Chapter 76: 76
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"Indeed, you would be dead if this had been a real fight," Soren affirms slyly, slipping into my mind with a characteristically naughty grin as he loops his arms around me, drawing me into him, pulling my back hard against his body.
"Or better yet," he adds, pressing his lips firmly against my neck, allowing his tongue to run over the sensitive skin just lightly enough to send a shudder trembling thorough me. "Bitten."
I stifle a groan.
"Yeah, I bet you would like that," I retort, wiggling my way out my grip to retrieve my sword which has since been slung across the ground in the chaos and laid to rest in the arms of a blackberry thicket. I sheath it with a overly dramatic huff, shooting him a sideways look. Soren chuckles darkly, eyeing the sword as his voice sinks to its characteristic low, erotic caress that I have become so attuned to hearing.
"I would like it only it I were the one doing the biting"
I roll my eyes. Of course he would say that.
Smugly, I lean around, bringing my face opposite to his, eyebrows raised in silent questioning against the darkness of the night.
"And if another vampire bit me? And I became addicted to his bite? What then?" I press jokingly, my hands lingering on his waist, while I bring another up to play absently with his dark, mussy hair. In a split second, a void of darkness rolls off Soren in waves of pure hatred, tainting the already dark surroundings with an aura of malice and a repulsed disdain.
With the reply that utters from his lips, I have no doubt that any remaining creatures left trembling in the western wing of the forest- scorched by flame and shadow- would have fled in this very instant.
He presses his lips close to my ear.
"Then I would kill them,"
Another shudder runs through me as I stare up, searching his eyes that now smoulder with the flames of a gritty anger, burning with a bloody red that almost seems to glow with their own luminescence against the pitch black of the night. But beneath it all, under that smooth mask of his face that buries his emotions into concealment, within the slight twitch of his lip and the strain of his jaw clenched tightly in resent, there is hurt.
The Scarlet Prince, for all his emotionless glory, is not immune to the emotions he pretends he does not have.
"Hey," I say gently, cupping my palm against his cheek softy, smoothing my thumb over his skin the way Ithuriel always used to when I was too upset with the orders of the council to come out of my room- a frequent occurrence in my times as a little girl who desired, hungered, to be free from the chains of her throne. But that was a long time ago now.
Soren stiffens slightly at my touch, eyeing me with suspicion and- I realise with a heavy drop of my heart- mistrust.
"I'm not going to let them bite me, if that's what you are worried about," I assure him, offering up a brave smile in spite of the fact my words do not ring so true even to myself. A vampire, in all their strength and rapturous lust for life and blood could, on any whim that they are inclined by, bite me and have me dead in an instant.
It's a miracle Soren hasn't done so already.
But then, I remind myself, teetering on my toes to press my lips against Soren's tentatively to soothe his worried mind, with the bond between us, I have my doubts he will be able to bring himself to do anything bad at all.
Soren holds the kiss a little longer, the urgency within his kiss obvious, consuming, as his lips strive against mine, tongue flicking out to run along my lower lip, tasting, pleasuring, as he groans against me. His hands run down my back, tracing the delicate curve of my spine that becomes more pronounced the further my body arches into him, driven by the wanton need to feel his icy skin against mine and the tender flight of his hands over my body. A little quiver runs through me, alighting that familiar spark in my body that slowly grows into an unquenchable fire burning in my heart.
Slowly, he pulls away, breaking the seal of his lips as his eyes search mine. I give him a small pout.
"Perhaps you may believe they will not bite you," he says, prodding a finger lightly in my chest, the air of disdain quickly washed away in the simple kiss we shared. "You may believe that you are strong enough to fend them off, but as it stands you can hardly defend yourself from me with your powers, and my intent was never to kill you. Trained may you be, up against a horde of lustful vampires you will do as well as a new born lamb among a pack of wolves. Your skills with a sword are good, but you must never rely on it. You must grow your powers, little dove. Allow them to stretch further than you have ever been taught, past the limitable bounds of mortal imagination."
I sigh. Of course, his words, as ever, are as truthful as they come- if a little painful, but the stinging in my chest is the least of my worries.
