Chapter 44 Into The Flames
Into The Flames
The Goddess of Death’s cruel eyes gazed back at me from the book I skimmed over: The Feud of the Gods. I read on with curiosity as the text began to dive into a devastating battle between the gods.
The Dark Day commemorates the all night bloody duel to the death between the Goddess of Death and the Goddess of Life.
Their feud stemmed from the Goddess of Death’s greediness.
Lilith grew bored of helping souls pass on to the afterlife; instead, she began to dabble in dark magic.
She consumed their souls for her own selfish gain.
Some say the souls she devoured corrupted her and every time she claimed one, she drifted further from who she once was.
It is believed this blasphemous act transformed Lilith from a god and into an otherworldly being—some called her the dark witch, while others gravitated toward the onyx demon.
In the end, neither side truly won the battle, as both gods perished in the dead of the night, along with the Goddess of Life’s only daughter and two hundred additional casualties.
A knock pounded against my door, making me jump.
With a quick glance at the clock, I cursed as I noted it was nearly midnight, which meant I lost track of time and failed to join the others for dinner in the main hall.
At such a late hour, it could only be Reena bringing me leftovers from the evening’s meal.
“Enter,” I called, dropping my gaze back to the tome.
The door creaked open, bringing with it the savory smell of rosemary and thyme. I started to sniff the air like an animal on the hunt—food was a sure way to tear my gaze from any task consuming me.
“You can set it on the table—” My words shriveled upon my tongue as soon as I wasn’t greeted with Reena’s chestnut brown hair. Instead, I caught sight of slicked, black locks as Alaric entered my chambers holding a mouth-watering tray of food.
With his hands completely full, he kicked the door closed.
I was scanning the contents of the meal when my attention snagged on a splash of crimson.
In the center of the tray, there was a singular blood red rose propped up in a golden vase.
The vase was beautiful, appearing to be modeled after two intertwining serpents . . . it reminded me of Ember and Dante.
I dragged my gaze back to Alaric, reveling in the way his freshly pressed pair of black trousers hung from his muscular legs in such a tasteful fashion.
The way he styled himself made a spark of desire tear through my core.
I fucking loved how his garments were never skin-tight, like how most men preferred to show off their strong physiques.
No, the Serpent King had style and class.
Although his clothes fit loosely on his tall frame, one could still see he was made of solid muscle underneath all that finery.
I mean, I knew he was most definitely made of solid, pure muscle after our activities in the jungle last night . . .
“If you keep looking at me like that, we shall skip dinner and go straight to enjoying dessert.” He dropped the tray of food on the table by the fire, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Oh? What’s on the menu?” I challenged.
“You.” His eyes grew a shade darker, hunger flaring through them while his pupils flickered between black and gold.
As I watched the Serpent King come undone before me, my lip began to sting. I swiped a finger over it only to watch a bead of blood coat my fingertips.
For Serpent’s Sake, I was about to gnaw off my own lip from gawking at Alaric.
But little did he know, I was happy to skip dinner and get straight to letting him devour me.
He strolled over with his hands tucked in his pockets, his signature wicked smirk making heat creep along my chest as he neared the bed.
Alaric was what I dreamed of nearly every night for seventy-five years, yet I was also terrified that my dreams were becoming my waking reality.
Even though he stared at me like I was the only woman in all the realms, a part of me couldn’t be foolish enough to forget we have been here before—and he still broke my heart in the end.
If he hurt me for a second time, I wouldn’t survive it.
Alaric dragged his finger along the emerald comforter as he took his time sauntering over.
“What has my Queen been doing all day holed up in this room by herself?”
“What you should have been doing as well—research for our mission.” I gave him a pointed look, then went back to flipping through the pages of the tome.
However, Alaric had something different in mind as a demanding pressure wrapped around my ankle hanging off the bed.
Somehow, my attention always seemed drawn back to the behemoth now towering over me.
His hand was clasped around me, and before I could tell him to let go, he tugged hard, making me slide onto my ass and between his legs.
I squealed as I scrambled to sit upright, yet Alaric pressed his legs on either side of my outer thighs, pinning me in place.
