"Şi te iubesc cu milă şi cu groază
Tot ce-i al tău mi se cuvine mie,
Ca un nebun de alb ce capturează
Regina neagră pentru-o veşnicie.

And I love you with mercy and fear,
All that's yours belongs to me too
Like a white bishop that captures
The black queen for eternity"
Nebun De Alb - Adrian Paunescu

Spice - O - Meter: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️😫😤🤭Hehehehehehbebe 😈😈😈

⛓️

The both new and old allies began to work together again. Tentative, and somewhat hurried as the end of the week quickly approached.

Without the ghostly help of Sorina, whose visions seemed to have gone silent. As if she wished to leave Leila to her own devices.

It scared the shit out of her.

Taehyung listened to Leila's retailing of Lily's loyalty, to which he accepted hesitantly. And though his terribly beautiful mind conjured as many reasons as to why Lily could be lying, they could not deny her usefulness.

Nor could he deny the ache that maybe he still had a chance at having a sister.

Leila would visit her promptly, and each time relay to Taehyung exactly what was said. She spoke of history, which the prince confirmed. They all knew this to be true, of a time where the world lost its knowledge. It was all Lily would give her so far.

"So I have told you all of the first chapter. Now I am reading about the some of the properties to Lunetta, which is surprisingly detailed in this book. And now, after knowing what Clarisse has taught me, it all is starting to make sense." Lily had told her, just three days ago.

"So it goes from detailing prehistory to flowers?"

And as much as Leila attempted to keep things polite but distanced between them, they had fallen back into old habits. The blonde lay on her stomach, haphazard notes and scribbles spilled around her. Leila had taken to lying flat on her back, staring up at the dark ceiling.

Ignoring the void she felt of Jimin's presence, hidden behind walls and columns.

Lily had shrugged, "Well don't look at me like that I didn't write it."

"Can we not just skip all of this?" Leila was growing increasingly impatient. Not just out of curiosity, but because of the ever looming summer solstice, "I mean just look ahead to the curse."

"Every bit of information is important Leila. And considering I used it to save you, I think you would like it if I knew everything about it. Considering that according to this book, the effects are often temporary. Who is to say if someone slit your throat, you would survive?"

Temporary. Leila let out a sigh of relief. That meant some of the strange things she felt lately would go away. Still, she shook her head.

Lily sent her a knowing look, "That's why I am reading and translating very slowly. We cannot afford to make a mistake, if what I suspect is true."

"Tell me." I need to know. Leila insisted, now more frequently.

"Not yet. I need to be right about this." Lily shook her head, learning how to smile again, "Considering your proclivity for impulsiveness."

"You know I could just let you die with your brother." The princess turned Queen, muttered out. A casual threat, and a jest all at once. She wasn't sure what she meant anymore.

Lily snorted, "Ah, but Leila. We both know you can't."

Leila said nothing else. But she couldn't help but think she liked this new version of Lily, who was much more like her twin than she ever realized. Much more like her older brother as well.

Telling her younger sister what stalemate occurred was a much less joyous occasion.

Finding a time where Jeongguk and Setareh hadn't whisked away somewhere was already a difficult feat. But how could Leila blame them? It was partially her fault. Still she managed to gather them in the main library, disheveled and flushed as they were.

It was only right, considering it was also the day Taehyung would his close circle what had happened with the twins.

Leila gave every detail of Lily's story, and matched it to every suspicion they had. Jeongguk listened intently, face open as he nodded in agreement at certain parts. Setareh only grew more skeptical. Leila could tell, as the girl crossed her arms. Her round eyes narrowing by the minute.

Leila rushed out her next words, "But I am alive, only because she defied him. Only because she had been dosing me with Lunetta for so long."

"Only?" Setareh asked, after a few painful moments of silence.

She laughed awkwardly, "Of course thanks to you and Jeongguk as well. But think about it, she willingly gave her blood up as Taehyung's sister-"

Setareh lifted herself off of the bookcase she leaned upon. Her scowl fierce, eyes disapproving. Jeongguk watched, eyes wide as the young woman walked closer.

"Sister?" Setareh said the word like it burned her throat, "Do you really believe that she was just going along with what Jimin said? That she had little incentive to give him what he wanted? Only a fair few can deny the temptation of power, and her twin was offering it to her on a silver platter. What is in it for her to help you over someone she has grown up with, her own blood?"