"I know," I relent at last, reaching over to place my hand in his, my fingers curling round his own. "I know."
Perhaps even after all this time I am still not good enough for anyone. Still not the power people hoped I would be.
Suddenly, Soren narrows his eyes at me, the molten red simmering to a deep, smouldering amber, almost liquid pouring in his eyes, swimming with an insurmountable pain and- somehow- sympathy.
In a split second we are shadow shifted back to the castle, and I welcome the brightness as I squint my eyes to adjust to my glaring surrounding from the impenetrable void of the night.
"Where are we?" I manage to fumble out as Soren loops his hands around my waist, pressing me against him as he sits down, my eyes catching on the chandeliers swinging precariously on the ceiling, and the arching doors on either side of the grand expanse of the room, completely devoid of life. Then it clicks.
This is the throne room, except it's completely, utterly empty.
And the chair Soren is sitting on…
From my position on his lap, I dare to glance round, my breath freezing in my throat with an inkling of dread. Sure enough the chair that arches behind us is one of spikes and thorns, towering up towards the ceiling with the menacing semblance of the Scarlet Prince himself, each pillar of twisting horn-like structures spiked with blue fires, floating like ghosts in and out of existence.
"Soren, what-"
But the cold blooded vampire does not leave me room enough to finish.
"You thought that your power, that your worth is not satisfactory to me, hmm?" Soren prompts slyly, almost accusingly, drawing me further into his lap, causing my face to run red with embarrassment despite the fact there is no one around to see us. Yet the act in such a public vicinity feels positively scandalous.
"S-Soren what if someone comes in," I stammer as he reaches his head down to press his lips numbly against my neck, letting out a low satisfied growl- almost as if someone coming in and seeing me on his lap would be the optimal outcome for this situation; I think in that moment he would very much like to show me off like a trophy to his people, a priceless artefact or gemstone that he is all too keen to show to the world if only to have them staring in awe and to marvel at its beauty. Therefore in the notion of this, obviously, he ignores me.
"Listen to me Serena," he instructs, teeth skimming across my pale skin in warning as he slides his mouth further up my neck, trailing wet kisses in its wake, until laying to rest beside my ear. I shiver.
"Don't you dare even think for one second you are not good enough," he growls, breath tickling the shell of my ear, a voice not laced with anger, but instead, a pleading anguish. My heart cracks a little.
"Do you know how many women have striven for centuries to sit where you sit? To take their place by me as not only my mate, but my equal? I would take you as my Queen and have you sit by me for the rest of my life, if you were to let it so, regardless of what my people say." My eyes grow large.
"Should I take that as an official proposal?" I whisper, quietly now, my voice long since faded from the pleasure running through my body. I can practically feel the smirk radiating off Soren, so much that I don't even have to look round to see it.
"Perhaps you should, yes, considering what I am tempted to do to you, little dove...."
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"Indeed, you would be dead if this had been a real fight," Soren affirms slyly, slipping into my mind with a characteristically naughty grin as he loops his arms around me, drawing me into him, pulling my back hard against his body.
"Or better yet," he adds, pressing his lips firmly against my neck, allowing his tongue to run over the sensitive skin just lightly enough to send a shudder trembling thorough me. "Bitten."
I stifle a groan.
"Yeah, I bet you would like that," I retort, wiggling my way out my grip to retrieve my sword which has since been slung across the ground in the chaos and laid to rest in the arms of a blackberry thicket. I sheath it with a overly dramatic huff, shooting him a sideways look. Soren chuckles darkly, eyeing the sword as his voice sinks to its characteristic low, erotic caress that I have become so attuned to hearing.
"I would like it only it I were the one doing the biting"
I roll my eyes. Of course he would say that.
Smugly, I lean around, bringing my face opposite to his, eyebrows raised in silent questioning against the darkness of the night.
"And if another vampire bit me? And I became addicted to his bite? What then?" I press jokingly, my hands lingering on his waist, while I bring another up to play absently with his dark, mussy hair. In a split second, a void of darkness rolls off Soren in waves of pure hatred, tainting the already dark surroundings with an aura of malice and a repulsed disdain.
