She was right. Her vassel was different from the one he had imaged. It was better. Despite her breast bag, he cod see that her breasts were a little larger and her thighs too more than his painting's, and she was curvy, her stomach was not as bony sucked in as he had painted it either.The candlelight surrended him no mercy as the light help his eyes greedily feast on their desire.His Donna's vessel was that of a goddess.He gulped, blinking and looking away from her to recollect himself. "Did you come across Lady Kestra on your way here?"He needed to know if Kestra was tempering with her brain again. If this was only an after effect, if she had any control of herself. "Why is that important?" "Are you drunk, Donna?" Oh, now she understood.He wanted to know if she was in control of herself, although she couldn't really understand why Lady Kestra was connected to this. In truth, she really didn't know what had come over her but she knew what she was doing and she understood
To be consumed by the need for ecstasy to the point where logicality and shame meant nothing, where those brown smoldering eyes that gazed at her, were all that mattered.At first, her plan had been for him to see her, then she had progressed to wanting him to know how she felt, just like the other paintings she had described to him, just like the many things he wanted to touch but couldn't. She had been caught in the moment with the painting and done what she did without much thinking. Her system had shot into overdrive and her brain had taken a break from shock. She didn't want him to feel terrible about it, it appealed to her in a sick way she couldn't describe, and in her bid to reassure him, she had stripped and approved his actions further. Besides, had she not told him to show her all the paintings and she would describe how they felt to him? That had been one of the reasons she went ahead. She wouldn't scurry away just because a couple of those paintings were of her. She w
Her thighs widened and she whined, focusing on the pain that she felt when her teeth pressed against her lower lip instead of the pleasure that surged through her body at the contact of her fingers that slid in between her welcoming folds, pressing against her pulsating sex."This is wet."Something in his jaws ticked as he watched her. "I think it's really wet."He could hear it and that didn't help at all. It didn't help that his hearing was this good. The way she moved her fingers up and down, every swipe, every stroke, he could hear everything. Now, he couldn't hold back anymore, he walked across the room with intent and determined steps, and something sparked in her eyes when she saw that.Her gaze followed him as he move closer to her, while she bit back a moan that threatened to slip past her lips. She shouldn't stop now, but somehow, she didn't want to."It feels warm."She bit back another moan, this one causing her body to shudder slightly from her fight.Enough about ho
After stepping out of the bathroom and getting dressed, there was a knock at the door. Belladonna threw the door open, the painting Eli had promised to give her was at the door in Anok's hand. "Good morning, Milady. The King said this should be delivered to you."She had grinned and asked Anok to help her hang it on the wall. It was good to see something different in this room that was full of the color red. Something vibrant and full of life. She hadn't liked it so much yesterday but today, she felt different about it and it seemed to appeal to her. Maybe because of the memory that accompanied it. It was lovely, not in its appearance but in its memory. "Did you like it?" She had asked when he was done and Anok wore a confused look. "Milady?""The painting? Do you like it?"He had frowned, then shrugged."The King is talented.""I know that but do you like this painting.""Your desire towards the painting is what is important, not my insignificant one, Milady."At that time, the
She raced up to her feet at the first sight of his bare chest. "I'm fine in this. Never mind, Eli."He hesitated for a millisecond, then he continued unbuttoning his shirt anyways. With a simple swing, he took off his shirt."Well, I am hot." Before Belladonna had a chance to say anything to that, there was a knock at the door. Eli had not been pleased with the disturbance and with a grunt, he pulled his shirt back on, dashing to the door when he was done with that and his mask was once again on his face. He had come back into the study even more displeased.The news he had gotten made it necessary for him to leave. Without wasting even a second, he told her everything.What Belladonna had earlier feared was happening. The dragon was misbehaving. "Stay right here, I will lock the door. I see you are with my keys, one of them works for this door too. I will be back as soon as I can." He had instructed, then left after that.Belladonna let out a shaky breath. What was wrong with h
Belladonna's gaze flew right behind her, her grip on Raquel tight as she tried to make her stable on her feet. The emptiness she stared into was vast. It was as if Clio had disappeared into thin air, she was nowhere to be found. Belladonna heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment there she had been scared that Clio was a ghost. Although that idea had been torn between the fact that Raquel wasn't really stable for her words to be trusted at the moment and the very obvious one that she wasn't dead. Only the dead could speak to the dead.Belladonna's belief on why Clio would suddenly disappear like that was based on what had happened last time. It seemed the three ladies really detested people seeing them bleeding. The last time something like that had happened, they had ran away too, even though that one had been completely natural.As soon as she was done with Raquel, she would seek them out and ask if everything was alright. If they needed to see a physician, she certainly would help
