His dark voice trails down her spine, lighting a path of desire that renders her breathless. "If only I were in a position of no consequence."
Alia's breath wavers when the pad of his thumb slowly glides across her bottom lip.
"Then I could give in...
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"If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge." - William Shakespeare
•
Dytikos
After regaining complete consciousness, Alia moves Valen's hand away from her chest and stares down at his wrist with furrowed brows. "Did I just drink your blood?" The metallic taste lingers on her tongue.
Valen looks away from the doorway, anger still brewing within his gaze. He looks at her lips, stained red with his scent. For a moment, he pauses, unsure of how to explain something he never speaks about. He frowns, a line forming between his brows, "I used it to heal you."
Alia tilts her head, and it makes Valen look away from her. Did she not want him to heal her? Has he gone too far?
"You healed me?" Alia's words are slow, heart warming as she basks in his care for her. His blood can heal? But then her eyes go wide when she remembers the events preceding her loss of consciousness. "That man," she blurts, now alert and adjusting herself in Valen's hold, eyes finding windows covered in deafening streams of rain. "What did he do? What happened? Where is he?!" Frantic, Alia's words are quick as her body shakes with fear. "Did he harm you?!"
Valen's muscles go taut, wrapping around her torso as he finds her suddenly straddling him. Breathing deeply, and with his eyes still shining gold, he says, "he is no man." His next words are guttural as the hints of a growl lace each syllable. "He is the God of Death." He leans down towards his mark as one hand finds the nape of her neck. Breathing in her scent, his chest shakes as he growls, "and he made you bleed."
Calming at her mate's proximity to his mark, Alia grabs onto Valen's top, eyes briefly squeezing shut. "Don't think about me," she pleads, mind whirling at the possibilities of what occurred. "What did he do to you? What did he say?"
Valen pulls his head back, eyes hard and boring down into her own. "How can I not think about you?" The veins remain underneath his eyes, pulsating as his emotions turn fiery. "You think I care about my well-being when my mate bleeds in my presence? I would rather bleed for eternity if it meant I would never have to smell the scent of your blood again." A bolt of lightning slams into the ground outside, its appearance violent as it brightens the dark room for a split second. "Do not mistake me for a rational man, Alia. Not when my mark is on your neck. And especially not when it involves the beings I despise."
Alia finds herself falling quiet, stunned by his words. Is this what it's like? Her eyes drift to his lips. Is this what it's like to have him care for her — want to protect her?
"You will stay here whilst I search for him."
Her eyes dart back to his own. "What did he do to you?" she repeats, jaw clenching. "Why must you risk your life to fight a God? You know he is unlike any of us."
