CH.15 You are mine!
Iris wanted to prove Luc wrong about her emotions.
They might be confused, tinged with the red of anger, but she knew what she wanted and was going to get it at any cost. And while Anastasia was recovering from the effects of the slightly poisonous berries, Iris was taking advantage of Prince Edmund's alone time. Not even her stepmother could stop her.
She watched the crown prince through the mirrors.
Just a few words to whisper to them, and they showed her what she wanted to see.
She watched him perhaps more than she should have, and Luc was right – it was an obsession.
Burning wildly. Unquenchable. She knew his every step, his every breath.
The places where he hid from the world, from his own royal duties. She knew exactly where to find him.
Always.
When he wasn't taking sunset walks with Anastasia, his footsteps led him to the library, where he would sit late into the night, lost in the ink soaked into the paper. What better place for their chance encounter, longing to lose themselves in another world?
The steps carried her to the royal library.
She gazed in amazement at its magnificence.
Gorgeous paintings adorning the ceiling, showing scenes from myths and fairy tales.
Heroic knights fighting monsters and enchanted princesses.
Sirens luring sailors to sharp cliffs. Books stood neatly on the shelves like soldiers at attention.
Hundreds, if not thousands. So many letters and words.
Ink marked by time itself. With a gentle touch, she caressed the spines of the leather-bound books.
She felt their texture. With the tip of her finger, she traced their names, revealing what they hid inside.
Her gaze fell on the book on the top shelf. The gold lettering engraved on the spine read "The Dragon King and the Princess." The story she knew so intimately. The story she had told him that night.
She wanted her as if the book could change something. He will find her reading it and maybe will remember. Maybe. That night. Those words. Their meeting. Maybe he will remember everything.
Iris was too short and the book was too high.
She jumped and jumped, but she didn't even come close to those heights.
Out of her reach. It was smiling down at her from above, almost mocking her.
She was slowly beginning to fear that she would have to call upon her demon for help, whom she knew very well would not help her unless it meant a promise to yield to him.
But she couldn't. She couldn't give in to the desire that drew her to him.
Every thought of the prince paled in comparison to a hundred thoughts of him. What was he doing to her?
She pulled up a chair and jumped onto it, reaching for the book.
She felt the chair move, sliding across the marble floor.
She pulled it back. Leaning against the shelves, she reached for the book.
It was still too high. Not even when she stood on tiptoe.
She touched it briefly with her fingertips.
She tried to catch it with her nails, but it slipped each time.
She climbed onto the back of the chair. She held on tightly to the shelf so she wouldn't fall, balancing on the unstable surface.
She reached out and finally took the book in her hand. She had it. She finally had it.
At that moment, the chair shook beneath her. Iris lost her balance and fell. And she would have fallen if someone's hands had not caught her. Only the book she was so eager for touched the floor.
She looked up at her savior. She expected to see those familiar golden eyes that were always close, protecting her, but she saw his. His ice-blue eyes that she had been waiting for. He had found her. He had come. He was holding her in his arms.
"You should be more careful." He set her down. "You could have hurt yourself."
"Luckily you were around, Your Highness."
"I would be happy if there was no need to save you anymore."
"I apologize for the inconvenience, Your Highness. I never intended to cause any trouble."
"You're really causing trouble in the palace. I can't remember such a commotion in my entire life. Usually, I am the one causing it."
"I apologize, Your Highness. It was not my intention. Nor was my presence here in the palace. I would rather disappear from your sight."
She showed him her back and walked towards the door. She took a step, two. She felt his gaze on her back as he watched her leave. She already held the doorknob in her hand when he did as she had expected, or rather hoped.
"Wait!" he stopped her before she disappeared through the door.
She turned back to him. "Is there anything you wish for, Your Highness?"
He picked up the fallen book from the ground. "You forgot the book here, for which you risked broken bones."
"Ah. Thank you, Your Highness."
The prince was carefully examining the book bound in red leather. He stroked the gold-embossed letters. Iris approached him, reaching for the book, but he pulled it out of her reach. She gave him a questioning look.
"Interesting book. I think I've heard that story somewhere before," he said.
"It's one of my favorites. Like two sides of a coin, it shows us that every story can be different depending on who's telling it."
"Read it to me. So I can remember."
"Have you forgotten to read, Your Highness?"
Prince Edmund laughed. "A bit cheeky, don't you think?"
"I just think you can read it yourself. I'm not your maid," she said.
"I am your prince. If I give you an order, you are obligated to carry it out."
"And I thought it was a kind request."
"If you want the book, you'll have to earn it. Grant me my wish and read to me."
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at granting wishes. I'm not a fairy godmother," she told him.
