"You've got my body, flesh and bone
The sky above, the Earth below
Oh, and my love
Did I mistake you for a sign from God
Or are you really here to cut me off
Or maybe just to turn me on"

The Summoning - Sleep Token

Spice - O - Meter: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (refer to the gif and the image at the top of the chapter I promise you won't regret it aowklakejajejej)

(Jk omfg after writing it...it's a fucking true 7)

🧎‍♀️

We were back to pretending.

A new meeting was to be adjourned. Leila was once told that the nobles came once a month, but it seemed like their stays were becoming longer and more frequent.

It left Taehyung and Leila with less privacy. The curtains to the stage never closing, the audience never leaving their seats. Them staying meant they believed his rulership needed assistance. A bad sign.

So it was time to call upon the favor Leila asked of Taehyung.

Lily seemed exuberant in her reverence at being invited to be a lady in waiting. Aera had stiffly accepted the position, though Leila wondered if she imagined the brief grateful expression that was sent her way. It turned to scornful when they told her she'd have to vote in favor for Leila.

And now all the male nobles, the three women, and the prince all sat uncomfortably in the throne room. A table placed in front of Taehyung's large throne, since the council room's furniture could not hold the crowd.

Leila ignored the suspicious daggers being sent from Aera and Yoongi. Lily giggled loudly, trying to hide her excitement behind her hand. Jimin rolled his eyes, kicking back in his chair to rest his feet on the table. Jin, Namjoon, and Hoseok looked startled but not angered by the new additions. Just thoroughly...confused.

When her gaze passed over Jeongguk, the man gave her a slight nod. A brief show of acceptance that further fortified the prince's rendition of their talk.

One possible adversary extinguished. And the rest sat around her, with open eyes and much more disguised motives.

Today they would talk about something that sent her into a nervous frenzy. Her sister, and if she were allowed to remain in their territory.

The prince stood, stealing Leila's breath with him. Everyone focused on the prince now, sucked into his demanding aura.

He looked delectable.

After keeping from him for a few days, it was like looking at him with new eyes. The same beautifully carved face, straight nose, curved lips. The same tousled black, waved hair and dark eyes. But his clothes were impeccably close to his skin. Showing lithe muscles, his height. Leila was doused with his scent, a new silver earring dangled next to his bronzed neck. His cheekbones seemed more harsh in contrast to the darkness of his uniform, the exquisite jacket that was threaded with goldens suns, stars, and the bursting moon. The same commanding, yet somehow eased expression. Because he knew his power, his influence.

Just tinged with a threatening force. One that sent heat to her thighs and made her wish his veined hands were soothing them instead.

Underneath the veiled calm, was a storm. A storm that only she could see, could feel as she remained in the eye.

Today, he would have to be the prince. Even if it hurt Leila. And she knew that. That today could hurt both of them if it went wrong. She knew that especially today, he would have to play at being cruel.

Something he was exceptionally good at.

Of course, Taehyung could surpass all of their opinions. But then, the nobles would know his decisions relied on how he felt about Leila, and not for the greater good of the territory. So they went through the pretense, knowing they know had Jeongguk's vote, Leila's, and her ladies in waiting to balance out any possible resistance. And of course, Jimin's reluctant vote.

"Well," Jin, the oldest noble, cut into the strained silence, "Shall we begin for today?"

"Please do. I'm already bored." Answered Jimin back lazily.

Taehyung smiled, but Leila caught the way they grew. Swallowed as the magicked light flicked against them.

Leila shifted in her seat, hoping the rapid movement of her chest wasn't too obvious. She felt Aera's stare on her face as she shuffled around, but luckily the viper woman did not comment on it.

"Then let's begin the entertainment. Leila," Her chest heaved as he gestured to her, his voice grave. Unfeeling. He didn't even spare a glance at her, "Give me any and all good reason why I shouldn't kill your sister or ship her back where she crawled from. And don't you dare say because she's family."

Should I be turned on right now?

The princess panted, and luckily it made her look nervous for her sister's life. But that wasn't the case. It was the harsh way he spoke with her, something that only a little bit ago would have hurt her heart.

She stood up shakily, fixing her gaze on the rest of the nobles. Pretending like her and her husband hadn't already rehearsed her mantra.

"She's a direct connection to my homeland, who wishes for the sun to come back. We can use her to get information. She would be willing to give monthly donations of her blood for feasts. If we set her up with farmland, we can create more crops and livestock for the rest of the humans you all feed off of voluntarily. And since we can't go back to our homeland, she gives me another reason not to kill you all."

The room was silent. Not a smile in place, until than a snort from both Jimin and Lily. Taehyung hid his amusement, a quick flare of his pretty lips. Leila sucked in a breath.

"Sorry, that last part was a joke. Did it not land?" Leila feigned ignorance, knowing that they planned for her to say this.

'The more you make your possible betrayal seem ridiculous, the more they will trust you'

"No, considering you tried to when you first arrived." Jimin said, sighing as he played with the laces of his trousers.

Was this his way of payback for her threats? Derailing her arguments? She wished the pieces of glass stuck back then.

"I did not!" Leila yelled out, despite the murmurs of agreement from the other nobles. They hadn't even been there to witness it themselves. They only heard rumors of the glass shattering, the shards slicing at people as they fell like rain from the sky.

Aera chittered, "You know the advisor has a fair point this time, which he so rarely does."

Traitor! Leila thought to herself as she side eyed the woman next to her. At least she took a dig at Jimin in the same breath.

Jimin sent Aera a glare, along with a very human gesture as he lifted his middle finger at her.

Taehyung shook his head, eyes closing with frustration, "No, she tried to kill herself. Which is even more pathetic if you ask me. But what can we do? She didn't know the curse is only fulfilled if I killed her. And now, she'd rather I didn't get the satisfaction."

His eyes opened, catching her own like a silly fly caught in a web.

When he said satisfaction, it felt like he spoke nothing of killing. Instead, the heat of his attention traveled where it shouldn't be.

'Later' he seemed to say with his eyes, before shaking off her gaze. Focusing back on the group.

"Let's stay on task, shall we? I think we've heard enough. Who is in favor of letting the Anvari girl stay?"

The more quiet noble of Jeongguk's sector cleared his throat. Min Yoongi. He raised his hand, contemplative.

"May I suggest something?"

"Yes, noble Min." Taehyung agreed, offering him time to speak.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"There should be conditions. If we all vote to let her stay. If she were found to be here only to get information, or to somehow thwart the curse, she should be tried and executed for treason."

Jeongguk's eyes widened, Leila fixed her breathing once more.

In and out. In and out. No sign of emotion. Feel the numb coursing through my veins.

"I agree." Leila said before the prince could protest.

She knew he would've. And that would've destroyed all the rapport they had gained through their lying. She couldn't let him do it. The prince stiffened, slowly turning to her. They had not rehearsed this. She caught his conflicted stare, nodding subtly.

Everyone was paying attention to her now. At least they wouldn't be staring at him. At how his mask slipped for a moment, when she accepted the noble's proposal.

"You do? Your own sister?" Jeongguk asked carefully, his jaw set.

He was smart enough to sound disinterested. Too passionate to ask at all. But she couldn't placate her sister's admirer and everyone else at the same time.

Leila nodded, unswayed, her voice strong, "If she is here to betray me somehow, or attempt hurt all of you in your own dwelling, it must be so. I can't undo what the previous daughter of the moon did. But I can prevent a massacre from happening once again. Besides, she doesn't have powers. Setareh is harmless. I have full faith that she will not step out of line."

The princess saw now issue with the clause, because she believed Setareh's intentions. Only because she knew the village wouldn't risk the girl coming back. They wanted her dead, or else they would've sent her in a carriage.

"So, raise your hand if you agree to the princesses ' sister staying?"

Hands dotted up slowly. Lily raised hers first, a wide smile painted on her face. Aera rolled her eyes, then promptly lifted her hand. Jeongguk followed, then the prince, then Leila herself. Jimin reluctantly followed, as well as Hoseok who looked at Aera and followed her lead. The rest of the nobles left kept their hands down, but had the decency to keep quiet at the new members of the council that changed the decision to the majority.

