Sapphire Flame - Yasmeen J.
Mature content towards the end of the chapter.
The Vreko Realm
She ran towards the side of the castle until she came to the familiar garden. She searched around the area but Kaena was nowhere to be seen.
She was sure she'd be there so she thought to herself for a second, but her hand began to glow by no will of her own and she looked down at it with a confused expression. She held it up and stretch her arm out.
Her body recognized the radiation of magic nearby. Her magic whipped out in front of her towards the spot she and Kaena once stood. At that moment she knew a portal rested there. Her violet waves stretched like fingers around the invisible doorway in front of her. She pulled it back and just like that the field of green revealed itself.
Kaena stood in the middle of it, the green, silver, violet, and blue beds of flowers in front of her.
Akantha stepped through the entrance with no hesitation and made her way to her.
"Dove... are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine... I wanted to ask you something before we... you know..."
"Of course."
"Can... people like us create memories? Like from scratch... false ones?"
"I'm sure it's possible for you. I've been restricted to little 'ole illusions and tricks. When it comes to the mind, I'm very limited."
She nodded slowly to her answer.
"I would suggest playing it out though. Memories are one of the strongest things our minds create. If one is faked through magic you'll see right through it."
The fields and blue sky around them changed in an instant. Gentle music flowed from what could only be the partnership between a harp and a flute. A majestic golden ballroom with two figures gliding across the floor as if one didn't exist.
Eccentric masks covered their faces and the skirt of the woman's black gown almost wrapped around the man's body, his gold suit matching the extravagance of their surroundings.
People began to appear and watched with the same awe as Kaena did. Akantha just stared fondly with a small smile.
"That time wasn't just my favorite era of fashion... but it was also the time that I met the other half of my soul. A time back when I couldn't see past the monster I was myself... but he did."
As she looked closer, it was clear that it was Akantha's face under the mask. Looking just the same as she stood beside her. Brandon was the man that held her, but he was different, his skin was rich olive and his eyes were a lively blue. His soft smile was stuck as he looked down into her eyes.
"Even as an illusion everything is as it was, magic can't overpower that, it can only help to see it in a way most others can't."
"I never did ask how you two met..."
She smiled to herself. "He and his father were loved socialites and he was soon to be a victorian prince because of that. I was... an outsider. It became quite complicated once he found out what I was, once they all found out. I was... a monster to them... and they weren't wrong. I love Brandon and I will in this life and the next, but honestly, sometimes I wish I could back to that time before we really knew each other. Back then to that moment of love at first sight. That was the happiest I'd ever been."
She made it all vanish and they were back in the bright garden.
Akantha placed a hand over her chest and swallowed trying to gather herself. She turned to her.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Kaena touched her arm subconsciously. "She didn't hurt me."
"What did she do?"
"Oddly... nothing."
"Do you know where she took you?"
She shook her head. "I just remember it being cold... I was in chains. It was some sort of cell but like... with nothing outside of it. It was like it was the only thing that existed. Like she made just for me, just for that time."
Akantha's eyes subtly went to the floor in a swift thought.
"Would you like to see Griffin now? It's alright if you don't want to." She placed a hand on her shoulder. "You could stay here until you're ready.
"No, it's alright. I should."
"Let's go then."
<><^><>
The doors to his room creaked open to reveal her in the middle of them. He sat at the edge of the bed with his head low and hair over his eyes. When he heard her first step inside and looked up and quickly stood.
She hesitated for a second. Almost... scared of him. Her eyes nearly watered at the very thought that she could ever have a reason to be scared when around him. She wanted to slap herself.
She closed the gap between them and couldn't help but grab his head and bring him down to her lips. He wrapped his arms around her tightly in return.
Akantha, left behind in the doorway, watched for a moment before closing the door behind her. That left them with only each other.
Griffin pulled back from her, running his hands over her face and arms.
