Immortal sacrifice, p.20
Immortal Sacrifice, page 20
“I know exactly how that feels,” Francesca said. “He was the same with me. I don’t think Cassian is capable of loving another in that way. I don’t think he knows how. His father had over fifty wives. He treated them all poorly. Had some of them killed, even. They were nothing more than brood mares to breed power into his blood line. When I first learned of my betrothal to Cassian, I was petrified. I thought he would be like his father, and he is, in some ways. Luckily for me, he was more honorable towards women, but he still had no idea how to show affection.”
Am I that obvious? Zamara grabbed the scarf off her face and leveled her gaze on Francesca. She tilted her head and studied her, as if seeing her for the first time. “I am sorry, Francesca. I never knew he had a wife. If I did, things may have been different.”
“It was an extremely long time ago.” Francesca waved her hand and sniffed. “No use worrying about what might have been.”
“Seriously?” Giselle barked a laugh. “The dragon is who you have been pining over all these years? You are so weird.” She shrugged. “To each their own, I guess. So, what you are saying is Sideon is fair game? –because I plan to spend many, many hours getting reacquainted with him tonight.”
“Even if I told you no,” Zamara bared her teeth, “since when have you ever cared about playing fair? You were never concerned about stealing our men before. What has changed, Giselle? Have you somehow miraculously grown a conscience?”
Her jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you still hold that against me. It’s not my fault you were such a prude.”
“No,” Zamara growled, “but it was your fault for being a vindictive whore.”
She smirked. “Technically, if you pursued Sideon, you would be stealing him from me. Along with thousands of other girls. I hate to break it to you, but he is way out of your league in that department. He isn’t the type to cuddle and whisper sweet nothings into your ear. You could never satisfy his appetite. He would probably find your inexperience laughable. As for Rose, there wasn’t a guy–or girl–for that matter, in Mystic Lake that she didn’t sleep with. It was kind of hard not to cross paths with her. She was a bigger whore than I was. Probably still is.” She curled her lip in a sneer. “I bet she is sharing a bed with her captor as we speak. I wouldn’t worry about her too much.”
Fury gripped her by the throat.
That’s it. Zamara lunged at Giselle and grabbed the front of her shirt, hauling her from the bench and tossing her to the other side of the carriage. She punched Giselle in the nose. Once. Twice. Pain shot through her hand.
Giselle shrieked.
Zamara’s cheeks burned as Giselle raked her claws down the side of her face. Zamara’s vision tinted red.
She gripped Giselle by the throat and slammed her into the other bench.
Giselle landed a knee in Zamara’s stomach.
Zamara gasped for air but held on tight, refusing to release the hags throat.
Giselle broke free and they continued grappling inside the wagon.
Francesca screamed at them to stop while trying to scramble out of the way.
Zamara smashed Giselle against the door and the two toppled from the carriage.
Dirt flew as the pair shrieked and rolled around on the shore.
Zamara got the upper hand and cocked her fist back to deliver a satisfying blow when someone yanked her off by the back of her jacket.
Desmond hauled Giselle to her feet.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Sideon snapped in Zamara’s ear. “We need her. Control yourself, for once.” He tossed her to the side and went to check on Giselle.
Giselle threw herself into his arms and started fake crying. “I have no idea what happened! One minute we were talking and then out of nowhere she just attacked me.” She buried her head in his chest.
“You lying witch!” Zamara balled her fists and started towards her.
“Enough!” Sideon held his arm out.
His tone stopped her dead in her tracks. Surprise and hurt punched her in the gut. I can’t believe he is taking her side! She raised her chin and scowled.
“You need to find somewhere else to be.” He pointed. “Go to your cabin and pour yourself a drink or something. I don’t care what you do, but you need to go cool off. No good can come of this. I will find you later.”
Zamara was out of breath, shaking from her fury.
Is he dismissing us?
…For her?...
How dare he!