Leila felt triumphant, though they hadn't played fair.

Taehyung clapped his hands together, and she tried to distract herself from the veins. His rings. The way the pads of his fingers felt on her.

What is going on with me?

"It's settled then. Setareh Anvari stays here at this kingdom. She's to be treated like a noble."

Leila curtsied with civil gratitude, keeping her head down as she let the men converse. Lily and Aera followed close behind. The prince sent her one more heated glance, before fraternizing with the rest of his companions.

She forced down the sexual frustration writing in her, like a snake wishing to shed its skin. It had been too long since she'd been last acquainted with his kiss. And though it was beautiful what they shared, Leila wanted more.

A lot more.

Even though she should be grateful he was settling with her virgin self, slowly. She needed more. Craved it more than the rush she got when she used her magic. Craved it more than water, than the moonlight.

She wanted all of him. And he, her.

So why isn't he taking it?

Concern sank its claws into her, meddling with her logic. She knew he wanted her. That much was clear. So why? Why did she feel as if he was still holding back?

"Leila. Princess. Cankerous swi-" Aera cut off as Leila whirled around, not even realizing the hostile woman still followed her.

The princess looked away from her unsettling jade eyes, bewildered that Lily had already departed from them.

"What is it you want?" Leila asked impatiently. She'd rather wallow in her pitiful thoughts than have a conversation with a person who hated her. Who yearned for ber crown.

And maybe even the prince himself.

The dark haired girl's mood plummeted, crossing her arms as she waited for the vexation to ensue.

Aera sighed, exasperated. Tired. Weary. All things that she usually wasn't.

"Do you know how much I begged Taehyung to be apart of council meetings?"

That was unexpected.

"No." She answered truthfully. Wondering where this was going, and why Aera had yet to insult her within a 30 second span of time. It usually only took 10.

Her ruby red lips twitched with amusement, "Three hundred. Maybe more. I groveled, because men get to do everything. Don't they? They get to run shit and we have to deal with the consequences when they fuck up. Or at least I did, until you came along. What did you do to convince him?"

Leila paused, taken aback by the sincerity of her tone. The lack of bitterness that usually resided their. She truly wanted to know.

The younger woman smiled, shrugged, "I just asked. I told him that you and Lily hear everything, gossip. All the things that he wished to know that wouldn't be said to his face."

Aera let out a twinkling laugh, one that softened the severity of her glass sculpture face, "I underestimated you. I'll admit it. But I do need to ask one thing. Why don't you want to break the curse anymore? And I don't buy the bullshit of your people lying to you. If you and the prince are still only working together out of convenience, and you know of the previous daughter of the moon, why? Why would you give that up? For us? A bunch of beings that feast on the essence of others?"

There was a pause. Her heart clenched with an uncomfortable squeeze because the answer felt personal. Still, she offered it to a person she could barely trust.

"Someone asked me once, what was the difference between you all and them out there? What was the difference between the sun burning you all the ash, and people shivering under moon filled sky, starving from lack of crops? What makes their lives more valuable, more worthy of protecting than your own?"

"And?"

"I figured that I had no answer. That doing things in the name of the greater good is just another justification for violence. Who am I to choose? I am not a deity, no matter how silver my blood runs. Who am I to decide who lives or dies? Who am I to say I'm a savior for doing so?"

Aera's beautiful face was frozen into shock. Her eyes a bit glassy. She then composed herself, setting her mouth closed. Thoughts bombarding her green eyes.

"Thank you for telling me. It's the last time I'll say those words. Just don't expect me to be nice to you. You're still a daughter of the moon." She finished, though it didn't carry the same venom.

Leila smiled, "I accept your hatred freely. I prefer it even."

Aera raised a brow, her scowl setting back into place before taking off down a hallway. Determination steeling her steps.

Interesting.

Leila was sure that she just made it a thousand times harder for Aera to be a true enemy. It hadn't been Leila's intention when asking her to be a lady in waiting, it had just been convenient. Keep the woman who seemed to want her crown close.

But maybe there was more to Aera. When the woman wasn't degrading her, her ruthless humor was kind of amusing. A replacement for the advisor, who she hadn't seen.

And as Leila burned through the earth, scorching away people who wanted to hurt her with friendly fires she wondered...

Why did she feel less safe than ever before?

******

"I'm allowed to stay?" Setareh groaned out from her place in bed, squinting from the brightness of the healer's room at Leila.

Leila almost envied her for a moment, before realizing they practically looked the same. Her sister who had been knocked out and almost near death for an entire week looked beautiful. Her black hair shiny, skin a deep tan. Her warm brown eyes latching onto her older sister for comfort. No wonder why Jeongguk lost himself the first time he saw her.

She had woken up only an hour ago, and Leila decided to pay her a happy visit. Happy, because she wasn't sentenced to death or exile.

"Yes. Is that okay with you?" She asked, feeling insecure.

Asking about anything else felt too intimate. Of course they were blood. But Leila did not know her as sister's should.

Setareh sent her a confused glare, attempting to sit up by herself. The daughter of moon rushed forward, helping to fluff the pillow behind her back so it didn't take much effort. Before she pulled back, her younger sister latched onto her wrist. She looked down, surprised as she stared into her earthy arises. The blood that coursed through her veins, red, but also still a part of the princess.

Leila remembered it. Her sister's birth. One day her mother was large and aching, the next holding a baby. She'd been curious back then. Unfeeling, but curious. She'd walked up to her mother, asking to hold the little baby with dark eyes, a tuft of hair, and small dimpled hands. Her mother had said there was no need. But later, Azita held her. Hugged her until she cried. Her father laughed, picking up Setareh and cooing into the red blanket that held her.

Leila was never allowed to hold her.

But Setareh held her now. And Leila did her best to hold the tears she was never allowed to let go of in this moment.

Her sister centered her gaze, more certain than she'd ever seen her, "Leila, I feel as if it is fate that I'm here. Like it is a new chapter in my life, but it had already been written. I just haven't started to live it yet."

The princess let go of the breath she was holding, pleasantly surprised by her sister's conviction.

"You aren't scared?"

Setareh smiled to herself, pitifully. Playing with her bruised and cracked hands along the top of the bed sheet.

"I am a coward, I know. But for some reason I just feel safe here. At peace. Like I can stop pretending to be cruel just to get through another day. Mom and dad were always fair to me. Azita, just, she holds a lot of anger in her heart. They were not always fair to her. You didn't see it, but they made her feel less than in comparison to you. No amount of affection or attention taken from you and given to her could cure her of her inferiority. Because as much as they loved us, they worshipped you. You were untouchable. Too special to be seen as human. You are a goddess to them. And how could any of us compete with a deity? But, still her anger is strong, misguided, and you didn't deserve it."

It hurt to hear. Twisted and breeched places of her mind she wished didn't exist. She didn't want to feel bad for her eldest sister. And yet, she did. Leila was still egregiously angry. Angry at them, at her parents. If she could even call them that anymore.

She resisted, her voice shaking from denial, "I didn't want their prayers. I didn't want the training. I didn't want their indifference to harden my heart. I was missing human interaction for so long, Setareh. I just wanted to feel human."

I wanted to talk with you. Now I am. Will we laugh together?

The words hid behind lips that were afraid. Rejection unbearable to fathom. But she had to understand. Because Leila didn't at first.

It's lonely to be a god. That's why the envy humans. They are worshipped. Respected. Coveted. Envied. Feared.

But they are not loved.

"I know, I know that now. It's not your fault. But you are still important. Your path is not yet done, it has just changed." Her sister finished, her large eyes boring into hers in hopes she'd listen.

Leila paused. Wondering if it was some sort of quirk that her younger sister had, where she spoke in riddles and prophecies. But something, something about the way the youngest clung to her made her question further.

"How do you know?"

Setareh dropped her hand, her gaze now sent past Leila's head. Beyond to the closed door of the healer's chambers. She blinked slowly, her hands lifting to try articulate the concept beyond words.

"I-I can feel it. It comes to me in dreams, though I can't remember when I wake. Your fate has only just begun, that is all I know." Again, her soft brown eyes landed upon her own, with a knowing beyond the years of a 20 year old.