Leila did not know what to make of her sister's anger, she had never felt it before. And anger from Setareh felt like rejection. It made her tongue strike quicker than her mind.

"Do not speak to me about what blood should and should not do."

Setareh's face fell, her anger turning into something colder.

Silence coated with the blood of old wounds threatened to suffocate them. Jeongguk looked between the two girls, eyes creasing. But the battle of wills persisted, for Leila often slipped over the edge before she realized that she had fallen.

"And there it is. Tell me Leila, would you offer me the same benefit of the doubt as you're offering Lily? Or does resentment only cloud your judgement with myself?" Setareh's chin wobbled as she said it, tears already forming in her eyes.

Leila could not understand her anger, her sadness.  It was as her sister had been waiting for her to make a mistake, just so she could run back home. All logic left Leila, morphing her tone into the likes of snow capped mountains.

"I gave you the benefit of the doubt when I let you live."

No, I do not mean that. She held her mouth closed. I do not mean that at all.

Throwing up her hands, Setareh let out a sharp laugh. Leila already wanted this silly fight to stop, but she couldn't find the strength to hurl out an apology. Even as more tears began to trail down her sister's face. She did not even understand why it was happening in the first place. Was her sister not happy here? She looked at Jeongguk, who still seemed shocked in his corner of the room. That cannot be true.

Her sister's tone stabbed at her, sardonic and condescending, "How gracious of you to prevent my death at the hands of the man who would soon betray you. Maybe if you weren't playing games and holding two best friends by their leashes for your own enjoyment, you would have seen one of them was ready to bite you."

Leila choked on her anger. "Get out!" Is that true? Her face burned hot with denial, with shame, "Get out or-"

Setareh stepped closer, her amber eyes blazing, "Or what? You'll send me back home? I never fucking had one Leila. You just can't see past yourself to realize that."

She left without another protest from Leila. The princess's heart beat furiously, somewhere between livid countenance and remorse. Had she truly neglected her sister all this time? She knew that the girl was no longer welcome back in their territory.

Leila wanted to call her back immediately. To tell her no matter what, she would always be welcome in these walls.

She knew she had not meant everything she said. But did Setareh? And it embarrassed her severely, that she did not know her own sister well enough to know if what she said in anger was what she really believed.

And maybe, she was justified. Because Leila had not trusted her, but still did everything in her power to keep her safe when she first arrived.

Why wouldn't Lily do the same for Jimin?

"I do not want to act like the witch she was scared to speak to." Leila said out loud, slumping onto a chair.

Jeongguk was still in the room, his smooth face holding no judgement. He stepped before his ruler, hands behind his back.

"She was never afraid of you, you know." He sighed, lips pursing, "Azita is the reason why that boy you kissed was killed. She fancied him, and you just always happened to get everything she wanted. She spoke to the Elder. She killed him. Setareh realized this and was going to tell you, and your sister threatened to have her burned the same. So she was not afraid of you, she was afraid of what would happen."

Leila laughed, though she could find nothing funny in what Jeongguk told her. It was a break of sanity. And then a deeper guilt for failing to protect her youngest sister. She held onto the arms of the chair she sat in, before she vaulted herself back to her old territory and tore her older sister apart for what she did. All these years, Leila believed herself to have made a mistake, and Azita had been purposefully causing harm to those who dared to treat her like a person. It was not harmless envy between siblings, it was visceral hatred too deeply engraved to be sanded over.

Setareh had been right, in that Leila only thought of her own feelings. Never daring to question if her sister was silently suffering.

"She never told me that." Leila said quietly, embarrassed. Her throat felt tight with unshed emotion.

Jeongguk smile meekly, stepping closer, "You should ask. She loves you, looks up to you. I think she also cannot stand that she is so similar to Lily. That you would defend her so easily, and Azita did not. There is a lot of hurt there. I do not think it's entirely aimed at you, but you are there the bear it."

Leila nodded smiling wistfully, "I am just grateful she has you to translate for her incompetent older sister."

The noble patted her shoulder, making her feel much younger than she was. It reminded her that she was just a mortal, and not the goddess so many wanted her to be, "You try Leila. And sometimes that is all anyone needs."