With the reply that utters from his lips, I have no doubt that any remaining creatures left trembling in the western wing of the forest- scorched by flame and shadow- would have fled in this very instant.
He presses his lips close to my ear.
"Then I would kill them,"
Another shudder runs through me as I stare up, searching his eyes that now smoulder with the flames of a gritty anger, burning with a bloody red that almost seems to glow with their own luminescence against the pitch black of the night. But beneath it all, under that smooth mask of his face that buries his emotions into concealment, within the slight twitch of his lip and the strain of his jaw clenched tightly in resent, there is hurt.
The Scarlet Prince, for all his emotionless glory, is not immune to the emotions he pretends he does not have.
"Hey," I say gently, cupping my palm against his cheek softy, smoothing my thumb over his skin the way Ithuriel always used to when I was too upset with the orders of the council to come out of my room- a frequent occurrence in my times as a little girl who desired, hungered, to be free from the chains of her throne. But that was a long time ago now.
Soren stiffens slightly at my touch, eyeing me with suspicion and- I realise with a heavy drop of my heart- mistrust.
"I'm not going to let them bite me, if that's what you are worried about," I assure him, offering up a brave smile in spite of the fact my words do not ring so true even to myself. A vampire, in all their strength and rapturous lust for life and blood could, on any whim that they are inclined by, bite me and have me dead in an instant.
It's a miracle Soren hasn't done so already.
But then, I remind myself, teetering on my toes to press my lips against Soren's tentatively to soothe his worried mind, with the bond between us, I have my doubts he will be able to bring himself to do anything bad at all.
Soren holds the kiss a little longer, the urgency within his kiss obvious, consuming, as his lips strive against mine, tongue flicking out to run along my lower lip, tasting, pleasuring, as he groans against me. His hands run down my back, tracing the delicate curve of my spine that becomes more pronounced the further my body arches into him, driven by the wanton need to feel his icy skin against mine and the tender flight of his hands over my body. A little quiver runs through me, alighting that familiar spark in my body that slowly grows into an unquenchable fire burning in my heart.
Slowly, he pulls away, breaking the seal of his lips as his eyes search mine. I give him a small pout.
"Perhaps you may believe they will not bite you," he says, prodding a finger lightly in my chest, the air of disdain quickly washed away in the simple kiss we shared. "You may believe that you are strong enough to fend them off, but as it stands you can hardly defend yourself from me with your powers, and my intent was never to kill you. Trained may you be, up against a horde of lustful vampires you will do as well as a new born lamb among a pack of wolves. Your skills with a sword are good, but you must never rely on it. You must grow your powers, little dove. Allow them to stretch further than you have ever been taught, past the limitable bounds of mortal imagination."
I sigh. Of course, his words, as ever, are as truthful as they come- if a little painful, but the stinging in my chest is the least of my worries.
"I know," I relent at last, reaching over to place my hand in his, my fingers curling round his own. "I know."
Perhaps even after all this time I am still not good enough for anyone. Still not the power people hoped I would be.
Suddenly, Soren narrows his eyes at me, the molten red simmering to a deep, smouldering amber, almost liquid pouring in his eyes, swimming with an insurmountable pain and- somehow- sympathy.
In a split second we are shadow shifted back to the castle, and I welcome the brightness as I squint my eyes to adjust to my glaring surrounding from the impenetrable void of the night.
"Where are we?" I manage to fumble out as Soren loops his hands around my waist, pressing me against him as he sits down, my eyes catching on the chandeliers swinging precariously on the ceiling, and the arching doors on either side of the grand expanse of the room, completely devoid of life. Then it clicks.
This is the throne room, except it's completely, utterly empty.
And the chair Soren is sitting on…
From my position on his lap, I dare to glance round, my breath freezing in my throat with an inkling of dread. Sure enough the chair that arches behind us is one of spikes and thorns, towering up towards the ceiling with the menacing semblance of the Scarlet Prince himself, each pillar of twisting horn-like structures spiked with blue fires, floating like ghosts in and out of existence.
"Soren, what-"
But the cold blooded vampire does not leave me room enough to finish.