Chilling the princess to the bone.

Leila swallowed down her apprehension, not wanting to upset Setareh. But Leila was shaken up. Did her sister have some sort of hidden premonition? Their lineage called for it.

Before she could begin to process, to inquire more about her sister's dreams, a knock interrupted them.

Leila held back her annoyance, waiting for Setareh to nod before she invited whoever waited outside in.

"You can come in."

Leila breathed quickly through her nose, her posture straightening as the advisor crept through the doorway.

"May I speak with you?" His voice sent a flood of emotion through her, not all bad.

She often missed when he wasn't around to make a snarky remark. His bitterness so ridiculous, it often pulled her from her mind, from thinking about dire circumstances and mysterious curses.

Her sister, of course, was unlikely to feel the same. And she needed to show her that she would find no harm here.

Setareh made no noise, not a sound. Just those wide eyes that maybe saw too much. Like a cornered woodland animal, awaiting within a trap. It allowed the anger, the disappointment to find Leila again. She angled her body so that she was partially covering her sister's view of him. Not wanting her to feel threatened.

"Let us talk outside." She answered dryly, pinning him with her eyes.

Jimin held up his hands, his dark uniform making him look pale. The circles under his eyes prominent despite the hunt. For once, there was no snideness in his countenance. No last word. He seemed to have run out of them in their time apart.

"Both of you."

Though Leila was skeptical, she gestured him to walk further into the room. She heard Setareh begin to panic, the younger girl breathing loudly. The princess reached down without looking, grabbing a cold, clammy hand and squeezing.

Setareh squeezed back.

For a second, if Leila closed her eyes, it felt like she held onto small fist of an infant.

The protectiveness she never felt growing up surged, pushing away her feelings of friendship towards Jimin.

The princess waited, scowling at the apparently exhausted man. Not speaking first, despite the unbearable silence.

He lifted his dark brown eyes to her, shaking his head once before turning his attention onto Setareh. Her hand squeezed Leila's own harder, and the advisor spoke in a wobbly tone, "I apologize. I thought you were sent by your village to infiltrate our territory and possibly hurt your sister. Which is not far-fetched considering your ruthless neglect of her previously-"

His voice lost some of his seriousness at the end, trailing off into some malignant rant.

"Jimin!" Leila reprimanded him, cocking her head in disbelief. His arrogance knew no bounds.

The brunette smiled, his laugh a quick burst before sobering, "Hmm, right my apologies again. All I am saying, is that I was doing my duty to the crown and I got a little carried away because I had just fed. I will stay far away from you Setareh, trust me. And Lily will remain as your handmaiden, Leila."

Hmm. He seemed genuine enough. Shockingly so. More so than when he taunted her, more so than when Taehyung threatened him after they kissed. It worried her, because this calm and collected man was not present the night he was prepared to kill her sister.

Leila stood stoically, inspecting the advisor for any lies while holding onto Seterah's hand. The injured girl shifted, more than likely about to accept his apology out of sheer complacency. Leila glanced down at her sister, shaking her head before she had the chance to speak.

"What is the catch?" Leila questioned.

Jimin's answering smile was cunning, edged, "Well, you didn't let me finish. But it's coming." He paused dramatically, before continuing as if she never interrupted, "As long as you remain my friend, dear sacrifice. No one else has your sharp tongue. Or they are too socially aware to use it."

Leila fought the smile attempting to climb onto her face. And lost, when she felt like he finally spoke from the heart with good intentions. Despite his terrible delivery. Jimin caught it, his own expression widening.

"Did he just call you sacrifice?" Setareh whispered from her position, though neither person answered her.

Leila scoffed, painting the scowl back on her face. And choosing peace by ignoring the fact he called her socially inept, "Thank you for the apology. And yes, stay far away from her."

"Yes, thank you." Her sister's much more quiet voice spoke.

Jimin turned his attention to her, bowing politely. Before snorting and turning back to Leila, his hand gesturing to the door, "As if I could, with Jeongguk hovering over her like nosfaratu in the flesh."

There was a deep cough from outside, loud enough to filter through the crack of the open door, interrupting the man's words. Leila tried not to giggle loudly, her youngest sister blushing deeply at the comment.

It seems like she doesn't mind the hovering.

Jimin offered one more apology before departing first, leaving the two sister's alone. Leila hated to admit how much better she felt. Lighter. She didn't want any conflict, it felt like too much like losing what she had gained here. Like a piece of her would be missing if she were to lose one of the branches that grew from the tree of her relationships.

Another terrible side effect of feeling.

I care when my friends hurt too. I have my own hurts, my own pains. And they have theirs. But I seem to carry them all with me.

Leila bid her sister goodnight, laying another blanket atop her before leaving as well. They had time to learn and know each other. It could not happen in a night, but Leila was grateful it was happening at all.

Friends. A sister out of two.

Taehyung.

It didn't seem real.

"Leila." Jeongguk called to her, his face lifting in an awkward smile. Pulling her from her thoughts.
The princess paused, turning to face him fully. Feeling embarrassed that she didn't even acknowledge him before trying to head to her rooms.

Still, it was clear they were to get along now. But it must have felt strange, after all these years of harboring a grudge against her kind. Still, she would do her best to accept this change in heart. Even though it revolved around her sister's awaiting arms.

"Yes? Setareh seems well. You should go inside and talk to her instead of hiding behind the walls like a shadow." Leila urged, failing miserably at staying casual.

It was worth it to see the blush run up the man's neck to his full hairline. The one who was covered in piercings. The one who smiled so rarely Leila had wondered if Elder Fareena trained him to. The one who told her she was better off dead.

Blushing. How adorable.

"I am-!"He yelled out, before blanching. Realizing if he rose his voice, Setareh would be able to hear him. He searched around, before placing his gaze back onto Leila, his voice an almost whisper, "I am not hiding, princess. I guess I should not aid you, since you'd rather tease me."

Leila hid her shock well. She kept her face neutral, despite his self-approving smirk. What could he possibly help her with?

She laughed, "I'm sorry, I just find your fancy of my sister to be quiet endearing. Especially after you cornered me and threatened my life."

The man did not cower, or look sheepish. This was more like the man he recognized. He lifted a brow spliced with metal. If she expected an apology, he wasn't going to give it.

"I am hoping what I tell you can be the start to our truce." Jeongguk drawled out slowly, dark eyes darting with mischief.

It seemed he did not deal with flowery words. But with information. And Leila could appreciate the pragmatic approach.

"Go on."

Jeongguk moved closer, his tone pressing, "Taehyung needs to feed, but he's too worried to take from you. The thing is, if he doesn't, situations like what occurred with Setareh and Jimin will happen more frequently."

Leila frowned, hesitant. Why didn't the prince say anything? Is that why he hadn't visited her chamber at all?

"Why, he's bitten me before." She stated, hoping Jeongguk would tell her everything. While she and the prince had gotten closer, he still kept his secrets.

Recognition dawned in the noble's face. A sly amusement coloring his dark eyes. "I was right. He wasn't doing much feeding, that was for your pleasure. And his."

Oh.

"Alright." Leila said in a hurried manner, hoping her blush wasn't staining her cheeks. Hoping that this discussion would end now so she could run away.

Jeongguk ignored her unwillingness to continue the conversation, "He needs more, and he won't ask. I'm sure he wouldn't take it even if you offered. Since he's such a gentleman. But it could kill him, all of us if he doesn't feed properly. So, I guess what I'm saying is do whatever you did in that carriage. And make him feed."

Fuck.

Her shoulders, her spine buckled. Eyes widened, as she glared madly at the noble.

Oh. Khar. I am an idiot.

Leila was a red rose, her thorns failing her. Her heart raced out of embarrassment. Out of being heard and caught.

No wonder why Jeongguk kept smirking when he saw her.

Goddess blessed this is awful.

"Alright." Leila barked through gritted teeth, feigning her smile. Stiffly turning away from the man and pacing forward. Her feet shuffling across the floor as her cheeks burned and burned. Ashamed.

Jeongguk laughed loudly, a full sound she might've liked if it wasn't at her expense.

