Page 10 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

“I’ll go first, then. That’s how the game works. I agree, so I’ll ask first,” she says, surrendering to her emotions.

I incline my head and smirk.

“Why don’t you like my husband?” she says.

“Besides the fact that he tore us from our home when I was two, there’s also the bonus of him⁠—”

“Okay,” Mother says, interrupting me before I can finish my lengthy list of reasons, “it’s your turn.”

“Why didn’t you stop him that day?” I raise my brow and grimace. “Since we’re on this topic, we may as well dig a little deeper instead of picking at the flesh like crows on a carcass.”

“You’re cruel,” she says.

My smirk falters, and I reply, “I never claimed I wasn’t. I’m merely adapting to my surroundings—as you said.”

Mother turns away and snaps, “The game is over. Leave.”

Once again, I’m disappointed with the outcome as I realise the game ended earlier than I had hoped.

I leave her be, heading out of the castle and towards the sea of worthless elemny, yearning for the itch I’ve felt since entering the throne room. I hoped seeing Mother would prevent the frustration, but it seems to have worsened as I seek someone to sink my claws into.

Chapter 5

Pandora Hart

My focus idles on Xavier as he enters my apartment. Given today’s events, I assumed he would want to go home for space. Little did I know, he wanted to come here in the hopes I could somehow distract him from Jessica and Andrew’s deaths.

Everyone has a different way of coping with trauma and death. When the Kingdom of Crystal fell, I watched countless ice elemny die, and when I was⁠—

A shudder of pain slices through my heart and down the length of my waist. Whatever.

As Xavier sits on my bed, I pull the suitcase from beside the dresser and pack clothes suitable for the smoke-filled air when we go to the Kingdom of Flesh.

T-shirts, sneakers, sunscreen, and masks to filter out toxic air. As I pack my things, Xavier lends a hand but remains silent. “Is that all?” Xavier asks as I press my hands against the suitcase flap and push down to fit everything in.

My focus darts to the bed and back.

It’s not everything. I wouldn’t mind taking the dagger or the gun from under my bed, but I restrain myself from bringing them. Unlike the other kingdoms, the Kingdom of Flesh takes extra precautions at the Ebon Hall entrance. It wouldn’t look good if they searched my luggage and found illegal weapons stashed between my clothes.

I’ll find a suitable weapon on the way there…or something.

Xavier takes my hand as he rises. My throat tightens, and my body turns rigid as his mouth finds mine. With tongue and teeth, he devours the hitched, panicked breaths of someone unprepared for this level of intimacy. Usually, I can retreat into my mental headspace and match his rhythm, but this feels different.

I place my hands on his chest when his fingers dig into my waist, daringly close to the⁠—

“What’s gotten into you?” I say.

He pinches the button on his jeans, unbuckling himself, but his eyes remain fixed on mine. “I need this.”

I step away and glance at the pillow hiding the dagger. “I thought we were waiting for you to awaken.”

“I can’t, Pandora. Not after what I witnessed today. I need a sense of release. Besides, it would not be romantic anyway. It’s just sex.”

Yes, it is just sex. Even so, his behaviour makes me take another step away for a sense of escape. My fingernails dig into my arms, despising this situation, yet I suppress the urge to kill him. While I enjoy picturing the dagger in his throat, he’s my only way into the Kingdom of Flesh without raising suspicion.

“I’m not ready,” I say, hoping the quiver in my voice will cause him to snap out of this diluted funk of thinking he can fuck me whenever he likes.

“When will you be ready?” He grabs my arm, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to strike my palm upward and break his nose.