CH.27 Sweet dreams
"Iris..." echoed the small voice whispering in her mind. "Iris..."
She opened her eyes to the darkness of the night. His golden gaze pierced her. The fire that burned in them hypnotized her. She was lost in his depths as in a dream. She longed to be consumed by him.
"Iris." Her name escaped his lips.
From his mouth, it sounded so sweet. She could listen to his voice for hours and never get enough.
She longed to taste the sweetness of his venomous words, to feel the electrifying energy coursing through her veins again as he touched her.
She pressed her lips to his and claimed his breath.
She claimed him, his entire bring.
Their tongues intertwined. He bit her bottom lip gracefully, tasting her blood.
A silent growl like a wild animal vibrated in his throat.
He pulled away from her slightly. He pulled the snake-shaped clip out of her hair.
"I like you way more like this."
When she was herself. When it was her.
He kissed her passionately. He claimed her lips. He claimed her whole soul. He kissed her neck. He bit her tenderly. A pleasurable moan escaped her lips. He moved his kisses lower to her cleavage.
"I hate it when you're dressed. Those unnecessary pieces of cloth ruin the view."
He took the hem of her nightgown in his fist and tore it open, exposing her naked body.
The cool air caressed her skin. Iris liked the brute force, the violence.
The sound of the fibers tearing. The way he gripped her wrists tightly and held her hands above her head.
He studied her admiringly. His burning gaze glided over her skin. He enjoyed the sight. He savored it.
Iris twisted them. Now, she was on top. She tore his shirt off.
Her nails dug into his chest. She left marks on him.
A growl rose in his throat, his eyes reflecting wild desire.
He could have taken her right there, right then, instead, he just played with her, teasing.
With a fleeting touch of fingertips, he caressed her thigh, writing 'mine' into her skin.
"Are you planning to do something, demon, or do you just want to watch?"
He ran his hand over her stomach to her breastbone. He felt the powerful beat of her heart.
"So eager and so voracious."
He grabbed her by the neck and flipped them back over. He stole a kiss.
"You are all mine, Iris. I will not let anyone take you from me."
"Shut up and do what you do best, my dearest demon." She gave him another greedy kiss.
"As you wish, my queen."
His lips slid lower and lower. On her neck, between her breasts.
He kissed her on her stomach. He threw her legs over his shoulders.
His tongue strayed to that sensitive spot, teasing her as he circled it.
Iris suppressed moans of pleasure. Her heart was pounding like crazy.
She dug her nails into the soft mattress as she arched her back.
Luc grabbed her hips and pressed her even tighter to him.
Iris couldn't suppress a cry of pleasure as his tongue entered her.
All the while, he didn't take his golden eyes off her.
They looked at each other, absorbing each other.
She ran her fingers through his raven hair.
She wanted more. She wanted more of him. She wanted all of him.
But before she could climax, she woke up.
She gasped for breath. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest and run away somewhere far away.
It was just a dream, she told herself. It was just a dream.
A wild dream. But she could still feel his hot kisses on her.
Like it was burning into her skin. It was so real. Like he was really there. With her.
And then she saw it. The whole room was covered in roses. On the bed, on the floor. Everywhere. Ravens flew in through the open window, bringing more and more.
It was him. She was sure.
She had to get to him. She threw her cloak over her shoulders. She was about to leave when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She pulled the hairpin out of her hair, allowing her true face to emerge. She held her breath for a moment. As if suffocating in her stepsister's skin.
Her parents' house was far away. She had to steal a horse.
The guards were everywhere. Ever since the rebel attack in the city, they had been on high alert, guarding every corner.
They were walking around the courtyard. Finally, she managed to steal the horse from the stable.
She just put a bridle on it. She couldn't leave through the main gate, so she tried to sneak through the palace gardens.
"Did you hear that?" the guards heard her.
"Go check it out!" one soldier ordered another.
Iris spurred her horse behind a large yew tree. She saw the light of the fire approaching them. It was getting brighter and brighter. It stopped. The soldier looked around.
"There's nothing here!" he called out to his companions.
"Maybe it was just a squirrel."
The light disappeared from sight. Iris ran towards the forest. As soon as the shadow of the trees covered her, she mounted her horse and galloped to where she had left the demon.
She held on tightly. Without a saddle, she could hardly keep herself on the horse's back.
She galloped as fast as the black stallion would allow her.
She had to get there and back by dawn. Undetected.
No one could find out that she had disappeared.
?
"I am honored that you came to me with your own face." He was waiting for her at the doorstep before she had even dismounted.