"You really aren't. You're interesting, Iris," said Prince Edmund. "You're not what Anastasia said you are. You even surprised me in training. I didn't expect a woman to be so good at fighting."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment, Your Highness?"
"Maybe."
"Thank you," she said.
"Tell me, Iris, why does Anastasia hate you so much?" the prince asked. "What have you done to her that she feels such resentment toward you?"
"I'm her stepsister. That's how it is."
"And what's Madam Tremaine's reason?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask her about that, Your Highness. The reason is unknown to me as well. But I should be going now. Madam and Anastasia wouldn't be thrilled to find me here with you."
"Just like during training? Why does your presence in my company bother them so much?" he asked her.
"They think I have an interest in replacing my dear stepsister," she replied.
"And you have?" he gave her a searching look.
"You think too much of yourself, Your Highness."
She took a step toward him, two. She let the space between them disappear into nothingness. She looked deep into his eyes, he didn't take his eyes off hers. She gently rested her hand on his chest, feeling him tremble at her touch, his heart beating wildly.
"Not every woman craves your gaze and admiration."
He leaned towards her. A mischievous smile graced his lips.
"But I know what you want, Iris," he said as her delicate fingers touched the book he held in his hand.
Stepping back from her, he took it from her reach. She gave him a stern look softened by the smile that graced her lips. She reached for the book, intending to take it from him, but he took it out of her reach again as he backed away from her. He waved the book in her face, provoking.
"The Crown Prince cannot be refused."
"My voice would bore you to death, Your Highness."
"We won't find out, since you keep rejecting me. If you're worried about being caught with me, courtiers generally stay far away from books, and there's no one here at this time of day."
"If you want to know the story so much, you can read it yourself. You can keep the book. I already know it."
She turned away from him and started to walk toward the door.
"I didn't let you leave." He stopped her.
She turned back to him.
"You obviously enjoy playing with me, Your Highness."
"I have to admit, you're a nice addition to the day. And I know you want that book. It's written in your eyes. Does it mean anything to you?"
"The past."
"If you want it, you'll have to come and take it."
He lifted it high above her head. He was much taller than Iris, and the tip of his palm reached out to her as far away as the heavens themselves. She jumped and jumped, trying to reach it, but it was too high.
"This is not very nice of you, Prince Edmund," she told him, a stern look on her face and laughter in her eyes.
She climbed onto the table. She reached for the book that connected them with a story.
Even though he didn't know it. The prince was backing away.
He kept his hand as far away from her as possible.
Iris was already standing on the edge of the table, leaning on his shoulders to reach the book.
Her foot slipped and she fell. She screamed softly.
The prince immediately dropped the book and quickly caught her.
"You're falling into my arms a lot this day," he told her with a mischievous smile.
"Too often," she said.
He set her down lightly, but he didn't let go of her. They stood so close to each other, losing each other's eyes. Their hearts touched with every beat. Their lips were separated only by a thin whisper, which Prince Edmund himself finally let disappear completely. And Iris kissed him back.
The fleeting touch of lips ignited a passionate flame.
He grabbed her tightly by the waist and pressed her to his chest. He greedily claimed her lips, stealing her breath, and she gave it all to him with pleasure.
He pressed her to the table. He set her down on it.
He kissed her neck, the neckline of her dress.
Iris tore off his shirt. The gold buttons with the emblem of his family jingled on the marble floor.
She unbuttoned his pants. He rolled up the skirt of her dress and pressed his hips against hers.
He grabbed her thigh tightly and pulled her even closer to him.
He pulled away from her and thrust again.
A sweet moan escaped her lips, which he silenced with kisses.
He's mine, Iris thought. He remembers me. She knew that somewhere deep down, he must remember.
He pulled away from her. He tucked his torn shirt into his trousers. Iris was still gasping for breath a little. Prince Edmund looked at her coldly. A pink glint flashed in his eyes that cut her heart in two.
"Smooth yourself!" he told her callously. "This never happened, do you understand?"
The way he looked at her with disgust, as if both of them hadn't just made that mistake.
She wanted to scream, the words burning in her throat, but her voice remained quiet.
She felt as if someone had stabbed her in the chest, over and over again, a thousand wounds leaving her bleeding.
Despair wasn't the worst thing she felt at the moment, but the pain was destroying her.
It hurt so much. So so much. She wanted to scream, to break things around her.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms and beat the curse, she created, out of him.
But she stood there motionless, heartbroken, pain flowing through her veins.
"Do you understand?" he emphasized.
She looked up at him. Tears burned in her eyes, but she didn't let them come to the surface.
"Yes, Your Highness."
?
"What happened?" asked Commander Dominic.
Prince Edmund saddled his horse and spurred it forward. He waited for no one. He gave no one an explanation. He galloped through the forest on his horse. He needed to clear his head. He needed a moment alone.