"I was so worried about you... I thought my heart would burst. If she had hurt you-"
"I'm okay. What about you? Are you gonna be okay?" She touched the bandages under his shirt gently.
"That power... it did a number on me but I'll be fine. It'll heal just a lot slower than normal."
They stood there for a moment in silence.
"That thing... it was your friend. I knew I didn't trust her..."
"Renee didn't do anything... whatever it is, it's not her, it's using her."
"What happened? What did it say to you?"
"Nothing. She put me in a cell and just... left me there. I think she was just trying to scare me. To scare us. Did you find out anything about it? What it is or where it came from?"
"I don't know anything for sure but I know that she had a peculiar aura to her... a Daemon, a spirit born from the underworld."
'The dark lord...'
"So that place is real."
"It was once. The times of gods and their kingdoms are myths here too like in your world, although some of us claim to have seen them. Those times are just dead now. So I doubt she's anything like that. She may be the leader of the Defiant, that would explain at least why she's more powerful than them, they'll follow her."
"I killed the leader of the Defiant. And her powers? The aura?"
"She could've easily stolen or mimicked it. There is lost magic across the realms and witches are willing to give it away for anything. If it really had magic, especially from the underworld, she'd be a match for even you."
"So, what will you do?"
"I hate to wait around, I just want to kill them all and be done with it, but... we're blind. We don't know where they are and what their next move is... I feel so useless."
"They're just good at hiding, they're cowards. It's okay to feel stuck."
"Not as a king... Not when I have you to protect."
She grew quiet and nodded slowly.
"I need to ask you something."
He took her face into his hands and moved his head to gesture for her to go on. She rested her forehead on his.
"Have... have you lied to me? About anything else?"
"What do you mean? Of course not, Kaena. What did that thing tell you?"
"Nothing. I swear."
She kissed him again, him melting into her touch. Just that quickly he could forget everything and just have her.
He picked her up in a swift motion and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He turned to the bed and laid them both down. Both their shirts were off before either of them could blink. She moaned into his mouth as one of his hands snaked around her neck while the other started to tug at her pants.
He broke from her lips to travel down her neck. When he got to her chest she felt his teeth run along her skin to the fabric of her bra.
She grabbed his head to make him look up at her. "We shouldn't... you're still hurting."
"I'm not... Not while you're here," he whispered, starting to kiss her again, his next words muffled into her skin. "Not while inside you..."
She felt his teeth again, this time they grew sharp as he tore the bra off her. She jumped at his greediness, and the little nick he left between her breast. He tossed the piece of cloth to the side and then saw the little bubble of blood that started to muster from her skin.
It seemed he made so all that she could see was the sliver of his eyes as he flattened his tongue atop the tiny wound and lapped up the blood before sucking on it, drawing more out until there was none left.
"Sorry."
She threw her head back and bit her lip at the feeling of his warm mouth around the stinging cut and the sound of his nonchalant apology. She didn't know she liked that stuff.
He pulled away and sat up snatching her pants and underwear along with him. He paused to look at her. Slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, her arms instinctively went to her chest. He'd seen her naked before and this wasn't their first time but she hadn't been touched or looked at in so long before him, it still felt foreign.
Seemingly ignoring her movement, he went to undo his belt, and soon he was revealed to her. Again, it wasn't the first time, but it put her in awe every time he became so feral and shameless.
He grabbed her wrists and gently pulled them away and planted them beside her head.
"Don't do that."
He caught her lips again, and as their bodies came together he pushed inside her. A husky sound rumbled in his chest and a shudder raced down his spine. She let out a gasp then unsteady breaths mixed with quiet moans as he built a rhythm.
She gripped his shoulders and arms, thinking to herself the words of the entity, terrifying herself at the thought of what the stuff in her head would tell her. Could she trust him? It made her chest tighten that it wasn't the first time she'd asked herself that.
She closed her eyes, wanting to enjoy the moment, since it may be the last special one she'd have with him.
Published ~ 6/15/21
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