ARIA I didn’t know how long I sat in the garden. The evening sun had darkened, the night slowly fell over. I had stayed past the time I was allowed outside but I made to move to leave. I sat on the ground, picking at the grass now.I felt like my mind was no longer working.“You should go inside now,” a voice said from behind.My back stiffened, my head turned in the direction but I didn’t look up.The voice was familiar, deep, timber.It must’ve been him.No one else was here.Footsteps moved towards me.“Come on.”His voice rumbled in the dark.I didn’t answer.“Ocean eyes.”I closed my eyes shut.I waited for him to lose patience and have his way with me.“Aria Whitlock.”My eyes popped open.It was the first time I had heard my name being said in such a long time.My eyes slowly turned in his direction and I glanced up.I didn’t even know his name.“It’s getting dark. You should go inside.”He looked at the mansion—that castle—that looked haunted in the fading light of sun.“I li

ARIA Fight for yourself. One last time. Follow the beam of light… …and defeat the shadows. I averted my gaze, blinking the stupid tears that had started to fill my eyes. His words ring in me, his gaze is still on me, unravelling me, unsettling me. It’s easy to talk. What’s difficult, huh? Just use your tongue, blurt out a few words and there, you’ve done it. It’s difficult to do something. Fight. I scoffed internally. My life revolved around that word. The word was the sun and I was the Earth. It used to give me life, it was the only thing I had. Now? The sun was dying. Or maybe it had died. The coldness. The darkness. I kept struggling, kept trying for what? A thing that was already dead. “Aria.” His voice spoke of the despair his eyes were reflecting. I met his eyes for a second before I jumped on my feet, stepping away from him. His eyes were wounded, like face crumpled like a small puppy. “Angel, you said?” I murmured, my gaze trained on him, “You came to help m

ARIA The throbbing in my bladder woke me up from my sleep. With a silent groan, I pushed the sheets off me and shivered when the coldness of air. I looked over my shoulder, finding him asleep, his arm over my waist. I pushed it off, straightening before getting off the bed and moving to the bathroom. After relieving myself and washing my hands, I exited the bathroom when at the same moment a loud rumble filled the air. My head snapped up to the window, my lips parted as I realized that it was raining outside. Keeping my eyes on the rain falling, I moved towards the bed. Bending down on the foot of the bed, I picked up my black dress ad put it on, not bothering with the underwear. Entranced with the hard rain pouring, I walked to the window, and pushed the glass fully up. I pushed my hand out through the steel bars. My eyes fluttered close as the cool drops of rain slammed into my hand. It wasn’t just raining. It was a storm. I opened my eyes, looking down. It was raining cats an

FABIANOThe rain had slowed down, turned to drizzle but still, the clouds were rumbling and lightening was illuminating the sky when he rushed with an unconscious and bleeding Aria. He and his men had pulled her body out luckily but she was as close to death as one could be.He swore he could feel the Gods above there, partying and laughing down at her, celebrating their victory.But fuck Gods!Fuck them and fuck their plans!He wouldn’t let them take her away.She wasn’t theirs.She was his.She might have jumped from the cliff to escape him but that wouldn’t happen in this life.His wife.The mother of his children.His lioness.His Queen.Fucking his.And he’d fight the fucking Gods to keep her with him.They might be Gods, but he was the one who fucking ruled over Hell.***The doctor said Aria's condition was critical; he fucking knew that but his lioness hadn't opened her eyes in three days. He stared at her pale figure, silently questioning her. Why?But he knew why.Because

ARIA He didn’t move. One minute passed. Then two… Then three… Hesitantly, I threaded my fingers through his black locks, feeling their softness on my palm and enjoying it. It felt foreign. Fabiano never let me touch him except…on some certain occasions. But with him…this man I knew nothing about, with Damon Xanthos whatever-his-last-name-might-be everything felt new, light and…good. After a few moments, my moves were more confident. My strokes firmer as I ran my fingers through his head, tugging lightly. I felt so…normal. I didn’t know my lips had moved because it was him who informed me about that when he murmured without looking at me; “You have a beautiful smile, my goddess.” **** One night, Fabiano came into my room, covered in blood. His steel eyes were darkened with a maniac energy that made my skin pop with goosebumps. His body, his eyes, everything about him was screaming danger, different than his usual kind. He placed his hands on my face and I flinched when I