…show them what we can do…
Tears stung her eyes. She clenched her fists. Her body trembled as she tried to put a lid on the strange power welling up in her bones, begging to lash out at her enemies.
If we use the magik now, it will only solidify their beliefs that we are out of control.
She took a steadying breath. I need to go cool off.
Zamara didn’t want him to see how much his words hurt her. She whirled around and stomped in the direction of her ship.
As she was marching away, she heard Giselle carrying on, “C-can I stay with you tonight? I don’t feel safe with her. Did you know she hears voices? They tell her to do evil things. She tried to burn me alive when we were younger. That’s probably why she attacked me. She is c-crazy.”
“Of course, you can stay if it makes you feel safer. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Burned her alive? We saved her!
Zamara snarled as she approached her ship. Those two can have each other. I have more important matters that require my attention.
Zamara sat at a desk in the corner of her cabin, trying to concentrate on cooling the decoction in front of her. If she got the elements exactly right, maybe she could break their stupid bond. She sighed and massaged her aching neck. This was her third attempt, and she was running out of frogs. Wielding water and air were new and uncharted territory. If she didn’t figure it out soon…
Her mind strayed to Sideon and Giselle.
Soft sounds of stringed instruments and laughter floated through the port hole above her bed. She gnashed her teeth. It sounded like they were enjoying each other’s company.
Zamara wondered if Sideon showed Giselle as much attention as he did her. Probably. They already slept together, multiple times. He agreed to let her stay without a moment’s hesitation. Apparently, he would rather get laid than spend his night bantering with me. Can I blame him? I haven’t exactly been warm and inviting. Maybe Giselle is right. Maybe it’s my fault no one wants me.
She rubbed her chest where a sharp pang prodded at her heart. She felt like they were at the academy all over again.
Out of all the people in the world, what were the odds that the key to defeating the man she hated most in the entirety of the Five Realms, would be the cooperation of that bitch? Zamara hated her almost as much as she did Kain. The Fates were cruel.
She jumped up, slammed the window, and stomped back to her chair.
Why do I even care? It’s not like I have a claim on him.
… we do… we drank from him… he is ours…
Zamara bounced on the edge of her seat. A ceramic dish of elixir steamed in front of her. She swabbed it with tweezers and a cotton ball, rubbed the tincture onto the belly of a frog, then placed the amphibian in an empty jar.
She held her breath and studied it.
The frog shook. An acidic tang burned the inside of her nostrils. The animal’s skin bubbled and smoked. Zamara’s eyes widened. The frog let out a shrill scream. It shrieked for an entire minute before its eyeballs popped out and splashed down the sides of the glass. Then it went completely still.
She sighed. That is not at all what I was going for. Where in the hell is Nevrine when I need him? Zamara glared at the frog and picked the jar up, bringing it to her face. “You look like a fool.” She cocked her arm back and rifled the jar off the wall, shattering it.
Wild laughter bubbled up behind her. She sprang out of her chair and spun towards it.
“What the hell!” Zamara squinted, “Is there a reason you are just sitting on my bed like some stalker? Gods!” She rested a hand over her heart, “What do you want?”
“Apologies,” Sideon wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, “scaring you was not my intention.”
“I don’t believe that,” she snapped. “Otherwise, you would knock like a normal person.”
“I heard your window slam. I wanted to check on you.” He clutched at his stomach. “It’s just, your impulse control—or lack of—is hilarious.” He threw his head back and laughed again. “You really can’t help it, can you?”
“I’m fine,” Her face heated. “If insulting me is what you came here to do, you have reached your objective. Feel free to go back to partying with Giselle. As you can see,” she swept her arm to encompass the mutilated frog, “I have work to do.”
Sideon pushed off the bed and stalked across the cabin.
Zamara’s heart jumped into her throat as her fog of embarrassment washed away and she realized she wore nothing but a flimsy chiffon sleep slip, practically translucent. Her mouth went dry. She rested her hands on her waist to keep them from trembling.