She picked up her speed, needing to get away now. And forget that the noble heard a very intimate moment between them. She hadn't cared in the moment, but she cared now. Especially the way the younger male was holding it over her head. She wanted to flick him, push his shoulder as their new friendship was off to a rocky start. She couldn't wait to bother him in front of Setareh, the idea already helping to sift away some of the hot embarrassment she felt.

When she had almost made it out of his sight, the man yelled out to her, "Good luck Ignis. But I don't think you'll need it."

Her mortification reached new heights.

Oh he heard everything.

Leila raised her middle finger, not sparing him the satisfaction of her deep embarrassment.

When she got to her rooms, her chest was heaving.

Goddess blessed, Jeongguk was right. She needed to see him. Wanted to see him.
But she knew once the prince set his mind to something, it was hard to pull him away. He didn't want to feed from her. He thought it to be degrading, dangerous.

So she'd have to be so tempting, that he lost all pretense. Forgot his morals, wanted to wring her out in deviance.

Leila walked over to the large, petrified wood armoire. Filtering through the scraps of material until she found a shorter, lacy nightgown. One of the deepest black, the chest sheer. Soft satin buttons running down the front, the bottom scalloped with lace upon satin.

After stripping off her longer dress, she walked over to her bathing room. Used the faucet to fill the bath, pouring in all her favorite scents. Washing away the nerves, the anticipation that rustled like waves in her stomach. She caught herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushed. Eyes glassy. Barely recognizing the woman she'd become.

Before, seduction had been a mask of survival. And now? Now lust colored her cheeks, her lips with a deep want she couldn't even comprehend. Every swipe of water, the sound of it rushing towards the lip of the tub. It's warmth, reminded her of him. Of being with him, of feeling him.

No, she was not the same person as when she arrived. She stared at her reflection, once more out of breath. Even her features, always beautiful, were wrapped with silk. Glowing. All because she wanted someone else so badly, her flesh felt like an open flame. Her heart a dancing circus. Her mind, an extension of his.

She touched her wet hand to her heart, feeling it's thumping press against her chest. Knowing it sung it's melody for the prince.

This feeling. It was different than lust. Different than desire. More than affection. Like she could topple of the world, rise to the stars, and fall back down again. New, and potent.

What is this?

She was trembling from the intensity of it all. Of seeing him again, a brightness in the dark. Of tracing over his skin, watching every follicle respond like the sand shifting with a breeze. Of his riveting eyes, filled with need for her. Taking in her body, her outfit.

The honeyed, utterly indecent, back arching words he'd whisper in her ears.

Fuck.

She needed to get out of the water before she fantasized through the night. Before she decided to take matters into her own hands, for the first time without being goaded into it by her dreams.

Fuck. Fuck.

Leila was practically shaking as she lifted herself out. Dripping. She needed to get ahold of herself, of her deep ache for him. There would be no way she could be in control of the situation like this.

She grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. Staring at herself until her chest slowed, until it pounded at a more pitiful pace.

Letting go, and lifting the light material of the dress. So charged, she whimpered as the silk slid against her skin. As she lifted her soaked, hair from underneath, she imagined his eyes tracing every inch of her. Lifting her finger under the thin strap, she let it fall off of one shoulder. Enjoying the prominence of her collar bones, the way her curves melted into bone. Liking the way the midnight material contrasted with her deep olive tones. The color of a raven, the color of his hair, the color of his eyes when he looked at her for too long.

(A/N: oh no what's happening I- 🙋🏻‍♀️🧎‍♀️🐕 bark bark)

Leila smiled, slowly. Fluidly. Rubbing on her scent oil, putting some at the crown. Twirling her long hair until it was mostly dry.

With one last look, she was ready.

The princess grabbed her long night robe, a black silky one that closely matched what she was underneath. Something the prince had seen before, so he wouldn't catch on when she first enters his chambers.

With one more brittle, titillated breath she stepped out in the hallway.

Relieved to see the castle was not bristling with movement. In hibernation for the end of Winter.

She felt her want for him. In the brush of her thighs, that wore no under garments. Felt it in the heat that would not leave her cheeks.

Ember eyes. Ember eyes that smiled only for her. Hands with veins, with stories. Hands that would kill, kill for only her. That took her apart every time they touched upon her skin.

She stood before his door. The journey to get there lost in her thoughts, her visions.

One breath, two. To settle herself.

It wasn't enough. It needed to be enough.

She lifted her hands, pricking her finger on the viper's sharp tongue. Letting the blood trickle down earnestly, the pinch reminding her of the feel of his fangs on her neck. Her inner thigh. Scraping. Replacing.

Her heart pounded in her chest as if angry. As if wanted to rip from the cage of her ribs.

The door clicked, unlocking. And she opened it without waiting, without asking. Knowing if the prince was annoyed, he wouldn't be once he saw who it was.

She stepped in, the blue and midnight of the dark room familiar. How even in its cool coloring, it still felt cozy. Cozy in its decisive decorations that he chose, the trinkets and the fact it held her favorite person as he slept.

He wasn't on the bed.

Leila closed the door, peering around. Searching for him.

The door to his bathroom was closed. He was not running his fingers across the spines of books. He was not resting by the fireplace, kicked back onto a chair.

A thing black veil hung further back into the chamber. One that blocked off the room from his desk, the one he used for official matters.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She could see his outline, a shadow from the flickering candlelight. Could see the way he leaned back, his hand clutching papers. The frustration visible even through shapes, lines.

The princess moved slowly, careful not the let her steps make any noise. An aspect of her training she was now grateful for, considering her opponent was a deviation from a vampire. Touching the veil like it were an old friend, and lifting it just enough to walk past it.

The prince was situated in the corner. Beautiful as ever. Her heart started again in her chest, her easy breaths escaping her and running to him. Still hardened from earlier, his unsheltered fortress situated across burdened shoulders.

His black hair shined in the candlelight of his desk. Only parts of his chiseled profile showing. The line of his shoulders making her chest ache even more. He wore his black doublet from earlier, with more casual pants. He shifted forward, his eyes unsuspecting and still tracing whatever document he held.

When he moved, she could see his shirt was open. Showing only pieces and slivers of warm skin.

But it was open.

(A/N: if y'all don't look at the top of the chapter for reference)

She hid her gasp well. How dare he? Look so tortured and messy and uncouth when she was nowhere to be found. Like he lay the perfect trap for when she arrived, his appearance enough to drown her.

Closer and closer. His image unwavering. A beacon in the dark. And it hit her again, how when she first arrived all she wanted to do was run from him. He took everything she ever knew, and ripped it away from her. Pried lies from her hands, made her realize an average day of living was worth more than sacrifice.

He still didn't look up.

An idea formed in her mind.

She moved in a curve, around the edges of the room. Leila crept up behind him, watching his black hair tickle at his neck. She held back a laugh, breaching his space with still no recognition from him of her presence.

It was perfect. Endearing. As his smooth neck lay open, bare. So touchable.

She worked quickly, situating herself so her hands wrapped around his neck. The coldness of it making him gasp, her chest resting against the back of his head.

It was silent, the pen he held dropping. His breath quickening. From fear? Why didn't he move? Fight against ber?

God, the heat of his skin. Sunk into her palms like lit matches. Her scent mingling with her own, intoxication her. She almost pressed her lips in his soft shiny hair, but knew she wouldn't frighten him at all then.

Leila leaned down, letting her lips brush the shell of his ear as she whispered, "Why are you not defending yourself?"

She wondered if she sounded jealous to his ears, because she was deeply so. If he didn't look at her, how did he know it was? Did he let all strange woman come into his room and pretend to choke him?

The man leaned back, allowing her to see every inch of his vulnerable neck as he opened up to her. His answering smile was breathtaking, even upside down. His eyes closed in a peaceful manner, as if her hands weren't wrapped around his neck, "I knew it was you, as soon as you walked through the door."

Damn it.

She adjusted her grip, only a little so that he could crane his head to the side to peer at her. She lifted her brows, curious. Pretending their proximity wasn't setting her soul on fire.

"Magic?"

