Untitled
My lungs are burning as I walk the path to the castle.
Outside the gates, the smell of ash and sulfur gets heavier.
Thick mist lies low to the ground as I cross over into the courtyard.
My pointed ears twitch as the shadows at my feet twist, sliding up my body and curling around my curves like cold silk.
His voice, low and full of amusement, breaks into my mind.
“Look at you, my sweet pet… walking so willingly back into the cage. I can feel your anger from here, little one. Let’s see if you can back it up.”
I let out a growl, my eyes glowing red as I reach the doors, my hand wrapping around one of the daggers hidden beneath my coat.
Before I can push the doors open, they groan and swing inward on their own.
Opening to a large hall, the dark stone leads to the black throne at the far end.
He sits there, dressed in black. The fur collar of his long coat frames his shoulders, and a few strands of his dark hair fall over his face.
They are not enough to hide the sharp point of his ears, the black horns wrapped in silver chains, or that mocking smirk on his lips.
The shadows dance beneath him as his gaze locks onto mine, entirely unfazed.
I don’t let him see me hesitate. The heels of my boots click against the dark stone as I march down the center of the hall.
“It took you long enough to answer,” I say, my voice tight, refusing to give in.
My knuckles grow white as my grip on the dagger tightens. I watch the shadows beneath his throne surge. They slither down, coiling tightly around my ankles, stopping me in my tracks.
“Ah, Ah. Patience, my love.” He grins down at me, the tip of a fang playing with the edge of his lips.
I flinch at his words.
“You don’t get to call me that,” I snap, pulling uselessly against the shadows holding me tight. “You don’t get to use those words anymore. You vanished, Blaze. You ran like a coward, and you think you can just sit on your throne and act like nothing happened? Like you didn’t break me?”
My voice cracks on the last word, a sharp ache tightening in my throat. I hate myself for letting him see it.
For a moment, he just stares at me. The silence in the hall is heavy, growing colder. He leans back against his throne, resting his chin on his knuckles, as he lets out a low chuckle.
“You really thought you were different, didn’t you?
” he asks, his voice dripping with arrogant satisfaction.
He tilts his head, the silver chain on his horns catching the light.
“That’s what I do, pet. I collect hearts and break women.
It’s a game, really. A fun little distraction to pass the centuries.
And you actually believed that we were building a life together.
” His smirk widens as he leans forward, his dark eyes piercing mine, his shadows sliding up my body.
“And yet, look at you. Even knowing what I am, here you are. Right back where you belong.”
The slithering touch of his shadows heats my skin. I stop pulling away. Instead, I let them pull me forward.
I look him in the eye, and despite the tears threatening to fall, I force a low laugh.
“A game?” I ask, my voice deadly quiet, cutting into the silence.
“You tell yourself it’s a game because you’re terrified of anything real.
You didn’t run because you were bored, Blaze,” I hiss his name.
“You ran because you’re a coward who couldn’t handle the truth.
You couldn’t handle a woman who looked past the horns and shadows and actually saw you. ”
I lift my chin in defiance, letting the hatred and desire burn in my eyes. My grip on the dagger keeps me grounded.
For a moment, he just stares. His face is completely blank, refusing to give me the satisfaction of any reaction. Then, he lets out a low chuckle.
“Interesting,” he murmurs.
I cry out as the shadows around my ankles yank violently.
My legs give out, and I am forced onto both knees at the base of his throne.
A freezing tendril wraps around my wrist, tearing my hand away from my coat.
I watch as my fingers are forced open, and my dagger clatters against the stone, sliding far out of reach.
Blaze stands and walks down the steps, stopping in front of me.
“You say I’m terrified,” he says, his voice flat as he looks down at me. “That’s quite the speech for someone currently pinned to my floor.”
He leans down, his lips just inches from mine. He reaches out and traces along the point of my ear. A jolt of heat shoots through me as I bite my bottom lip to keep from making a sound.
“Your mouth says you hate me, love. But your pulse is racing, and your body is aching just because I touched you. So tell me, who is the coward? The one who left, or the one who couldn’t stay away?”