He stood before her, gripped her hips, and yanked her to him. “I am not insulting you.”
The air was thick, infused with mint, salt-water, and bad decisions. She laid her palms flat on his chest and tilted her head to look into his eyes. A lazy grin played on his lips. He carried an energy with him that always threatened to overwhelm her.
Zamara wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. She knew that look, that obnoxious sparkle in his eyes. It was the look of a predator circling his prey. Only she was not prey, not even close, and he knew it. She was not some jaded lover begging for his attention.
She was his equal.
…and he is ours…
That thought rammed her in the gut like a wagon load of boulders. It was a challenge, one for dominance. It made her blood sing. The beast inside her purred. She had grown quite fond of these intense exchanges. However, she knew from experience, the next thing that flew out of his mouth would have her testing that very same control he mocked her for.
“You are cute when you are jealous.” Sideon winked and reached around her, snatching up the ceramic bowl on her desk. He smelled it and frowned.
“What?” Flames licked Zamara’s neck and scorched her cheeks. “I am not jealous—don’t touch that!” She seized the bowl and turned to place it on her desk. “Did you not see what it did to that frog?”
She stayed like that, with her back to him, palms flat on the desk, hunched over, trying to hide her red face and get her breathing under control. What is wrong with me?
Sideon snarled at her back. There was nothing human about it.
Before she realized what was happening, he wrapped her hair around his wrist like a leash. Pins and needles danced across her skull as he yanked her head back and sunk his teeth into her shoulder.
A familiar resonance of pleasure and pain escaped her lips. He cupped his hand over her mouth to muffle her cries and drew deeply.
Her knees buckled. Sideon released her hair and wrapped his arm around her midriff, heaving her body flush with his. He grinded himself against her and growled in her ear. “Do you feel what you do to me? You. No one else.”
Gods, they weren’t exaggerating about his size. She whimpered into his hand, prompting him to tighten his grip.
“You taste like sunshine and honey…” He slid his tongue up the length of her neck and nuzzled her ear, “… and you are mine, and there is not a wall that you, or anyone else, can build that will keep me out. There is not a potion you can brew that will change this, and I better not ever catch you trying to again. You are not the only one with a beast inside you. Mine is getting near impossible to control when you are around and honestly, I’m tired of trying.”
He nipped her earlobe. “So, unless you want me to shred your clothes to bits and ravage you on every surface in this cabin,” He dragged his palm down the front of her stomach–lower–her breath caught in her throat–lower– He cupped her sex, earning a soft mewl from her, she could feel the heat from his palm radiating through the silk. His breath scorched her ear, “...until you are begging me to stop… I would suggest not bending over like that in front of me again.”
He smacked her ass.
The beast was wide awake.
…Let’s do this…
She could feel the power well up inside her, there to obey her every whim, hers to command. It felt natural, like controlling an invisible limb, as she blasted him across the room.
He landed on her bed.
With little more than a thought she shredded his clothes to ribbons.
Zamara couldn’t stand the thought of there being anything between them. A carnal need took over. She couldn’t control it if she wanted to. She didn’t.
Her hips swayed as she prowled towards him, the silk of her sleep dress caressing her oversensitive skin. The heat of his gaze set a fire in her core.
He watched her with interest, eyes bluer than the sky.
She swallowed hard and allowed her gaze to roam the length of him, drinking him in. His smooth, tan skin rippled over sculpted muscles even the gods would be envious of.
And he is mine.
The mattress creaked under her hand. Her heart hammered with adrenaline as she crawled on top of him, straddling him. The chiffon of her slip, sliding up her thighs and pooling around her waist.
He gripped her hips, stomach muscles hardening as he sat up. The length and level of his arousal was brutal against the thin silk separating them.
Sideon gently tangled his hands in her hair and brought their lips together, tasting, teasing.
