Chapter 68 Nismera #2
As long as Ayla lives, your reign will end.
I’d beaten Catori after she’d said it, beaten her so severely that neither sister spoke it again.
Still, prophecies did not lie, and it haunted my thoughts.
If the fates chanted and cried about impending darkness and war, it would be, but I knew there was a simple fix.
Ayla simply needed to die. The devastation of the realms would not be by her hands. It would be by mine.
However, from the way things were going, it seemed I would have to be the one to do it. How hard was it to get rid of one fucking person?
Blayne made a noise low in his throat, blissfully unaware of what truly plagued me. “You truly believe Ayla can slay us?”
Disgust filled me as I turned my head toward him. “Absolutely not, but she may be an annoyance with the help she has.”
“An annoyance that we can handle swiftly,” Blayne reassured. “You have the weapons, and with my help, The Eye will soon be hunting them, too.”
I sighed as his hands ran lazy swipes up and down my arms. “Your prospects?” I asked. “How do they fare?”
It was his turn to sigh in annoyance. “We grow closer, but even with your suggestion, I fear he may not be much help.”
I half turned toward him. “Seduction didn’t work?”
He shrugged. “I have tried countless times. I’ve never had such issues before, but it seems that Xavier is far too attached to his former life.”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed in disgust, but I was still surprised.
The Hand was nothing but a collection of dumb rejects that Samkiel had collected and then attempted to craft into soldiers.
But their idiocy went deeper than I’d assumed.
I had hoped that Xavier at least had some brains, but to turn down a god for Cameron, of all people?
It seemed their only usefulness was that, at the end of the day, they were the perfect mindless soldiers.
My lips thinned, and I ran my nails lightly along his jaw.
He shuddered, his silver eyes darkening, and I felt his cock swell against my backside.
“Have no fear, my beloved.” I purred, leaning back into him.
“We have moved from seduction to manipulation. The images I fabricated should be enough of a push for us to start the corruption phase now. Remind him as only you can, my pet. I will not have The Eye deciding it’s time to join the fight fully. ”
“Even if they do, it won’t matter. Our numbers are far too vast. I will ensure you rule Arcelia as the rightful heir. Your fear is unnecessary.”
“I do not fear anything,” I said, my voice laced with lethal venom as I stared up at Blayne.
He was the epitome of power and masculine beauty, his compelling eyes bearing down on me as he tilted his head ever so slightly. “Samkiel is still a threat. Do not let your council misguide you with talk of Ayla being the only threat.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I bared my teeth and glared up at him. “He and my half-brothers will suffer. I will make sure of it. I will systematically destroy everything Samkiel loves until he begs me to take him, too, and when he does, I will deny him that mercy.”
“I am sorry for your sour mood, my love, but I am afraid I am about to make it worse.” Blayne placed a kiss on my temple before speaking in a whisper in my ear. “Umemri sent a messenger to my room last night.”
My anger bubbled, and my hands tightened on his forearms where they wrapped around my waist. That idiot, if someone had seen, everything could have been lost. “I warned him if he—”
“It was of great importance,” Blayne said, cutting me off. “Samkiel wields Oblivion still. Umemri reports that he summoned the blade from nothing.”
My brows furrowed as the words sank in, and then a slow smile formed on my lips.
Hope suddenly flared in my chest at a new prospect.
Of course, he would. It explained why the ring did not work for me.
It held no actual power because it was merely a conduit.
He was Oblivion. This just made everything so much easier.
“I’d know that wicked smile anywhere.” Blayne slid his hand up my body from my abdomen, slow and precise.
He gripped the collar of my top and ripped it open, exposing my breasts.
Cool air curled around my nipples, and they pebbled, going painfully tight.
I moaned low as his fingers flicked over the aching peaks before drifting higher and wrapping around my throat.
His other hand slid under my nightgown and curved over my hip before dipping lower.
“You will need a public display. Show the city, your court, and the council who and what you are,” he said, his lips ghosting over mine as my hand fell to his wrist, directing his fingers as he worked my body.
“Remind them why the blood of warriors freezes when your name is mentioned. Why legions answer to you and why your name will be whispered with awe through the realms, giving truth to the legend you are.”
“I’ll need to,” I brushed my nose against his as I panted, “tarnish his image permanently.”
“Worry not, Nismera. You’ve been overstretched today, and you’re far too hard on yourself,” he said, and my body bent to his will.
He did not kiss me even as my other hand rose and tangled in the hair at the base of his neck.
No, his breath teased my lips as his fingers worked between my thighs.
My body thrummed, but he pulled his hand back before I could reach the pinnacle.
The sound of him unbuttoning his pants had me leaning down and grabbing the hem of my gown.
I only got it over my hips before he grabbed me again and pressed an enormous hand between my shoulders, bending me over.
He positioned himself behind me, slamming into me with a brutal thrust. My eyes fell shut, savoring the burn as pleasure ripped through me.
No one came to the west wing. It was my own personal space, and only those I invited were permitted here. So, I could conspire and hate and unfold here, but above all, I could scream as loud as I wanted, and that’s just what I did.
His hand cupped my throat, his fingers forcing my head up as he fucked me from behind.
“Open your eyes,” he said against my ear, his hips thrusting. “Look at him while I fuck you,” he demanded.
My eyes snapped open, and I faced the statue of Nydmjir. This was the only time he had power over me, the only time I ever allowed it.
“Look at him and know he could never give you what you needed. Not as I.” His words wove with the pleasure threading through my body, sending me closer to the edge of bliss.
My gasp mixed with his low moan as he moved just right, hitting a spot deep inside of me that made my vision blur.
“Nismera, you and I are conquerors. It is what we were made for and what we will always do. We are not made for failure. Our victory is written in the stars.”
“Yes.” The word came as a low moan, and I pushed back against him, forcing my body to take him deeper.
His hand gripped my jaw tight enough to bruise, tipping my head back to meet his gaze. “Say it,” he demanded.
“We will conquer it all.”