As soon as I see his body relax I once again take the form of water and use the bowl to begin teleporting to Circe’s location. I find her almost immediately. From a small glass vase of water, I can see her in her bedroom standing in front of a full-length mirror as she speaks to… wait, is that Isolde?! Standing in the mirror looking back at Circe is a woman who sure as hell looks like Isolde, but her expression looks so hard and cold, which is the complete opposite of what I saw when I met her. This has to be Manon disguised as Isolde, and I can see why so many people bought into the lie. I mean, hard not to when as far as anyone can tell, Isolde is standing there about to commit who knows what atrocity. “I have given you everything you’ve asked for. You have to have something that can help me,” Circe begs. “You seem to think I care about you and your Prince’s erectile dysfunction. You also seem to think I work for you. We had a transactional agreement. Both ends were upheld, and I
I lay on the harsh cold floor catching my breath, grateful for the small reprieve from the onslaught of pain coursing through my body. I can now take in just how weak and brutalised my body feels. The fresh blisters that reside on my lips, neck, ear, chest, and dick are a pain secondary only to the pain in my heart. I don’t feel betrayed, I feel helpless. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I’m useless. Filled with a God's magic and yet unable to tap into any of it. Forced to lay here and endure the pain of that rapist as she assaults the love of my life.As I wallow in despair and tears burn my ears only to disappear into the stone beneath my face, the sound of fighting reaches my ears. I wipe away my tears and summon my remaining strength to sit up on my knees just as I see one of those bastard guards come flying through the door and hit the far wall. My eyes blow wide in surprise as I see Eisa hanging in the air outside the door holding onto… a stream of water, with a ferocious
As my eyes adjust to our new location, I look, only to be met with the nauseating sight of Circe laying on Sebastian’s bed up against him as she caresses his cheek and I immediately want to vomit while simultaneously ripping her hands from her body. How dare she fucking touch him?! Circe’s eyes widen in shock and rage when she sees us, causing her to leap from the bed, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She spits. “Reuniting him with his real animai,” Eisa taunts, “Oh, and I kicked your minion's asses.” That’s an understatement. I think she might have killed them. Can’t say I’ll be shedding a tear for them anytime soon though. “Eisa, what the fuck is going on?” Sebastian asks as he gets to his feet. His eyes fall on me but there's no recognition in them at all and it feels like a dagger through my heart. It's like he's staring at a stranger and part of me feels the same way. There's something so vacant about his face. My Sebastian isn't like that. He wears his every emotio
I feel like I’m waking up from a deep sleep, only I don’t remember ever falling asleep. I remember a heaviness weighing me down and then jolts of electricity breaking through the fog. I could feel comfort and warmth moving through me and a familiar voice calling out to me. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew I could trust that voice and the warmth they were giving me. I reached for them and did what they said, and suddenly it’s like being woken up by a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Every emotion and sensation is hitting me at once and behind it all is a level of pain so excruciating I can’t even put it into words. As the pain dissipates, I blink rapidly and take in my surroundings and as I turn my head I see Lemuel, bent on all fours, drained of colour, soaking wet with ghastly marks on his skin. "Lemuel?" I ask with concern as the fog continues to lift. His electric eyes look at me full of exhaustion, but he still manages a weak smile before his eyes roll back and h
Three days. It’s been three days and Lemuel still hasn’t woken up. I’m going out of my mind. I’ve done everything I possibly can, and that’s not saying much because the truth is, there’s nothing I can do but make him comfortable. We called on makkares who are friendly with our kingdom, to heal Lemuel, but they said there was nothing that could be done. The makkares said that while Lemuel’s curse prevents him from ever truly dying, it also prevents him from being healed by outside influences. It’s like Merlos wanted to make sure he would suffer in every way imaginable throughout his eternal life. I never hated Merlos for what she did to Lemuel. After learning about his past, I can understand where she comes from, but even humans have prison sentences. I don’t even think Lemuel’s crimes would result in life in prison in a human criminal system, and – not to sound callous – his family died centuries ago. How long is he meant to suffer for something he did so long ago that most of the wor
I begin to stir awake when I feel the sheets around me being moved and the sensation of someone touching my hair. I startle awake only to look up at the concerned face of my father, and only then do I begin to relax. “Sorry, son. You were shivering in your sleep, so I was just tucking you in more,” he says kindly. I rub my eyes and look over at the clock only to realise it’s eight in the morning. I slowly sit up with a yawn and immediately look down only to find Lemuel still unchanged and my heart instantly sinks. He just looks like he’s sleeping peacefully without a care, and yet the sight of it wounds me every time I open my eyes to find him exactly how he was when I closed my eyes. I run my fingers through my hair and lean my head against the headboard. Five days now and still no change. I feel like I’m on the brink of screaming and ripping my hair out. I don’t know how much longer I can take this. “I know this is a lot for anyone to bear. Seeing your soulmate in pain… there’s
