Lucifer King

Battle Scars

"Even if they wanna make your light go out, We live, we die, the lifeless stars, shining in the dark" - Lifeless Stars, Palaye Royale

※ Eliana's POV ※

The sunlight entering the forest from in between the thick leaves, fell on my face making me groan tiredly in my sleep. I brought my hand to my face, rubbing my eyes as I shifted around. My joints cracked as I continued to stir, half asleep. 

I pressed down on the hard mattress with my palm, trying to raise my aching body. The mattress huffed and moved underneath me, my eyes opening almost immediately as I sobered up from my sleep, alarmed.

My eyes fell on my mate's naked chest as it moved up and down, matching his deep breaths. He stirred, his head moving slightly, taking in a deep breath.

"Stop moving so much" Lucifer's groggy and sleepy voice sent weird tingles down my spine as I placed my knees on the ground, getting off his lap. His head was placed on the roots of a tree, and his semi-naked body sprawled on the ground.

I felt horrible for letting him sleep on the ground, while I was sleeping peacefully and comfortably on top of him. I cringed at the sight of his weirdly twisted neck against the roots and looked away guiltily.

"Sorry" I mumbled sleepily as I rubbed my eyes again, flexing my entire body in the process. I shivered from the cold as the warmth from Lucifer's body disappeared and hugged myself, rubbing my arms to create friction.

"I said stop moving, not get off me" My core clenched at the sound of his raspy voice, before I felt his hand snaking around my waist and pulling me back on top of him. Warmth hugged me immediately as my naked body came in contact with his. Lucifer's hand went to caress my back and I hissed in pain, as my skin stung.

Lucifer quickly and stiffly rose from his lying position, as he quickly examined me from head to toe. His expression was a mix of sleeplessness, exhaustion, and alarmed concentration, with an adorable touch of messy hair. His eyes were focused as he scanned my body for injuries. He softly turned me around, my bare back now facing him.

"Oh, fuck..." He exhaled and I could almost picture him scrunching up his face. His hot fingers trailed lines in between the scratches.

"Is it that bad?" I chuckled, not really worried about the damage. Scenes from last night popped back into my mind and I blushed furiously, scratching the back of my head and pulling my disheveled hair over my left shoulder.

"No, not really. Just some scratches and bruises here and there. But curiously, there's a lot of dried blood all over your back. And dirt. And some leaves. And maybe a few claw marks..."he chuckled and I started giggling as he listed everything.

"That about sums it up" I laughed and shivered as he softly run his hand over my back, chips of dried blood falling all over his lap. Even though he didn't show it, I sensed his slight worry pulsating from his body into my own. "Don't worry, I'll survive. What kind of a phoenix will I be without a few battle scars?" I joked and shifted around on his lap, getting comfortable. His body stiffed as his hand moved upward, reaching the nape of my neck.

My mark itched and I felt needles throughout my body, realising that his mark was extremely close to mine. At any other point of our past, I would have moved away, showing my discomfort at what this action meant. But this time it was different. Somehow I knew that he wouldn't do it without my consent; this time I trusted him.

"Battle scars, huh?" He breathed out as he continued to trail lines and circles on the nape of my neck. His fingers went higher, grazing my mark, and I felt it heat up almost immediately. I shivered violently, my body trembling against his. "Would you like some more...battle scars? I think I can help you with that"He trailed off seductively and I felt something sharp against my mark. His claws run up the back of my head, and then they were dragged down my back, softly grazing the sensitive skin, going over the previous scratches.