60
Raiden
Droplets of gravy and honey splattered the white shirt Kora had stolen from his chamber.
She sprawled in front of the grey, stone fire, her eyes heavy as she nibbled on chocolate-dipped strawberries Raiden had fetched her.
He’d feasted on her multiple times in the kitchens before her stomach had growled in return.
His groin ached at her laughter when he’d whisked her up here, the meal he’d prepped following behind in floating bowls.
The fire roared, bathing her skin in a golden glow as she leaned back on her elbows, popping another strawberry into her mouth.
Raiden tracked every move Kora made, the sight of her in his clothes made him positively feral.
His fist curled around the navy and silver bedspread they’d used as a blanket on the hard floor, his restraint from claiming her thinning rapidly.
Raiden leaned against the four-poster bed, large windows to their right, and a heavy, arched door to their left.
And his entire world in the middle.
“What are you thinking?” Kora tilted her head.
“That maybe you should wear my shirts all the time.”
She barked a laugh, and his chest lifted at the musicality. His magic roared, demanding the union between them, that Kora was his singularity in this universe, his absolute point of truth and reality.
He attempted to leash it, internally warring with his own beast. He couldn’t scare her away now. Kordelia may have been his first love, but she hadn’t been the love. Somehow, Raiden knew he’d accepted that a long time ago. Kora was something else. A calling.
She sang to the magic in his veins.
She ignited the fire in his soul.
She tasted of the freedom he longed for ten years.
She was the goddess that kept the nightmares at bay.
“Before we . . .” Kora blushed. “Before what happened earlier, I found something in the library. Before you distracted me.” She sat up, scooting closer to Raiden.
He smiled at her. She had caused the distraction, demanding an impromptu cooking lesson that’d lasted all of five minutes.
And thank the gods it had. He could barely think as his mind drowned in sea salt, vanilla, and something else. Something familiar.
“I found a passage about the dark prophecy, someone here also predicted it, hundreds of years ago. It spoke of finding the true first god, and their heir known as the Dark One.”
Raiden frowned, her words penetrating the passionate fog smothering him. “There are only five gods. Thanos was the first.”
“It mentions another—Thanos’ shadowed mirror. I think maybe he has a brother, and that this god resides in the in-between.” Kora placed a hand on his knee, her fingers splayed. “Our void is the in-between.”
“How do you know this?” Raiden placed his hand on top of hers, his beast humming in pleasure at the contact. “I’ve never come across anything to explain what that space was, and why only we can access it.”
Kora’s stare flickered, casting down as she nibbled her bottom lip. Raiden’s pulse thudded unpleasantly. She was hiding something, and the way emotions crossed her face, fading as quickly as they appeared, he knew she was debating whether to tell him.
To understand whether she trusted him enough.
“When Blake suspended me with his power, my body was desiccated like a corpse. But I was still alive, on the verge of death. My soul, essence, whatever you want to call it, travelled to our void. I think it was looking for sanctuary. I spent over a month there.” Raiden’s breathing stopped as she continued staring away, unable to meet his gaze.
“I saw memories of Kord—my life. But they were warped, tainted to have strange outcomes or occurrences. Someone helped me pick through them, stayed with me during my deadly imprisonment.”
Kora finally looked up, her blue eyes blazing as bright as the fire behind her. Raiden cupped her cheek, running a thumb over the lone tear that escaped. She was still in pain, still broken, and he saw it, and understood it.
“Thanos was with me,” she whispered out loud.
“I spent over thirty days with the God of Death. He kept me company, he saw my memories, he even pulled me out of the void, into a realm of his creation. He . . . he reminded me why I wanted to live.” Kora chuckled slightly.
“The God of Death pushed me towards the light, to life. I’d nearly given up. ”
Raiden faltered. He firstly couldn’t grapple what his world would be like without Kora. Secondly, he gently held her face with both hands. Kora may not know it yet, but she truly was gods-blessed.
The gods hadn’t faded yet. Death still lived. Hope’s dangerous edge lingered.
She held onto his wrists, that small touch visibly strengthening her.
“He told me of the in-between. That the void rests within it, and he’s the only god who can travel through it.
What if there is another god? And they’re related to Thanos, with similar power?
Thanos was mentioned in this prophecy, maybe he’s keeping him away from the mortal realm.