"I love Anastasia. She is the light of my life. She is the breath in my lungs," he repeated to himself over and over again. "I love her."
He didn't understand how he could lose control so easily in the library.
One moment, she was just his bride's stepsister, and the next, their lips touched.
He hated himself for it, but he couldn't resist. There was something so familiarly sweet about her.
The shape of her lips and the smile that graced them.
The taste of her. The sound of her moans sounded like a beautiful melody in his ears.
He hated himself for cheating on the love of his life with her stepsister.
The prince was walking through the forest. The sun had already set behind the distant horizon hidden behind the treetops, shrouding the landscape in a veil of night.
The moonlight, penetrating through the tangle of branches, cast flickering shadows.
The nightly singing of birds to the melodies of the whistling breeze fell silent as the sky became overcast with clouds stealing the moonlight for themselves.
He decided it was time to return as the first drops of rain sprinkled his face, and only fireflies illuminated his path.
At that moment, his horse became nervous, as if something was lurking in the darkness. As if it saw something he didn't.
"It's dangerous to be alone in the woods at night."
The prince turned towards the voice. The young man with golden eyes was leaning his shoulder against the trunk of a tree. He was fixing his predatory gaze on him.
"Who are you? A rebel?"
The prince wanted to draw his sword on him, but he didn't have it with him. He was completely defenseless, alone, and far from the palace.
Luc laughed. "It offends me quite a bit when someone compares me to such an inferior species as humans, but I'll let it go for now," he said.
"So what are you?"
"Does it matter?"
"You are in the royal forests. Whoever you are, you have no business here."
"No king rules over me. But more than who I am, what matters is why I am here."
He bounced gracefully off the tree and walked gracefully towards the prince.
"As the Crown Prince, you are not very polite. Today, you broke the heart of a very nice, if naive, young lady. It was about time someone taught her a lesson, but it could have been done more gently. And I am here to defend her honor."
"What are you?" the prince repeated his question with a hint of fear in his voice. How could he know what had happened?
Luc smiled sinisterly. He liked the familiar smell of fear he awakened in people. It had been so long ago. He had walked around him like a predator around its prey. He hadn't taken his eyes off him, not even blinking. Suddenly, he disappeared and appeared behind the prince.
"Your nightmare."
The prince turned with fear to the demon who had honored him with his presence. As he turned to face him, he was knocked to the ground by his powerful fist. His head spun from the impact. He tasted his own blood on his tongue.
"I don't usually defend the honor of rejected ladies, but this time it's personal. And I personally don't like you."
Prince Edmund shook off the shock of the first blow.
He clenched his fists, ready for a fight.
But he didn't stand a chance against the demon.
One blow after another, he knocked him to the ground.
Over and over again. He didn't even bother to use his power, enjoying having the prince's blood stain his hands.
Although, he had to admit that he was definitely not giving up.
Luc stopped only when he felt a burning sensation in his veins.
He felt the heat of the flames on his skin.
The invisible force forced him to retreat if he didn't want to face punishment. And he knew it very well.
He bent down to the prince lying on the ground. Dirty with mud. His face was covered in bruises and blood. His breath was ragged.
"Forget you ever saw me! You fell off your horse and hurt yourself a little," he told him. "Now go back to the palace and never go out into the forest alone at night again. You never know who you might encounter."
And just as Luc disappeared into the shadows, he also disappeared from the prince's mind.
?
Iris sat in the bathtub with a bottle of wine.
It was her second, and there was only a little left at the bottom.
The alcohol in her blood was taking her into the depths of an abyss of sadness and unhappiness.
The whole world was shrouded in a black cloak.
A scream echoed in her mind that refused to die down.
"Are you celebrating without me?" Luc asked her.
She handed him a bottle of wine. "You can join me if you want," she told him.
"I see your prince has already broken your heart."
"I'm sure you saw it."
"Let's just say I saw more than I needed to." The corner of his mouth lifted into a wicked smile.
She blushed with shame. "It seems you've seen too much."
"I told you that a true love's kiss won't break the spell. We're not in a fairy tale, dear Iris."
"What do you want to hear, that you were right? That I was wrong? That I'm naive and stupid and should stop believing in fairy tales? Fine. You were right, Luc. You were right about everything. I can't break the spell."
"You have no idea how wonderful it sounds coming from your lips when you say I'm right."
She climbed out of the bathtub. She didn't care that he saw her completely naked. Nothing mattered to her at that moment. Water was running down her body, dripping onto the floor. Luc took a towel and wrapped her in it.
"Always so gallant."
"Where have you been that you're all wet?" she asked him.
Wet strands of raven hair fell into his golden eyes. Water dripped from him. The fabric of his shirt clung to his sculpted muscles.
"It's raining outside, if you haven't noticed."
