Antony
She’s so fucking beautiful right now that I would cut off my arm if she commanded it.
When I first saw her, her physical appearance was that of any other lowborn.
Not right now.
At the moment that a stream of golden power coursed up her arm, pouring from the blade, her appearance transformed. Her eyes deepened from dull blue to alluring brown, her hair darkened to inky black, and her lips became crimson, parting with a gentle sigh, an alluring exhalation that called to me like the sweetest song.
Now, her back presses against the wall; her fear is a sharp contradiction to her captivating beauty. Fear I no longer want her to have.
The Dragonstone Blade has sunk into her skin, along with the ivory cloth it was wrapped in, both now appearing like ink along and around her right arm.
For a few dangerous heartbeats, I don’t care how that happened or that the blade can no longer be seized.
I don’t fucking care what magic is at play here.
Her whisper wraps around my mind. “You must earn what you desire.”
Her.Sheis what I desire. More than anything in the world.
And for that very reason, I can’t allow myself to trust her right now. Just as the stories told, her beauty at this moment is pure seduction. Her ability to change her appearance to appeal to my most basic desires is beyond cunning. Now I understand how the False Queen beguiled the Serulian King.NowI comprehend how a kingdom could be shattered and its people forced to pay an endlessly cruel price.
All of her lowborn fury and openness have vanished. Her vulnerability, along with the possibility of truth in her eyes, is gone.
Whatever spell this version of her is weaving, I have to hold on to my reason. More so because this cursed magic seems to be keeping my enemies at bay, but I sense it won’t hold for much longer.
My instincts roar at me that their power is about to explode.
Worse, my back is to them. I’m exposed. And if the rumors about each of their powers are true, then Stellen’s ice will shred the meat off my bones while Maxim’s fire burns me to ash.
Of course, if they attack, they’ll kill the Oracle, too.
She is, after all, flesh and blood like the rest of us.
Maybe they won’t take that chance, but I can’t risk it.
“WhatIdesire?” I can’t help but smile, fully conscious that it promises pain. “Why don’t we find out what that could be?”
I prepare for a sharp retort from her, but she simply closes her luminous eyes.
“To you,” she whispers. “I will submit.”
Fuck.
Her promise sends a shot of heat through my body, triggering an intense need I can’t possibly hope to quench.
Damnher.
With five short words, she threatens to slay me.
I can’t let this connection between us continue. This thread that spears from her heart to mine.
I need it to end.
Swiftly, I calculate my next moves, knowing every second will count.
With a sweep of my free hand, I snatch two iron-bladed daggers from the built-in harness at my chest, gripping both one-handed.
