Chapter 193: 193
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Taking a quick interlude, Soren kneels down to the ground, his fingers drifting across the floor as he raises coiling shadows from the earth in plumes of billowing black smoke. The shadows take form, condensing and winding around his fingers as they rise with him, chasing around his body as they formulate the appearance of two red-eyed dogs.
No, I correct myself, looking over their shaggy fur and big hulking muscles, amazed by the sheer power that ripples through their quivering black bodies. Not dogs, wolves.
But that doesn't seem to matter as he closes his eyes, a rush of wind tousling his hair upwards as he reaches out before him, before plucking a piece of paper from thin air.
The three of us watch, amazed, mouths open as if even after everything that has happened, we still never cease to be amazed by the capabilities of his powers, or the extent of his greatness.
I barely manage to glimpse the contents of the paper, my vision barred by the luminous red light that descends from the eaves above us like a wash of blood. But what I do see only serves to confuse me further- a face of some sorts, thin and feminine, pale skinned and dark haired, though the rest of the details are hardly opposable in such awful lighting.
Then he leans down to the two wolves, showing them the bit of paper, and with a grumbling growl that tears in their throat, they race off, vanishing through the walls and into the unknown.
Whatever message Areen had relayed to Soren, it is surely one of great significance.
It takes me a moment to realise that Soren has ceased to persist with his activities and is watching me curiously, his mouth twitching with a faint amusement, waiting for me to catch his gaze. When I finally do a flush settles over my cheeks, face warming as I cover my mouth, embarrassed.
"Serena," Soren calls softly, beckoning me over with a curl of his fingers as he sways amorously in the middle of the marble room, his wings parted in mock flight. A flood of joy washes over me upon hearing my name called, relieved to hear the familiar honeyed chime of the voice I have so grown to love. Soon I forget about my embarrassment, my heart light as I bounce over to meet him in the middle of the room, all too eager to be with him once again.
Taking me by the hand, Soren draws me in, a doting expression on his face. The others pretend not to notice us, both suddenly very captivated with the marble carved patterns on the walls as they 'um' and 'ahh' about virtually nothing. But soon they too fade from cognition and all at once the room appears to shrink around me.
"How are you feeling?" he whispers, his fingers smoothing over my arm, trailing up, up to linger on the side of my cheek, electing the hairs on my neck to rise with anticipation. Nervously, I blush.
"A little scared, I won't lie. There is so much riding on this, on me not messing up, and yet there are a multitude of things that could go very, very wrong."
Softly, Soren slides his thumb over my lip, his amber eyes smouldering with a gentle, loving warmth that lulls the fluttering of my heart to an occasional throb.
"Calm, my darling, you have got this. And even if things go wrong, you displayed a substantial amount of power in the maze- I would be surprised if you couldn't handle Azrael yourself," he chuckles, pressing his lips tenderly against my forehead. For a moment I sway there, my hands around him, breathing in the scent of roses and soaking up the comforting warmth of his breath pluming against my skin. It feels like a dream, the calm before a storm where blissful ignorance and apathy can take hold of the body just long enough to assume a falsified calm.
"Well, I shall try my best," I say, but the wobble in my voice is hard to dismiss. I am sure he senses it too- my fear, that lingering sensation of dread that gnaws at my stomach, my mind, shredding logic and reason to small, embittered smithereens.
But fear is of no use to anyone. So instead, I lean back around to Soren, fanning my fingers over the membranous bat wings on his back, careful not to fully touch the skin. Truly, the wings are beautiful: glistening with darkness as though they captured a fragment of the sky itself, twinkling with glistening stars right down to the very tips.
"You like them?" Soren muses, an eyebrow raised in amusement, a coy smile playing at his lips. It doesn't take a genius to realise he has read my mind, but at this point, I have just accepted that as a general occurrence.
"They suit you. Really adds to the menacing tyrant King vibes. But I never did suppose you would have wings as well. They are very pretty though," I chuckle, glancing over them once more. Soren laughs inwardly, his eyes twinkling.
"Well, perhaps I will keep them then, since you seem so very fond of them" he winks, to which I punch him lightly in the arm, before immediately regretting it. Out of all the things I should be doing, punching him is not one of them.