A wave of chills spread along my bare legs.
I glanced down at my lounging dress, now bunched shorter, which nearly looked like an elevated silk nightgown.
And when I brought my gaze back to the king of my dreams, he, too, was transfixed by the little scrap of fabric clinging to my curves.
His eyes flared as they shot to the skinny strap falling off my shoulder, then his gaze dipped to my ample cleavage.
As he held himself over me, his hardness pressed against my stomach, alerting me that another part of his body also flared to life at the sight of my considerable assets.
“You need to tame him if we are to get any research done tonight.” I arched a brow while glancing at the Serpent King’s package, then swiftly looking back to his eyes.
His high-pitched laughter wrapped around us, the combination of wheezy hisses mixing with the pops of the firewood warming something in my chest. The space around me suddenly felt much more comforting with the Serpent King in it.
It almost felt like home—a new version of a home I’d actually want to return to at the end of a long day of being queen.
Alaric bent closer to my face as his fingertips skimmed down the length of my hair. They stilled at the swells of my breasts, spinning my locks around his finger all the while creating a light friction right over where my nipples peeked through the thin material of my gown.
“Don’t get me wrong, you looked stunning last night, Seera. But right now, with you in this simple dress, your hair slightly tangled, and your lipstick smudged, you look like my fucking salvation.”
His words stunned me, taking me back to the very first moment I met the Serpent King. They were so similar to one of his first statements to me.
Have you been sent here as my reckoning or my salvation?
“You remember?” I balked at him.
He lifted one of his legs, forcing it between mine to press against my center. I gasped as my back arched against the soft duvet, but he continued to plant his hands on either side of my head, hovering within inches of my lips.
“Of course I remember the day we met. I’ll never forget the day a stunning little mortal uprooted my entire miserable existence.” He dragged his thumb over my jaw and down my neck, all the way to the head of my serpent tattoo right between my breasts.
“Although, it’s still up in the air if you will be my reckoning or salvation—with that rage of yours, I’m betting on the former.” His lips tipped into a charming smile.
“You haven’t seen me truly angry yet.” I fisted my hand into the silk of his shirt, my scoff filling the small sliver of air we shared.
“You mean the night we had dinner and you broke my nose twice wasn’t you being truly angry?” His brows shot toward the ceiling.
Now it was my turn to tip my lips into a coy smile. “Oh please, that was me on a pleasant day.”
We both laughed, the sounds of joy bouncing off the walls were slowly growing less foreign to me.
I used to relish in the anguish of agonized screams, but this melody emitting from Alaric shifted something fundamental inside me.
I greedily wanted to devour his unique laugh as much as I could.
Violence didn’t consume me as much as it once did, and I didn’t know if it was thanks to my soul returning to me, or courtesy of the gorgeous man looking down at me like I was as dazzling as a fallen star from the night sky.
As our laughter faded, our eyes searched each other’s.
Gently, Alaric brushed back my hair and dropped his lips to my neck, leaving imprints of his claiming kisses against my skin.
I turned my head to the side, giving him more access, which had him humming with approval.
The vibrations from his lips sent shivers racing down my spine.
“Alaric,” his name was like a prayer falling from my lips.
“What did I tell you about saying my name like that, sweetheart?” His hand roamed up my bare thigh and underneath my gown, gripping my ass with a ferocious intensity.
A surprised gasp slipped from me, causing his eyes to darken with desire.
“If you keep making those noises, we won’t get any research done.” His grip was bruising as he held me and rolled us, reversing our positions on the bed.
While I settled atop Alaric, a wicked smile graced his lips as his hand harshly smacked against my ass.
There was no stopping the way my hips rolled against his hardness, all the while I moaned his name again from the electricity of pain shooting through my body.
“Fuck,” Alaric groaned, burying his face in my neck.
“I despise myself for what I am about to say next, but I need you to get off me unless you are fine with the only thing getting done tonight being you. If you remain straddling me while moaning my name like that, I will have no choice but to claim you again.” He dragged his teeth up my neck, whispering his next words in my ear.
“I will fuck you so hard, sweetheart, you will be transported into another realm.”