A smile pulled at my lips as she squirmed with embarrassment.
“Sorry, Master,” she muttered, dropping her eyes.
“I told you not to call me that anymore,” I replied, moving closer to her.
She stilled as I stopped before her and slowly raised her eyes up to meet mine. I was captured in her gaze for a moment, her wide, green eyes pulling me in like I was a moth to a flame.
“Sorry,” she breathed.
The moonlight highlighted her high cheekbones and I almost raised my hand, wanting to run my fingers across her skin.
“Don’t be sorry,” I replied. “Just don’t do it again.”
A smile graced her full lips and my heart beat a little faster.
“I’ll try not to,” Kyra agreed.
“Have you thought of something you’d like to do for yourself?” I asked her, needing to distract myself from worrying about Cassian and the Princess.
“Umm, kind of. But it’s a bit strange.”
“Of course it is,” I teased and she laughed.
The silence stretched as I waited for her to tell me what it was but she didn’t. She just sat looking at me, seeming to have an internal war with herself over whether or not to voice it.
“So?” I prompted gently, finding myself really intrigued to know what she desired.
“I’m not sure if I should say it or not. I think I want it, and all of the pieces of me have agreed for once but...”
“But...?” I questioned, curiosity burning a hole right through me.
“I’m afraid,” she admitted.
“What have you got to be afraid of?” I asked. “You’re the most powerful creature I’ve ever met. You can do anything, everything. Nothing should scare you.”
“I’m afraid of the lamp,” she admitted, eyeing it where it lay flush to my skin, hanging from the chain she’d given me. I hadn’t put a shirt on again to combat the stifling heat and I was almost certain her eyes trailed past the lamp and over my body for a moment.
“I promised I’d never put you back in there and I meant it,” I said firmly.
Kyra’s gaze warmed with some emotion I couldn’t quite place and I could tell just how much that promise meant to her.
“And I’m afraid to be alone,” she added softly.
“Well you’ll never be alone while we’re bound to each other either,” I murmured, turning my hand over so that the swirling K on my inner wrist was exposed.
She held her hand out too, trailing a finger over the A which marked her flesh.
“And I’m also afraid, that I...” She bit her lip, seeming frightened to even voice the thought which plagued her as I took another step closer, wanting to take away the fear in her eyes. “That I'm not really real at all,” she finished finally.
“You are real. You’re right here in front of me,” I said.
Kyra looked up at me and it was like the stars were alight in her eyes. I could see the magic swirling in their depths but I could see something that was entirely her too. She was still the girl she’d once been. Even if the magic and solitude made it hard for her to remember.
Her gaze travelled over my face and she almost frowned like she wasn’t really sure what she was looking at. It shouldn’t have mattered to me that she thought I was ugly. She was just one girl amongst hundreds who would disagree but somehow it did matter to me. I wanted her to look at me differently. I wanted her to look at me the way the others did even if I shouldn’t have been thinking about her like that at all. I was here to marry a Princess. The most beautiful girl in all of Osaria. Or so everyone said. And though when I looked at her I could definitely see what all the fuss was about, I didn’t quite see what I did when I looked upon Kyra’s face.
“So are you going to tell me what it is you want?” I asked her.
“It’s not so much of a physical thing,” she began hesitantly. “It’s more something I think I want to do...”
“You think?” I teased. “So you’re not sure?”
“Not yet,” she admitted. “But I don’t think I will be until I try it.”
“The anticipation is killing me,” I joked but I found that it really was. I ached to know what this strange creature yearned for. What it was that her magic couldn’t provide.
She chewed her lip, hesitating to voice her desire and the silence filled with a thrilling kind of promise.
“Could you maybe... touch me? Just... so that I know I’m real.”
“That’s what you want?” I asked, my heart leaping at the idea of it. Any time I’d come close to touching her before she’d recoiled or turned her body to smoke and I’d begun to think it had something to do with me. But the look in her eye told a different story. She was afraid of this.
Kyra didn’t look away from me as she nodded slowly, biting into her bottom lip in a way that made me think she might just want this for more than one reason. But was I insane to believe that? Hadn’t she made it clear she didn’t desire me at all? And yet in that moment I could have sworn she was looking at me differently. Like she was seeing something she hadn’t seen before.
I lifted my hand and she drew in a deep breath as I reached out for her, keeping my movements slow as I noted the fear in her eyes.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” I murmured. “I’d never hurt you.”
“I know,” she breathed and I could feel the truth in those words as she held my eye. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever trusted me like that before. Implicitly, completely, like she had no reason at all to doubt my word. And it felt… good. Perhaps Cassian’s ideas about honour held some merit to them after all.
I moved a little closer, lifting my hand towards her face and pausing just short of pressing my skin to hers.
My pulse was pounding as if this touch meant so much more than any kiss or caress I’d ever known. It was like I’d never touched a girl before and we were both held captive in the moment before it happened.
I smiled at the ridiculousness of the idea as it presented itself but it wouldn’t go away.
There was a heat building in the space between us which held the promise of all her magic. I could feel it writhing in the air, dancing against my palm as I drew ever closer to the moment when our skin would meet.
