Epilogue
Leona
Present Day
Sweat coated my skin, and fire licked up my spine. The flames were everywhere. They burned me, marked me.
“No!” I screamed, sitting up in bed. Dreams of fire were my constant companion. Less so when Nuriela was nearby, but even she could not always keep them away.
A soft breeze blew in from the window of my room.
Or rather, the room I occupied at Vespertine Hall.
We were staying here while Seraphina and Michaela learned to control their powers.
So far, they were mildly successful. It was difficult to watch Seraphina train with fire.
I know it wasn’t her fault my sister died, it was mine, too.
My father’s and hers. And most of all, mine.
If only I had accepted the monster within him sooner, maybe I could have protected us.
Found a way out. At the very least, killed him myself.
I crawled out of the too-soft bed and poured a glass of water, swallowing it down in three gulps.
Fine, it wasn’t too soft. It was all just too much.
This place was practically a palace. Although Nuriela said it had nothing on the palace in Caelum.
And I was eager to see it. And maybe find a little magic of my own.
If the creepy cult guys could gain access to magic, so could I.
Nuriela said it was dangerous for a human, that I could even go mad, but wasn’t I already?
Not that she had any idea. But the dreams certainly implied my brain was finally cracked.
The dreams of the fire were normal, a constant companion.
But not him. He was something new, something more.
When I dreamed of him. It didn’t truly feel like dreaming.
It was more like…another reality. He called my name in the darkest parts of my dreams. Seduced me with promises of a future where I was powerful, feared.
I was no longer the weak link of the group.
Yes, Nuriela taught me to fight, and sure, I was really fucking good at it. But when a daemon launched a fireball at your head, a badass roundhouse kick was pretty useless.
“Get over yourself, Lo,” I grumbled, flopping back into bed. “You’re just a human. A scarred, broken human.”
And no one wants one of those. The thought formed in my mind as I drifted back to sleep.
I do.
You’re here.
Always.
Where do you go when I wake up?
I slumber. Deep beneath the castle. Waiting.
What are you waiting for?
You.
Why me? What am I?
My salvation.
The voice in my dreams was deep and laced with dangerous promises.
I was his salvation. The prince to his sleeping beauty, it would seem.
But who was he and how did I find him? Not even Nuriela knew about my dreams. I was afraid she would take them away.
Some part of me knew this monster was just that, a monster.
He wanted me, and feeling wanted by a monster was a high unlike any other.
So I would keep him a secret, at least for now.
I tossed in the bed, blood rushing to my core as his voice filled my mind. My hand slipped below the sheets and under my silk panties. They were soaked. For him. His voice was enough to bring my body to ruin.
Let your body lead you to me.
How?
Can’t you feel it?
What?
Lust. Desire. Sin.
I pumped two fingers inside my pussy and moaned. My mind was half in dreamland, half awake.
I want to feel you.
Soon. My little beauty. Soon.
My fingers teased and pleasured my clit, and when the monster growled within the dark recesses of my mind, I cried out, the orgasm rushing through me. Lust saturated my blood, and I moaned, feeling the wetness leak from me. But it was never enough.
I would find this monster of mine, and when I did, I would unleash him.