"You know her," Belladonna said quietly, observing his reaction. It had almost seemed like a question but at the same time, it wasn't."I don't think so. I can't recall who that is right now, that is, if I have even met her, My Lady."Belladonna looked at him through squinted eyes. He was talking too much. That was unlike him. Something was up. Colin was quick to recollect himself though. "Thank you for delivering this, My Lady."She wanted to linger on longer and probe at her suspicion but she knew Colin. Whenever he was determined to be tight-lipped, there would be nothing to get out of him. Not even a word. She would have had more luck with Raquel. Unfortunately, she was unstable, and even now, worse. There was also the fact that Eli might return anytime soon. She wouldn't want him to find her out of the room. Her heart skipped a beat at her next thought. Hopefully, he wasn't there already. "You are welcome. Extend my greetings to Raquel when she wakes up. Tell her I wi
Belladonna had been lucky to meet the study empty but that hadn't been for long. Right after she settled into her seat to focus on the letters of complaints to get something done before Eli would come, she heard a click in the keyhole and Eli walked into the room.He stormed in, closing the door firmly behind him and shutting it. Then he settled in his seat and tossed his mask on the table. Belladonna looked up from the scroll, there was a deep, long, scratch on the mask, cutting through the iron like it was made by a low, sharp claw.She froze in her seat when she saw that blood that stained his shirt, there were small patches of it around his chest and on his sleeves. "By Ignas, what happened?!" The words had slipped through her lips when she could finally move them. "That dragon." He gritted, pushing back in his seat. "Losing its mind."She stood up from her seat and went to him."Should I get the Physician?" She wouldn't know where to go if he agreed to that, but that had bee
“What is this?” Ny'ka asked, racing up to her feet.“The Stones of Prophecy. I already told you,” Ka'el replied, rising to his feet too. He groaned a little, his ribs hurting from the force that had tossed him aside.The stones had suddenly fallen to the ground, scattered; they were still glowing though. “I mean, what do they do?“I don't know!” There was a bit of panic in his voice, then he started to mumble to himself as he fell on his knees and started trying to collect the stones. “The King believes his daughter is in the Rebellion, and there are rumors of the Heir; he thinks they are working together.” He stopped and stared up at Ny'ka who watched him with a frown on her face. “That is why the Moon and the Sun came up in the sky because she is really here? But you said it didn't happen here, that it was from another Realm. It is from another realm, right? It isn’t true, Is it?”Ny'ka tried to grab one of the stones from Ka'el but it held it away from her. “Is his daughter truly
Then she felt like she was drowning and her words vanished from her lips. It felt like she was right in the lake and above it at the same time, hovering over the water and looking at the drowning child, while the drowning child looked back at her, struggling. Then she was finally in the baby and she could see Xinora floating over her as she felt herself dying in the baby — felt the baby dying. She saw Xinora stare right at her mother, who froze immediately like she had seen a ghost - it was what she looked like anyway, what she seemed to be. Then Belladonna felt the presence slam right into her immediately. Xinora had vanished and was now inside her as one being, the moment of her almost death creating the perfect space for Xinora to fit in. But just as Xinora had merged into her, she dissolved into the back of her mind like a mere pest fighting against a strong host. Her mother pulled her out of the water, her gaze blank and cold. Without a word, she wrapped her in a piece of clo
Trigger warning: Dealing with rape aftermath (from victim’s perspective) on page, and baby drowning on page. _________Belladonna paced the room. Two nights have passed since Alaris and her had discussed about Xinora. The Rebellion was healing, and she had sought out Ny'ka to help her with creating portals; although she knew that it might not work, just as it hadn't been working, but that was just how unpromising Channeling had been, and it had worked eventually. That wasn't the problem though. The thing was that Ny'ka was nowhere to be found. It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was.She was with Ka'el, most likely inquiring about their recent failure.Alaris had confirmed her suspicion, and here she was, in the room, trying not to drive herself mad with every single possibility that was crossing her mind.The Priest had drawn a tattoo on the top part of her chest, a little distance from her neck. He had smeared it with the blood of an animal, chanted some things th