I refuse to back down, even from my knees. I lean into his hand, gently nuzzling it before kissing the center of his palm. I let a ragged breath escape my lips, letting him think he’s won. Let him think I’m breaking.
“You can pin me to your floor all you want, Blaze,” I whisper. “But you still had to use your magic to force me down. You can’t even stand to face me on equal ground.”
His smirk twitches. A flash of irritation breaks his cool act. His hand moves to grab the back of my hair, pulling me closer.
I lunge forward, biting hard on his wrist until I taste the sharp coppery tang of his blood. He roars and flings his arm back, throwing me off and sending me crashing into one of the stone columns near his throne.
I scramble to my feet, wiping the blood from my mouth. His eyes burn with fury. The shadows fill the room, threatening to swallow us whole.
Blaze doesn’t yell. He closes his eyes, gathering his power. When they snap open, fire ignites his stare, flowing outward and consuming his body.
Through the flames, his skin turns blood-red, covered in dark markings. His bright white hair stands out as a dark red trenchcoat forms over his shoulders, sharp spines pushing through the fabric. I watch as massive bat-like wings unfurl from his back.
He grabs the hilts near his wrists, and with a quick twirl, thin metal blades extend and instantly ignite.
He holds the flaming swords in a ready stance, that taunting smirk returning to his lips. “Ready?” he says with a demonic growl.
My heart pounds so hard I can barely hear. I simply nod, trying to concentrate on his movements as I sidestep away from him. “As I’ll ever be–”
Blaze flares his wings, using them to lunge across the stone floor towards me. He swings his left-hand sword straight for my left hip, keeping his right blade up for defense.
I close my eyes for a fraction of a second, bracing for his approach. As he cuts inward, I reach into the shadows and pull my scythe from its place, using the heavy shaft to block and keep his blades away. I turn in a half-circle and raise my right leg to kick him hard in the shin.
He growls, his blade grinds against my weapon before he spins, angling his second blade toward my incoming foot to meet my kick with his sword.
I hiss as I push off his blade, spinning into a backflip to avoid the steel. I attempt to strike his shoulder as I land, dropping into a kneel right in front of him. Breathing heavily, I glare up at him, growling softly.
He narrows his eyes, flapping his wings hard to pull away from my strike before lunging back in, swinging both blades simultaneously. One towards my shoulders, the other low toward my hips.
I lower my torso to block the upper swing, but as I push myself up, the lower blade catches my hip. I yelp at the sudden pain. Acting on instinct, I retract the scythe, letting it slip back into the shadows, and snap open the hidden wrist-bracers on my arms.
Blaze smirks at my reckless counter-attack as he swings his left blade to parry my wrist spikes while driving his right blade straight toward my chest.
I drop my arms, accepting the hit to my chest to create an opening.
He softens the blow at the last second, the steel almost caressing my skin as it slices across my chest, easily cutting through my top while the flames singe the fabric. He jumps back as I stumble.
I stand there, glaring at him, my wrists turned up and crossed over my bare breasts and stomach. Slowly, I back off, sidestepping in a wide circle around him.
He grins wickedly. “What’s wrong?” He circles slowly. “Not so eager anymore?”
I spit at his feet, keeping him directly in front of me. “Clearly, this was a dumb idea.”
“Perhaps, but here we are.” Blaze lunges, swinging the right blade toward my waist, followed immediately by the left in rapid succession.
I tense, using the spike on my right wrist to block his right sword, and my left to catch his left. I hold my arms open for as long as I can before attempting a kick straight at his diaphragm.
He growls deeply, using the moment I lift my leg to drop down and spin, sweeping a kick at the one foot I still have planted on the ground.
I grunt as I land hard on my back, pushing up onto my elbows. I quickly retract the spikes in my bracers and try to distance myself from him across the stone.
Blaze sheathes his left blade, lunging forward; he clamps a hand around my ankle and yanks me backward across the floor toward him. He pins the point of his right blade over my chest. I kick desperately at his hand, trying to break his grip, my breathing coming in ragged gasps.
He smirks, standing over me. He plants a foot firmly onto my chest, not crushing me, but keeping me pinned. With a flick of his wrist, he slides the burning blade across my waist, slicing away the very last of my shredded clothes.