The eve of the execution blossomed quicker than spring's fruitful plenty. A warm wind of decision, and yet Leila could not grasp onto the reality of it.

It felt so far away when Taehyung told her initially, and being able to save Lily was like a blessing from the gods. She tried hard to forget Jimin's fear of the dark. Tried hard to remember the look in his eyes before he slit her throat, no matter how long it kept her away from sleep.

She wrote his words behind her eyes in mottled purples and blues.

He wants to use you.

He wants what he believes he is owed.

He thinks his desires are worth more than your life.

He loves me, and he wants me dead.

"Are you holding out to save him?" Leila still hadn't been able to say Jimin's name aloud. Even knowing he was so close sent her skin crawling.

Setareh had gotten into Leila's head, making her second-guess all of her decisions.

Going back to Lily's cell, she attempted to find answers. Philosophical, extensional offerings that would make the ache behind her chest stop. It helped none.

She had seen death. With her own eyes, and with Sorina's. Once again she wished back the numb she had been bred and kneaded with. And it made all the sense in the world to punish Jimin for his crimes, and to prevent further disaster from the curse.

"I know my brother is lost, and that there is nothing I can do. I am not trying to save him." Lily said, though her violet eyes were a moon coated cloud as they continued to peruse the book carefully.

The notes had become more scrawled, chaotic. They laid across every corner of the cell, and Leila couldn't even begin to decipher the handwriting even if she dared. And yet, Lily seemed content in her reading. If she was devastated over the death of her twin, she either mourned in solitude, or was in a state of denial. Leila guessed it was the latitude. Or maybe the girl had resigned herself to mourn the day Jimin made his request. She began to drink the blood Leila brought to her cell, and Leila secretly spiked it with her blood. Her cheeks became rosier, her eyes less sunken in. Some of her bones now hidden beneath plumper flesh.

"I understand why Jimin was able to attempt to hurt me. But how could he do this to Taehyung? He only believed for a period of two years that he was someone of higher birth. He threw years of friendship to the side." She sighed, "And as much as Taehyung believes it, I do not believe it only to be because I did not want him romantically. He was envious of many things. Of his relationship with the King. His standing in the court, his importance to the territory. His almost ethereal presence because of the curse. He would not risk if all for a me."

Lily bit her lip, and—was she smiling?

"Taehyung was oblivious when it came to Jimin, and Jimin swallowed down all of his pain. It was clear to everyone but them that Jimin felt inconsequential by his side. People can let go of a horse race they lost, or a drinking competition. Many cannot let go of being not chosen by the one they want. Especially when it happens twice."  Her eyes flickered to Leila's, "Sometimes men are much more petty than they are given credit."

Leila smiled, though it felt stiff. Because in the back of her head she wondered, if Lily continued to choose Leila, would she one day regret it?

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you say no to Jimin? Disregarding what we know now, Jimin was offering you rulership. Importance. Power. A way out of the Immortui curse. Why say no at all?" Leila bit her lip, feeling her chest begin to deflate, "Will you hate me after tomorrow? Because I did not love him in the way he needed?"

The words tumbled out, and Leila already regretted them. They sounded painful, and pathetic to her own ears. And still, the guilt managed to make a mockery of her carefully erected defense.

Lily sat up, her face crinkled with distaste, "I do not want a world where I do not have all that I love in it. I thought you knew enough about me to understand that. And if you are tired of hearing how much I care about you and Taehyung, you oaf, I will tell you another truth. I knew my brother would be dead after killing you and Taehyung. Not because he would finally recognize that deity would not deliver what he promised, but because he would miss you. He would not be able to live with himself long, even if he drowned in jewels and sat upon the thrown. He would still be sitting in a pool of blood, forged by those that he loves. I told you, he was good as gone when he slit your throat." Lily rolled her eyes, slowly calming, "Though he was too fucking proud to admit it. He is the softest of us all, the one who needs the most reassurance. That is why he was so easily assuaged. It is not your fault. It is the fault of those who came before us, and failed to live." She slams down the book, "And I will not let it happen again."

Leila sat, wide-eyed and a little taken aback by her friend's speech. Before she could even respond, Lily shrieked loudly.

"Holy Solis-"

A wide smile spread across her face, her pale blue eyes lifting mischievously, "I think I have it all figured out now!"