Taehyung's next smile held a secret, "Something like that."

They stared into each other's eyes. His head tilted to the side, her hands relaxed on the back of his neck. To ask her to remove herself from him, would be to ask the melted wax of a candle to crawl back towards the wick. He lifted his hand, wrapping it around one of her own that rested on him. Holding all her chilly fingers in the shell of his palm. Seemingly content at her stalking of him, her disruption. Content for her to be in his presence at all after such a long, tiring day.

And she was going to ruin it.

"Feed from me."  Leila said aloud, her voice velvet.

Like she expected, the man moved out of her grip. The serendipity in his eyes succumbed to the aggravation that frayed at the seams.

He shook his head, strands and black mingling with his eyes lashes. Leila felt guilty as his mouth turned into a disparaged frown, as if she were the last person he expected to hear this from, "Leila, no. We are not doing this, not right now." He grabbed at his hair, pulling. Shaking his head again as it to rid it of his thoughts, "Everyone is trying to get into my head, and it's still a no. You, Jeongguk, even fucking Lily-"

Leila walked to his side, resting her hand on the side of his chair so she could lean closer. His lips parted as his gaze fell from her eyes to her mouth. He breathed deeply, steeling himself as his gaze made it back to her eyes. His pretty mouth now held a scowl, but he couldn't avoid it any longer. Leila wouldn't let him hurt himself just to protect her.

She pleaded softly in a voice she barely recognized, "Feed from me. It's not up for debate. I know you need me. Come on Taehyung, you've done it before. What could be so bad?"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. His expression fell further, his dark eyes looking at her in an incredulous manner. Leila felt the intensity of it, trying to ignore more of his chest that shone through his open shirt.

"I could kill you." The prince deadpanned, though his eyes softened.

He lifted a hand, reaching as she stood above him. Leila sucked in a quick breath, which the man observed without jest. His eyes following the path, where his fingers brushed past her dark hair, along the side of her neck.

"I could go hunt again, around the kingdom. Or get a volunteer to help." His eyes opened tenderly from all the possibilities, his soft hand on her next showing her none of the options he thought of involved her.

Envy bloomed within her at the thought of him taking from anyone else. Her lip curled, the image of him lifting away someone else's hair from their neck, his lips inching so close to their skin.

No. No.

Leila pressed her mouth together, grinding her teeth to ignore the bitter taste of her thoughts. And yet, she chose to be honest, "I don't want you feeding from any other woman. I hate the thought of it. I want to gouge the eyes out of her, bleed her out myself so you'll never get the chance to attempt it again."

I sound insane. Like the witch everyone expects me to be. And I don't care.

Taehyung should be frightened by her animosity. She was even taken aback by how truthful her words were, how it send needles through her blood, her organs.

Instead he looked boyishly please by her declaration. His dark brows lifted, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he tried to bite back his delight.

"Ignis, there is no other woman." The prince answered back seriously, studying her expression as he did so.

Deep gratification filled her. Though he'd been forward with his words, he'd never implied she was his only interest. It pleased her to her core to have him say it now, her want for him intensifying.

"If there was..." Leila countered, playing coy. Letting her voice drop lower, letting her robe loosen to show a shoulder.

Taehyung's hand fell away from her. He face kept blank but his voice svelte as he humored her, "If there was?"

She leveled herself with the prince, making sure he had a clear view down her robe. And though he kept his eyes on her own, the trace of his tongue along his lips told her where his thoughts lay.

The princess's voice dropped, hushed syllables,
"I'd remind you why I'm yours. I'd get down on my knees, and lick every inch of you until you're begging me to let you come. And then I would take you in my mouth and-"

The cast of her spell broke as the prince smiled in a hell bent manner, placing a finger over her lips so that she was forced to a halt.

More stubborn than a root tonight it seemed.

"I know what you're doing. Attempting to seduce me so that I feed from you. As if cutting your throat wasn't terrifying enough as you practically describing my death just now." The prince removed his touch from her lips with an unimpressed countenance, and she found she missed the touch already.

It was a shame, for she really wanted to do all of those things. And he thought she was just trying to get him to do the right thing.

But what if he knew? Her motives didn't lie in feeding his starving court. But in the relish of him taking her blood inside of him, feeling the pure delectation that would come from her, and her alone.

She loved the slight pain. The way he grew almost animalistic when he bit her. But she digressed, letting him assume this was all some plot to keep other from starving. It would save her the look of utter desperation, and the embarrassment of her need pooling between her thighs.

"Oh, my pleasure kills you?" Leila questioned, continuing their flirtation. Hiding behind it.

Because she wanted to know just what effect she had on the prince of the eclipse.

Taehyung looked up through his lashes at her, as if she'd finally gone mad for even asking, "It does. It wounds me mortally. And I'm afraid I will hurt you too because of it. I can control myself to a certain extent. Like now, my throat aches for your essence. Wishes to take, and take from you. And I can hold back. But when we-, when we are touching. The answer is no, and it will always be no."

When his voice broke, when his hands and eyes closed, Leila felt it everywhere. That is what she wanted. She wanted his rapture, his point of no return.

That moment she knew all that breathed throughout his glorious mind was the thought of her.

She'd die either way. Die by his hunger, or die by his lack thereof.

"Taehyung, Taehyung." She said, whining his name only because she wanted to, "My seduction hasn't even started yet."

"Hmm, really?" The man quirked a dark brow, not angry, but definitely not patient. He was losing it, slowly. Inch by fragile inch.

He was practically using his chair like chains, tethering him to sainthood.

It made her all the more aroused. Knowing he tried so hard to be good to her, good for her. For him to ultimately let it all go once it became too much.

Leila didn't want good. She wanted him.

Her eyes traced along his face, the defiant cheekbones. The settled mouth.

The princess's voice came out raspy without even trying, as she leaned forward close to his ear, "No. Because when it does, you won't be able to form words. Be stubborn. To act stupid and deny yourself my blood which allows you to live, to rule. To conquer and take what's yours."

The man shivered, unable to hide it, his hands flexing against the tight grip on the arms of the chair. Preventing him from touching her instead.

Leila pretended not to see, as she leaned back to find he already fixed his face into a blank, amused expression. The remnants of his need clear in his dark eyes, the way they strained to not look past her own.

"Well, now I'm just intrigued." The prince answered sardonically after taking a deep breath. Pretending he went unscathed by her advances.

Leila wouldn't believe him this time. His tactics to push her away. Though they were more gentle in execution than before, they still acted his soldiers. Defending what was left of his restraint, his conscience.

She chose to believe him when the mask slipped. When his pretenses fell, because that's when he was his true self. When his feelings for her were at their purest form.

The young woman fixed her robe on her shoulder, meeting his eyes with her own narrowed gaze, "That makes me want to make you wait."

Taehyung rolled his eyes, voice clipped as he was growing increasingly more frustrated with her, "By all means, do so. We have all night for me to not drink from you."

"Don't sound too sure."

The prince sighed loudly, running his fingers through his thick hair. Looking at her with pleading eyes and a pursed mouth.

"I'm never too sure around you, that's the problem. Now be the obedient princess you are let and me go back to my work."

The man gestured to the bed, his disapproving glare only spurring her disobedience.

Leila shrugged, still smiling in an aloof way. As he followed her carefully, making sure she wouldn't cause any trouble, she grabbed a book from his shelf to pretend to read. Promptly falling onto his bed after, opening the book to hide his face from her own. Letting some of her robe slip open so he see up to her thighs, as she twisted her hip while laying flat on her back.

He turned around after a couple moments of her silence, believing she somehow could read the letters that seemed to bleed together.

She needed to be quiet at first. It was easy, she yearned for him all day. And just watching his profile, outline by candlelight and taut with concentration. The strictness of the broad set of his shoulders, and the occasionally clench of his hand.

She sat there for an hour, flipping through pages absentmindedly. Lifting the book just enough to peer at him.

He was so beautiful. Even when he was pissed off by her. Even when the quill made unbearable scratching noises, the sound of him digging to hard into parchment as he wrote. The way his deep voice did not deter her, nor his frustration. It only reminded her of how regal he was, capable of taking control.

