The shadow demon walked on in silence through the dark stone corridors, past several sleeping prisoners, his ears straining for the princess. It didn’t take long before he was able to pick out quiet, muffled sobs amongst the snoring and snuffling around him.
The shadow demon hurried ahead, coming to a halt outside a dark, cold cell. The faint dripping of water echoed nearby. At first, even with Raxx’s keen night vision, the cell appeared empty. It was only upon closer inspection that he spotted Faye’s slender body curled into a tight ball beneath the shabby bedclothes.
Raxx slipped through the bars with ease and knelt down beside Faye’s bed. The faerie was shuddering, wracked with sobs and shivering from the cold.
He was not sure there was a sentiment that existed that could ease the faerie’s suffering right now. Unsure what to say, Raxx reached out to smooth a gloved hand over Faye’s shoulder.
The faerie jolted upright in her bed, her hair wild and dishevelled. Strands were glued to her face by a mixture of snot and tears. Faye took a second to recognise him, but when she did her face crumpled into fresh sobs and she threw her arms around his neck.
Raxx stiffened and leant his face away from hers, wary to avoid skin on skin contact. His arms hung limp and awkward at his sides and the princess buried her head into his shoulder and cried harder.
“Hey, come on now,” Raxx soothed. He leant his head away and tugged his fur snood up over the side of his face closest to Faye before cautiously placing an arm around her middle. Keeping his body as still as he could manage, he squeezed her tighter against him.
With little warning, Raxx’s majick flared to life. In a flurry, it seemed to launch itself from inside him, pressing the entirety of it’s being against every square inch that was in contact with the faerie. He felt like the one side of his body was on fire, but not like before. This wasn’t pain, it was intoxicating. His vision tunnelled, the cell shrinking in around him.
The shadow demon blinked, reeling and light-headed from the intensity. As he came back to his senses, he realised Faye had stopped crying and was still and tense in his arms.
“What’s happening?” she whispered.
“You can feel it too?” Raxx asked.
“I feel like I’m falling.” The faerie’s voice was husky and breathless. “What are you doing to me?”
“Nothing, I swear it.” Raxx attempted to pull away, but Faye tightened her hold on him.
“No, not yet,” she cried softly. “Just… Just a little longer, please?”
This was dangerous territory. Raxx had seen first-hand how unhappy his king had been with Lephas and his relationship with Lori. He could only imagine the blind fury if someone were to happen across Raxx in a clinch with the other princess, not even a few hours later... But she had asked so nicely, and damn if that didn’t get his heart pumping just a little harder.
They remained, still and silent, locked in their incredible embrace for a few moments. Faye loosened her grip, but instead of letting Raxx go, she lowered her arms from around his neck and hooked her arms beneath his to encircle his torso instead. She lowered her head to rest it against his chest and the shadow demon’s majick stirred, rushing from his neck down into the muscles in his chest as the faerie refocussed her attentions.
“This feels good,” Faye whispered. “Why does it feel so good?”
“I don’t know.”
Just as Raxx was beginning to relax, his muscles steadily softening into the embrace, Faye rubbed her hand down his back. Her palm traced his spine, and despite the layers of thick winter gear and gloves between them, his majick shimmered, tingling as if she had touched him skin to skin. He shivered.
“Does that feel good, too?” the princess asked, running her hand back up his body.
Raxx didn’t respond with words, just huffed appreciatively. At that moment, everything felt better than he could ever remember.
“What about…” Faye sighed and pulled away slightly. With his senses slowed, Raxx wasn’t aware of the princess moving until her gloved fingers brushed over the tip of a pointed ear, down to his jaw line. “This?”
Raxx jerked away as a violently intense shot of arousal sparked to life beneath the faerie’s touch.
“Don’t.” He warned breathlessly.
This was bad, he needed to get some distance between himself and the princess. Things were getting out of hand and, Hestaesia knew, he wasn’t going to be able to resist intense reactions like that for very long.
With a small amount of distance between them at last, Raxx wrangled his majick under control and pulled away from Faye’s embrace. Against his instincts, he pushed up onto his feet and walked to the other side of the cell. He and Faye stared at one another for a moment whilst they each caught their breath.
“Are you alright?”
“I am, for now at least.” Faye smiled coyly. “What are you doing here? Have you seen my sister?”
“Lori and Lephas are fine. They were both very concerned about you,” Raxx replied. “King Zelrus asked me to keep an eye on you whilst he decides what course of action to take.”
Faye’s expression turned suddenly solemn.
