“Though we will nevertrulyleave you,” Raka added with an impish smile.
“We are all with you, always,” Aarush and Raka spoke as one, and all those we just walked past seemed to echo it, making the words rattle deep into my soul.
With that, they stepped back, and Calix and l clasped our hands tightly together and stepped through the portal. Coming out the other side, we were before what appeared to be a crumbling castle. Maybe Arawn once took up residence here?
Or maybe it was another spot to play their torture games.
I shuddered at the thought. The castle was certainly creepy, made of old rocks that had deteriorated and crumbled. Chunks of the building were missing, leaving the interior exposed. Some walls were covered in what I would have assumed was moss or ivy if we were in our realm, but this was red as blood. It crawled up the walls and hung from others.
“Please tell me we don’t have to actually go in there,” I groaned, turning my head to aim a pout at Calix.
His eyes zeroed in on my lips as he chuckled hoarsely. “Something tells me that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do, my réalta.”
He leaned in to nip my lip, making me squeal as I wound my arms around his neck, trapping him against me. His laugh rumbled through my entire body, making me smile against his lips. His tongue came out and traced over one of my sharp canines. I shivered with pleasure despite knowing this was not the time or place for it.
I couldn’t bring myself to stop him. Instead, I let him play until my canines lengthened into full fangs. I took the opportunity to dive into his neck, raking them gently across the fragile skin there. I didn’t even break it, despite my heady desire to sink my fangs into him.
I moaned against him, and his hands clutched at my hips tightly until I felt the press of his claws. I pulled back to look at him, the Aurora dancing in his eyes and the sharp fangs that had extended, telling me all I needed to know.
Our mouths crashed together, and I tried my best to climb him like a tree until my legs were wrapped around him, just as my arms were.
“That Nox-damned sexy pout,” Calix growled, leaning in to press his fangs against my neck. Teasing me as he played with the skin but refused to pierce it. “Do you have any idea the things you do to me?”
I whimpered, pressing my body more firmly against his and grinding my hips down, hoping to feel that huge cock I knew was just waiting for me.
Calix groaned, panting as he suddenly forced himself back, unwinding my limbs from around him and setting me down. “We can’t. We have to continue on.”
“Calix…” I whined, trying to pull him back.
“Bad girl.” He smirked, slapping my ass and merely succeeding in making me want to throw myself back at him. “We’ll continue this later, trust me,” he growled.
I sighed loudly, cracking my neck back and forth as I glared at him. Or pouted, based on the way he watched my lips again, licking his own.
He shook himself, placing one of his large hands on my lower back and leading me toward the crumbling castle.
“I’ll make it up to you, my réalta,” he assured me, smirk still firmly in place as he walked us toward the entrance.
It was mostly intact, only a few stones missing from the doorway. The floor was black wood, like the Darkelm trees, but was cracked and rotting throughout. More of that red mossy ivy was spread across it—Wait,that wasn’t ivy.
I walked closer, my head tilted to the side as I kneeled down, running a hand across the wood.Blood. Old and dried, but blood all the same. And a lot of it. I swallowed hard as I stood up, winding my arm around Calix’s to reassure myself.
It was hard to remember I had the power now to fight back. The little girl who grew up powerless was hard to forget.
We continued walking through the castle. It was by far the creepiest place I had ever been. The blood splatters continued, covering every place I looked. Like they’d decorated the castle with blood. It was smeared over old, ripped-up paintings. Puddled under an ancient blue velvet sofa that was falling apart, with the velvet pile worn away from the march of time, stuffing popping out of the seat where it seemed like a pair of claws had ripped through it, and the entire sofa tilted to one side thanks to the missing legs on one side.
A dusty coat hung off a rack, missing most of its sleeves now. It must have been grand and elaborate, once upon a time. Jewels dotted the collar, and burgundy damask silk panels were interwoven with black velvet. Yet now, it was faded and abandoned. Just like the rest of this castle.
What was this place? And what did the gods want us to learn here?
We came to a doorway leading into what must have been the ballroom, and we both paused. Just like the rest of this place, I could tell the room had to have been beautiful in its day. But now…
“It looks like a battle took place here,” Calix murmured, holding me tightly as we looked around with wide eyes at the blood-drenched room. If I thought the rest of the castle had been bad, it wasnothingcompared to the red-streaked ballroom.
Several tables were overturned, and the chairs that once surrounded them were now broken and cracked, their pieces strewn across the floor. Pink tablecloths draped over the tables that had managed to stay upright.
As I stepped around an overturned table, I caught sight of a small piece of cloth that had been protected from discoloration. I realized then that the tablecloths hadn’t been pink at all, but bright white. I winced, imagining how much blood must have spilled on them to turn them completely pink.
The long, velvet and silk drapes on the giant windows now hung in ragged clumps, and broken china littered the ground, crunching loudly with each step through the room. It truly did look like some kind of battle had broken out here. I couldn’t imagine what had happened here.
