He opened his hooded eyes, and his lips parted. She adjusted herself and kissed him as she continued to circle her finger over him, and he whimpered into her mouth.
He slowly pulled away from her and tenderly kissed her forehead. “As much as I want this, it’s late, and I need to stay alert for you.”
Cahir shifted off the bed and pulled his pants down his hips, changing into the clean underwear he brought with him. Seda’s gaze fixed on his narrow waist and muscular backside. She grinned. It was so firm.
He climbed back into bed with her, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
They lay in bed, holding each other tightly, their souls intertwined like tree roots beneath the earth. Seda pressed her nose to his chest and inhaled his cedar scent as his fingers gently stroked her hair. The comforting touch of his hand made her eyelids feel heavy.
She fought sleep, worried that Kalon might come back into herdreams, but she felt safe surrounded by Cahir’s protection. If he chose to join her dreams, Cahir would wake her up.
“Sleep. I’m here. I’llalwaysprotect you. You’re fucking mine, Sed. He can’t get to you,” he said to her.
Seda closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest, listening once more to his rapid heartbeat, the pounding drowning out all other sounds. She gradually fell asleep to his steady rhythm in her ears, finally feeling safe once again.
Darkness surroundedSeda as the wind tore through her hair. She could see the glimmer of stars above her, twinkling like heartbeats through the sky.
She could hear the sounds of people screaming and birds cawing in the distance, and pushed muscles she didn’t recognize further toward the chaos.
Then, people were running around her as fires enveloped homes, as Jotnar tore through the village, snagging people with wild fervor and eating them whole.
She felt the burning sensation of rage radiate from her chest, and pain tore through her soul.
The world was cruel and unbalanced.
She glanced back, seeing Somnium a few steps behind, clad in his armor and skull mask. He was taking down the Jotnar two at a time, tormenting their minds with nightmares and making their bodies writhe on the dirt roads. Blood seeped out of their noses, and then their bodies lay frozen on the ground, death claiming them into the pits of hell.
He looked over at her, at her chest pulsating violently and her hair alight.
She heard him scream and saw him run toward her, tearing off his mask, and revealing wild eyes with fear etched into his features.
A bright purple light exploded around her… and then the scene shifted.
She was in the damp cell in the Camp, fighting against Alexi as he pressed her into the mattress. She felt anger surge through her body, and she shoved him away from her.
Alexi’s body flew across the cell, jolting with violent electrical shocks.
“Next time, don’t toast for so long, please.”
Chapter 21
The Monster King
The Monster King’s nostrils were assaulted by the acidic smell of urine within Mordred’s cell as he stood before the bars.
The stupid, betraying fool had given up no further information after this last session, where he had lost his fourth finger. Each time they did this, they drew out the pain, sawing through each finger more slowly.
Nevertheless, the bastard refused to provide anything of use.
“There’s no point in doing this,” Jason said from beside him. “He isn’t speaking. He likely doesn’t know anything else.”
The Monster King slowly moved his gaze from Mordred to look at Jason. So far, Jason had followed every request of his without hesitation, but he was starting to wonder: every time they tortured Mordred, he tried to stop him from pushing further.
He narrowed his eyes at Jason, whose constantly neutral face showed no indication of caring. Did this man not care aboutanything? Or was he that good? Was he working alongside Mordred somehow?
“Besides, your informant is about to arrive here soon. We should get out of this disgusting cell. I’m tired of the smell,” Jason said, his face still neutral in appearance.
He had a point. The informant was about to arrive any minute. He had received a letter indicating that the informant had been following Seda and her ‘friends’ and had an update to share. This informant was the only reason he knew about Seda in the first place.
