by A C Wilds
“I’ve missed your blood, sweet one,” he purrs.
I don’t think. Instead, I attack, my entire body covered in my armor within seconds. We dance, swords clashing, and I put all my strength into each blow. I don’t care what it takes—my brother will die today.
“What’s the matter, brother? Afraid she enjoys me more?”
“Never. I’m not jealous of a psycho who would prefer his women tied up and used against their will. You’re a disgrace to the crown. If Father were here, he’d spit on your memory after I kill you.”
“When you’re dead, I’ll make sure she forgets all about you.”
He charges, using his momentum to bring his sword up and around. There’s only so much time to block before he cuts my head off.
I brace for the impact, but it never comes. Looking up, I see Scur’s sword covered in coils of Anima’s magic.
“Why is it that guys talk about women like they can’t hear? It’s rude.”
She gives me a shake of her head as she pushes Scur back. It strains his face with exhaustion. Before long, his sword is in the dirt. He attempts to capture her with his blood magic, but she’s ready for it.
With a quick movement, she pulls a knife out of her sleeve and slices Scur’s cheek. He loses his concentration, and she seeks her opening.
I stand back, protecting her from any other threats. Even though this should be my fight, she deserves the closure that comes with revenge. I’ll let my mate settle this one for us.
Jumping up into the air, she lands a blow to his face, cracking the slice open wide. She tumbles to the ground, but she pops back up again. Her sword is steady in her hand.
“Bitch,” Scur growls. He moves faster, trying to get her off balance, but she’s as steady as a cat on a tree limb.
She laughs and prepares her shadow smoke. This time, she uses her sword to wrap around Scur. She meets his armor with a clang, but the smoke cracks it and the holy magic dissolves the blood. It’s eating it from the outside in.
Scur swings his sword again and lands the blow perfectly, meeting Hubris in the middle. Her steps falter a bit, but she grits her teeth and pushes back, using all of her might.
I can’t see her struggle. I should stay out of it, but if it means she will get hurt, I can’t. I take a step toward her, and she pushes more power into her smoke.
Tendrils wrap around the general, covering him from head to toe. He’s almost disappeared behind them. All I can see is his outline as he screams.
A snarl comes from behind me, and a bright bite of pain pushes into my shoulder. Blood trickles down my back as I raise my sword to square off with my attacker.
A soldier with no name slams into my sword with such fury that it seems this fight is personal. His swings are swift, and his blocks are perfect. It’s almost as if my brother trained him.
“Who are you?” I ask when we’re at a stalemate, blades locked together.
“Uncle, it’s so nice to meet you.”
This gives me enough pause that he finds his opening. A slip of strength and his sword cuts me across the arm. I don’t have time to think about what this means.
We do the dance of death until he’s panting and swinging wildly. We are evenly matched in skill, but his stamina doesn’t compare to mine. I’ve fought in countless battles for thousands of years.
A wrong swing allows me to knock the sword out of his hand. After I use the pommel to crack his nose, he goes down in a heap, covering his face.
“Yield.” My breath comes in pants as I try to get myself under control. If he is my nephew, I’d prefer not to kill him.
“Never. You’re not the rightful king. I am heir to the throne.”
He’s as power-hungry as his father. It makes sense now. His father’s demise is his gain.
“You will die on this battlefield if you don’t yield.”
“There is nothing left for me if you succeed. I’ll be tortured and turned into a slave. My father told me all about you. Kill me and be done with it.”
I don’t know what Scur has poisoned his mind with, but I’m sure it’s not flattering. If he was trying to convince his son how bad I am, what did he do to our people?
“Get up.”
His head snaps to the sides, looking for the trap, but there is none. I don’t have time to babysit him. After I drop my sword, I haul him up. I call my magic, binding his hands and feet with my blood armor.
I push him off to the side and pick up my sword, giving him my back. I’ll deal with him after Scur is dead.
