Chapter 44 #3
She was the beginning and the end of everything, as if my soul never belonged to me, as if my heart was never my own to give to anyone else.
Alina arched her back, and I could not control myself any longer. My hands roamed her waist, her hips, her beautiful ass.
“It’s never enough. It doesn’t matter how many times we do it. It’s still not enough,” she whispered.
I did not trust myself to respond. Instead, I placed a light bite to her shoulder. Alina’s skin was so incredibly smooth and creamy. She was an exquisite dessert I wanted to devour. My downfall, my own personal heaven and hell.
“Tell me what you want, princess,” I murmured.
“You,” she exhaled.
Her hand moved below my belt, and she bit her lip, watching my expression.
Every remainder of coherent thoughts left my brain and I moved her skirts up.
“Ty.” She protested when I lowered myself to my knees. “No, not that.” She leaned down with a look of discomfort, and a light flush across her cheeks.
I chuckled, placing a kiss on her knee. “One day, you will let me do it.” I got up.
“It’s . . . I’m sorry.” She looked away, hiding her face.
“One day,” I whispered, taking her lips.
“What if someone finds us here?” she whispered.
“Then I will have to kill them.”
“You’re not serious,” she relaxed against my chest.
I traced my fingers between her thighs, watching her parted lips and half closed eyes.
“Ty,” She breathed as her head tilted back.
“Do you like when I touch you here?” I whispered in her ear.
“Yes!”
“And here?”
“Ty, please,” she moaned.
“What do you want, princess?” I pushed against her entrance.
“You.” she shivered, but my hand held on to her tightly.
“Tell me,” I commanded.
“You’re torturing me.” Alina’s head tilted up, exposing her neck and I immediately followed the curve of her shoulder with my mouth.
What I did not expect was her hand finding my groin and pressing against my hardened flesh.
“I need you now,” she breathed out.
And I could not wait any longer. Alina gasped, and wrapped her arms around my neck when I filled her from the inside.
She was so sweet and tight. All I wanted was to give her pleasure, in any way I could.
I needed to hear her whimper, beg me for more.
In the midst of it all, I lost myself in her.
She was my heart and soul, my whole fucking world.
I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead to Alina’s shoulder. Her chest rose up and down and the strands of her loose hair brushed my cheek.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Why?” Alina breathed, looking a little hazy.
“I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”
“But . . . I like when you lose control.” Her eyes met mine.
I kissed her forehead, before helping her adjust the bodice of her dress.
“Can you take me home?” she asked.
Home. It sounded so familiar. In the past weeks, the shabby cottage we shared had become our home.
And for the first time, ever, I felt like I belonged somewhere, as if I was a part of a big family.
But nothing could compare to the way I felt about Alina.
She was my home, and I knew that if I had to, I would go through heaven and hell just to be with her.
I helped her get down to the ground and paused when I saw her wince.
“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“A little. It’s not a big deal.” Alina smiled, touching my cheek.
“I never want to hurt you.”
“But I like it that way,” she said softly, and I kissed the palm of her hand.
Just then my eye caught a sudden flash in the distance. I moved closer to the railing.
“What?” Alina stood beside me.
“Something’s wrong,” I gripped the stone, feeling pain in my knuckles.
Alina clasped my arm, and both of us stilled, watching an explosion of fire and the dark silhouette of a flying dragon in the valley.
“Get back in the castle!” I pulled her inside, then we ran down the stairs into the main hall.
“Hanoch!” I shouted loud enough for everyone to hear me over the music.
The sounds of multiple voices, laughter and music would attract crawlers here. It was only a matter of minutes before the bloodbath.
I darted toward the musicians and yelled at them to stop playing.
“Did you have too much wine?” Hanoch stood up.
In two large strides I was beside him.
“You have to protect women and children! The dragons are in the valley!” I shook his shoulders.
“What?”
“The. Undead. Dragons!” I searched for any signs of recollection.
“That’s impossible! We’re high in the mountains. There are no undead dragons here.” Hanoch tried to break free, just then shouts, and a loud bang shook the walls of the castle.
