Chapter Seven

Aliana’s POV

If the garden had felt like a dream, the castle was something--- darker!

But equally as beautiful…

Shadows clung to its halls as if they were alive, but they didn’t frighten me. They shimmered like black diamonds, curling around the obsidian columns and spilling across polished stone floors like velvet. High arched ceilings stretched into forever, constellations carved into the dark stone and glittering faintly, as though the stars themselves had been imprisoned inside.

It looked like a dream!

The walls weren’t lined with tapestries or paintings like the castles I’d seen in books. Instead, there were carvings etched into black marble. Stories of winged gods wielding swords, chained mortals kneeling or praying, monsters writhing beneath eternal fire.

Beautiful…

Terrifying!

A history I didn’t yet know, but felt deep in my bones...

My footsteps echoed faintly as Dikaios led me through the winding hallways, his stride long, yet his presence consuming. Even with a vast castle, it still felt as if he consumed all the space there was. I couldn’t stop staring, even when my body screamed that it was safer to keep my eyes on him...

Finally, he stopped at a door carved from midnight-like wood, its handle a raven’s wing wrought in silver. He pushed it open, gesturing at me to go inside.

My breath caught!

It was a room fit for a queen--- no, make that a goddess!

Black marble floors shimmered underfoot, veined with silver like cracks of lightning. Sheer curtains drifted lazily in an unfelt breeze, framing windows so tall they nearly touched the ceiling. Beyond them, the night sky stretched endlessly as the moon and stars glowed brighter than they had any right to be.

A bed dominated the room, vast and draped in silks the color of blood and shadow. Above hung a silver chandelier, burning with soft, ghostly flames. Their light danced across the walls to music that only the shadows could hear.

At the far end, a balcony opened into the strange night, wide enough to host an army – or one brooding god...

“The bath is through there,” the horned god gently gestured to another black, beautifully carved door. “Take whatever time you need. My servants will bring you fresh clothes and food once you’re done.”

I blinked at him, unsure if this was kindness or another part of the pact I still didn’t understand. But when I met his crimson eyes, I didn’t find any cruelty or inferior intentions. He looked at me as if he was gazing into my soul – and liked what he saw!

Plus, a shower sounded fucking amazing right about now…

“Thanks,” I said, trying for a smile, but all of the unknown weighed heavily on my mind. And worse yet, I didn’t want to sound or be ungrateful. The man had, after all, saved my life – no matter how unusual his methods...

If the bedroom had been fit for a queen, the bathroom was made for divinity itself! A vast pool of black marble stretched across the room, steam rising faintly, its surface glowing as if lit from beneath. Silver spouts poured crystal water, cascading into the pool with a sound like rainfall. Vines of obsidian crept along the walls, threaded with faintly glowing blossoms, casting soft, dappled light.

The Master must like his blacks very much, I thought to myself, but strangely didn’t feel suffocated or claustrophobic by the dark color theme. Instead, it felt as if I was moving in space, surrounded by stars and glowing planets…

Bending down, I let my fingers glide through the crystal water, surprised to find it perfectly tempered. It also smelled like some expensive oils, meaning I didn’t need shampoo or conditioner. And like most girls, I couldn’t wait to sink my aching body into the pool.

I stood and just as I was about to take off my dress, I caught my own reflection in a mirror that seemed to sprout from the wall itself.

I looked god awful!

My dress was torn, and mud was smeared all over the once yellow garment. My usual pale skin was darkened by the earth I’d been pressed into and---

Hands!

Roaming my flesh and touching my thigh.

Moving closer and---

My fingers trembled as I peeled off my torn clothes, and despite the shock to my skin, I dove into the pool. The water was warm silk against my skin, wrapping me in heat. Still, I couldn’t wash off the feeling of someone heavy on top of me.

Even if the wounds had all healed, my skin still remembered...

I ducked my head beneath the spray, letting it wash away the dirt, the blood, the stink of fear clinging to me. For a moment, I closed my eyes and just held my breath under the water, pretending I was back in my apartment.

Back when everything was normal…

Safe!

That already felt like a lifetime ago. So much had happened. Everything from suddenly being invited to my father's dinner to my unexpected marriage proposal. Then I’d been drugged and stolen away, only to escape and...

And somehow I’d ended up here!

Gazing up at the water surface, I wondered if there was anything I could have done differently. But what the hell would that be? Despite knowing that my father was a piece of shit, the little girl inside me who always yearned for his approval hoped that this dinner was his stubborn way of making amends.

Not plotting to sell me to the highest bidder!

I guess my only flaw was being too naive in regards to my sperm donor...

But between here and escaping my captors, I’d met someone. Someone who moved in the shadows and fed the souls of the wicked to his pets. A horned god who cared for his subjects, provided shelter for the pained and rejected. And gave me a pretty flower to make me feel at ease...

And his kiss...

Without thinking, my fingers found my mouth, where I swear I could still feel the lingering burn from where his lips had touched mine.

And the fire it had lit in me!

My body had never betrayed me like that before. Had never throbbed with a hunger I couldn’t name. Sure, I’d been horny before and I’d helped myself to an orgasm or two whenever the need for it arrived, but---

Never like that!

Never had my body responded like that to another man. Even now, my lips still tingled and my skin ached for another touch.

For him to hold me again…

Just thinking about him, and my body felt hot all over again. Heat spread through my veins, and a familiar pulse ached between my legs. Curious, I slipped my fingers between my legs, if only to convince myself it was all in my head. But instead I found my folds wet and slippery, and so sensitive I gasped for air---

While underwater!

Gasping and coughing, I broke the surface, gripping hold of the sleek black pool.

“Not my most brilliant moment,” I gasped, hoping to still my thundering heart. But no matter how much I tried to tell myself that my body’s reaction was all just because of the near-death experience, I couldn’t help but imagine what his hands would feel like touching more than just my lips...

Wait---!

What the hell was I just thinking?!

“No. No, no, no! You’re not going there, Aliana,” I scolded myself and pressed my palms flat against the marble, shaking my head. I wasn’t going to do this!

No way!

This was now about to be turned into some sort of dark romance erotica. And yes, maybe I’d read one too many of those – sue a virgin, why don’t you! – but I wasn’t about to have sex with a god!

If he was even that...

Hell, I didn’t even know what he was!

A god?

Or demon?

The mad hallucination from a terrified girl running for her life…?

Whatever it was, he was one hell of a kisser. Which again had me wondering if he would be as skilled in other places…

“And there goes my mind again, instantly jumping to sex,” I grumbled and pulled myself out of the tub. “You need a life, Aliana! Not a good railing.”

But I would soon find that the horned God of Justice wasn’t that easy to resist. Especially when he had the body of a---

Well... a Greek god!