16. Esther
ESTHER
The problem with having Regent in the distance is that although I can’t see him, I can sense him. My invisible chains are more adept at searching for him on their own, like a constant check-in.
The water has taken on a milky color, the heat of the bath soaking into my bones and releasing tight knots that have been there for as long as I can remember.
Grimace lies on his back, casually floating in the water with one of the water pixies giggling as she sits on his stomach.
The little fire pixie who took a liking to him earlier walks along the edge of the cobblestoned bath, unimpressed.
I play with Blaze’s blade, twirling it through my fingers as my mind rolls over the next steps, feeling like I’m drifting further away from what I’m supposed to do. The more immersed I become in this land, the more it seems to slip from my grasp, and that rage and hurt further push down.
I also don’t know anyone who can help me break Blaze’s enchantment. My blood boils at all that Dahlia has taken from me. The fact that she would hurt him with mind-fuckery magic to pursue me. It also means that death follows my footsteps because Blaze has never missed a mark.
In the distance, the sea and snowy mountains contradict one another, especially while I’m protected in a warm room, feeling rather detached from it all.
I place the blade to the edge of the bath; appreciative to have a piece of Blaze with me.
Then I close my eyes and sink into the water, letting the various oils and lotions the pixies disbursed absorb into my skin.
Beneath the water, I feel at peace, and I consider what it might feel like to not resurface.
For my entire life I was advised to hide my identity and magic. I was a monster hiding in the dark, and now I’ve never been more exposed. Worst of all, I chose to save my captor and cross blades with my best friend.
I’m a fucking mess. I come up for air, trying to run away from my own spiraling thoughts.
“I thought you were trying to drown yourself,” Regent says from across the room.
My eyes find his coppery ones, and I swallow hard as my gaze glides down his chiseled six-pack, marred with old scarring and vine markings.
The intricacies of the markings offer a dull ethereal glow.
His gaze rakes down my body, and I startle, remembering that I’m more naked than he is.
I sink back into the water with that now-familiar heat simmering in my veins as I pretend to be unfazed. “I suppose you can’t let that happen. Not until you’ve palmed me off to the auctions, right?”
He circles the bathtub, wearing nothing but loose, low-hanging pants. I catch a glimpse of the outline of his cock beneath the material and swallow hard before training my eyes elsewhere.
Regent comes to the edge of the bath and bends down beside me, the blade between us. He picks up a piece of my now-washed hair, running his thumb over it. “If I told you I had my reasons, would you believe me?”
I glare at him then, still unaware as to why I decided to save my captor in the first place.
Nor can I ignore this living thing that eats away at me, drawing me closer to him.
It goes beyond physical attraction, because for that, I can easily fuck a man and be done.
This is something else, something deadlier.
He shifts to come behind me, falling to his knees.
I can’t see him, but I can feel his body heat radiate up my back as his hands begin to feather through my hair.
One of the wind pixies flies over with a golden comb that he catches midair, the details of his arm markings rippling atop his flexing muscles.
He combs through my hair, and I find myself in a strange paradox as he gently untangles the ends of it.
“I don’t need to know your reasons. All I know is we’ll never meet again.”
The sun begins to drop, lighting a magnificent orange over the sea. His hand seems to pause momentarily before continuing to brush.
“Besides, I thought you said you wouldn’t interrupt my bath?
” I say, jutting my chin higher, my pussy beginning to grow hungrier the more I breathe in his scent.
His earthy tones and heat cocoon around me, making me shift uncomfortably.
Playing with Regent is different from Blaze; where I once hoped Blaze would take action, I know that Regent is dangerous, especially if either of us acts on our impulses.
Whatever this thing is, I’m terrified to pursue it because it defies all logic, and yet my body yearns for his touch as if it’s been starved for it my entire life.
“I came to check on you. And it was you who was looking at me with those come-fuck-me eyes.”
“I did not—” My hair is yanked back, stirring me up more, my heart pounding frantically.
“We may not agree on many things, Denva. But I am a man with eyes,” his tone has dropped to a throaty edge. My mouth grows dry as words escape me.
He begins to braid my hair as I try to focus on anything but him, searching for the pixies who seem to whisper among themselves. Grimace jumps out of the bath to chase the fiery little pixie who baits him out with a piece of meat.
Suddenly, I’m aware of the elemental pixies that flutter away, leaving Regent and myself mostly alone.
“Is this a game to you?” I ask, my voice coming out raspier than intended.
I feel the moment he ties the bottom of my hair with a small piece of fabric, and when he lets go.
I slowly turn to face him, the water around me rippling from the movement.
His gaze, which at times seems more beast than greer, studies me carefully.
He leans in, holding the hairpin Selena gave me, and places it into the braid. His face is close to mine, and my nails dig into my thighs as I do all that I can to resist the urge to pull him in.
This needs to stop. I try to reprimand myself as my chest rises and falls, too impacted by his hot breath and body heat that presses against my back.
“I don’t play games, Denva. I take what I want.”
“And what is it… that you want?” My voice drops down to a rasp.
That low hum between my legs is growing as goosebumps ignite along my skin.
It’s a challenge between us, whether either will act on the tension, but also a damning temptation.
I freeze in place, refusing to give in to a greer who will lie, cheat, and steal to get what he wants.
I immediately understand that we are not so different after all.
“I want to see you come undone, Denva. I want to see how brightly you shine and how chaotically you’ll shatter around my fingers.” His thumb brushes, feather-light, against my cheek, trailing down the hollow of my cheeks and along to the tip of my chin. “And I think you will let me.”