How badly he wanted to touch her, despite his gentlemanly protests. And deities blessed, how badly she wanted him to. The sensation only heightening from when she was in her room, daydreaming about him. His scent caressing her from his bed sheets, fresh and deep all at once. The way he was too still, too focused on his work to convince her he wasn't thinking her about joining her on his bed.

She thought of the carriage ride. The desperate way he panted in her ear. The domineering way he cupped her within his hand.

"This is mine."

She was burning, in every literal sense of the word. Leila bit her lip, hiding her breathlessness the best she could. Squeezing her thighs together as a blazing rush of arousal sent a pang through her stomach and chest. Her black robe felt like a kiss of death, constricting her movement. Too tight to the skin.

I need him to touch me or I'm going to die.

He wouldn't. Not right now. Because of what I asked, what I wanted. A cruel punishment.

The princess took one more conflicted look at the prince, his gaze remaining forward at his desk.

Since he won't, I will. And the young woman couldn't wait any longer. I will touch myself until he chooses to touch me. The throbbing anticipation taking over all of her choices.

Leila bit on her lip, brows furrowing as her hand trailed down her chest. Downward, falling, until she was able to pull at her robe. The silk fell open, and she carefully peeled the extra layer away from her body. She gasped at the air upon her flesh, taking in the lace and satin piece she wore. She waited no longer, pulling at the hem and lifting it just enough so that she could touch her center.

She bit her lip harder, just before she broke the skin. Hiding the soft whimper that wanted to free itself from her mouth. The feeling of her cold, shaking hand against herself was excruciating in its minuscule relief. Like releasing a swollen barge with a pin prick. Slow, and not enough.

But it felt good. Good enough as she began teasing herself in aching circles, her hips falling open as she did so. She let the book fall off of her chest and slide to the bed, her hips only rising slightly as she continued her teasing touches.

After several strokes onto herself, she forgot there was a point to hide. The sharp sensation every time she swiped over the top of herself, feeling her hips jolt, it made her pant heavily. Leila was too gone to feel shame. To worry about his reaction when he turned around and realized what she was doing. She was too turned on to care. Too overtaken by the sensation, the feeling. Quite honestly, wetter than she ever remembered being before in her life. So beyond reason and lust, that her when her lethargic gaze caught the prince again she decided to fuck with him. To destroy any discipline he had left. Because she needed him more than anything, and she'd do anything to get it in this moment.

"Mhmm, Taehyung." She moaned out, moving fast enough now for her arousal to make slick noises.

The man stiffened in his chair immediately. So still, she'd almost swear his every bone became metal. His shoulders rose and fell heavily, his head turning slowly to the side. She could only see his hard jaw, the curve of his lips and her hand moved faster.

This time the noise she let out was involuntary, edged by his attentions.

"Leila." He growled out her name in a controlled warning, not even turning to fully face her as he held onto his ink pen and his head for his dear life.

Fighting so hard not to move to her.

It was precious. How he warred with temptation. She'd just have to send in the finally battalion.

"You don't want to come and take what's yours?" She managed to moan out, a breathless cry as blood pulsed beneath her fingers.

Like the pull of a trigger, the prince broke his imaginary chains. Leila yelped, Taehyung moving to her grabbing her within measly seconds.

His eyes were black, pitch black. The eclipse in the sky, his shapely mouth almost snarled with what looked anger. His arms held her around her waist and one circling around her knees, his gaze not leaving her irises, even as her hand held her center so that it didn't grind up against his chest.

"What are you-" Leila started, her cheeks heated to the deepest red as he moved her over to his work area, letting go of her waist.

The princess struggled, using one hand to wrap around his neck so that he didn't fall back.
Her words left her as the orderly prince swiped his desk with one hand, sending the contents flying everywhere as the other gripped her ass.

He set her down abruptly, and Leila felt the wood chill her flamed skin. She remained opened to him, her eyes wide, lips parted as they stared down each other. His appraisal intoxicating as his eyes remained on her own, despite her spread position practically underneath him.

He stood, taller than her. Moving close so that his legs were between hers, his torso only inches from her center. His chest and face angled so close to her, she had to lean back. As they challenged one another, the raven haired man's eyes grew more hooded.

Untamed, under the illusion of control and contempt.

There was a fully bloomed silence, one with petals and leaves and branches. The only sound being the harsh gasps that left Leila's lips, ones that she couldn't hide.

The prince took in her almost sheepish surprise, a slow arrogant lift of his mouth making him that much more devastating.

The prince inched closer, her chin lifting on its own accord. I want his kiss more than I want to breathe. Breaths apart. I want this, I want him. I want this. His eyes flickered to her lips, for only a second before making their way back. I want this forever.

His tone only a delicious murmur, "Don't get shy for me now Ignis. I want to see it."

من لغو شده ام

His silky voice, his urging words made her shiver in ways her hand never could. She couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand being so close and not able to touch him. Leila surged forward, attempting to close the hair's gap between them, only to have him coyly pull away.

He clicked his tongue, showing off the white of his teeth as he smiled. Gods help me. Leila couldn't remain angry, dejected for his larger hands moved to her thighs, caressing the heated flesh.

Digging in and pulling her closer to the edge of desk. At her gasp, he lost a little more of himself. Just as overtaken as his lips brushed only slightly against hers, his breath trembling with concentration. He bit his lip, pulling away and holding back from kissing her. Much to her disappointment.

The man leaned back, still holding onto her thighs. Holding his eyes so tightly shut she swore they would never open again. He breathed in deeply, slowly. Once, twice.

Before using his leg to pull his chair in, and sitting down before her, his grip on her thighs only sunk deeper. Now when his eyes opened, they remained on her center. Leila squirmed, again not used to his close inspection. The ceaseless intrigue when he looked upon every hidden piece of her like it was art. His pink lips parted, his gaze unwavering as he took in a shaky breath.

How intimate it feels.

Taehyung's voice was molten, a deep grumble as he spoke again. Like he was begging, pleading, and demanding all at once, "Show me. Show me how you touch yourself."

The prince asking overwhelmed her. The feeling between her thighs escalating, climbing. With how much she wanted him to do it, she couldn't wait. Not even as his eyes remained locked between her thighs, waiting for her to follow his orders.

She was in no mood to deny him. She could pretend, feign all she wanted.

But she knew that she liked that he wanted to watch. That it made her feel desirable. That his intense gaze only grew her need for release.

Leila was tentative, gentle as she started by her collar bone. Teasing the area where she placed her scent oil, tracing along and between the top curve of her breast. Playing with the neckline of her silky, short nightgown.

The prince watched every movement passionately. Leila swore she was dizzy with joy when one of his fingers brushed the end of the nightgown, "Did you wear this for me?"

Leila was trembling as she nodded, her cheeks reddening even more. The prince bit back a groan, his hands running up and down her thighs in response to her confirmation.

It gave her enough confidence to move down ten front of the black material. Down her torso once again, down close to ber navel. Using her other hand to keep the hem of the dress lifted.

The other slow trailing back to her wetness.

Taehyung's eyes traced every movement, his eyes, his eyes. Swallowing her, eating her, savoring her every reaction. When her fingers finally made contact, he swore, his eyes clenching shut. Before opening them. A wildness to them that she'd never fully seen before he usually hid it away. Frenzied, as he moved his hands in a sweeping motion all the way up to her hips. Making indents on the flesh as he held onto her, fissuring to bone.

"You're such a good girl, touching yourself for me. Can you feel yourself getting more wet from my voice? From performing for me? You like me watching, fuck, don't you?" Taehyung became breathless as he praised her darkly, his head moving closer to the spot between her thighs. His irises lifting up to hers over few seconds to show her just how much he enjoyed watching her pleasure herself.

"Taehyung-" Leila cried out his name, her movement becoming frantic. Her body buzzing with sensation and a river of electric moving through her ribs, her lungs.

The prince smiled again, looking up through inky lashes. Looking like a man and a demon all at once as he leaned forward, his cheeks marred with a deep flush of arousal. Pressing a languid kiss on the wrist of the hand that worked herself.

Leila's moans filled the air between them as he filled the rest of the void incessantly.