Even the days of imprisonment had not diminished his charm and nobility. He stood there proudly, fixing his bewitching gaze on her. A strand of unruly hair fell into his golden eyes. He still looked as polished as when she had first met him.
"It seems you were expecting me."
"I can sense you coming, my dear. You could do it too if you tried."
"I think you know a lot more than just how to sense me," she said. She took off her glove and pointed the eye symbol on her palm at him. "Stop messing with my mind, Luc."
"I'm not messing with your beautiful head, Iris."
"Don't lie! I hear your voice. It's constantly in my head."
"I feel offended by your accusation. Have you not yet learned your lesson, my little witch? I conceal information, I omit facts for my own benefit, but I never lie," he objected. "I am calling you back to me, I admit that, but I wouldn't stoop to mess with your head. You're my wife, after all."
"Don't call me that! I am not your wife."
He leaned against the door frame, examining the snake wrapped around his finger. He had it forever burned into his skin just like her.
"This says something else."
"A disgusting demon."
"Your dearest demon. Don't forget." he grinned.
"So tell me, Luc, if you're not messing with my head, why did I see you in my dream?"
"In a dream? Are you dreaming about me, Iris?" A mischievous smile bloomed on his lips.
"Don't play dumb. You know it very well."
"I am a voice in the breeze, my dear, but I have nothing to do with your dreams. What did you dream about me?"
"But those roses were from you."
"I admit. You trapped me here, but that's all you could do.
My power extends beyond the spell. Not that I can't influence your dreams, but I don't. You're my wife.
My equal. What kind of trust would there be between us if I let it be broken so easily?
So please, don't blame me for everything bad that happens in your life. "
That it was really just her imagination that created his image? That it was really just a dream? So real and vivid?
"But you didn't answer my question. What did you dream about me?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied shyly.
"Do you have dirty dreams about me, Iris?" he could see it in her face. The way she blushed. "How far did you let me go in that dream?" he grinned. "Very far. You desire me, Iris. Admit it! Secretly, deep in your soul, you desire me."
"No!" she flatly refused to even think about it.
"Your prince can't satisfy you as much as I can? I feel your sadness and your fear. I feel your excitement, too, that perverse pleasure when your delicate hands stray where they shouldn't."
His eyes sparkled mischievously. Even from a distance, Iris could feel his heart pound a bit faster at the thought. A twisted demon who enjoyed her sins.
"That's why you're here, isn't it? You want me to give you what he can't. You don't want to just dream about me anymore."
He was truly a tempter. His words lured her like moonlight to moths. Some invisible force drew her to him, longing to taste the warmth of his flame.
"I'm here so you can finally leave me alone," she told him.
"Never. I refuse to do that," he said easily. "You had free will to accept me, and I refuse to give you up of my own free will."
"If I knew what accepting you meant, I would never have done it."
"But it already happened, Iris, and you can't change that. Sooner or later, you'll let me out of here yourself."
"Even if I were dying and you were the only one who could save me."
"You'll come. You won't be able to resist."
"Maybe when I'm eighty and an old, wrinkled hag. Maybe, but just maybe, I'll think about it then. And maybe I'd rather not."
"I'm sure that in eighty years, you will still be as beautiful and charming as you are now. Like a beautiful rose that lures unsuspecting victims to destruction on its sharp thorns."
"I will not eat little children to stay young forever. I will not sink that low."
"I don't even have to rely on your dark side, my dear. After all, you are trapped here with me forever."
"What did you say?" His words froze her.
She approached him, stopping at the threshold of the house. She looked into his golden eyes. They stared at each other intently, not looking away. They didn't even blink. Luc leaned gently against the spell that kept him trapped in the house.
"You heard me. Time will take your prince one day, blow away his ashes, but it won't touch you. You will stay with me forever, Iris."
"You bastard !"
She wanted to slap him, but Luc caught her hand and pulled her in. He pinned her against the wall, holding her hands above her head. He held her with his own body as if in a cage.
"Let me go, Luc!" Let me go!" she writhed and thrashed at him.
His grip was strong and gentle at the same time. He took one more small step towards her. Their hearts beat in unison.
"Let me go!"
"So tell me you don't want me."
"I do not desire you, you perverted demon. I loathe you."
"Liar." He grinned. He liked it when she lied.
He kissed her passionately. And Iris kissed him back.
She craved his kisses like rain in a dry summer.
They were life that poured through her veins.
His hands slid down her waist. She took his face in her hands and greedily took what he offered her.
She ran her fingers through his raven hair.
A growl escaped his throat against her lips.
His hand slid down her thigh, below her knee.