“Where are you going? Kill me! Don’t leave me here to die like a coward,” he screams. His protests go unheard.
Light crackles in the sky, and Anima’s silver eyes become wild. Her onyx hair floats around her, her sword still extended into the cloud of smoke that houses Scur.
“Need help?” I ask from behind her.
“Where the fuck have you been? I could have used you five minutes ago.” She grits her teeth, pain etched all over her face.
“Apologies, little witch,” I whisper into her ear. A shiver quakes down her body as I brace myself on her sword arm and pump my blood magic into her shadow smoke.
When mixed with her holy magic, swirls of red, purple, and gold travel down the sword and into the cloud. A thrashing comes from behind the smokescreen, and a guttural scream follows.
“Torque, please.” Scur pleas for his life, but it’s pointless. The realms are better off without him in them.
I push more into our connection, and it’s Anima’s turn to scream. Fury rips through her as she blasts the last reserves she’s been carrying.
The cloud explodes into a million pieces colored with our magic. A rain of Scur’s essence drips all over us as we erase the king from the realms.
Scur is no more.
Fifteen
ANIMA
As soon as his body explodes, I collapse to the ground. I drained all my power. If I weren’t a tri-bred, I’d be dead. There’s no way a witch could have withstood so much magic.
Torque crouches beside me, moving the hair away from my face. Blood and gore cover him, but he’s more beautiful than I’ve ever seen him.
“We did it,” I say, my eye drifting closed of their own free will.
“We did, little witch.”
He picks me up from the ground. I hear rustling and the screams of soldiers dying, but I don’t care. I’ve done my job. His rhythm lulls me to sleep.
Waking up in Torque’s bed clean isn’t something I expected. My mouth feels like it has cotton stuck in it. I reach for the glass of water beside the bed, and my hand falls to my lap.
“I’ll get it. You drained almost too much. Your reserves are barely detectable,” Nox says, rising from the chair in the room’s corner.
He lifts the glass to my lips, and I take a few sips. It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted, so I reach for more. The glass is half empty by the time I have to lay my head down.
“Did we win?” I ask, closing my eyes again.
“Yes. After you destroyed Scur, the soldiers surrendered. Not much for them to fight for without a king.”
“Speaking of kings, where is Torque?”
As I shift under the blankets to get warmer, an extra weight is placed over me, heating the covers.
“It’s an electric blanket. I didn’t know how your powers would react to a magically heated one.”
I snuggle deeper, waiting for him to answer my question. I don’t think I can stay awake for much longer.
“Torque is dealing with Bloodland business. There was an unexpected event.”
His voice doesn’t sound pleased. Such a shocker.
I peek my eyes open to stare at him. “What happened now?”
“Scur had an heir. Said heir tried to kill Torque in the battle. He was restrained, and now Torque is interrogating him.”
“A nephew. Didn’t see that coming at all. Is he okay?”
“Not injured if that’s what you’re asking. He’s a kin
g and a damn powerful one. When I saw you both combine your energy, I didn’t think it was possible. Your auras were one. It was as if you both didn’t exist at that moment. There’s no denying it now, Anima, regardless of what you want.”
“I know. I have to get over this fear and start living. It’s irrational, but part of me feels if I depend on this too much, it will all wash away.”
Nox gets up from the chair, then takes a seat on the bed next to me. He brushes back the hair that’s matted to my forehead as he leans in to kiss me.
His lips are gentle on my head, and I sink into his loving gesture. It’s nice to have people care about more than my fighting style and who I can kill.
“You don’t have to worry about that any longer. Even if you didn’t have the Blood king, you have Uriel and me. We’ll always be there for you. You’re our dream come true.”
I melt into his touch. I need this. For a moment, I want to be selfish. His warmth is making the chill disappear from my body as he slowly combs my hair back. It’s so soothing I drift right back to sleep.