Leila held back her sarcasm, wanting to complain that she did not even know what she could possibly excited about. Considering Leila had no clue what the girl was even trying to figure out.

Both women stopped celebrating, a cloaked figure joining them by the cell. 

"Aera?" Leila questioned with confusion, and a small bit of agitation for the interruption. Lily would not speak another word of the book in someone else's presence.

The snarky woman dropped her hood, revealing her long black hair that pooled liked shadow over her shoulders. Loose. Her jade eyes were plagued with conflict, and she began to wring her fingers before the awaiting pair. Biting at the reddened flesh of her lip. She wore only a night dress under her unobtrusive covering.

Leila had never seen the woman look so disheveled before.

"I need to speak with you. Now. I do not think I can live with myself if I just let tomorrow happen." Aera said bluntly, wasting little time, "I might sound crazy."

"Never." Lily commented quietly, garnering two very intense glares.

Aera bared her teeth, "Anyways, I will tell you my plan. If you hate it, fine. Ignore me. At least I tried."

"Spit it out woman." Leila ventured, sitting up from the floor. Though frustrated, she knew Aera would not intrude unless necessary. And it was clear that she was shaken, which is something that Leila had never seen before.

She shook her head, her lids fluttering with uncertainty. She blew out a breath before biting her lip once more, and slightly tugging at the ends of her hair. Refusing to meet Leila's eyes as she scuffed her boots against the stone floor.

"Jimin's eyes are the wrong color—" Aera's cheeks were deeply flushed, wincing as she said it out loud. Then held her breath, opening her eyes slowly.

So?

Both woman spoke at the same time. Lily entertained, and Leila unimpressed.

"How do you even know that-"

"And? Didn't he magic himself to-"

Aera let out a yell of frustration, her crystal voice rasping, "Listen you imbeciles! His eyes are now black. Inhumanly black. They used to-" She stopped, shaking her head as she stepped closer to the cell, "I think...gods I can't believe I am saying this." Her laugh was small as she crossed her arms, looking up before blurting out, "I think that he's been possessed by Nox. And maybe, just maybe, the idiot male underneath does not deserve to die. At least, not in that manner."

Fuck.

The daughter of the moon turned to look at Lily, whose jaw was slackened with shock. No one made a comment, as the woman began to sob.

Because now, there was a chance. A chance to save her twin, who she had already mourned.

Leila turned to Aera, "Bring Taehyung here, now."

•
(alright get ur inhalers out. I am not playing)

"You look restless." Leila said, brushing aside Taehyung's hair as he sat at his desk.

He needed to sleep, they both did. Leila could not remember the last time he closed his eyes. Worried that if he did, Leila would not be there when he opened them.

He sighed loudly, looking down at the notes he had written. His hand flexed against his ink pen, a blob of black settling into one corner.

"I found evidence that Nox was visiting the Queen." The man tilted his head towards Leila, and she wondered when she would stop being jolted by his sheer beauty, "I went into her chambers. Found a note book hidden underneath some floor panel. She was not possessed."

"Maybe she did not need to be. Her hatred of Sorina and her resentment towards the King might have been enough for her to act without suggestion."

Taehyung pulled out a purple, leather bound book from his pocket. Placing it on the table carefully. It seemed to pulse with shadow, though the room stayed its golden glow.

"It details of visits from the deity, from when she was an adolescent. Never what they talked about, just mentioning when they met. It says nothing about the curse, nor of her plots against anyone else." The man sat back, his shoulders tensing, "Tomorrow we are going off the whim of Aera, that somehow Jimin did not act of his own volition. And what if it is true? Then what? We cannot defeat a deity. And worse, what if she is wrong?"

Because an excuse have him hope, and it could all come crashing down. She could see it in the darkness of his eyes. It would be so easy, if Jimin had not been himself. If Taehyung could just pull him from the depths of the abyss and right back by his side.

"Are you sure it will work?"

The man nodded as he tightened his jaw. Stoic and serious. All the King he was meant to be.

"Lily is his one weakness. We will use her to lure the human out of him. If there is even any left."

Leila wanted to help ease him, so she placed her hands on the bunched muscles. Working them slowly, his skin heated under her touch. He sighed openly again, sinking into his chair. Into her touch just a little more.