Ny'ka went to Ka'el that night as the Heir had ordered, only to find out that he was with someone. Tsiri?What?What was she doing here? Why was she here? How long has she known about Ka'el? How did she get here?Why was she here?By Ina, what had she told him?!The White glow of the crescent moon above glimmered down on them through the shadows of the scanty leaves of the tall trees around them. The smile on Tsiri’s face was plain for Ny'ka to see, just as obvious as the doubt that dotted Ka’el’s eyes. What had she told him?!“Is it true?” Ka'el asked, his fist tightening around the small bag he had in his hand. She wondered what was in that bag but his next words made her aware of the greater problem she had before her. “Are you just fooling me?” He asked as his free hand anchored around Tsiri’s waist, making her smile widen. Disappointment flashed in Ny'ka's eyes and she frowned, blatantly ignoring Tsiri. “Fooling you? What nonsense are you talking about? And why are you with o
“Nightshade, do you have any memories of Jyris?”He was crouching in front of her. This room suddenly felt too small. Where was the air of ease?“No, except that he healed my ankle, gave me that gold ring that you tossed away and he was at the table with the King. Nothing else. I’m trying to but I don't remember anything else.” She wouldn't tell him about the strange feeling of familiarity she had when she had first seen him. That would be too dangerous. “You were in her dreams even when you weren't in captivity. So can you just go into people's dreams? Can you still do that?”“No. Her dream was the only one I could get into without being in captivity. But My freedom does come at a price. It was hard to lure the brides with my soul, and certainly, I prefer this freedom to that.”“Did killing her hurt you? Since the gems are supposed to be a pair.”“I struck her stomach.”“Why didn't you strike her in the heart or behead?”“I wanted to behead her and take her heart as my own; a litt
He heaved a sigh and sat next to her. “Well, it was after being King. I think the wars I had fought strengthened the connection with my gem; the lives I had taken fed it, and I dreamt of Xinora — well, she dreamt of me. It was the first time I would be in anyone's dreams.”Belladonna nodded, taking a mental note of that. “She was crying and lonely, and because the Gem perceived its master to be distressed, it sought a connection and found me. Xinora was terrified when we met; I was confused, too; it was strange. But then, I realized who she was and why I was there. At that time, I really wanted to come back here, to Vestros, but I knew it wasn’t time, I wasn't powerful enough back then.” He paused, before he continued. “The White King would kill me easily, but being in her dreams was like fate being on my side. She was the only weapon that could be used to kill me—”The only weapon?“Wait. Only a Bearer can kill a Bearer?”“Yes.” “So,” she turned to him squarely so she wouldn't mi
“And you didn't tell me? Why?”“It was over two centuries ago.” He stood up. “She stayed dead during those times, why would I think anything would come out of her now?”Belladonna said nothing and Alaris continued. “With you, I believed she had already been replaced. A new Master, her time was over, gone. The gems will always have their masters, I have discovered. At first, I was worried, but then you proved to be more than one with a mere link.”“I had visions of her. I told you everything.”He shrugged. “I thought it was just her lingering presence since she was the one who was connected to the gem before you. They are just mere visions, they don't suggest a powerful presence to get bothered about.”“You must be joking,” she stated, flabbergasted. “I had dreams of her every time and nothing ever really happened as a result,” he replied with a dismissive tone.“You know that is not true.”“Nothing “real” ever really happened.”With a realization, she stood up. “You are doing it aga
It felt compelling to desire more, it felt right… yet it didn't.Alaris pulled away being the first one to snap back from the spark pulling them together. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have done that.” He was gone in a flash, leaving her flustered. She couldn't think; the foreign and overpowering feeling was a driving force that sent her out of the room to go after him. She did, reaching the surface, however, and feeling the warm glow of the moon on her skin. Something else seemed to have possessed her, and she went towards the lake instead, strangely seeking the comforting feeling of the water and the floating relief. The reflection of the full moon was cast over the still water and the trees seemed to create a path for her. She walked into the water as a shadow warrior emerged from behind her; the only one of Alaris' shadow warriors that wasn't killed. It swiftly moved into the water, reaching out to pull her back but she turned sharply to it. “Go Back!” She ordered, her voice a gr
Breathing heavily, he turned back to her. “I’m sorry— I just— I was afraid that you’ll shift—”“I have been terrified that this day would come but I thought I was stronger, as strong as I was in your Realm. I knew I would be lacking the moment I saw that annoying thing healing your ankle with his flames,” he laughed, the sound dry of humour as he swept his hand over his hair, pushing it back. “At that moment, I knew there were many things that I lacked, many skills, so many things. I might have been a King there but here, I am like a child. I’m not better than any of those dragon shifters. I’m useless.” “You are not.”With a huff, he sat down next to her, feeling exhausted. “My pretense to know what I am doing can no longer save me. I’m fighting a lost war, Nightshade and you can see it.”He turned to her, to find her shaking her head. “Don't lie to me.”“I’m not.”“Alaris—”“Don't try to inspire me, it won't work.” “I wasn't trying to inspire you, I just want to tell you how disap