I was hoping to spend more time talking with Sebastian and being there for him and Lemuel, especially since I have much to make up for in regard to my mistreatment of their relationship. But when I felt Callista’s rage and grief crash over me like a tidal wave, I had to adjust my priorities. I know Callista was going to the cells to check on everything with Circe, and I have to wonder what was said or done to cause this much fury in my sweet, graceful Queen.As I walk through the palace at a quick pace, my Elite Guards, Rhea and Pierce follow closely behind me.“Is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Rhea asks.“Something has enraged my Queen. I want to know what that is,” I inform them. 'Pearl, what’s wrong?' I ask through my link with Callista as I make my way to the cells. Her thoughts and emotions are so chaotic right now that I don’t want to push and invade her mind to better understand them.Callista and I learned long ago that there is a time and place to use our bond in that
Have you ever gotten so drunk you completely blacked out, to the point that waking up can almost feel like starting your life all over again? If the answer is no, you’ve probably lived a very sensible life. However, as someone who has been blackout drunk more than once in my long life, I can say right now feels about the same as that. That moment your mind and body become alert again, but there’s that split second where your brain has to remember how to make the body do what is meant to come naturally. Then your mind tries to go back in time to remember how you got here and where the hell here is. Come to think of it, I do actually feel hungover. I slowly open my eyes to take in familiar, comforting surroundings and almost immediately the memories come flooding back. Circe, the cell, the pain, SEBASTIAN! I frantically sit up despite the protests from my body and look around only to heave a sigh of relief when laying down beside me is the man I seek. I look him over and am relieved whe
I walk over and lay down on the blanket and prop myself against the pillows and pat the spot next to me. He takes a step forward and I raise my hand to halt him, “Wait. You’re overdressed,” I say slyly. He smiles down at me and slowly pulls his shirt off over his head and my eyes quickly drink up his perfectly muscled physique. He slips off his loafers, unbuttons his pants and pushes them down along with his briefs until he’s completely naked in front of me. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as I eye him with desire as I feel my cock get rock hard once again. “May I join you now?” He asks in a low voice. I nod, unable to find the words I want. He lowers himself to his knees and crawls along the blanket until he’s hovering over me. He slowly sinks down on top of him, the feel of his skin on mine sending currents of electricity through my entire body. His arms wrap around my head caging me between his arms as his lips descend on my neck. His soft full lips nip and caress my flesh as
I stare at him incredulously, “That’s a joke right?” He quirks an eyebrow at me, “Why would it be a joke?” “You’ve never been on a date?! And you’re just telling me now?!” I screech like a damn howler monkey. “It didn’t seem relevant,” he shrugs. “Didn’t seem relevant?!” I screech again, placing my glass down. “Would you cut that out, you’re going to disturb the sea life,” he chastises, taking another sip of his drink. “Lemuel, had you told me I would have done something extravagant,” I pout. He chuckles, “THIS doesn’t qualify as extravagant in your mind? You’ve set up a beautiful romantic date on a fucking yacht. Most first dates from what I hear these days are just dinner and a movie. Many would consider this extravagant, and I already love this date so stop having a meltdown and drink your drink,” he says, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close as he kisses my neck making me take a laboured breath. I pick up my drink and take another sip, “I still can’t believe you
I wasn’t nervous about Circe’s execution. I wasn’t even nervous about being given charge over a monolithic magical crystal now living in the oceanic version of my basement. But my first date with my soulmate? That has me nervous as fuck. Seems weird that I’m basically the supernatural equivalent of married and yet we’ve never been on a date. I mean, that night at the club does not count and that did not end well. I want… no, I NEED tonight to be perfect. That’s why I called in reinforcements. I’ve just finished setting the table on my family's yacht. Lemuel said he always felt at peace when he was on a boat on the water, so I want to give him an updated version of that, and no one has used the yacht in ages, so I figured it was time to dust off the cobwebs. The yacht is a Black Pearl and is one of the most eco-friendly yachts on the market. It’s 106.7 metres long and can reach speeds of up to 30 knots under sail and with a top cruising speed of 17.5 knots by motor. It has the ability