It stayed comfortably silent, the breeze shifting through his open windows and fluttering the gauzy curtains. A sweetness from the sea seeped into the space, as Leila bent, kissing where his neck met his spine.

Tomorrow, he would either kill or spare his brother. His lifelong friend. The man who betrayed them.

But tonight, tonight they could be happy. She wanted to be there for him entirely, so that he did not lose himself. She wanted to keep his head above the waves, even if held by a single thread.

She felt it more fiercely than she ever felt anything in her life. A surge of it rising to her throat, and coating her heart.

His skin pebbled under her lips, "Make me
your tovarăş, tonight."

Her heart pounded so wildly in her chest, she was sure he could feel it through the chair as she leaned on him. She prepared for this earlier, asking Lily for the formal word for mating.

She wanted him to know just how much it meant to her.

The man stiffened, before jostling away from her touch. She tried to keep her chin held high, but faltered when he turned to face her. His eyes wide with shock, his lips parted. The flush she liked to kiss already starting at the base of his throat, creeping all the way to his cheeks. His hands fastened like ropes to his desk, holding him back. Showing exactly what her request did to him.

"Do you even understand what you are asking?" His pupils were blown, even as he tried to appear stern.

Leila could not even spare a smile, his want was her vice. And she could feel it even with the small distance between them.

"Yes."

"That you will be tied with me forever?" He questioned, sounding disoriented. Absolutely nebulous and blurred. His already deep voice dropped about ten octaves, the question syrupy.

Why?

Did she misjudge? Is it not what they both wanted, though they never realized they could have? At least, until now.

She looked at him more closely, seeing his lust and his love behind ink lined lashes.

No he definitely wants this.

But as always, as much as he looked at her with veneration, there was thinly veiled fear. A double edged sword with the man who wanted her more than anything.

But Leila would not let him hide.

"I do. And does that scare you that I am so willing? It should not. You have an out at least, your father was able to take a second." Her voice had shifted from soft to something blunted. She hated herself for saying it, but she would not reject the truth.

The man stood up, his body almost shaking as he turned to face her. She stepped back, looking up to his height. Eyes never losing his own as he towered above her, vehement in his plea to her,
"I do not want an out. I do not want anyone else. I do not care that it was possible for him. I just want you Ignis. But I am different."

Her stomach lurched to her throat. Muscles tensing at that look upon his face. The one he wore when he denied himself.

"And that is supposed to mean?" The words felt weak, disjointed.

"You are more human than I. I grew up understanding that I would have one person, and one person always. What if-" The prince stopped, swallowing harshly. He looked uncomfortable.

Leila stepped closer, forcing him to back into his chair. She placed her finger onto his chest, prodding with every word, "What? What if I get bored? Fall for someone else? How could I possibly get tired of you when I find something new within you to cherish every single day?" She scoffed in her offense, "Sometimes even by the hour."

She threw her affections like tiny knives, and they hit their mark.

While there was obvious differences to their kinds, she thought they had battled enough over them. Immortui or not, she loved him. Her life was prolonged more than the average human, her youth preserved after age 30, but did he think it insignificant?

He stepped away from her, walking in front of his bookcase. She could already feel his absence. The man's shirt fell over his torso haphazardly, black and flowy. He grabbed onto the tall case, shifting his weight back. His muscles strained by his shoulders, his legs and Leila attempted to reign in the hunger she always felt around him.

Because she was upset. Frustrated. Livid that at every turn he would continue to pull away from her.

His voice started low, "A month earlier, and I am not sure I would have believed that a person such as you could want me." His words slathered her in their rich adoration, "As much as you do not see it, you're good. Purely good at heart. I am not. And though you have graced me with your affections, your words and promises, mating is-" He stood up straighter, clearing his throat. Flexing his hands open and closed, "I just want you to know as much as I desire it, I do not need it to know that you love me. That you will stay with me. You have nothing else to prove to me. We are young, and we have time now that we did not before."

Enough. She had heard enough.

And seen enough.

"So you do not feel the same as me?" Leila asked softly, not wanting to alert him.

Even as she crept closer.

He did not speak again until she stood before him, and watched how his eyes darkened as he gazed down upon her. His bronze throat shuddering as his tongue trailed over his bottom lip.

She pressed so closely, her chest began to capture the heat and strength of his own. She could feel his heart beat in time with hers, the desire that course through his veins.