A haughty laugh escapes me. “I think you forgot that beasts aren’t the only thing that bite.” I cast a pointed look at the blade within reaching distance.
An uncharacteristic smile blossoms on his face. It’s stunning as much as it is damning. His canines are oddly extended compared to the rest of his teeth. “If you bite me once, Denva, make sure it’s worth it. Because when I bite you, you will fucking scream.”
Warmth floods my core again as his hand wraps around my neck, as if reminding me of how easy it would be to break. And yet my body naturally leans into his touch, letting his hand guide me so we’re only a hair’s breadth away.
“I scream for no one,” I bite out as I barely press my lips against his. His breath fuels my lungs. A gruff noise escapes him and vibrates to my demanding pussy.
His hand dips lower, fingers grazing down one of my breasts. “I’m starting to believe you’re the one who plays games, Denva.” He pinches my nipple, and a small whimper bubbles out of me, immediately sending a flush to my cheeks at how pathetic I sound.
The thin string between us snaps as Regent crushes his lips against mine, and my mind goes blank, my body acting of its own accord. His tongue dives deeper, demanding more. I all but climb up the bathtub as he pulls me to straddle his lap.
My hands glide through his hair as I tug him closer, hungry for this man I can’t even stand. Regent groans as his hand continues to slide down the side of my wet body, and I rock, feeling the friction of his cock beneath the material of his pants.
Another moan leaves me, and I grow hungrier, nowhere near close enough, as his hand slips between us and slides between my lips. I pull back for a moment, slowly rocking into him as his eyes look over my disheveled state.
“You’ve gone quiet for once, Denva.”
“I have little to say to my captor.”
That ruthless smile plays at his lips again as he slips a finger in, and my body naturally arches against him, a sigh of relief bursting free.
He hisses as he hooks another finger into me, and I all but want to whimper and melt into him. “Look how hungry your little cunt is for my fingers.”
There’s nothing ladylike here, pure adrenaline and need pumps through my veins like I’ve never known before as I pull his lips back to mine, allowing him to take more from me.
My magic twists around his, and we weave through one another’s, making it difficult to understand where mine begins and his ends.
My body is on fire as he bites and tears at my tongue and lips, pumping into me as I shamelessly straddle and ride against his hand. His thumb rolls over my clit, and butterflies erupt in my lower stomach as I desperately try to pull him in. More. I need more.
A feral noise escapes me as he brings his lips to my throat and bites.
“Fuck,” I whimper when he inserts a third finger. I’ve never known bliss like this. Pure carnal need and desire, as if my life fucking depends on it. I’ll beg, worship, and plead for this feeling never to end.
A growing tension begins to build in my legs as I bring my lips back to his, imploring him to continue, too scared that he might pull away. I bite at his lower lip and drag it out, my legs growing shakier as I cling to him.
“Fuck me,” he growls out, and my eyes spring open; his coppery gaze seems to have lightened to an almost ethereal orange. “Look at you coming undone on my hand like a good girl, Denva. Look how soaking wet you are for me.”
I moan as he continues finger fucking me so hard there’s no place for escape but in his arms.
“Fuck,” It’s all I can say or whisper as I cling to him, and that build grows to an all-new tightness. “Regent,” I say, confused and elated.
“So fucking beautiful,” he whispers and thrusts back into me.
He all but yanks my orgasm out of me as everything within me explodes.
I see stars as my magic bursts outward, and I follow the high, clinging to him as I slow my tempo, riding his hand, my head leaning forward as my legs shake with pure adrenaline.
It’s the most powerful thing I’ve tasted, more than any fight or use of magic.
But when I look back into his eyes, it all seems to come crashing down.
More specifically, it’s not me he’s looking at.
When I follow his gaze, I realize that the flames that flickered by candlelight have blown out, and the pink and white trees have started to die.
A frozen breeze sweeps through the room, and it’s as if all the magic that kept this place alive has been extinguished.
I look around, slightly panicking at the thought of ruining something so perfect and ethereal.
“I don’t understand.” I felt my magic burst from me, but without being linked to something, it should have no hold.
No force. No devastating effects. I never used my one worded chant to link with his magic.
The elemental pixies are in hiding around the room, slowly peeking out. My body, which was on fire only a moment ago, now feels vanquished. Regent’s hand stretches out, and a vine appears with a robe for me.
He throws it over my shoulders as he comes to a stand, placing me on my tiptoes. Whatever drew us together has been effectively ripped apart. I don’t even know why I mounted him like some horny, depraved woman, and I grow embarrassed by how desperately I gave into his hand.
He turns his back and begins to walk away.
“Wait, Regent!”
He spins. “What was that?!”
My mouth opens and closes. I don’t know.
I don’t know what’s happening to me.
But I also know it’s none of his business.
Survive. It has and always will be the one thing I cling to.
I wrap the robe tightly around my shoulders as I look down on him from the step I now stand on, where only moments ago we were entangled.
“Don’t ask me for my secrets if you’re not willing to offer your own.”
His jaw clenches. That obvious wall erects between us again. “The pixies can fix all of this, like it never happened.” And just like that, he turns his back to me and walks away.
My own jaw hardens as I grow defiant, displeased with myself for giving into temptation, still shocked that I so willingly did.
Grimace scuttles up my robe and comes to my shoulder, nudging at my cheek to check on me. The pixies begin to work on their fallen magic, elemental magic bursting around the room as they try to bring back what was once a living haven.
An overwhelming sense of grief fills me, the desire to cry uncomfortable, but it acts as a reminder, as sharp as any blade.
Leaving Regent’s side is the best thing I can do because whatever this thing between us is, my magic is feeding off it, and it’s another complication I don’t need.