He tasted like shadows and saltwater. She could feel the heat of his calloused hands through the silken material, sliding down her back, pulling her closer. He growled into her mouth. “Ride me, my queen.”
Zamara obeyed, rocking her hips, riding the length of him through the silk, pressure building in her lower abdomen.
She sucked in a breath as he ripped her sleep dress away from her body, tossing it aside, and claimed her mouth with his own. His lips were firm, more demanding this time. She answered back in kind.
Sideon pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. She could feel his breath against her lips as he whispered, “How do you want it, love?”
“Hard.” Her body trembled with need as she grabbed fistfuls of his hair. “Make me yours. I want you to own me. I want you inside of me. Now.” She crushed their lips together.
“Now?” He pulled back with a grin and raised an eyebrow. “Right now?”’
“Yes!” She tossed her head back.
He licked and nipped and kissed the column of her neck while massaging her breast, rough hands scraping over the inflamed skin.
She was breathless. “Sideon, please! I cannot take this teasing another minute.”
He growled into her mouth before releasing her. He gripped her thighs with strong hands, spun her around, and pushed her forward. She caught herself with her hands as he yanked her legs back.
With one hand wrapped in her hair and the other gripping her hip, he pulled her head back to him, bearing her throat, and rumbled in her ear, “Is this what you want, my queen?”
“Yes!” She cried out as he entered her and paused.
She would go mad if he kept doing this.
“...and who do you belong to?” He pulled out and teased her with the tip of his erection.
She sucked in a breath. “Sid–”
“—I want to hear you say it, my queen.” He nipped her neck and crooned in her ear. “Say, I belong to you.”
“I belong to you.” She would have told him anything in that moment.
“I am yours.”
“I am yours.” She panted.
“Forever.”
“Forever.”
“Good girl.”
She whimpered as he shoved himself inside her and didn’t slow the movement, giving her full, hard thrusts. Her breasts bounced with each assault.
“Gods, Sideon.” she arched against him when he cupped her breast. Two fingers rubbed across the sweet spot and her eyes rolled back into her head. So close. The strength of what was building was staggering. Her body would be blown to ashes when this struck. If he stopped, she’d scream. Scream, and beg. And maybe kill… She came abruptly, crying out, every muscle drawn taut. It was almost too much. Almost.
“You’re mine, Zamara,” he said softly, pressing himself into her depths and grunting with his own release. “Mine alone, now, and forever. Mine, whether you want it or not.”
She pulled against his grip and sucked in a breath as he pressed even deeper. The aftershocks made her tremble.
“Always and forever, my queen,” he nipped her ear as he maneuvered them onto their sides and held her close. “You are mine and I am yours. I will always take care of you. And there isn’t a wall that anyone can build that will keep me away from you. Gods help any poor soul who tries. Remember that.”
Zamara smiled and closed her eyes.
My equal.
…sacred Ceterus…
Mine to love and protect.
…forever…
Energy hummed through her entire body. Zamara was enveloped in delicious warmth. Sideon’s arm was unceremoniously draped over her waist. One of his legs haphazardly covered her own, like he was afraid of her leaving while they slept. His gentle breath caressed the nape of her neck. Gooseflesh prickled along her shoulders. She shivered.
She hadn’t slept that well without tonic in years.
A cool breeze floated in from the porthole and kissed her bare skin. She inhaled the heady scent of mint and saltwater. Sideon’s heartbeat mingled with the thunder of waves beating against the hull of the ship. She couldn’t remember a time when things felt this right. This is where she belonged. Her body ached in all the right places. She smiled and stretched. A growl reverberated from behind as an iron arm locked around her midsection and pulled her back. “Don’t even think about leaving this bed.”
Zamara smiled into her pillow. She had no such thoughts. She could stay here in his arms forever. She arched her back and pressed herself against him. His grip tightened. She could feel him harden. Round two is definitely underway.