So instead I lean up on my tip toes, grab him by the collar and pull his lips towards mine. Soren groans softly as our lips collide, his hands tightening on my back as my body melts into his, anxious not to waste a single second with him, my body aching for his touch.
In reality, it has only been a mere twenty-four hours since I have felt the touch of his lips on my skin, his hands on my body, but in trailing through endless maze and reams of horrific creatures who would like nothing better than to tear chunks into my newly immortalized flesh, it feels oh so much longer. I barely stop to breathe as my lips collide with his, feeling as though I might be reduced to tears at any moment, and never stopping to forget my chances of making it out here alive. There is an obvious, lingering hunger between us as Soren pulls away, his lips wet, his face partially flushed with a delicate rosy blush, breaths heavy in his throat. I can tell he wants more too, to lie and kiss for hours on end, to forget about the world and all its problems. But time is running out, and I do not have time to wish upon such frivolities.
So instead I press my forehead against his, leaning against him for a few seconds to catch the breath I never lost, pining for an excuse to be with him longer. I do not want to leave. But then again, I never have.
"You better wake up alive," I command, nuzzling my nose against his, searching for another kiss, which Soren happily grants. But it does not last, and Soren smiles at the whine that bursts from my throat as he pulls away, pressing his lips to my forehead once more before stepping away with a dizzyingly handsome smile.
"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise," he laughs with a conviction more for my sake than his own. Biting the inside of my cheek, I prod him in the arm once, just to illustrate my point.
"Good, because otherwise you and I are going to have words," I warn playfully, waggling my finger in his face, the manner childish, but I have long since passed caring. Capturing my hand in his, Soren- like the gentleman he is- lands a kiss on the top of my hand, smirking as a needy blush weaves onto my features.
"You never cease to amaze me, darling," he coo's leaning down slightly to push back a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, a doting expression in his eyes that tells me he wants to do much more. But before either of us can do any more, Kal's distinctly high voice calls out to us across the marble room, echoing his disdain.
"Alright love birds, settle down. Let's keep things child friendly in here. We have a raging lunatic to deal with, remember?" he says, clucking his tongue in mock disappointment, and then proceeding to give us both knowing wink. Beside him, Delina rolls her eyes, grumbling something under her breath that I can just barely make out, but seems to be along the lines of:
"Fucking flirt."
Glancing up to Soren- whose protests begin to fill my mind, I give him a nod of reassurance. There will be no more delaying it, I have to go.
Shouldering my sachet one final time, I look towards the bolted door at the other end of the room, a mixture of fear and exhilaration coursing through my body, tingling with the fires within my veins, fires that threaten to burn Azrael to a very messy pulp.
Then I start towards the door, my teeth gritted, my body tense, ready for whatever the world might throw at me.
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Taking a quick interlude, Soren kneels down to the ground, his fingers drifting across the floor as he raises coiling shadows from the earth in plumes of billowing black smoke. The shadows take form, condensing and winding around his fingers as they rise with him, chasing around his body as they formulate the appearance of two red-eyed dogs.
No, I correct myself, looking over their shaggy fur and big hulking muscles, amazed by the sheer power that ripples through their quivering black bodies. Not dogs, wolves.
But that doesn't seem to matter as he closes his eyes, a rush of wind tousling his hair upwards as he reaches out before him, before plucking a piece of paper from thin air.
The three of us watch, amazed, mouths open as if even after everything that has happened, we still never cease to be amazed by the capabilities of his powers, or the extent of his greatness.
I barely manage to glimpse the contents of the paper, my vision barred by the luminous red light that descends from the eaves above us like a wash of blood. But what I do see only serves to confuse me further- a face of some sorts, thin and feminine, pale skinned and dark haired, though the rest of the details are hardly opposable in such awful lighting.
Then he leans down to the two wolves, showing them the bit of paper, and with a grumbling growl that tears in their throat, they race off, vanishing through the walls and into the unknown.
Whatever message Areen had relayed to Soren, it is surely one of great significance.