His desires pouring out like shadows upon night as he willed her close to rapture, "You wouldn't have stopped me, if I came into your room." It was a guess. A fantasy that had no backing. But with Leila's sudden lurch towards him, her eyes falling to his own without reproach, he knew he was right. The man spoke surely this time, "Even the first night. You would've had your come soaked fingers in my hair, holding my mouth closer to your pussy as I devoured you. No matter how much you hated me. No matter how much you wished me dead. You would've let me drown in you."

The girl cried out, the sensation almost becoming too much with his blunt verbiage. It stoked the rising flame in her so brightly, she wondered if it could ever be extinguished.

I am drowning. I am falling. I am drenched in him.

Leila's hips moved in a haphazard fashion, chasing and chasing as he took hold of her. He was right, he was right and she hated him for it. She's always wanted him. Even when wanting him was wrong. Even when it went against everything she fundamentally was.

"I'm, I-please. I-I can't-" Leila spilled out of her mouth, messily. Incoherent. So close to the edge, but the edge was not a fall to the ocean below. But the distance from the moon, a fall back to earth.

Taehyung shook his head, using one hand to brush back the hair that had fallen in her face.

The man then stood up, relenting a soul writhing kiss onto her lips.

Time stopped.

The ground beneath her feet didn't exist. Her heart existed within her, yet without her body. Leila practically cried with elation, letting him in. His sensual tongue melded with her own, tasting her mouth. Sweet mint filled her senses, making her even more dazed as he kissed her like he's never had the chance to before. Kissing her, pulling back. Sucking on her lips, staring into her eyes and then running his tongue along the swollen edge.

When she was on the brink of insanity, he moaned, taking her mouth fully. Slotting their mouths so close together, she wasn't sure if they were separate entities. Kissing her so fully, crushing her against him as he lifted his hands to her neck, her jaw. Anchoring his mouth to her own as he tilted his head to the side, just to kiss her deeper. Aggressive, and fast. Rough, and yet still skilled that it sent her to new heights of heaven all while her body plummeted to hell.

Taehyung pulled back, astonished and breathless. His forehead resting against her own as she shook, a fucking earthquake under his solid form. The prince's eyes pleaded with her, his voice sweetly reassuring, "Come Leila, I'm watching you. I've got you."

Gone, I am gone.

She splintered, a figment as he held her face. Whispered words she couldn't comprehend as she fell apart, pleasure exploding from her body. She hand moved still, but she felt everything. Every breath, every slight brush of air. The way his open shirt breezed against her thighs, his hard abdomen resting against her slick thighs and hand. I am in the sky, I am a cloud. Floating into nothingness. Blinding, bending, distorting her senses, sounds as the feeling snapped. A tightrope of her existence showing no beginning or end.

"Fuck." She rasped out when she finally was brought back to earth, shaken out of her stupor. Her thighs shook, her stomach heaving. Her dark hair frizzed and swallowing around her body.

The girl was spent. Sweaty, her body looking like she dipped herself in merlot from her blush.

When she finally settled her gaze back on the prince's haughty look of deviation, the situation dawned on her through that haze of coming.
He had once again turned her entire plan around. For she shook between his arms, succumbed to temptation. And while he was not whole, he had still not fed from her.

The prince leaned in closer, his hands sliding to her shoulders. Lifting her long hair back away from her now glittering body. When the girl pouted, still collecting herself his face shifted.

The prince shook his head, pressing a chaste kiss to her frowning lips, "Don't worry, I'm still seduced."

Leila had no time to argue before he slid his arms under her hips, roughly pulling her towards the edge of the desk again.

She whined, falling back onto her elbows as the man stared at her with a hungry expression.
Her shirt lay open, his eyes devouring along her breasts, her nipples peaked and blushed under the sheer black lace. Rising up and down like she'd run for miles. Glancing all the way down to her navel, still shining.

He was going to put his mouth on her. She barely survived it the first time. Leila could cry, she already felt her center pooling with her heartbeat once more.

He licked his lips, waiting. Looking up at her to see if this is what she wanted. As if trying to control his response was to whatever this was between them.

Didn't he know yet? Neither of them stood a chance.

He closed his eyes, a quirk she realized he did whenever he needed to grasp at restraint. A pastime she had thought to be his contempt for her. Now, now that she knew what it meant it made her ache for him. Especially when his eyes opened again to her own, the pupil completely blown out. More animal than human.

Taehyung held onto her for dear life, looking directly into her eyes as he made dirty promises,  "I'm going to taste you. I'm going to lick, and suck you to you forget what it feels like to be without my mouth."

Oh?

Now that her first orgasm cleared, she attempted to tease the man. Wanting to see how far she could push him tonight.

"Yeah? What if I just-" Leila said playfully, attempting to squeeze her thighs shut.

But he was in no more mood for prolonging the inevitable. His eyes darkening as he shifted closer between her legs, letting his breath tingle against her still sensitive clit.

"I will taste you."

Leila felt her heart break, as he rubbed his cheek against her inner thigh. Just to mend it back together when he dragged his lips across the skin, not even kissing as if he were a man dragging his body across the desert, looking for water.

When he finally paused himself before her centre, her pussy as he called it, he looked up at her. Black eyes somehow royal, and strong despite being on his knees for her. Enough man for her, that he would never appear weak. Just fucking obsessed.

And then, he kissed her. Massaging his mouth along her opening. The plump outside of his lips meeting with her flesh, making her lose her mind again. My prince. Mine.

He's all mine.

She mewled, arching into his mouth. He smiled into her, lifting an arm to wrap around her. He pressed his veined hand into lower back, pushing her impossibly closer onto his mouth and increasing the friction. His eyes fluttered when she cried out more, using the leverage to rub herself onto his lip. Rubbing onto his strong tongue, that continued to lick her as he created suction.

He pulled back, just enough to suck on the divet between her thigh and her center. She lifted from the desk, and his answering laugh was dusky as he pushed her back down.

"Do you know how often I think of of tasting you? Not your blood, Leila. I don't want your fucking blood. I want you riding my fucking face like you're doing right now."

Kill me, he has.

Leila moaned, grabbing onto his dark locks. Her hips pushing as he lowered slowly, torturously back to between her thighs. Watching her intensely as he licked, tongue flat from bottom to top.

The curse was wrong. The world was wrong. This is how I would meet my end.

It can't be, no matter how badly she wanted it. No matter how fucking amazing his mouth felt on her, kissing her. Eating her like it was his last and first meal.

She pulled on his hair, lifting him as if with reigns. He lifted, rising. Mouth shiny from her earlier release, and her current arousal. His eyes shined gorgeously, cheeks burnished. A man whose guilty pleasure relied on her getting off.

The man leaned forward, caging her. Lips parted as he believed she was pulling him in for a kiss.

She stopped him, somehow scrounging together some self control. He looked down at her smaller hand, resting on the expanse of open skin. The feel of it heating her palm, feeling the muscles underneath her palm. The thudding pound of his chest, when his eyes glanced back up he looked saddened.

Leila breathed out, panicked, "Feed from me. Please, feed from me. I need you, I need you everywhere. All around me. In me."

His expression closed, slightly. The prince took a step back, head shaking. Body tensing, even as he stepped closer between her thighs. His body still hard and waiting for her.

"I can't." The prince said, losing his animosity.

And she was losing him. She couldn't.

Leila placed both hands on his jaw, pulling him back to her physically and mentally. When his eyes locked back on hers they dilated again, just as dark as before. And there, when his lips parted she saw why he moved.

His fangs had sharpened, elongating. He wanted to, so badly as was still holding back.

The man stared between her lips and her eyes. Wanting to kiss her, afraid it would scare her. Because he was hungry, hungry in ways she couldn't fathom. Hungry in ways he had been in control of before, and now had lost.

Leila needed him to know she'd be there for him, in all ways possible. Whether it was dripping her dry, or kissing her until she forgot her name.

I want all of him. Why won't he give it?