He grabbed her and held her even tighter. As if they were meant to become one.
Iris woke up from a sweet daze. The magic sleeping inside her broke through to the surface. She threw Luc away. He hit the stairs hard. Iris touched her lips, unable to believe that she had let herself be carried away again. She could still feel the touch of his. They were both gasping for breath.
"You're a fast learner." Luc cut through the screaming silence that lay between them.
"This has to end," Iris said.
"So, is there something between us that can end?" his eyes sparkled mischievously.
"You know what I mean."
"Do you want to know why we are so drawn to each other? Why can't either of us resist it?"
"I guess you had a hand in this."
"Don't blame me just because I'm a demon. I don't condemn you for your sins either. And I know very well how you enjoy shedding blood. I felt it."
"So tell me, Luc, what is the great mystery of our mutual attraction?" she challenged him, sarcasm in her voice.
"As I said, we are drawn to power, and you, Iris, are the most powerful witch of your lineage.
As time goes by, that power within you grows, and it burns so brightly now.
If the other demon lords sensed your power, they would try to take you from me, and I couldn't let that happen.
I had to bind you to me before it was too late.
But thanks to your mother's necklace, there was no time for charm and courtship. I had to improvise."
Iris shuddered at the thought of having more demons in her life than he did. One was more than enough.
Normally our wedding would be grand. We would exchange vows in the River Styx.
We would make a sacrifice. And finally, we would seal it, well, you know how.
That's how it would usually be. Officially.
Everything would fall into place, and you become mine as I am yours.
I would take you to my palace, and we wouldn't leave for days.
The bedroom wouldn't be the only place we would break.
But it took too long to seal our bond. It's fragile because I had to act fast. Wild and uncontrollable. If you leave with me now, I can fix it.
"To Hell? You've lost your mind." She had to laugh. "If our bond is as fragile as you say, that means I still have a chance to get rid of you."
"I hate to spoil your mood, but we are still blood-bound.
Our bond may be fragile, but it is still marital.
Unbreakable. I accepted you, and you accepted me.
It is a ritual that binds our minds, our souls into one.
The bond was sealed." The snake they both had burned into their skin was proof of that.
"You will never get rid of me again, Iris.
And I will not let anyone take you from me. "
"Congratulations! You've caught me in a cage like a bird."
"Come on, I'm not the worst option. You don't belong in this world and most demons wouldn't stoop to join forces with a witch. We're enemies."
"Don't try to turn this against me, Luc. Don't play the victim. You have disgustingly abused me for power."
"I always planned you be mine one day, Iris, but I never expected to truly love you."
Iris slid down the wall to the floor. She sighed deeply. She wanted to hate him, she wanted to so badly, but she was tired. She was tired of the pretense, of all the secrets and lies. She needed to know the truth, the whole truth, and he was the only one who could give it to her.
"I found a letter from my mother. She wrote some pretty interesting things in it. About you."
Luc laughed lightly. "She's still causing trouble even after death."
"Did you kill her?"
Her question surprised him. Even Iris herself was surprised that she had even thought of such a thing.
"No!" Luc was horrified. "Do you think I'm such a monster?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
"You forget that the agreement prevented me from doing so, even if I wanted to," he denied the outrageous accusation. "Your mother was also afraid for her life. More than for yours, and I only showed interest in you."
"Don't lie."
"I never lie to you, Iris. You feel deep down that every word I say is true.
Why did Dahlia give you the necklace, that protected you from me, only on her deathbed?
She always put herself first. She was selfish.
If she had to choose between herself and you, she would always choose herself.
You were just a way for her to atone for her own sins.
And she created you through sin. The sin that killed her. "
She kept telling herself that he was a demon, a powerful demon, tasked with subverting her soul until she succumbed to him. But inside, she felt a strange feeling. Like a gentle tickle. For some strange and twisted reason, she trusted him.
"How did you come to be the protector of my lineage?" she asked him, a question she already knew the answer to, but she needed to hear his side of the story. She needed to. "Mother wrote that a witch of my bloodline once broke your heart."
"I'm not such a fool as to let anyone do that.
" he had to smile at that. He had heard many versions of the story, but none of them knew the truth.
"Her name was Annalise, and she was the first of your family.
A very powerful witch. Not like you, but she was.
Annalise had a good heart. She longed to end the centuries-long conflict between witches and demons.
She came to me to negotiate a peace. She was supposed to be the golden ace in the war I longed to win.
But in the end, I came out of it like a fool myself.
The witches turned on her and wanted to kill her because she had made a pact with the demons.
