Crow of Flame

Chapter 33

"I want to hear you say it." His voice slithered in my ears, "tell me what I want to hear, Sapphire Crow." His hand moved to my breast and it felt like there were knives piercing my skin.

"I love you Poseidon..." I whispered, even as the words burned in my throat. Even as it felt like acid ran through every part of my being. "I love you, master." I wanted to scream that it was a lie. I wanted to tell him that I couldn't ever love him and that he should die. But I couldn't.

A hand moved beneath the waist band of my pants and I told him to stop. I begged him to stop, but he didn't and this time the flames didn't come. They didn't stop him, I didn't stop him. I couldn't. His hand pulsed harder. He was inside of me, and all I could do was scream. And I did. I screamed.

I woke with the scream burning out of my lungs. My room was on fire again. Orange flames crawled up the posts of my bed, the bookshelf was covered in flames too. There were so many of them... They guarded my doors and they caged me in. I curled up in my bed, with my knee's brought to my chest, and just watched them.

There was a knock on my door. "Sapphire, it's Hades. Can I come in? I smell smoke..." He didn't wait to enter, and he shut the door behind him. "Sapphire, I need you to calm down. What you dreamed, what caused this... it wasn't real."

It wasn't real, but it felt real. I had woken up like this for the last week. Early in the morning, barely sunrise, flames eating my room... and Hades coming through the door. He stood there and spoke to me just like he did now. He always stood at the door first.

"Can I come over?" He asked softly. He always asked if it was alright. I always nodded and he came to me, he crawled on the bed and curled me into his chest. And the flames would dissipate from everywhere but the bed. The flames would stay like a safety wall around my bed, around Hades and me.

I would sit curled up in his arms, I would lean into his chest and I would drift off into another fit full sleep until the sun shone through the glass doors to my yard and Lynx came in to help me get dressed with a smirk on his face.

I hadn't seen the forest people yet. I hadn't ventured to the north wing, though I would today. I wanted to see Blight and Sethly and the winged lady. I moved to the closet. Hades went back to his room and dressed. He hadn't exactly left me alone this past week, though I was grateful for it. I didn't think alone was how I should be.

There was only one good thing about my stay with Poseidon, only one thing he was right about. This style did suite me. Today I wore a royal blue tunic with puffy sleeves that gathered at my wrists. It had a deep plunging neckline that nearly reached the black corset belt that sat on my waist. I opted for a black legging today, instead of leather pants. I still wore no shoes. I strapped my sword around my waist.

I was seated at my vanity. Lynx was fiddling with my hair, and Obi had just finished doing something to my face. There was no makeup, only lotion and oil. He said the oils, the way they smelled, would help me not panic. I wasn't sure if it was true, but I needed all the help I could get. Lynx had pulled my hair into a half up half down style with hanging braids holding my hair behind my head. My bangs had just been trimmed, they sat neatly just above my brow.

"You're really quiet today, Sapphire." Lynx said.

"I haven't been sleeping well." I said. "I keep having nightmares."

"It's alright to take time to heal, Sapphire." Obi said. I had filled them in on what Poseidon did to me. I had spent a lot of time this past week training with... well anyone who would train with me. Ambrose, Hades, and Orion nearly never said no. Obi and Lynx are letting me teach them how to fight, and Aeros is teaching me about spark magics.