Chapter 17 - Sparks
Marcus found me still sitting at the immense dining room table, staring at the full plate of food I hadn’t touched. Luckily, Simon was still not around, and Marcus gave me the time to gather myself before taking me back up to the room. Walking in slow comfortable silence instead of pushing me to hurry along.
When we arrived, he lifted the large bolt and pushed the door to the room open for me. I went to step inside, but he stopped me with a hand. I turned to look at him, and he placed a large warm hand on my shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. Marcus didn’t seem to be great with feelings, but I gave him a watery smile at the attempt to comfort me. He stepped aside so I could walk into the large bedroom, and he pulled the door closed behind me. As soon as the lock clicked back into place I sprinted to the bathroom and threw up the contents of my stomach into the toilet. Hugging the cool ceramic as
Chapter 18 - TemperDevin helped me stand to my feet, kicking some of the rubble out of our way, as he helped me walk on shaking legs back through the training doors. I lifted my foot to take the first step, but my leg gave out and I tumbled forward; closing my eyes in preparation to hit my face on the hard stone.Large warm hands wrapped around my waist, and lifted me into the air before I could land, and Devin lifted me into his arms; tucking his arms under my knees as he continued to walk up the stairs as if I weighed nothing. I could feel the heat gathering on my cheeks when I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was staring straight ahead, his blond hair hanging disheveled into his multi-colored eyes.“I-I can walk myself.” I stuttered out, but he ignored me and continued to carry me up the stairs, passing my room on the way down the hall. “Hey, that one’s mine.” I kicked my legs, weakly struggling
Chapter 19 – HeatI struggled against Devin, attempting to twist and pull my arms from his grasp but it was useless. He held firm with one hand wrapped around both my wrists pinning them above my head, and moved his right leg in between mine, pressed his hips down onto me. He dipped his head down, bringing his lips against my cheek, and causing sparks to scatter down my body.“Stop fighting, and calm down.” He whispered into my ear, his hair brushing against my neck as he used his free hand to reach into his pocket. He pulled the iron bracelet out, and reached up to my trapped wrists, locking it into place around my left arm with a loud snap. I winced as the cool and unforgiving metal grazed the thin skin, leaving its usual trail of burns as it slid down my arm. “Take a deep breath Aspen.” The prince mumbled into my cheek. I inhaled deeply, the smell pine and lavender filling my senses, and making me lightheaded.Even when I hated him
Chapter 20 – ReleaseLight filtered through dark curtains as I squinted through half asleep eyes. I couldn’t remember the last time I slept so well. I sighed as I attempted to snuggle myself deeper into the soft cushions, but was met with a tight resistance wrapped around my waist. My eyes fluttered fully open, and I looked down to see a thick muscled arm wrapped around me. My eyes widened, as the fog cleared from my head, and I recounted the events of the night before. I was in Devin’s’ bed. Not only was I in his bed, but he was wrapped around me, holding me tightly to his chest, and legs locked around mine. I shifted, attempting to pull myself out of his arms, but he groaned and pulled me tighter to him, something hard poking into my hip. I felt my face flush, as warmth again started to spread through my body.“Hold still, it’s still early.” He grunted at me, and I froze, heart beating fast as I felt him a
Chapter 21 - HistoryDevin woke me up in the late afternoon, when the sun was starting to sink into the bright rolling clouds. The sky was turning colors, bright pinks, reds, and purples all melting into the light blue painted a perfect end to the day. Devin needed to meet his father for dinner, and he was going to use the opportunity to ask for a little more freedom for me. The thought of finally being allowed out of the blank walls I had been staring at for weeks had me giddy, even if I had to be escorted everywhere. Devin walked me from his room to mine, and placed a soft kiss on my forehead before shutting the door and locking it behind him. The loud metal loudly grinding into place into the lock, as he left me alone. My body was still sore from the past day’s events, and as I lifted my arms to stretch, I caught a whiff of myself and wrinkled my nose.“Time for a much-needed shower.” I said to myself, and moved towards the small bath
Chapter 22 - Red *Prince Devin’s POV* Warm light shimmered across my body as it filtered through the dark curtains of my windows. I opened my eyes, slowly taking in the soft shadows that danced across the opposite wall. Swirling and changing colors as the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky. It was probably late in the afternoon, and I had uncharacteristically slept the entire day. I sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and looked at a clock that was ticking on the opposite wall. It was only quarter past six, so I still had a little less than an hour before I had to meet my father for dinner. I sighed, and swung my legs off the soft mattress, stretching my arms above my head before standing. I turned to pull the thick comforter back over the pillows, and a small lump caught my attention on the other side of the bed, black hair spilling out from under the blanket in long obsidian waves across the dark silk sheets. My eyes widened
Chapter 23 - Fear My heart was beating fast as Devin ripped me through the hallways, terror increasing my breathing as we took staircase after staircase down to the lower levels of the castle. He was looking straight ahead of us, the muscles of his biceps flexed tight in anger, as he held my arm in a steel grasp. I didn’t know what had changed in the hour we had been apart, and by the way he was acting, I was afraid to ask. This wasn’t the prince who had held me tightly through the morning; this was a different kind of monster. If it wasn’t for his telltale blue and brown mismatched eyes, I would think it was a completely different person who was dragging me around so carelessly. It was as if he regressed back to the prince I had originally met in the dungeons, a person full of distrust and hate, calling for my head without asking any questions first. I stumbled over my feet after a particularly quick movement around a corner, and almost fell to the gr
Chapter 24 - WhiteTime seemed to stand still as I stared back into the unblinking white eyes. My mind screamed for me to move, to get up and run as far away from this creature as possible, but my body stayed frozen in fear stuck to the cold and damp floor. If the creature could sense my alarm, it paid no mind to it, as he continued to analyze me through the darkness. It was close enough that I could feel its putrid breath fanning over me, and I could feel nausea starting to come in waves, although I didn’t know if it was from the fear or smell.“Sssilent, why are you sssilent?” The creature asked, making my eardrums scream at the sharpness of the sound. I watched as its eyes shifted to the side, as if it was tilting its head in confusion. The white eyes glowing in the darkness, just enough for me to see them, but not enough to get a good glimpse at its face. Although, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what it actually looked lik
Chapter 25 – Secret“Shut the fucking door, Marcus! Hurry!” The person who was pulling me away from the creatures screamed, and the sound of metal grinding on stone again rang through the room. My eyes snapped open to see the beasts charging at us; stumbling over each other trying to get close enough to sink their disgusting jaws into the closest flesh they could get to. They were running on all fours, arms bending out at a devastating angle every time their knuckles hit the hard stone floor. Their mouths were open wide, long streams of black colored drool dripping from their pointed teeth, and they were screaming; an ear-piercing sound that resonated around the cave, stuck somewhere between human and beast, and so wicked that it made my skin crawl and my heart stop. Their eyes were wide and wild, the milky color adding to the brutal look of them, as they charged forward towards the murderer of their brother. I reached out with the tendrils of