The slamming of a door wakes me up. My eyes pop open. I try to get up, but I fall right back down. Torque bursts through the room, throwing off his clothes as he goes.
His shirt falls to the floor, and I take in the chiseled features of his back. It’s littered with tattoos. Some I recognize, but others are foreign to me.
“Am I getting a striptease?” My voice comes out in a croak.
“Shit, Anima. I forgot they moved you in here. How are you feeling?”
He climbs on the bed and leans over my torso, not putting weight on me. He touches my cheek, then places a gentle kiss on my lips.
“My magic is gone. I don’t know how long it will take to come back or if it will, but I feel empty right now. The only thing I can feel is you and Namir.”
“It hasn’t left you. Your reserves are so depleted that it is hard to find any tendrils still inside you. You’re stronger than I could have imagined. You were wonderful.”
“Obviously.” I chuckle, and he leans in further and deepens the kiss. I can’t even move, but that doesn’t seem to stop him.
“Are you cold? I can warm you up.”
“I have all these blankets; I think I’ll be fine.”
“I wasn’t talking about that kind of warmth. I meant on the inside. Would you like me to show you more about the mate bond?”
Excitement rushes through me, and I lick my lips. He stands from the bed to strip off the rest of his clothes. I know it was only yesterday that I saw him nude, but he’s even more impressive in the daylight.
He slips into the bed beside me, and I try to lean toward him. He gently pushes me back. “Relax. I have the rest. After this, you decide if you want to take control.”
A burning need crawls through me as I think about all the orgasms I’m going to have while mated to him. If the rest of my existence will be like last night, I’ll die a smiling woman.
He kisses my shoulder and then moves across my chest, making his way down farther. His eyes don’t leave mine. I bite my bottom lip, hating I can’t reach out and touch him.
With one last wicked grin, he pulls the covers over his head and makes his way to my breast. His tongue lavishes the nipple, soft at first and then flicking it harder.
My mind wants to push into him, but my body is too drained. He takes the other in his mouth, squeezing the first with his hand. I moan out a sigh as I try to enjoy the attention.
His lips trail down my soft stomach, veering off to kiss my hip bone. My nerves ignite, and I wish I could squirm or push his head where it needs to me.
“Torque, this is torture. It’s bad enough I can’t touch you.”
His response is a chuckle right over my core. His heated breath sends a thrill through my blood. The anticipation is killing me.
Finally, I feel the lightest brush of his tongue slide over my folds and land on my clit. Another moan comes out of me, and my body shifts slightly.
He licks harder. With each stroke, I feel a bit of my magic coming back. He grabs my hips and pulls me toward him, his face buried between my legs.
His hands squeeze my ass, and he lifts me to get a better angle. When the blankets fall off him, I’m granted the sight of Torque’s cock, hard, thick, and waiting for me.
His growl sends me into a frenzy. My hands come to life, and I’m able to squeeze the sheets next to me.
“Oh… gods, Torque.” My voice isn’t weak any longer. In fact, my strength is returning. I can feel the magic between us being shared. It’s going back and forth like a wave.
“Mmm.” He hums into me before slipping his tongue into my entrance. My legs twitch, but he grips me tighter, forcing himself deeper into me.
He fucks me with his tongue until I see stars in the back of my closed lids. “I’m going to….”
I can’t finish my sentence because he moves his tongue to my clit and sucks gently, giving me the pressure I crave.
I come hard and fast, my pussy pulsing with the enormity of what he did. When he puts my ass down, I go back to not being able to move, but this time it’s in post-orgasm bliss.
“Seems you enjoyed yourself, little witch. Are you feeling fuller?”
“My magic has refilled a bit, but I think I need more orgasms. In fact, I need all the orgasms. At least a hundred.”
I open my eyes to see his gigantic smile. He leans down and kisses me, his tongue sliding into my mouth gently. I taste myself on him, reveling in how he’s made me feel.
