my nails turn to talons and my teeth become razor-sharp.
My skin changes, becoming rougher, more animal-like.
That isn’t the worst of it, though. It’s the bloodlust. If I stay away too long, my humanity disappears.
The palace has a soothing effect on me, undoing some of the worst effects of the curse.
The longest I’ve been able to leave is just under a year. I’m trapped here.”
Felix hesitates, and then he looks away, a sigh escaping his lips.
“If we don’t break this curse, that is the future that awaits me.
The change is slower within the palace, but I can feel it deep within.
Every day, I feel a little less human. I struggle to experience emotions the way others do…
except when I’m with you.” He looks at me, and for a moment it’s as though it isn’t me he sees.
“I understand that you don’t believe me, but I truly believe you were destined to save my people.
Pythia, the seer I mentioned, cannot lie.
I’m not sure, but maybe, just maybe, you might save me, too. ”
More than ever, I find myself wishing I could. I don’t know how I’m meant to do something like that. I’m startled out of my thoughts when plates appear in front of us, my eyes widening when I realize what I’m looking at. It’s a traditional Althean rice dish.
I stare at the food, a familiar ache settling in my chest. These reminders of home are a kind gesture, but it just makes me miss my sister more.
“If we manage to heat the ground and grow crops, you’ll let me go back home?”
The words leave my lips before I realize what I’m saying, and for a moment, I fear Felix’s response.
He looks away, his expression turning guarded.
“I never break a promise, Arabella. Do all you can, and I’ll let you go, even if we can’t break the curse.
I won’t keep you captive.” He turns back to me, his eyes darkening.
“But you’d better remember what you promised me.
Until I let you go, you’re mine. Your every thought, Arabella. ”
I bite down on my lip as my heart begins to race.
There’s such profound jealousy in his eyes, and though I should reassure him, I can’t help but revel in it.
When he looks at me that way, it’s like nothing else exists anymore, like he isn’t a cursed emperor who needs me—instead, he’s just a husband who wants his wife to have eyes only for him. And I do. Fates, I do.
Felix snaps his fingers, and the table disappears.
He rises from his seat and throws me a pleading look.
“Tell me, beloved. When you asked me if I’d let you go, who was it you were thinking of?
” I’m breathing hard, my heart racing as Felix walks up to me.
He cups my cheek, his thumb brushing over my lip.
“I warned you, beloved,” he murmurs, his voice soft.
“What should I do with you, my love? How do I punish you for breaking our agreement?”
He moves his hand, using his shadows to lay me down on a bed of pink and red flower petals, my hands pinned above my head by his invisible force. He smiles, but there’s no humor in his eyes as he kneels down beside me.
“Felix,” I whisper, a thrill running down my spine. I loved the way he made me feel on our wedding night, and I’m tempted to provoke him into punishing me in that same way again.
He leans over me and bunches the fabric of my dress in his hands, pushing it up slowly. “Were you thinking of him?”
I look at him and shake my head, unable to help myself.
I don’t want to lie to him, but I love the way he’s acting.
Felix leans in and lifts my leg, placing it over his shoulder.
He turns his face inward and kisses my thigh, sending a tremble down my spine.
I gasp when I feel his powers brush over my breasts, almost as though the tips of his fingers are caressing me.
“Can he do that to you?” Felix whispers, right before I feel his fingers trace circles up my thigh. He spreads my legs and smiles. “Wet, as expected.”
I gasp when Felix pushes a finger deep inside me, using his thumb to tease me. The combination of sensations is almost too much, and I can already feel the pressure climbing. He lets go of me, yet the feelings don’t stop. His hands move to his breeches, but I still feel them on me.
“Felix,” I moan, and he smiles in satisfaction as he settles between my legs.
“Beg for it,” he orders. “You want it, don’t you?”
I nod. “Please,” I whisper. “I beg of you, Felix. I need you.”
I’m so close, and the feelings he’s arousing within me are addictive.
I need him with a desperation I can’t put into words.
The same magic I felt last time buzzes around me, and once more I try my hardest to direct it outside.
I vividly imagine the atrium and pray I don’t set the flowers around us on fire.
Felix grins at me and lifts his hand into the air, snapping his fingers. All at once, I’m turned over, landing on my knees. I look up to find myself staring straight into a mirror.
“Watch yourself succumb to me. Watch as you beg for it. That little boy will never make you feel the way I can. The pleasure I can give you is unmatched.”
He grabs my hip and pushes into me slowly, his eyes on mine in the mirror. Felix pauses halfway inside me and I groan. “No!” I whisper, wishing he’d push all the way inside me, and Felix laughs.
“Beg,” he orders again.
“Please, Felix. Please! Stop torturing me, husband.”
He looks startled, his expression softening. “So you do realize that I’m your husband.”
Our eyes lock in the mirror, and he pulls almost all the way out, driving me half mad. “You are the only one I’ve ever wanted, Felix. The only one I will ever desire,” I tell him, and deep within my heart, I know it to be true. The feelings I have for Felix are unlike any I’ve ever known before.
Felix stares into my eyes, seemingly satisfied with what he sees, and at last, he pushes into me, taking me with the same desperation I’m feeling.
I fear the hold he has over me. With each passing day, it becomes harder for me to see a future without him in it. I fear that one day, I truly will lose him to this curse, and I cannot let that happen.