“Too late!”
I searched for Alina in the crowd. She was pushing a couple of women toward the second exit. She managed to open the door, and a wave of people followed her directions.
I made my way to her.
“Go to the basement!” I cupped her face.
“I want to stay with you,” she protested.
“I can’t fight if you’re here. Please, do this for me.” I looked into her large chestnut-colored eyes, trying to memorize every speck of copper, every feature of her beautiful face.
This is not the end. I will be back, no matter the cost. Right then and there, I swore to myself that I will keep her safe and fight for her till my last breath.
I pushed Alina toward the exit and a deep, dark, ominous feeling flowed in my veins.
She turned at the threshold, looking at me, her eyes filled with the words never spoken, feelings never expressed.
There were so many words we have not said to each other and I regretted every second I wasted without telling her how I felt.
I still stood glued to my spot, as the crowd carried her away.
The sudden screams in the room made me shake off my stupor. I searched for Frid and Victor, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“We need every capable male . . .” Hanoch shouted as I moved past him, toward the armory on the second floor.
The knives I had on me would not be useful against the crawler dragon. To be honest, I was not sure if those things could even be killed.
In the armory I saw Frid, Sol and Victor surrounded by a group of men. We all grabbed as many weapons as we could.
“How many, do you think?” Victor asked, stepping beside me.
“I saw at least two,” I secured a blade to my waist.
“It’s all your fault! We never had any crawlers before you showed up,” Denis hissed.
Slowly, I lifted my head feeling the wild burst of rage I could finally submit to.
“This is not the time or place for that!” Hanoch shoved him away before I could give a proper response.
“We need to survey the area and see what’s happening in the city. We need to know how many of them are there,” I shouted to everyone to hear.
“And who do you suggest is going to go out there?” Denis asked.
“I will.”
“Alright. Alright. That sounds like a good plan,” Hanoch said, and the men around him showed signs of agreement.
I already forgot that Hanoch was only nominally a leader. His job was to raise important questions for the clan warriors to vote on. That was so unnecessary in a situation like this one when decisions had to be made fast.
“I’m going with you.” Frid stepped closer.
Frid’s light flowy dress and loose braids looked strangely mismatched with the bold determination in her eyes. The eyes of a warrior.
“Me too.” Victor stood beside her.
“And me,” Sol added.
I looked at all my friends with a new feeling I could not even begin to understand.
We have gone through hell together, but this could be the last time all of us stood opposite each other.
All this time, I have done everything to keep us alive, what I had never realized is that they did the same for me.
I nodded, looking at each one of them, and a cool determination settled deep in my soul.
“Let’s go!”
We walked out of the armory, while Hanoch shouted commands to the others.
“Stupid dress!” Frid hissed when her sword tangled in her skirt. She suddenly stopped. “I need a flying suit! Go without me, I’ll catch up.”
“Ty,” Victor called, and I looked back. “I’m staying with her,” Victor added.
I looked at him for a good moment before nodding. He wanted to stay with her for better or worse. I would do the same thing.
“Be safe,” I said, and opened the doors to the balcony.
In the end only Sol and I soared up into the night sky.
As soon as we ascended high enough, I could see two dragons attacking the roof of the castle. By the condition of the front doors that were wide open, I knew there was at least one of them inside the castle. I looked further across the valley and swore. The undead dragons were everywhere.
How could that be possible?
I had only seen one undead dragon and I had hoped it was one of a kind. A freak, a mistake of nature. It was clear to me that the undead dragons could exist within groups, very similar to herds of crawlers.
We lowered ourselves closer to the ground and I could see fields, houses, yards, and the remains of people on fire. The columns of black smoke lifted up into the night sky, covering the indifferent light of the moon.
“They can spit fire!” Sol growled.
“Yes, they can.”
Below, I could see the burning bodies of dragons, and people running from the monsters who picked them up from the ground, one by one.
“How do we kill them?” Sol asked.
“Let's find out.”