His hardness presses against my thigh, grinding on me. My dripping pussy is close to combusting. “You want this?” he growls into my ear.
Chills race up and down my body, goose bumps puckering my flesh.
“Yes, I want it all.”
He lowers his head and takes my nipple in his mouth while he positions our bodies where they need to be. In one quick thrust, he’s deep inside of me, simultaneously biting my nipple.
The pain and pleasure make me buck into him, my legs finally gaining enough energy to come alive. I wrap them around his hips and pull myself up, giving him deeper entrance.
He moves, stretching and filling me until I cry out again. He grips my shoulders, pulling me down as he pushes up. There’s nothing for me to do except hold on. He’s completely in charge, and, for once, I don’t mind.
“You feel so fucking good,” he whispers. My body can’t take much more. I use his momentum to flip us so I’m on top. It’s like I’ve come alive.
All our power-sharing helped me to climb right out of the despair of being depleted. I thrust my hips fast, bracing myself on the headboard. My powerful legs squeeze his hips. Soon, my moans are matched with his heavy pants.
I’m on fire. I can feel my power growing, staking its claim over Torque. It enters all of him, and his power does the same to me. My movements become erratic as I chase the high I so badly crave.
He rubs my clit with his thumb, and it only takes a few more thrusts before I’m screaming out his name, coming all over him. My eyes squeeze shut. I release the bed, landing on his chest.
He lifts us and flips me over, “My turn,” he says, pounding into me from behind.
“Fuck,” I shout, grabbing onto the end of the bed, so I don’t fall off.
He fucks me with a strength I’ve never experienced. His hands dig into my waist, and I know I’m going to have bruises tomorrow.
“I can’t hold on. I’m going to come inside you.”
I moan and force my ass higher in the air, waiting for the moment we crash together. I slip my hand between my legs and rub my sensitive clit, making me climb to a beautiful peak.
He grunts, sliding in two more times before a roar rips from his lips. I pinch my clit and come with him, making this the best orgasm yet. He pumps a few more times to draw our bliss out before collapsing on me.
“There are no words,” I say into the pillow. My racing heart is so loud I can hear it, and the thin sheen of sweat on my body immediately makes me s
hiver.
Torque tugs a blanket over us, then pulls me into his chest. I lay sprawled out, hands underneath my chin, staring at him. If I had a mirror, I know I’d see a stupid smile on my face.
“You are magnificent. Our joining is more than I could ask for.”
“You’re not too bad either.”
His laughter rumbles through me as I watch his entire face light up. He’s a beautiful man, strong-jawed and sculpted cheeks. It’s not far from the rest of the realms.
“Now that Scur’s dead, we have to strategize on how to take down Rahna. With the army depleted like it is, and my kingdom up in airs, I don’t think we’ll be able to move as fast as originally planned.”
His words tumble around in my brain. There is no suitable answer to this, but if we’re going to be strong enough to take her down, we need the Bloods. She could have a massive army of witches behind her.
“I think you should go to the Bloodlands and reclaim your throne.”
“I want to say that’s a bad idea, but we need them. There’s no war without soldiers. And I need to figure out what to do with Theron.”
“Theron is your nephew?”
“I assume Nox told you. It wasn’t a pleasant surprise. He’s an asshole, but I’m not sure if he’s evil or not.”
I run my fingertips around his skin, tracing the lines of his muscles. He feels so good underneath me.
“I wouldn’t kill him yet. Take him back to the Bloodlands. Sort out what needs to be done and ask around. If the people like him, then we know he was doing this for his father. If not, cut his head off,” I say with a shrug.
“Your uncanny ability to talk of death sends shivers down my spine.”
“I’m glad I can amuse you.”
“So little does, yet you’re like a breath of fresh air.”
He pulls me in for a kiss, and I meet it with vigor. He tastes like smoked whiskey and me. The taste of myself brings back all the things we’ve done, and I can’t help but rub on him.