It takes me a moment to realise that Soren has ceased to persist with his activities and is watching me curiously, his mouth twitching with a faint amusement, waiting for me to catch his gaze. When I finally do a flush settles over my cheeks, face warming as I cover my mouth, embarrassed.
"Serena," Soren calls softly, beckoning me over with a curl of his fingers as he sways amorously in the middle of the marble room, his wings parted in mock flight. A flood of joy washes over me upon hearing my name called, relieved to hear the familiar honeyed chime of the voice I have so grown to love. Soon I forget about my embarrassment, my heart light as I bounce over to meet him in the middle of the room, all too eager to be with him once again.
Taking me by the hand, Soren draws me in, a doting expression on his face. The others pretend not to notice us, both suddenly very captivated with the marble carved patterns on the walls as they 'um' and 'ahh' about virtually nothing. But soon they too fade from cognition and all at once the room appears to shrink around me.
"How are you feeling?" he whispers, his fingers smoothing over my arm, trailing up, up to linger on the side of my cheek, electing the hairs on my neck to rise with anticipation. Nervously, I blush.
"A little scared, I won't lie. There is so much riding on this, on me not messing up, and yet there are a multitude of things that could go very, very wrong."
Softly, Soren slides his thumb over my lip, his amber eyes smouldering with a gentle, loving warmth that lulls the fluttering of my heart to an occasional throb.
"Calm, my darling, you have got this. And even if things go wrong, you displayed a substantial amount of power in the maze- I would be surprised if you couldn't handle Azrael yourself," he chuckles, pressing his lips tenderly against my forehead. For a moment I sway there, my hands around him, breathing in the scent of roses and soaking up the comforting warmth of his breath pluming against my skin. It feels like a dream, the calm before a storm where blissful ignorance and apathy can take hold of the body just long enough to assume a falsified calm.
"Well, I shall try my best," I say, but the wobble in my voice is hard to dismiss. I am sure he senses it too- my fear, that lingering sensation of dread that gnaws at my stomach, my mind, shredding logic and reason to small, embittered smithereens.
But fear is of no use to anyone. So instead, I lean back around to Soren, fanning my fingers over the membranous bat wings on his back, careful not to fully touch the skin. Truly, the wings are beautiful: glistening with darkness as though they captured a fragment of the sky itself, twinkling with glistening stars right down to the very tips.
"You like them?" Soren muses, an eyebrow raised in amusement, a coy smile playing at his lips. It doesn't take a genius to realise he has read my mind, but at this point, I have just accepted that as a general occurrence.
"They suit you. Really adds to the menacing tyrant King vibes. But I never did suppose you would have wings as well. They are very pretty though," I chuckle, glancing over them once more. Soren laughs inwardly, his eyes twinkling.
"Well, perhaps I will keep them then, since you seem so very fond of them" he winks, to which I punch him lightly in the arm, before immediately regretting it. Out of all the things I should be doing, punching him is not one of them.
So instead I lean up on my tip toes, grab him by the collar and pull his lips towards mine. Soren groans softly as our lips collide, his hands tightening on my back as my body melts into his, anxious not to waste a single second with him, my body aching for his touch.
In reality, it has only been a mere twenty-four hours since I have felt the touch of his lips on my skin, his hands on my body, but in trailing through endless maze and reams of horrific creatures who would like nothing better than to tear chunks into my newly immortalized flesh, it feels oh so much longer. I barely stop to breathe as my lips collide with his, feeling as though I might be reduced to tears at any moment, and never stopping to forget my chances of making it out here alive. There is an obvious, lingering hunger between us as Soren pulls away, his lips wet, his face partially flushed with a delicate rosy blush, breaths heavy in his throat. I can tell he wants more too, to lie and kiss for hours on end, to forget about the world and all its problems. But time is running out, and I do not have time to wish upon such frivolities.
So instead I press my forehead against his, leaning against him for a few seconds to catch the breath I never lost, pining for an excuse to be with him longer. I do not want to leave. But then again, I never have.
"You better wake up alive," I command, nuzzling my nose against his, searching for another kiss, which Soren happily grants. But it does not last, and Soren smiles at the whine that bursts from my throat as he pulls away, pressing his lips to my forehead once more before stepping away with a dizzyingly handsome smile.