I pushed forward and my fingertips brushed along her cheek, tingles zipping through my skin which had nothing to do with her magic.
She inhaled sharply as my hand moved across her flesh and I cupped her jaw in my palm, my fingertips pushing into her dark hair.
My heart was pounding a little too quickly and I took a step closer, wanting more of this. More of her. Her eyes widened as I closed the distance between us down to no more than a few inches. I could tell I was overwhelming her. She’d been alone for so long and this was too much. But it wasn’t enough at the same time.
I didn’t move any closer despite every inch of me demanding I do just that. This had to be her choice. She had to choose it and want it and the war going on in her eyes told me she wasn’t sure if she did.
I didn’t press forward but I didn’t pull back either and after another moment she lifted her own hand towards me.
She reached for my hair first, pushing her fingertips through it with a smile almost capturing her lips. Her hand shifted lower, her touch gentle as her fingertips drew a line of pure energy all the way down the side of my face until she reached my lips.
My grip on her tightened as I ached to pull her closer. I wanted to feel her mouth on mine but her gaze flickered with fear and I stopped, a groan nearly escaping my lips as I denied my body the pleasure it craved from her.
She almost pulled back and I stilled, letting her take the lead as I knew she needed to. Her fingertips shifted from my mouth. Marking a trail over my chin and across my throat which bobbed beneath the pressure of her touch. She skimmed the necklace which held the lamp, lingering as she felt my heart pounding beneath my skin.
Her eyes lit with some deep excitement and I wondered if I was making her heart race too.
Kyra’s fingers swept lower and my muscles tightened beneath her touch as she caressed the lines on my stomach, travelling ever downwards.
She reached my waistband and I felt like I was about to combust with the desire she was building in me.
“Thank you,” she breathed, pulling her hand away but I didn’t release my grip on her face. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
“Kyra,” I began, unsure what I was even going to say. But I had to say something. I had to know if she felt this promise which was building between us or if I was going to drown in desire for someone who could never want me back.
“Yes?” she breathed and I took hope from the fact that she hadn’t asked me to withdraw my hand from her face.
I tightened my grip, tilting her chin up as I eyed her red lips. Did I need to say the words? Or could I just close the distance which echoed between us and hope that she wanted this like I did?
We hung in that moment for several long seconds and I knew if she’d been any other girl I’d have taken her by now.
She hadn’t pulled back. She was waiting to see what I would do and it turned out I was too.
I shifted closer, heart pounding, flesh demanding and my soul hungering for this creature who was a girl and something else entirely at the same time.
A knock sounded at the door and I could have groaned aloud as Kyra drew back, my hand slipping from her face.
“We can ignore it,” I said, leaning closer again.
“Count Nazari?” a voice called from behind the door. A voice I recognised.
What the hell is the Princess doing here?
My heart leapt like I was a naughty kid caught doing something wrong. But was I doing anything wrong? I’d made no promises to the Princess and I hadn’t actually done anything with Kyra anyway. I shook my head to clear it of the magical girl before me.
“You’d better make yourself scarce,” I murmured to Kyra and she nodded as she slipped off of the windowsill.
“Just a moment,” I called as I headed for the door.
I looked over at Kyra as she paused by the room to her chamber and her eyes were on me too. She lifted a hand to the cheek I’d just been touching and her eyes filled with some deep emotion before she headed inside and closed the door.
I wondered if that had been what she’d wanted from me or if it had taken her by surprise. Because I knew for a fact that I hadn’t been expecting it. But now that it had happened I wanted more. And I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get her out of my head. Even for the sake of a Princess.
What the hell...
I had a headache the size of a walrus and my heart was breaking a record with the speed at which it was pumping. My mouth was overly dry and as my eyes flickered open, memories rushed back to me in a tsunami.
The feast. Rapunzel. Some bastard attacked me.
A dark stone ceiling glared down at me and the rushing of moving water filled my ears. Where am I?
I groaned as pain blossomed up the back of my head.
I tried to sit up, but found my arms and legs tied down, the clinking of chains sending a sliver of anxiety through my chest.
I turned my head, spotting an underground river coursing along through the large cavern I was in. Firelight flickered on the corner of my vision and as I twisted to face it I spotted roaring flames beneath an iron cauldron. A hunched figure stood beyond it, bearing over something I couldn't see.
A huge shadow loomed in my periphery and Kahn stepped into view, gazing down at me with a stupid grin.
My upper lip peeled back and my gut knotted with rage. “What the hell are you doing? Let me go,” I demanded and I stilled as I heard my voice. I was still Aladdin. Which meant it was him this oaf saw laying here.
“You've upset Mother,” Kahn growled, his eyes dark. He lifted a hand, cracking his knuckles in his other palm – who actually did shit like that?
I grimaced, yanking at the chains which bound me but it was pointless. “What do you want?” I snarled, my muscles tensing as I bucked against my restraints once more.
The hunched form beyond Kahn stood upright and as she turned, my eyes fell on Gothel.
“You,” I hissed. “Release me this instant. I am a Count of Carubai.”
