The battle finally began to wane.
Faye pulled a sword free from the chest of a fallen King’s Guard knight and wiped the sweat from her brow.
At the far side of the courtyard, the princess spotted a knight grappling with a terrified horse as he attempted to mount it. Another injured soldier lay draped over the back.
The man had barely got himself into the saddle before the horse bolted from the courtyard, out into the streets of Banesteppe. Faye moved, planning to chase the coward down, but a large hand grabbed her shoulder.
“Leave them,” Zelrus said, his deep voice hoarse from shouting. “Let them return to your father in Awrelwood. His people need to know what happened here today.”
Faye dropped the sword from her hand and it clattered against the cobbles. “He’s no longer my father,” she replied solemnly.
Raxx appeared by her side and the princess released a heavy sigh of relief. His pale skin was splattered with blood and dirt, as she was sure her own was, and his eyes had finally returned to normal. Faye jumped at him regardless, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Uncaring that King Zelrus was standing no more than a few feet away, Faye pressed her cheek against Raxx’s, marvelling for the first time at the rough hint of stubble she found there. She wanted to scream, so full of happiness Faye thought she might burst.
The princess wasn’t willing to wait a minute longer for a more private moment. Faye grabbed the back of Raxx’s head and pulled him into a firm kiss, glad when the demon returned it wholeheartedly, with an appreciative grunt.
Zelrus cleared his throat. “I’m getting the feeling I need to be debriefed on what exactly has been going on whilst I was away.”
Raxx attempted to pull away from her, but frenzied by adrenaline, excitement and lust, Faye caught his mouth with hers once more.
“Alright Faye, will you let the poor demon speak,” Lori laughed awkwardly as she and Lephas joined the group.
Faye broke the kiss, just long enough to stare at her sister. “I’ll explain later. We have more important things to take care of.”
“I—wait a minute,” Lephas spluttered.
Raxx sighed. “Faye, I don’t think—”
Without asking his permission, Faye reached down and pressed her palm against his rib cage. In a flash, they were stumbling backwards, falling down onto Raxx’s soft bed.
“Fuck me,” the demon hissed, jumping up suddenly. He ripped his shirt off, buttons flying across the room, and raised an arm to look down at his tattoo.
The markings crackled, glowing like embers in a fire. Fine tendrils of smoke swirled up from the spell. Raxx used his hand to fan some air over it, attempting to cool the skin.
“Take it a bit easier next time, no need to throw that much power into a simple teleportation,” he laughed.
“Sorry, I’m still new at all this,” Faye replied sheepishly.
The shadow demon gazed at his side in wonderment for a few long moments, before his dark eyes fell back to Faye. The faerie sat up on her elbows and grinned at him.
“You realise I’m going to be in serious trouble for just disappearing like that?” Raxx asked, his eyes already darkening with desire.
“Do you care?” Faye asked, kicking off her boots.
One moment the shadow demon stood across the room, the next he was on top of her, pinning her into the bed.
“Ask me again later.”
Faye’s giggles turned to soft sighs as Raxx hungrily trailed his lips up her throat and over her jawline. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and captured his mouth with her own.
Between hurried kisses, they shed their clothing. As more and more skin was exposed and their hands wandered over one another, majick began crackling between them once more. It sparked with far less intensity than before, yet remained painful as tension built and then discharged in pulses.
Faye had never been so frantic, mindless and desperate in all her life. She lay bare, only clad in her undergarments, and wrapped her legs tightly around Raxx’s hips.
She snatched the demon’s lower lip between her teeth and he stilled momentarily. Her hands stroked down over Raxx’s bare abdomen and Faye barely suppressed a grin at the shiver she drew from him as she skirted her fingers over the distinct hardness growing between his legs.
Raxx pulled his lip free from her and pressed forward once more, stroking his tongue against hers. Faye moaned into the demon’s open mouth and her hands dropped from his body to the edge of her undergarments.