They didn't care that she was doing it for them.
And to save herself, she tricked me into a deal that forced me to protect your lineage for generations.
Fortunately, that deal has already been broken.
You are the last of your lineage, and the union of our blood has destroyed it. "
So she was just a pawn in his games, after all. He used her to break the deal that bound him to her. How could she even believe for a moment those poisoned words that he could love her? But why was he protecting her then?
"I protected you because I wanted to, Iris, not because I had to. I chose you," he read the question from the confusion in her eyes. "I guess your mother told you who I really am in that letter."
She nodded.
"It's humiliating for a demon lord to be deceived by an inferior witch.
Bound to her by a deal. Annalise robbed me of everything, everything, and so I swore to destroy her bloodline.
And I honestly admit that I am the reason why people hate witches so much.
I turned them against you." He told her the truth about how it all began.
It was a painful memory that stirred rage in him.
"For centuries, I have been consumed by pure hatred for your family.
I wanted revenge for what Annalise took from me.
I swore I wouldn't rest until the last of you was dead.
But you somehow calmed that anger, Iris. "
She felt sincerity from him. He opened up to her. She felt pain in his heart. She wanted to know the past that connected them. She wanted to know what had dug its thorns into him and made him bleed.
"And did you love her?" she asked him the difficult question. "Did you love Annalise ?"
"Oh God, no." he laughed. And Iris believed him.
"We demons can only love once in our entire existence.
It's a feeling so powerful that it can either save or destroy us.
And a bond is so precious that we've considered it a myth for ages.
It can't be broken, and it lasts even after death.
I certainly wouldn't waste it on someone like her.
I want you, Iris," he said. " I admit it wasn't love at first sight, you were a child when we first met, but somehow it happened.
The plan was to seduce you, use your power to reclaim the throne, and finally get rid of you like your predecessors, but here we are.
As I've watched you all these years, you've slowly won me over.
I could have killed you, but I chose to have you as queen by my side.
And it will be a sweet agony burning this world as your true power awakens. "
"You don't even know me," she told him.
"I know you better than you think, Iris.
I know that when you're sad, your smile is the brightest. I know that when you're nervous, you fumble with the fabric of your skirt.
Every time a star falls, you make a wish.
Every night, you greet the moon in the sky.
You knock on the trees in the forest, hoping to wake them from their deep sleep. "
He got back on his feet and walked towards her.
He fixed his bewitching gaze on Iris. Iris didn't take a step back.
She didn't look away from his burning golden eyes, allowing him to come closer.
He offered her his hand and Iris placed her palm in his.
He helped her to stand. He took another small step towards her.
He pressed her against the wall. Leaning his hands against the wall, he trapped her with his body as if in a cage.
Iris's heart pounded fast from the closeness.
Her breath quivered. He smoothed the unruly strands of hair behind her ear. So gently that it gave her goosebumps.
"And I also know that ever since your father died, you've been humming a tune to yourself whenever you're alone.
It always cheers you up. You heard it the day the servant told you he was dead, and you've been stuck in your head ever since.
I know because I played it on my violin outside your window.
You were so sad. I couldn't bear to see you like that. "
He knelt before her. His eyes burned even brighter. Gold swirled in them. They absorbed her. For a brief moment, his mask of perfection crumbled. He was himself, without the mask of the cruel demon he had been.
"I will worship you as my queen, as my goddess, Iris. Can't you see that you have me wrapped around your finger? Desperately longing for your heart?"
"You're crazy," she told him.
"You like me anyway. You can't hide that," he said.
She fell to her knees beside him. She cupped his face in her hands. They were so close, their lips almost touching, their breaths merging into one. She trembled.
"I hate you," she said.
"You're giving me such strong emotion? You're flattering me, Iris."
He caught a glimpse of something in her eyes. A subtle hint, but it was there. A faint flame fighting for its life. It startled him slightly.
"You love me."
Those two words hit her like a rock. It was a hard collision with a reality she refused to accept. "No!" she couldn't believe it. "No, no, no. No!"
"Admit it! I'm simply irresistible." A mischievous smile graced his lips.
"No!" she said firmly. "No!"
It couldn't be true, she told herself. She felt a pang of confusion in her heart, but she was certain that she didn't love him. Was she?
"No!"
She pushed him away and ran out of the house. She crossed the boundary that separated her from her demon. Luc walked to the door. He stared at the salt-strewn threshold. He grinned.
"I'll give you time until the full moon, Iris," he called after her as she mounted her horse. "Then I'll come for you and kill your prince."
"You should get out of here first," she called back. "I hope you rot alive here."