"You should dry yourself off, too."
She tried to take off his shirt, unbuttoning one button at a time. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was dry.
"A useful trick."
"You seem disappointed that you didn't see more. I can fix that."
He didn't even bother to unbutton it. He tore the shirt open, revealing his well-built body. Iris blushed, looking away. With an unnaturally gentle touch, he turned her eyes back to him.
He pulled a rose out of the void, its beautiful head the color of the first snow. A smile bloomed on Iris' lips.
"You're finally smiling. That sullen expression doesn't suit you."
He brushed a wet strand of hair away from her face, and Iris noticed the blood on his hands.
"Hope it's not yours."
"Would you be worried about me if was?"
She gave a soft nod. She knew that her heart would be gripped in an iron fist of fear if the blood of her powerful demon were to be spilled.
She could feel it. He was the last person left in her life.
She didn't want to lose him, too. Not to mention that her stupid heart, full of confused emotions, felt something for him that it shouldn't. And too strongly.
"You don't need to worry, my little witch. I just had to take care of some demonic matters."
"Ripped hearts, bloody sacrifices, and hellfire?" she gave him a mischievous look.
"Something like that."
She was looking at him like a doe at a hunter. But not with fear, there was something more in that look, something sacred. She did not see a malevolent demon or evil in him. She saw it all, but she was not afraid.
Losing herself in his golden eyes, suddenly she kissed him. Luc was startled. How she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. For the first time, she felt her demon's heart pound, so wildly that she could hear it beating in his chest.
"Are you sure about that?" he hesitated.
"Shut up, demon."
She silenced him with more kisses. She pushed him onto the bed and sat on his lap. She wanted him. She desired him. She didn't want to lie anymore. Something inside her yearned for him, for kisses that tasted like sweet damnation. She wanted to dance on the edge with the danger he brought.
But he hesitated, pulling away slightly. The demon that had lured her for so long, every thought an unbearable temptation, suddenly hesitated.
"Do you want to use me, my little witch?" he gave her a questioning look, his eyes mischievously sparkling.
"Maybe," she said, giving him a quick kiss.
"But seriously. Do you really want this, my little witch?"
She nodded.
"There will be no turning back once you give yourself to me. I am not giving up what is mine."
"I never expected to fall in love with a demon one day, but you cannot command your heart. Mother would probably not approve of my choice, considering the fact that she hated you, but she is dead, so she cannot object."
She ran her fingers through his raven hair.
Even a fleeting kiss was enough to ignite his suppressed desire.
He had to wait all those long days and finally, he got her.
He ripped the towel off her, revealing her graceful curves.
He threw her onto the bed, his eyes gliding over her bare skin.
He studied her carefully, every bit of her body, how the skin hugged her collarbones, the scar on her ankle she had gotten when she was eleven.
He was taking his time. Iris leaned forward eagerly on her elbows.
"Enjoying the view?" Iris sighed in annoyance.
"You have no idea for how long I have been waiting for this moment." He bit his lower lip gracefully.
He knelt in front of her. He kissed her knee.
He kissed her inner thigh. He inhaled the scent of her skin.
His lips slid higher and higher until they reached that sensitive spot.
Firmly, but gently at the same time, he grabbed her hips and pressed her even closer.
He teased her with his tongue. Iris dug her nails into the mattress.
She couldn't stop the moans of pleasure from escaping her lips.
Her heart pounded. Her breathing quickened.
He climbed onto the bed after her. His powerful body arching over her like it was her sky. He held her hands above her head, Iris not resisting his grip on her wrists. She liked it when he had power over her, surrendering completely as he kissed her neck, biting her tenderly.
"I want you to scream," he whispered against her skin. "I want you to scream my name."
"Then make me, Luc."
"Is that supposed to be a challenge?"
"Take it as you wish, as long as you don't keep me waiting for another second," she told him with longing in her voice.
"Then say you're mine, Iris."
"I am yours."
"Only mine?"
"Only yours."
"And I'm yours."
Warmth spread through her body as she felt his pride inside her.
He thrust hard into her, filling her whole.
Iris craved him, longed for his touch. She wanted everything he offered her.
She took his kisses. He bit her lower lip.
She tasted her own blood on her tongue. She felt his tongue stray into her mouth and lick the blood.
Something feral flashed in his eyes. With insatiable ferocity, he claimed her entire being. And she gave herself to him.
She felt a burning sensation on her palm.
The snake symbol seemed to come to life.
It wrapped around her finger and burned into her skin, just like it did Luc's.
But she hardly felt the pain at all, fading in comparison to the sweet pleasure.
All she could think about at that moment was him.
His golden gaze. His lips. His possessive touch on her naked skin.
"My queen."
His eyes sparkled brightly, and he took her all. She was his.
Only his.