"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise," he laughs with a conviction more for my sake than his own. Biting the inside of my cheek, I prod him in the arm once, just to illustrate my point.
"Good, because otherwise you and I are going to have words," I warn playfully, waggling my finger in his face, the manner childish, but I have long since passed caring. Capturing my hand in his, Soren- like the gentleman he is- lands a kiss on the top of my hand, smirking as a needy blush weaves onto my features.
"You never cease to amaze me, darling," he coo's leaning down slightly to push back a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, a doting expression in his eyes that tells me he wants to do much more. But before either of us can do any more, Kal's distinctly high voice calls out to us across the marble room, echoing his disdain.
"Alright love birds, settle down. Let's keep things child friendly in here. We have a raging lunatic to deal with, remember?" he says, clucking his tongue in mock disappointment, and then proceeding to give us both knowing wink. Beside him, Delina rolls her eyes, grumbling something under her breath that I can just barely make out, but seems to be along the lines of:
"Fucking flirt."
Glancing up to Soren- whose protests begin to fill my mind, I give him a nod of reassurance. There will be no more delaying it, I have to go.
Shouldering my sachet one final time, I look towards the bolted door at the other end of the room, a mixture of fear and exhilaration coursing through my body, tingling with the fires within my veins, fires that threaten to burn Azrael to a very messy pulp.
Then I start towards the door, my teeth gritted, my body tense, ready for whatever the world might throw at me.
Taking a quick interlude, Soren kneels down to the ground, his fingers drifting across the floor as he raises coiling shadows from the earth in plumes of billowing black smoke. The shadows take form, condensing and winding around his fingers as they rise with him, chasing around his body as they formulate the appearance of two red-eyed dogs. No, I correct myself, looking over their shaggy fur and big hulking muscles, amazed by the sheer power that ripples through their quivering black bodies. Not dogs, wolves.But that doesn't seem to matter as he closes his eyes, a rush of wind tousling his hair upwards as he reaches out before him, before plucking a piece of paper from thin air.The three of us watch, amazed, mouths open as if even after everything that has happened, we still never cease to be amazed by the capabilities of his powers, or the extent of his greatness.I barely manage to glimpse the contents of the paper, my vision barred by the luminous red light that descends from the eaves above us like a wash of blood. But what I do see only serves to confuse me further- a face of some sorts, thin and feminine, pale skinned and dark haired, though the rest of the details are hardly opposable in such awful lighting. Then he leans down to the two wolves, showing them the bit of paper, and with a grumbling growl that tears in their throat, they race off, vanishing through the walls and into the unknown.Whatever message Areen had relayed to Soren, it is surely one of great significance.It takes me a moment to realise that Soren has ceased to persist with his activities and is watching me curiously, his mouth twitching with a faint amusement, waiting for me to catch his gaze. When I finally do a flush settles over my cheeks, face warming as I cover my mouth, embarrassed."Serena," Soren calls softly, beckoning me over with a curl of his fingers as he sways amorously in the middle of the marble room, his wings parted in mock flight. A flood of joy washes over me upon hearing my name called, relieved to hear the familiar honeyed chime of the voice I have so grown to love. Soon I forget about my embarrassment, my heart light as I bounce over to meet him in the middle of the room, all too eager to be with him once again.Taking me by the hand, Soren draws me in, a doting expression on his face. The others pretend not to notice us, both suddenly very captivated with the marble carved patterns on the walls as they 'um' and 'ahh' about virtually nothing. But soon they too fade from cognition and all at once the room appears to shrink around me."How are you feeling?" he whispers, his fingers smoothing over my arm, trailing up, up to linger on the side of my cheek, electing the hairs on my neck to rise with anticipation. Nervously, I blush."A little scared, I won't lie. There is so much riding on this, on me not messing up, and yet there are a multitude of things that could go very, very wrong."Softly, Soren slides his thumb over my lip, his amber eyes smouldering with a gentle, loving warmth that lulls the fluttering of my heart to an occasional throb."Calm, my darling, you have got this. And even if things go wrong, you displayed a substantial amount of power in the maze- I would be surprised if you couldn't handle Azrael yourself," he