“Give up yet?”
I lick my dry lips, closing my eyes against the cold air as the last of my protection is stripped away.
“I yield,” I whisper.
I open my eyes once the pressure keeping me pinned has lifted. When I do, I see that he has returned to his normal elvish form and offers his hand. “Good girl.”
I take his hand, balancing myself as I stand up, and wincing slightly at his words.
As he pulls me to my feet, his free hand runs slowly along my arms. His claws trace my wrist bracers, cutting the straps, completely disarming me.
“Can’t have you going and attacking me, can we?” he asks, a playful growl in his voice as he winks at me.
I shiver under his touch, a soft whimper escaping my lips. “You won…” I swallow hard against the lump in my throat.
“Did that really come as a surprise, my love?” His arm drops behind me while he lightly drags his fingers over my lower back.
His claws against my bare skin send a shockwave up my spine, but I don’t back away. His hand hooks around my waist, pulling me firmly against his chest. The cool room against his lingering heat is intoxicating.
My breath hitches as I look into his eyes. He tilts his head down, his lips brush against the shell of my ear as that deep, demonic growl vibrates against my skin.
“So tell me… Do I get to keep you?”
I lean into his touch, my hands sliding up his chest to grip his shoulders. My skin tingles everywhere it meets his.
“Yes.”
Blaze’s eyes darken; that familiar wicked smirk returns to his lips. His hand slides from my waist to the nape of my neck. Tangling his fingers in my hair to tilt my head, he crashes his lips over mine in a bruising, possessive kiss.
I gasp into his mouth, my hand sliding up his shirt, digging into his shoulders to anchor myself as his arms tighten around my waist. He deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue past my lips, claiming me.
He breaks contact just long enough to shove me against the nearest stone column, trapping me between the cool rock and his body.
His hands slide from my hips to my thighs, lifting me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, locking my legs around his waist as he captures my mouth again.
Reaching between us, he blindly shoves his pants out of the way and lines himself up, sliding the tip of his cock against my slit.
He nips and kisses towards my ear. “Tell me you want this,” he murmurs, his voice low and husky as his hips give a slow nudge against me. “Tell me you’re sure, Moira, because once I start, there’s no going back.”
“I need this…” I whimper, dipping my hips down onto him, desperate to feel him claim me. “I need you, Blaze.”
His resolve snaps as his grip tightens around my thighs, and he shoves straight up into me, burying himself completely in one unforgiving thrust.
“Mine,” he growls hoarsely against my neck, pricking the soft spot at the base with his fangs.
“Yours,” I gasp, tilting my head to the side, granting him more access as my nails dig through his shirt. Slowly, I roll my hips against his.
He groans against my skin, his hands locking onto my thighs.
He pulls back and rams into me, hard and fast. He sets a reckless pace, driving into me over and over with a bruising grip.
He shoves his mouth over mine again, smothering my gasps as he pounds into me.
My nails claw into his shoulders as my body moves with his, matching his unrelenting pace.
Each stroke sends a spike of heat through my core, building a pressure deep within me.
My body tenses against him, helpless as a shattering wave of pleasure crashes through me, forcing a muffled cry into his mouth.
He lets out a low growl, breaking away to sink his fangs into the sensitive skin of my neck. With three final, violent thrusts, he buries himself deeply before his body shudders, spilling into me.
He rests his forehead against the column beside my head. We stay still, just listening to the breathing slow in the empty hall. Slowly, his grip lessens, and I let my feet slide down to the cold floor.
His hand shifts, sliding up to palm my left breast. He pulls back slightly, his eyes locked onto mine.
Using the edge of his nail, he drags it hard against the flesh, slicing deep enough to draw blood as he carves his name right over my heart.
I hiss, digging my nails into his shoulders at the sharp sting.
He licks the jagged lines clean, sealing the mark. When he pulls his mouth away, his breathing is still heavy, his gaze shifting to the raw, welting letter. There is no need to say anything as he runs his thumb over the fresh cut, his eyes returning to mine.
We stay like this, both of us knowing there is no going back now.