Element [The Darkling]

Chapter Fourteen

"Uh oh." I whispered, and we both stared at each other in silence for a minute before we both laughed, breathlessly.

The knocking continued, and Aleksander finally got up, giving me another brief kiss before pulling on his trousers and loosely buttoning his shirt. He left the room, disappearing around the corner. I heard him opening the door, and I felt the need to be dressed in more than his sheets.

I reached for the first article of clothing that was discarded on the floor, which had been Aleksander's black kefta. It had been kicked around a bit. I shrugged it on my naked form.

It was so big on me, it was laughable. I was shorter than him, and his shoulders were wider. I felt dressed in a large nightgown.

"Wait here." I heard Aleksander say softly before I heard his spurs against the wooden floor, and he returned to me, pulling on his clothes properly, his boots already on his feet.

"Is something wrong?" I asked before he even turned the corner. His eyes landed on me, and he halted. He cursed in Old Ravkan under his breath, running a hand over his face, taking in the sight of me, naked, only his kefta draped over me.

He grabbed me by my hips, startling me slightly, and pulling me in for an intense kiss. His heart was racing, and his blood pressure was elevated, I could sense it.

"I hate to leave you looking like this. Stay like this until I return. Please." He begged, running his hands down my body, making me smile.

"Did something happen?" I asked, worried as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned our foreheads together, tucking a strand of my black hair back behind my ear.

"Nothing important, my love. I'll handle it. I'll leave my guards outside until I return. Stay in my bed, vixen. Just like that." He breathed, and I nodded.

"I'll be waiting." I whispered. He left the room, turning the corner. I had barely shifted my body to go back to bed before he came rushing back, pulling my body tight against him, taking my face in his hands and kissing me intensely.

He pulled away slightly, looking down on me with hooded black eyes before he gave me another quick kiss, and then turned to go for real this time.

I waited for less than a few minutes before I felt uncomfortable in just his kefta. I was cold, and not as confident without him there, looking at me like I was the only thing in the entire world.

I threw on some trousers and dug around his clothes until I found a discarded brown shirt. "He owns something that's not black." I said softly to myself, amused.

I heard a creak outside, and stopped moving, freezing in place. My heart pounded as I wondered who it could be. His guards wouldn't have come in, and I didn't hear his spurs. I closed my eyes, praying that they wouldn't find me in the back corner of his closet.

The footsteps came closer, and I knew I would be seen, so I balled up my fists and felt calm wash over me. I was ready to put up a fight.

When the person finally made themselves visible to me, I looked up at the tall man dressed as a palace guard, and hesitated for a split second, before I took in the cruel look in his eyes, and knew he was a threat. I lashed out, and chaos ensued from there.

I was so focused on my own survival, I was only registering our vicious, bloody fight in pieces. Broken fragments.

I remember him throwing me against the closet door frame, my head smashing into the wood, the dizziness that accompanied it. He tried to wrap his hands around my throat, but I smashed my arm down on his, knocking his hand away.

I remembered the way I burned his arm, and he screamed in pain, and the way he used his heartrender abilities to kill the other guard who came rushing in. The poor woman dropped dead in an instant.