"You thought that your power, that your worth is not satisfactory to me, hmm?" Soren prompts slyly, almost accusingly, drawing me further into his lap, causing my face to run red with embarrassment despite the fact there is no one around to see us. Yet the act in such a public vicinity feels positively scandalous.
"S-Soren what if someone comes in," I stammer as he reaches his head down to press his lips numbly against my neck, letting out a low satisfied growl- almost as if someone coming in and seeing me on his lap would be the optimal outcome for this situation; I think in that moment he would very much like to show me off like a trophy to his people, a priceless artefact or gemstone that he is all too keen to show to the world if only to have them staring in awe and to marvel at its beauty. Therefore in the notion of this, obviously, he ignores me.
"Listen to me Serena," he instructs, teeth skimming across my pale skin in warning as he slides his mouth further up my neck, trailing wet kisses in its wake, until laying to rest beside my ear. I shiver.
"Don't you dare even think for one second you are not good enough," he growls, breath tickling the shell of my ear, a voice not laced with anger, but instead, a pleading anguish. My heart cracks a little.
"Do you know how many women have striven for centuries to sit where you sit? To take their place by me as not only my mate, but my equal? I would take you as my Queen and have you sit by me for the rest of my life, if you were to let it so, regardless of what my people say." My eyes grow large.
"Should I take that as an official proposal?" I whisper, quietly now, my voice long since faded from the pleasure running through my body. I can practically feel the smirk radiating off Soren, so much that I don't even have to look round to see it.
"Perhaps you should, yes, considering what I am tempted to do to you, little dove...."
"Indeed, you would be dead if this had been a real fight," Soren affirms slyly, slipping into my mind with a characteristically naughty grin as he loops his arms around me, drawing me into him, pulling my back hard against his body."Or better yet," he adds, pressing his lips firmly against my neck, allowing his tongue to run over the sensitive skin just lightly enough to send a shudder trembling thorough me. "Bitten." I stifle a groan."Yeah, I bet you would like that," I retort, wiggling my way out my grip to retrieve my sword which has since been slung across the ground in the chaos and laid to rest in the arms of a blackberry thicket. I sheath it with a overly dramatic huff, shooting him a sideways look. Soren chuckles darkly, eyeing the sword as his voice sinks to its characteristic low, erotic caress that I have become so attuned to hearing."I would like it only it I were the one doing the biting"I roll my eyes. Of course he would say that. Smugly, I lean around, bringing my face opposite to his, eyebrows raised in silent questioning against the darkness of the night."And if another vampire bit me? And I became addicted to his bite? What then?" I press jokingly, my hands lingering on his waist, while I bring another up to play absently with his dark, mussy hair. In a split second, a void of darkness rolls off Soren in waves of pure hatred, tainting the already dark surroundings with an aura of malice and a repulsed disdain.With the reply that utters from his lips, I have no doubt that any remaining creatures left trembling in the western wing of the forest- scorched by flame and shadow- would have fled in this very instant.He presses his lips close to my ear."Then I would kill them," Another shudder runs through me as I stare up, searching his eyes that now smoulder with the flames of a gritty anger, burning with a bloody red that almost seems to glow with their own luminescence against the pitch black of the night. But beneath it all, under that smooth mask of his face that buries his emotions into concealment, within the slight twitch of his lip and the strain of his jaw clenched tightly in resent, there is hurt.The Scarlet Prince, for all his emotionless glory, is not immune to the emotions he pretends he does not have."Hey," I say gently, cupping my palm against his cheek softy, smoothing my thumb over his skin the way Ithuriel always used to when I was too upset with the orders of the council to come out of my room- a frequent occurrence in my times as a little girl who desired, hungered, to be free from the chains of her throne. But that was a long time ago now.Soren stiffens slightly at my touch, eyeing me with suspicion and- I realise with a heavy drop of my heart- mistrust."I'm not going to let them bite me, if that's what you are worried about," I assure him, offering up a brave smile in spite of the fact my words do not ring so true even to myself. A vampire, in all their strength and rapturous lust for life and blood could, on any whim that they are inclined by, bite me and have me dead in an instant. It's a miracle Soren hasn't done so already.But then, I remind myself, teetering on my toes to