Chapter 20
Seda
“Iheard you screaming, moon-flutter. Are you injured?” Elco growled through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes at Cahir amid the smoke still billowing from his nostrils. “Just say the word, and I’ll devour him.”
“Everything’s fine,” Seda gasped, still recovering and out of breath. “You’re not allowed to eat him, Elco.”
She felt Cahir tense against her, and his magic thickened around them. She reached up to brush along his back, trying to calm him and the situation.
“Are you certain? I’ve never tried Fae, but I hear it’s quite delicious.”
“No, Elco, and I’m not injured. Quite the opposite, actually.” She felt her cheeks heat. Did she really admit that out loud?
Elco’s eyes shifted from Cahir to her and back again. He slanted them further and pressed his nose against Cahir’s shield, smushing it into the green layer of mist that prevented him from passing—an obvious threat.
“Tell him this shield will do nothing to stop me. Tell him if he ever hurts you, ever, he’ll be mine to savor.”
She cleared her throat. “I’ll tell him. I appreciate your concern, but I’m very much okay.”
He growled once more and slowly backed away, leaving the room. The guards who were watching over Seda’s door came rushing in, gasping. Cahir quickly grabbed the blanket and threw it over Seda.
“Sire! We tried to stop him, but he knocked us over!” They glanced between Cahir and Seda and quickly looked away, one running a hand over their neck. “I see both of us and the Lionne have intruded. Our apologies. If you don’t need us, we’ll be on our way.”
“Find someone to fix the doors,” Cahir commanded. “We’ll move to her room for the remainder of the night.”
They both bowed and exited the room.
“I should find my clothes,” Seda said. She didn’t want to walk the hallway with others outside, only to be draped in a blanket.
Cahir shifted off the bed and stood guard at the broken doorway, unaffected by the visible bulge in his pants, while Seda searched for her clothing. She found them on the floor and shook out the wood shards.
Cahir grabbed a fresh pair of underwear and picked her up bridal style, carrying her over the mess into her hallway.
She looked over and saw that Elco had not only busted down Cahir’s doors but also his own.
Roya, Ferona, Askold, and Benny stood in the hall with their mouths hanging open.
Roya and Ferona had their claws out and ready to fight.
“I’m okay! It was just a misunderstanding,” she told them, noticing Benny’s smirk forming. Both Ferona and Roya quickly looked down at Cahir’s bulge, their eyes widening at the realization of what happened.
Embarrassment burned her cheeks. She heard multiple Fae running down the hall to clean up the mess, but Cahir walked through her doorway and slammed the door shut behind him, muffling the noise in the hall. He laid her on her bed and carefully removed her shorts and underwear again.
“There might be more debris in those,” he said as he stared down at her, a devious smile forming across his face.
“Uh-huh… sure,” she replied with a forced laugh, trying to move past what just happened and the embarrassment burning through her stomach.
She watched him as he gazed at her with love, the green orbs fluttering above through the glass ceiling, emphasizing his eye color.
Seda had no words to describe what she had just experienced. Was this what sex was supposed to be like? Her only experience was vastly different.
She hadn’t touched herself or felt those sensations before.
She always refrained from anything in that regard, ever since she was younger.
Sure, she had imaginary crushes on the men from her books, and she loved the excitement that brewed low in her stomach when she reached the chapters where the main characters shared a kiss, and sometimes more, but this was completely new.
She loved it. She wanted more.
“Wow…” she breathlessly whispered to Cahir, who was watching her with a dimpled grin. Her heart melted as she got lost in his beautiful emerald eyes. “What about you?”
Cahir removed his shirt and lay next to her on the bed. She couldn’t help but stare at the defined muscles of his abdomen, trailing her eyes lower, and noticing his rather large erection pressing against his pants. A wet spot was clearly visible through the fabric.
“I may have enjoyed that a lot, as well,” he said with a wide grin.
Her eyes went wide. “How—”
“You’re so fucking perfect, Sed. You have no idea. I feel like I’m in heaven right now.”
She felt a blush creep across her chest and cheeks as he shifted himself closer to her on the bed. He nuzzled into her, and she hesitantly reached down and touched his length through his pants.
He hissed into her ear and shifted away from her. “You do that, Seda, and I’ll want more. We need sleep.”
He adjusted himself near her again, and she slowly ran her fingers down the ridges of his stomach, watching as he shuddered and the muscles of his stomach clenched. She trailed lower and brushed her fingertips over the top of his erection once more, and he hissed again, this time not moving away.
She looked into his burning eyes, his pupils dilated, and licked her lips.
He caught the moment and watched as her tongue slid across them.
She slowly swirled the tip of her finger around his hardened length, and he groaned, pressing his eyes closed.
She continued to swirl her fingertip, trying to catch it every time it jerked away.
He opened his hooded eyes, and his lips parted. She adjusted herself and kissed him as she continued to circle her finger over him, and he whimpered into her mouth.
He slowly pulled away from her and tenderly kissed her forehead. “As much as I want this, it’s late, and I need to stay alert for you.”
Cahir shifted off the bed and pulled his pants down his hips, changing into the clean underwear he brought with him. Seda’s gaze fixed on his narrow waist and muscular backside. She grinned. It was so firm.
He climbed back into bed with her, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
They lay in bed, holding each other tightly, their souls intertwined like tree roots beneath the earth. Seda pressed her nose to his chest and inhaled his cedar scent as his fingers gently stroked her hair. The comforting touch of his hand made her eyelids feel heavy.
She fought sleep, worried that Kalon might come back into her dreams, but she felt safe surrounded by Cahir’s protection. If he chose to join her dreams, Cahir would wake her up.
“Sleep. I’m here. I’ll always protect you. You’re fucking mine, Sed. He can’t get to you,” he said to her.
Seda closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest, listening once more to his rapid heartbeat, the pounding drowning out all other sounds. She gradually fell asleep to his steady rhythm in her ears, finally feeling safe once again.
Darkness surrounded Seda as the wind tore through her hair. She could see the glimmer of stars above her, twinkling like heartbeats through the sky.
She could hear the sounds of people screaming and birds cawing in the distance, and pushed muscles she didn’t recognize further toward the chaos.
Then, people were running around her as fires enveloped homes, as Jotnar tore through the village, snagging people with wild fervor and eating them whole.
She felt the burning sensation of rage radiate from her chest, and pain tore through her soul.
The world was cruel and unbalanced.
She glanced back, seeing Somnium a few steps behind, clad in his armor and skull mask.
He was taking down the Jotnar two at a time, tormenting their minds with nightmares and making their bodies writhe on the dirt roads.
Blood seeped out of their noses, and then their bodies lay frozen on the ground, death claiming them into the pits of hell.
He looked over at her, at her chest pulsating violently and her hair alight.
She heard him scream and saw him run toward her, tearing off his mask, and revealing wild eyes with fear etched into his features.
A bright purple light exploded around her… and then the scene shifted.
She was in the damp cell in the Camp, fighting against Alexi as he pressed her into the mattress. She felt anger surge through her body, and she shoved him away from her.
Alexi’s body flew across the cell, jolting with violent electrical shocks.
“Next time, don’t toast for so long, please.”