As I reconstitute I walk over to my desk, moving things around until I find the large stone tablet with scribble on it, or glyphs as everyone is claiming. I grab the block of stone and immediately teleport back to the throne room. “Is this is?” I ask, holding up the piece of stone. Aiyla’s eyes widen in disbelief and Isolde looks like she’s about to pass out. I walk over and place the piece of stone in Isolde’s hands and watch as she reverently traces her fingers over the carvings. “You were using part of an ancient prophecy, written by the Goddess Fretez herself… as a paperweight?” She asks in a low and slow voice. Wait, that thing was written by the Goddess Fretez?! Well, how the hell was I supposed to know that? It’s not like it came with a warning label that reads: ‘made by Goddess, do not touch’. I shrug feebly, “I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was just scribble,” I say defensively. Obviously, if I had known it was a sacred magical relic I would have been more respectf
“How much longer do you think?” I ask as I continue to pace across the throne room. “Aiyla said mid-day. It’s now mid-day, so I would assume any minute now,” says Lemuel casually while leaning leisurely against the wall. “What do you think the Orraikam looks like? Maybe an amulet? A mystical orb of some kind?” I ask enthusiastically. After Aiyla told us we would be placed in charge of protecting the magic of a Goddess, I combed the library for hours. I could not find a single reference to the Orraikam in any of our books, not even in our vault which is to protect ancient works from damage. It was a long shot, but I figured it was worth a look, but I guess the Delegation did a damn fine job of keeping this thing hidden, until now. “I’m sure whatever it looks like, is nothing either of us can comprehend,” he says in a very blasé manner. “Aren’t you the least bit excited?” “This isn’t about fun or excitement. We’re being entrusted with a sacred duty; I’m treating this with the level
“You, on the other hand, will not be so lucky.” “Your Majesty, wait!” Shouts a man from the crowd as he rushes forward falling to his knees. Tears fill his eyes, and he looks as though he hasn’t slept in years. “King Sebastian, I beg of you to show mercy on my daughter. She made a mistake. That shouldn’t cost her, her life,” the man pleads. I glance over at Sebastian who has gone from enraged to full-blown furious and I don’t blame him. “Mistake? Did you really just say she made a mistake?” Sebastian says through gritted teeth, walking over to the broken man. “Accidentally using salt instead of sugar when baking, that’s a mistake. Slipping on the gas when you mean to hit the brakes; those are mistakes. Your daughter actively and intentionally harassed me for nearly a century. Lied and deceived the former King and Queen.” Haemon and Callista both look sick with guilt over that comment. “Conspired with a known criminal. Organised a coup. Endangered the kingdom. Brutally murdered two p
I’ve been waiting weeks for this day to finally arrive. From the moment I met Circe, I wanted to slap the mouth right from her face. Back then I never imagined we’d be here – I never imagined anything until I met Sebastian. I certainly never imagined some deranged woman would try to tear us apart, and I never imagined we’d be getting ready for her execution, but I can say with complete honesty that I couldn’t be happier. A life sentence is too good for her, and I hate the thought of her still living in the kingdom, even if it is as a prisoner, so the sooner she’s gone, the sooner I can rest easy. Sebastian walks over and buttons up my shirt leaving the first few buttons undone while I pull on my jacket. He places a gentle kiss on my sternum, and I lean forward pecking his nose. “Even though I know how you’re feeling, I’m still going to ask anyway,” I say, placing my hands on his hips. “I just want this over with so we can leave this mess in the past and move on with our lives,” he
“It is my deepest honour to introduce for the first time, our new King and Queen, Sebastian and Lemuel!” I hear Eisa cheer through the microphone as Lemuel and I make our way into the ballroom. Everyone is gathered and cheering, still carrying the same excitement from earlier. I smile at Lemuel, tightening my hold on his arm and watch as he takes in the wonderfully decorated room. The decor is much the same as the throne room, only on a much larger scale. Glittering purple water pours from the fountains and waiters walk around serving drinks, but all that is tuned out the moment I hear ‘Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?’ begin to play. I grin at Lemuel as I bounce with excitement. Dimitra deserves a big fat raise after this. Lemuel smiles and extends his hand to me, “May I have this dance, my King?” I smile and bat my eyelashes, “I thought you’d never ask.” I place my hand in his, smiling wider when he pulls me close by my waist and begins twirling me around the dancefloor.
Lemuel and I slowly walk up the steps and gracefully drop to our knees before my parents. My father takes in a deep breath and adjusts his jacket. A mesmerizing glittering royal blue that merges into black satin from the waist down, with an indigo belt wrapped around his midsection. Black lapels cross over and allow just a hint of his white ruffled shirt to peek out from the neck and ends of his sleeves, giving definition to the ensemble. Black satin slacks appear to move in the light and cut down exposing royal blue shimmering oxfords at his feet. A stunning floor-length cobalt blue cape hangs from his right shoulder and gathers across the floor like the surface water of a beautiful oasis. It’s only when the music stops, and the room falls silent that I realise how long I’ve been staring at the inspiring image of my parents. A ring of cobalt blue glows around my father’s grey eyes, and with a wave of his hand, the surface water of the nearest fountain begins to bubble, acting as a m