Protecting us all from the true darkness. ”
Haizea fucking save him.
“Thanos is still with us,” Raiden replied and Kora nodded gently. “The other gods?”
“He mentioned Calypso a couple times. If they’re still here, they’re far away, perhaps somewhere in the void that’s not reachable.”
Raiden shut his eyes. There was still hope. Devania had hope.
“What else was in the passage you read? Did it say any more about this god? Or how to reach the void beyond ours?”
“For he will rise, and bring a darkness so deep, no life will walk again. It’s the same prophecy I heard from Agatha. And it kept repeating Dark One. Almost like this scholar had gone mad, scribbling it across every page.” Kora leaned into his touch. “Dark One, Dark One, Dark One.”
Raiden cursed. “Say that again but faster.”
She repeated it, her eyes slowly widening as it dawned on her as well.
“Dark One,” Raiden spoke thickly. “Sounds a lot like Darkon.”
“The first admiral,” Kora winced, her hand flying to her scar. “He died fifty years ago.”
Raiden rubbed his chin. “Maybe, maybe not. We never saw him during the conquest, there are no tapestries of him. His death was strange too—an infection from battle. Yet he never appeared in battle. What if he just . . . disappeared? What if he’s also in this void?
What if he’s out there now, summoning this dark god?
If he’s like us, he would still appear young.
He could be in hiding, waiting for his moment. ”
“That’s a lot of what ifs.” Her mouth twisted. “I don’t like guessing. How could he be a mage, when he led the campaign to destroy us all?” Us. She saw herself as part of the mages. Yet, Raiden’s stare hardened as their theories grew murky. None of it was making any sense to him.
“Can you reach out to Thanos at all? Is it possible to ask him what he knows?” Hope was cruel and the bed behind him creaked as he leaned back, needing something to keep him stable. This was fucking insane.
Firelight danced across both their bodies, warming them in the cool, stone room.
By the bay window was an oak desk embedded with moonstone, and a chest filled with Raiden’s favoured weapons hidden under cream blankets for the winter.
A mirror settled in the far corner, by an armoire that was half empty, the clothing eaten by moths from years of neglect.
Kora shook her head. “He’s got this thing about fate and interference. I’ve barely felt his presence since we left Talmon.”
“The passage is old, older than me.” Raiden winked at Kora and a small smile bloomed on her lips. “Perhaps it referred to Darkon’s conquest of Devania. Those times were dark, it was some of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”
“Perhaps,” she murmured. “Right now, Barron needs to be stopped. Magical prophecies can jump further down our to-do list.”
“Sure. Murder a tyrant, stop a magic-resistant army, save humankind.” Raiden counted off on his fingers.
“Don’t forget saving the Azarian prince, preventing a third war with Azaria, and creating new world peace.” Kora curled into his lap, her eyes growing heavier.
“As long as you’re there, I will do any of those things.” Raiden's voice bordered on a growl as Kora’s cheek rested on the crook of his neck, and his arms swept around her.
“We make a pretty good team, Windward,” Kora said.
“That we do, Cadell.”
She glanced up at the use of her chosen name, and Raiden’s breath shot out of him at the gratitude beaming from her soul.
It barrelled down the bond, hitting him like a boulder.
Euphoria filled him as her emotions tangled with his own.
She was happy, a new kind of wholeness filling out her previously shredded heart, along with a deep appreciation directed straight at him.
And longing. An intense, sparkling longing wrapped in desire.
Raiden’s control snapped.
A growl tore from his throat, his primal beast taking over as he cradled Kora across his lap, a possessive part of him wanting her to be completely his. Her eyes flared as he kissed her feverishly, his hands pulling at the shirt she wore.
Fuck. Her hands toyed with his hair, her nails delightfully scraping his skin as they wound down the back of his neck, whilst her legs hooked around his waist, bringing him closer.
Damn shirt buttons. Raiden tore the shirt down the centre, and Kora jolted as his magic joined the fray, his essence practically clawing its way out of him to connect with her.
Phantom hands delicately pulled the shirt off her, baring her naked body to him. His cock throbbed so hard he thought he could see stars. Kora’s gaze dipped to below his waist, and when he expected nervousness, that he’d pushed her too far, Kora gods-damned fucking smiled.