Chapter 19
The smell of blood and decay burned in Sofaria’s nose; slowly she lifted her heavy lids to look at where she was being held. Not that she could see anything anyway, her eyes were swollen shut.
Then again she didn’t have to see to know that she was locked in a dungeon.
Damn devil. She swore if she ever got free she was going to rip his throat out.
She could hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling on to the floor. She could hear the scurrying of rats moving in the dark looking for food.
She shivered from the cold dampness of the air. Her body was heavy and she could barely move her limbs.
“Hello beautiful…I see you are finally awake.”
Sofaria barely managed to lift her head in the direction that the dark voice was coming from. She couldn’t see him but she could feel the power that emitted from the figure that she knew was slowly stalking towards her now. It was a power she had felt before and could easily remember what the beast had looked like.
Fear snaked its way through her body. She wanted to run but the chains around her ankles and waist prevented her from going anywhere. Her body wouldn’t function the way she needed it to, she felt like jell-o but she managed to drag herself to the nearest corner, cowering in fear as he continued to move toward her.
She retreated as far into the cold and damp wall of the dungeon as she physically could.
“Shh.” She heard him say as a scream wedged itself in her throat.
When she felt the soft firmness of his hand rub across her face she shrank further into the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest as her body shook uncontrollably. But his hand continued to softly caress her bruised face. With her head turned to the side she could still feel the heat of his stare on her.
In her mind an image of him flashed, she remembered how black and red his eyes had been. They had promised death to anyone who met him. She had been terrified of him when he was contained but with him out of the confinement of his thalamus and his powers growing she was petrified of what he was going to do with her. She knew it would be worse than anything Aprophis would do to her.
“It’s a shame the way that disgusting creature treated you.” He turned her beaten face towards him. His breath was warm across her face and she started to tremble.
“You can’t see me…” He blew air into her face.
She flinched and tired to back away but his grip was solid on her face.
He blew more air into her face and suddenly she could feel the swelling of her eyes going down. She could lift her lids easier. He blew another stream of air into her face and she blinked a few times as he held on to her chin. Slowly her vision started to return to her, his dark face becoming clearer to her.
She closed her eyes when he blew on last stream of air slowly across her face. Slowly she lifted her lids and she could see him perfectly.
“That’s better…Your eyes are beautiful when they aren’t blood shot and swollen…even more beautiful when they are focused on me.” A sly smile spread across his dark and handsome face.
Focused on him was an understatement. She was openly gaping at him. She was still terrified to her core but with his face directly in front of hers making her look at him she was momentarily speechless.
His grip on her jaw left as she continued to gape at him.
His pupils were black while the irises of his eyes were blood red. They stared directly into her burning a hole in her soul. He had dark features and a square jaw that made him devilishly handsome. His hair was short and curled. The color the same velvet red as his fur had been with black ends, at odds with his browned skin but taking nothing away from him.
He was dressed in all black, his broad shoulders obscuring her view.
“Such beauty as yours should be treated delicately. Not mated to some obscene creature.” His voice was surprisingly soft and his hand had the softest touch. She found herself turning her head into his callused palm to nuzzle his hand
“You shouldn’t be chained like some wild animal.” With that she felt the shackles on her ankles fall free and the chain around her waist drop to the floor. He placed his hands on her knees and healed all her aching pains.
She starched out her legs in front of her. She could feel her limbs and they weren’t heavy and hurting but their normal weight. She looked back up at him.
“Come with me.” He had risen from his knelling position and towered over her. “Come with me Sofaria.” His tone was commanding.
Go with him…Every part of her sprit told her to stay where she was, for her not to move out of that spot no matter what he threatened to do to her…but her body wouldn’t listen, it was as if it was being coaxed by some unseen force. He held out his hand for her and slowly she raised hers to take it.
He pulled her to her feet. Her legs were a little weak and wobbly. She went to fall back down but she felt his firm grip around her arm, steadying her.
He stepped away. “Come with me and I shall grant you the power to avenge your lover.”
Her heart stopped at his words and she felt herself sway on her feet. Her wide eyes locked onto his cold and emotionless eyes, trying to read for any hint of deception but she found nothing.
“He has killed her…” He waved his hand in front of her eyes and conjured Kelly lifeless body lying in her living room floor.
Rage burned in her body.
“You can take your revenge. Just take my hand and you shall have the devil.”
No. Her inner voice screamed, but the image of Kelly lying lifeless on the floor played in her head. Anger and rage her motivation she placed her hand in his.
His hand engulfed hers as he pulled her into his tower of a body.
“Good choice.” He laughed darkly his eyes starting to throw off a red light.
Before she could realize her mistake he flashed them out of the dungeon…
The quietness of the Great Hall filled the space between them. Not one servant or maid around. Which was a good thing considering the nature of the conversation that was taking place…
“What are we going to do about Iraon?” Radien asked his father. His hands folded on top of the rounded table. “Do you think he will show tonight?”
That’s the last thing Radien wanted, especially with Melody being there. He didn’t want to take any chances of the beast getting his hands on his mate.
Bion leaned forward, elbows on the table as his head dropped into his hands. His hands slightly tugging at strands of his cotton white hair. He lifted his head his face covered with stress lines. “With a power helping him…he could very well be here tonight.”
“Still no leads on who it is?”
Sitting back up Bion fixed his stare intently on his son sitting across from, his face clearly showing his annoyance with the question. “Do you think if I knew which power it was I would be sitting here talking about it with you?”
A deep scowl spread across Radien’s face. His father’s patronizing tones made his own anger spark. “I don’t know father. Maybe you would.” Pissed off he pushed his large body from the table. His fist’s banging on the glass table, his eyes glowing brightly as he glared at his father. “Or better yet I know what you would do. You would send me to do it. You would send me to meet my death for a fight you knew I was nowhere near ready for…wouldn’t be the first time now would it?”
Bion had to reign in on his anger before he blasted his disrespectful son across the room or maybe through a wall or two. But that would solve nothing. “Sit. Down.” Bion growled between clenched teeth. He was growing impatient and seriously tired of his son’s bullshit. They didn’t have time for this.
“What’s the matter father? Did I bring up a memory that you had pushed out of your collection of vast memories.” Animosity and defiance bleed from every pore of Radien’s body. His palms placed firmly on the table he leaned in closer to his seething father “had it not been for you and your interference we wouldn’t be having this conversation… we wouldn’t be in this situation now.”
“Had it not been for me son…” Now it was Bion’s turn to haul is body out of the chair and into his son’s face. Their eyes were glowing with the intensity of their emotions. “You wouldn’t be standing let alone breathing right now.” He leaned in closer, the tips of their noses touching, his tone low and threatening. “Had it not been for me you wouldn’t have seen what that worthless goddess really felt for you…you would still be chasing her all over the Underworld with you tail tucked between your legs.”
Radien held his father’s heated gaze, his temper barely contained, his whole body was sparked with his rage. He wanted to kill his father, blast a light orb into his chest but he knew his overbearing father was right.
His father had saved his life in more ways than one that day, but that didn’t mean he was going to praise the man about it.
Letting out a long breath Radien straightened as did his father. They stood staring at each other for a long time, neither one saying a word.
It was Radien who broke the dense silence between them “You’re right. Had it not been for you I wouldn’t be alive and I wouldn’t have Melody…so for that father I thank you.” With a mock bow Radien vanished from the room.
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