chuckles, pressing his lips tenderly against my forehead. For a moment I sway there, my hands around him, breathing in the scent of roses and soaking up the comforting warmth of his breath pluming against my skin. It feels like a dream, the calm before a storm where blissful ignorance and apathy can take hold of the body just long enough to assume a falsified calm."Well, I shall try my best," I say, but the wobble in my voice is hard to dismiss. I am sure he senses it too- my fear, that lingering sensation of dread that gnaws at my stomach, my mind, shredding logic and reason to small, embittered smithereens.But fear is of no use to anyone. So instead, I lean back around to Soren, fanning my fingers over the membranous bat wings on his back, careful not to fully touch the skin. Truly, the wings are beautiful: glistening with darkness as though they captured a fragment of the sky itself, twinkling with glistening stars right down to the very tips."You like them?" Soren muses, an eyebrow raised in amusement, a coy smile playing at his lips. It doesn't take a genius to realise he has read my mind, but at this point, I have just accepted that as a general occurrence."They suit you. Really adds to the menacing tyrant King vibes. But I never did suppose you would have wings as well. They are very pretty though," I chuckle, glancing over them once more. Soren laughs inwardly, his eyes twinkling."Well, perhaps I will keep them then, since you seem so very fond of them" he winks, to which I punch him lightly in the arm, before immediately regretting it. Out of all the things I should be doing, punching him is not one of them. So instead I lean up on my tip toes, grab him by the collar and pull his lips towards mine. Soren groans softly as our lips collide, his hands tightening on my back as my body melts into his, anxious not to waste a single second with him, my body aching for his touch.In reality, it has only been a mere twenty-four hours since I have felt the touch of his lips on my skin, his hands on my body, but in trailing through endless maze and reams of horrific creatures who would like nothing better than to tear chunks into my newly immortalized flesh, it feels oh so much longer. I barely stop to breathe as my lips collide with his, feeling as though I might be reduced to tears at any moment, and never stopping to forget my chances of making it out here alive. There is an obvious, lingering hunger between us as Soren pulls away, his lips wet, his face partially flushed with a delicate rosy blush, breaths heavy in his throat. I can tell he wants more too, to lie and kiss for hours on end, to forget about the world and all its problems. But time is running out, and I do not have time to wish upon such frivolities.So instead I press my forehead against his, leaning against him for a few seconds to catch the breath I never lost, pining for an excuse to be with him longer. I do not want to leave. But then again, I never have."You better wake up alive," I command, nuzzling my nose against his, searching for another kiss, which Soren happily grants. But it does not last, and Soren smiles at the whine that bursts from my throat as he pulls away, pressing his lips to my forehead once more before stepping away with a dizzyingly handsome smile."I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise," he laughs with a conviction more for my sake than his own. Biting the inside of my cheek, I prod him in the arm once, just to illustrate my point."Good, because otherwise you and I are going to have words," I warn playfully, waggling my finger in his face, the manner childish, but I have long since passed caring. Capturing my hand in his, Soren- like the gentleman he is- lands a kiss on the top of my hand, smirking as a needy blush weaves onto my features."You never cease to amaze me, darling," he coo's leaning down slightly to push back a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, a doting expression in his eyes that tells me he wants to do much more. But before either of us can do any more, Kal's distinctly high voice calls out to us across the marble room, echoing his disdain."Alright love birds, settle down. Let's keep things child friendly in here. We have a raging lunatic to deal with, remember?" he says, clucking his tongue in mock disappointment, and then proceeding to give us both knowing wink. Beside him, Delina rolls her eyes, grumbling something under her breath that I can just barely make out, but seems to be along the lines of:"Fucking flirt."Glancing up to Soren- whose protests begin to fill my mind, I give him a nod of reassurance. There will be no more delaying it, I have to go. Shouldering my sachet one final time, I look towards the bolted door at the other end of the room, a mixture of fear and exhilaration coursing through my body, tingling with the fires within my veins, fires that threaten to burn Azrael to a very messy pulp.Then I start towards the door, my teeth gritted, my body tense, ready for whatever the world might throw at me.