press my lips against Soren's tentatively to soothe his worried mind, with the bond between us, I have my doubts he will be able to bring himself to do anything bad at all. Soren holds the kiss a little longer, the urgency within his kiss obvious, consuming, as his lips strive against mine, tongue flicking out to run along my lower lip, tasting, pleasuring, as he groans against me. His hands run down my back, tracing the delicate curve of my spine that becomes more pronounced the further my body arches into him, driven by the wanton need to feel his icy skin against mine and the tender flight of his hands over my body. A little quiver runs through me, alighting that familiar spark in my body that slowly grows into an unquenchable fire burning in my heart.Slowly, he pulls away, breaking the seal of his lips as his eyes search mine. I give him a small pout."Perhaps you may believe they will not bite you," he says, prodding a finger lightly in my chest, the air of disdain quickly washed away in the simple kiss we shared. "You may believe that you are strong enough to fend them off, but as it stands you can hardly defend yourself from me with your powers, and my intent was never to kill you. Trained may you be, up against a horde of lustful vampires you will do as well as a new born lamb among a pack of wolves. Your skills with a sword are good, but you must never rely on it. You must grow your powers, little dove. Allow them to stretch further than you have ever been taught, past the limitable bounds of mortal imagination." I sigh. Of course, his words, as ever, are as truthful as they come- if a little painful, but the stinging in my chest is the least of my worries."I know," I relent at last, reaching over to place my hand in his, my fingers curling round his own. "I know."Perhaps even after all this time I am still not good enough for anyone. Still not the power people hoped I would be.Suddenly, Soren narrows his eyes at me, the molten red simmering to a deep, smouldering amber, almost liquid pouring in his eyes, swimming with an insurmountable pain and- somehow- sympathy.In a split second we are shadow shifted back to the castle, and I welcome the brightness as I squint my eyes to adjust to my glaring surrounding from the impenetrable void of the night."Where are we?" I manage to fumble out as Soren loops his hands around my waist, pressing me against him as he sits down, my eyes catching on the chandeliers swinging precariously on the ceiling, and the arching doors on either side of the grand expanse of the room, completely devoid of life. Then it clicks.This is the throne room, except it's completely, utterly empty.And the chair Soren is sitting onFrom my position on his lap, I dare to glance round, my breath freezing in my throat with an inkling of dread. Sure enough the chair that arches behind us is one of spikes and thorns, towering up towards the ceiling with the menacing semblance of the Scarlet Prince himself, each pillar of twisting horn-like structures spiked with blue fires, floating like ghosts in and out of existence."Soren, what-"But the cold blooded vampire does not leave me room enough to finish. "You thought that your power, that your worth is not satisfactory to me, hmm?" Soren prompts slyly, almost accusingly, drawing me further into his lap, causing my face to run red with embarrassment despite the fact there is no one around to see us. Yet the act in such a public vicinity feels positively scandalous."S-Soren what if someone comes in," I stammer as he reaches his head down to press his lips numbly against my neck, letting out a low satisfied growl- almost as if someone coming in and seeing me on his lap would be the optimal outcome for this situation; I think in that moment he would very much like to show me off like a trophy to his people, a priceless artefact or gemstone that he is all too keen to show to the world if only to have them staring in awe and to marvel at its beauty. Therefore in the notion of this, obviously, he ignores me."Listen to me Serena," he instructs, teeth skimming across my pale skin in warning as he slides his mouth further up my neck, trailing wet kisses in its wake, until laying to rest beside my ear. I shiver."Don't you dare even think for one second you are not good enough," he growls, breath tickling the shell of my ear, a voice not laced with anger, but instead, a pleading anguish. My heart cracks a little."Do you know how many women have striven for centuries to sit where you sit? To take their place by me as not only my mate, but my equal? I would take you as my Queen and have you sit by me for the rest of my life, if you were to let it so, regardless of what my people say." My eyes grow large."Should I take that as an official proposal?" I whisper, quietly now, my voice long since faded from the pleasure running through my body. I can practically feel the smirk radiating off Soren, so much that I don't even have to look round to see it."Perhaps you should, yes, considering what I am tempted to do to you, little dove...."