And then it dawned on her. The insecurity hidden in his expression, the tension in his locked body. The way he nuzzled into her palms, scenting the skin as if she were a ghost, as if she'd disappear. Though he didn't consider himself a monster, he wasn't sure if Leila would think the same after this. That she would suddenly be disgusted of who he was, after knowing he needed her to survive. Scared she would think all he wanted her for was for the sustenance she could provide him.

Leila wanted to wipe every doubt, destroy every emotion that made him feel she'd ever deny him. Her voice rose, though her thumbs brushed softly against his cheeks, "For fucks sake. Don't you get it? I don't care if it feeds everyone else. They can all starve, I just want to feel you. I went you to take me everywhere you can, I want to run through your veins."

He placed his hands over her own, his warmth surrounding her. His abdomen clenched as he moved forward, sculpted in the candlelight. His ethereal face marred with guilt. With unbridled need, "Fuck Leila, don't. Just don't, you're going to-"

Leila cut him off, lifting one of his hands. Her heart pounding in her chest as she brought him forward, and placed his calloused palm over the thin material of her chest. His curved lips parted, a gasp escaping him as her nipple brushed against him through the material.

Leila arched her back into him, his hand remaining in place even as she moved her hand away, "Please. It would feel so fucking good. You feel so fucking good. Please, I'm losing it. I need you."

Taehyung lunged for her with inhumane quickness. A wave. And then, like frozen ice over a lake, thawed into a sweet slowness. The kind of pace one sets when they are sure of their abilities.

He craned over her, his breath hot against her as she remained still. Still and unbreakable. Never frightened, even as he showed her just how inhumane he was.

Taehyung watched her as he ran a hand over her shoulder. She shuddered, the feeling tender. He gazed at her with awe, before using his pointer finger to lift her chin. She couldn't see, as her neck remained wide open for him.

Nothing happened for a couple seconds, and she waited. He more than likely watched to see if she'd run, if she would be frightened. But she wasn't.

When he felt satisfied, he leaned closer. All pine, and bergamot, and spice. Using his straight nose to brush along her soft neck, making goosebumps arise across her flesh.

"Will you forgive me?" The man whispered softly, shattering her.

He didn't wait for an answer, before plunging his fangs into her neck.

I am ruined.

It was different from before. More potent. And all the sensations at once were making her scream into a cry, a sound as endless and void as the night. Could she see? Or was it him, just him before her. Nothing else. Her vision blurred, her whimpers nonsense as he fed from her. His lips caressing the skin, even as he sucked her blood. Like every pore could feel, like her mind was connected with his.

On another plane of existence, she was. Where all she knew was this, this need bursting through her.

The hand that she placed on her breast was still there, kneading the flesh. His palm rubbing over her nipple expertly, as he drank from her. Like his feeding from her was increasing his need for her pleasure as well.

My neck. My thighs. My heart.

Touch me everywhere. I can feel you everywhere.

She almost fell into oblivion when his other hand worked swiftly, finding her center wet once again. Lapping at her neck, all while plunging two fingers inside of her. She yelled out, grasping at his shoulders. Clawing. Pulling at his hair. Eyes rolling back into her head, as he used his thumb to circle her clit. His movements on her body frantic, even as he drank from her slowly. Pulling and pulling, and it felt like he was still licking between her thighs. All of the sensations connected, her brain unable to tell the difference.

His body rolled over her, his erection pressing into her thigh. Grinding. Trying so desperately to take his pleasure from her without asking for her to do too much.

Take me. Take all of me. My red, my silver. My moonlight, my lavender.

Leila freed her hand, just enough to slide it down his body. Every movement sending new waves of euphoria from the bite, the holes where his fangs entered her brimming with sensation. Like the edge of his finger tracing around her center.

When she reached the hem of his pants, she pulled down. Taking his length into her hand, eyes rolling back from the heat of him.

The prince twitched, a cry coming out muffled from her neck.

Even with limited space, limited mind, she moved her hand up and down. Using pressure, swirling around the head. Hellbent on him receiving satisfaction, as he had given her. She needed it, his release possessing more than her own end.

His hips moved, jerking into her fist. Uncontrolled, his grip on her breast tighter. His hand between her thighs hitting so deep inside her, his hips driving at the same place like he was pretending it wasn't his hand, but him inside of her. Gods he's so-She swallowed the pit rising within her, trying to wait. Needing him to be with her.

They both moved together, lost. In chaos, in pleasure unknown to both. If the world ended at this moment, neither would realize it.

When his thumb brushed over her again, his length somehow growing harder, his groans filling her ears, and his fangs reaching deeper into her flesh, she came once again.

It was more intense than the first, as all of the feelings came crashing together like an avalanche. This is all I know. This is all I will ever feel. Leila screamed, biting her lip as she used his fingers to ride the rest of the feeling out. Taehyung. Taehyung, gods, Taehyung. Taehyung clamped his mouth down on her, his cry primal. I am over, I just begun. Pumping into her hand still, as she felt his warm release coat her stomach and thighs. Leila shook, her entire body lifting into his as her thighs and her center clenched, it's release pounding and ebbing in. His body trembled over hers, lifting his mouth carefully off her shoulder, off her neck.

Leila closed her eyes.

She didn't even realize she'd been crying, when she felt his fingers brush against her cheeks. His voice broken with worry, his voice, his words, not making any sense.

When she finally came to, she realized he was apologizing. He thought she was crying because it hurt, because she was scared. Her stomach dropped when she saw the absolute terror and regret on his face, as he fussed over her. Trying to pull her into his chest, his eyes watering.

The prince was rambling. Stuttering, laughing nervously and then his smile would drop seconds later. Brushing her wet cheeks, over and over again with his achingly soft touches.

He never rambles. He's always so sure of himself.

What is my name again? Do I have legs? When have I ever felt this at peace?

This cared for, this-

"I won't ever do that again. My sweet Leila, I'll never do that again. I should've never done it, I knew better. I hate myself, I hate myself for hurting you. If you fear me I'm not sure what I'll do."

No. No.

Say something Leila.

The dark hair girl laughed in a fatigued, drained manner, "If we never do that again, you should fear me."

The man stopped his rambling, though his touch was still insistent. Everywhere. His eyes running along her face, as if checking for deceit. For wounds. A million emotions crossed his elegant face. Confusion, despair, and than finally melancholy relief.

A cataclysmic smile broke across his face when he realized she was okay.

Leila's heart pounded. A flutter that was new, in beat and in song.

Woah.

The prince gave her no time to understand herself, just brought her into his warm chest. Not caring they were both endlessly dirty, silver and other fluids between them.

His voice was soft as he muttered against her hair, his arms wrapped around her caved shoulders. So quiet, she barely heard it, "Jooné del-am, my Ignis."

"What?" Leila gasped out, her lips brushing his chest as she tried to lift her head. Her voice was a broken, confused rasp. Of shock, of wonder. Of a deep voracity, that she could barely comprehend.

The man pulled her close, preventing her from moving from the comfort of his warm, smooth chest. His timorous voice soothing her, "Nothing, I said nothing. I can't even think, you're so beautiful. So fucking beautiful. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

She sunk back into him, because she wanted to. Because he needed her right here. Between his arms, settled at his heart. There she would remain.

Leila couldn't have heard him right. Even if he had, he couldn't have known the gravity of what it meant to her. For him to call her the life of his heart.

Because she was sure, more sure than ever she finally knew what love was. And that she felt it for the prince, her curse.

And she was sure it would never go away, or fade now that she knew it's name.

That twinge of her heart was more dangerous than him consuming her would ever be.

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(A/N: holy fuck

woof...who else needs a cold shower? 🙋🏻‍♀️cuz that was um...explicit. Like I was blushing while writing it cuz WHew.

Since some people said they couldn't see the top of the chapter, this is the image that was the inspiration for this scene lmfao.

If you skipped to the smut at the end before reading the rest ur a fake fan 😭☠️
I told y'all I was not playing with this book. DO YOU GET IT NOW????

It's time again: comment songs that you think I should use for chapters/go with the story. Or something you'd like to see happen and I'll see if I can fit it into the plot.

Please make tiktoks/insta edits for solace I'm literally obsessed with them. Thank you all for Pinterest boards, tik toks you already send it's so nice.

This was a looooooong read 😩