She let out a low chuckle, pushing her hood back and unveiling her white hair which fell about her like a sheet. My eyes landed on what she'd been bent over: a large chest with bottles and jars within it. She held a jar in her hand filled with a glimmering purple liquid which she promptly poured into the cauldron. Whatever potion lay within it bubbled angrily and black smoke coiled above it, filling the air with a putrid scent.
“Witch!” I accused. I knew it. This woman was just as foul as I’d suspected. But that knowledge didn’t give me any comfort now I was chained down before her on a stone table like a human sacrifice.
“Aladdin Nazari,” she spat the name like it was dirt. “I'm afraid you've gained too much favour with the Princess.” She snapped her fingers at her son. “Leave us, Kahn,” she commanded and he bowed his head before marching off into the shadows. His footsteps retreated and a door closed somewhere far away. Being left alone with Gothel somehow made me more fearful for my life than when her beast of a son had been present.
My shoulders tensed as she approached, her face contorting as she gazed down at my body.
“You'll die for this when you're discovered,” I growled, holding onto the small hope that that might happen. But I might not live long enough to see her meet the wrath of Osaria.
She stood beside me, reaching out and hooking her fingers into my shirt. She ripped it open and my stomach tensed under her roaming gaze. I roared my fury at her, pulling at the chains once more, but I was stuck in this hellhole. And I didn't even know where I was.
Gothel took a knife from her hip and I stiffened.
Shit!
“If you kill me you'll start a war with my kingdom,” I snarled, praying she'd buy it.
She released a low chuckle then pressed the ice-cold blade to my chest. “I'm not going to kill you, Nazari.” Her mouth pulled up into a cruel smile then she slid the knife across my skin, slitting it open. I sucked air in through my teeth as blood poured from the cut and pain rippled through the shallow wound.
“What do you want then?!” I demanded.
She ignored me, moving away and dangling the dagger over the cauldron. My blood rolled off of the blade, dripping into the potion. A flash of red preceded a tendril of crimson smoke and I shuddered as I watched her stir the contents.
My hands curled into fists as I glared up at the dark ceiling, desperate to think of a way out of this.
A splashing noise caught my ear and I turned to face the underground river once more, watching the deep water surge by and disappear further into the dark cave system.
A hulking shape came into view and I squinted at it as a rowing boat emerged, heading upstream. Two figures sat in it; one small, one large. But it wasn't until the boat hit the shore that I got a good look at them. A huge man in ebony robes jumped from the vessel, dragging a young boy in rags after him. The man had a swathe of black silk pulled up over his face so that all I could see of him was two grey eyes. Gothel hurried forward, snatching the boy from his arms and shoving a bag of coins into the man's hands.
“What is this?” I growled, trying to work out what I was witnessing.
The man's eyes slid to me, his brows raising for a moment. My heart stuttered. He knew me – knew Aladdin!
“Hey – help me!” I barked at him, but he didn't turn back as he jumped into the boat and rowed downstream into the darkness.
Gothel dragged the boy along by the scruff of his neck. He could have been a teenager, but the scrawny size of him made it hard to tell. His eyes were wide with fear as Gothel walked him toward the cauldron.
“Please mistress, I was told you needed a new servant. I promise I'll serve you well,” he said and she shoved him to his knees.
He gazed up at her with fear in his eyes and my heart thundered in r
esponse.
“Yes, you will,” Gothel said, her voice suddenly lower, more gravelly. She lifted the knife and panic clawed at my insides.
“Get away from him,” I growled.
She caught him by the throat the same moment as she rammed the blade into his chest.
Shock and horror silenced me as I stared at the unspeakable act she'd committed. He was just a boy!
She knocked his limp body to the ground and dropped onto him, her hood falling forward to cover her as she lowered her face to his chest.
What the hell is happening?!
A vile crunching noise reached my ears and nausea gripped me.
No...not that. It can't be that.
“Get off of him!” I cried in vain, knowing he was long beyond help as blood oozed around his lifeless form.
Gothel's head snapped up and she turned to glare at me, her mouth smeared with blood. A lump of something equally bloody was gripped in her hand.
My throat closed up as I realised what it was. His heart.
“What's the matter, Nazari?” she asked, her voice a deep, demonic thing. Her features changed, the skin peeling back and shifting until her face was nothing but a skull of shining black bone. Fear cut into me as I eyed her snarling mouth full of serrated teeth and the fiery eyes of this witch's true form.
“Who are you?” I hissed, drawing on the courage my training had instilled in me.
She rose to her feet, biting into the heart in her grip. Her features smoothed out once more and she returned to her human form, her white hair floating down to her waist. Her face was more beautiful than before, her skin smooth and gleaming.
“I am the woman who will control you for the rest of your days, Aladdin Nazari.” She released a cold laugh, reaching down and grabbing the mutilated boy by the arm. She hauled him to the river's edge and tossed him into the water. His lifeless form sailed away on the rapid current and realisation bled through me.
Now I knew who was responsible for the dead children that had been turning up in the eastern river for years. I gritted my jaw, glaring at the beast who'd brought such terrible misfortune on my beautiful city. She had caused the deaths of so many innocents.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 24