"I beg your pardon Ignis?" The man asked affronted, tilting his head in challenge. Authoritative despite knowing he was already done for, considering his eyes dragged to her lips, to her eyes, and to the skin that touched between them.

A sight he would never fail to revel in.

(A/N: sorry let me just 👩🏻~> 👱🏼‍♀️~>🧎🏻‍♀️)

Leila kept her hands by her sides. She did not need them to slowly undo him. She fixed him with her moonlight eyes, speaking in that velvety tone that sent him spiraling.

"You do not need this as much as I do?" Her eyes languish across his skin, watching it visibly heat under her, "I wish to run through your veins, and for you to run through mine. I want you and I to be without end, or limits." The man shivered closing his eyes, and Leila trained her eyes on his jugular, "You've tasted me and all ways that you can, and you wish to deny me the pleasure?" Leila shook her head, lifting herself on her toes so she could speak closer to his ear, "You took my wedding vows from me the first time. You took my life. My heart. I am taking what is mine Taehyung. I am choosing this, and you, till our existence is only a memory. Let me. Indulge with me."

Taehyung kicked off from the bookcase, forcing Leila to move back. He began to circle her, shaking his head as he did so. Leila bit back her haughty expression, knowing she had already ensnared him. But if he wished to play, she would entertain him.

"What if I do not want to hurt you?"

"What if I do not care?"

It is an argument they had before, and yet it felt so different. The tension dared to pull taut, as his dark eyes narrowed.

His lips pulled back from his teeth in a genuine look of anger, even as he spoke in prose, "What if I want to only take you gently, and treat you with tenderness? What if this ritual does not coincide with how I like to worship you? What then, Leila?"

That racing of her heart began to pulse elsewhere, her mouth going dry. He was baiting her, warning her of his lack of propriety over the situation. He just underestimated how badly she wanted that rope of restraint to slip.

"Oh tell me how tethering ourselves together would ruin your sensibilities and your chivalrous ego?" Leila countered, raising and brow and following his liquid gait with her eyes. She placed her hands on her hip, utterly fascinated by his ominous words.

They had coupled in a carriage, with a sleeping audience. Defiled a sacred bathing chamber. Had sex after she had been almost murdered.

What was so wrong about the most sanctimonious act they could do together? A bond closer than marriage, than even love by itself.

He stilled, considering her.

"Hmm." He hums, the sound coaxing her legs apart. His dark eyes glint with something wild, "It requires your back facing me. Like this." Leila could not disguise her shock as the man spun her, pulling her flag against his chest. She could feel every line of muscle, twitching. His ribs, his heart fluttering madly in its bone cage. Felt his breath tickle across her neck, caress the wavy hair that curled up from the heat. He is holding her, feeling her though keeping his lower half away from her back. Knowing he would lose all credibility.

Leila smirked, her head falling back onto his shoulder, "And?"

His voice grows more angry and it makes her fucking crazy, "We both kneel on the bed. Like this. And you take me inside of you, because we both know you're always ready for me." Leila can hear the curl of a smile on his lips, and her knees weaken. The arm he has around her waist tightens, "I bite you on your neck. The left side, the closest to your heart." His breath skitters along the skin there, and Leila strains to reveal more of her flesh, "And you lift my left wrist to your contemptuous, irresistible mouth. Because, while you have more of a bite than many of the Immortui, you cannot ingest too much blood at a time."

"And then?" The words were dizzied, dripping. She wanted it more than anything, and she wanted it now.

He leaned down, letting his soft lips graze over the shell of her ear. She shivered, and he he relished in it, "Then I fuck you until you are rendered senseless, my pretty Leila."

The ache in her center increased ten fold, her body rippling with want. How badly, she wanted to end the battle of wills between them, to just give in. How easy it would be, to turn in his grasp and to capture his lips in her own, and hold his heart in her palm.

"Oh the horror." She droned sarcastically instead, letting him remove his touch. Letting him step away from her to not singe the both of them.

His smile was wolffish as he stood close. But not too close. His well toned arms crossed over his chest, "No. Many times over. And blood needs to be drawn with each meeting."

She suppressed her excitement at the notion, as it flooded several parts of her body with more blood.

"Oh." She sounded as enticed as she felt, "How many times?"

"On average, I have heard that it takes about ten times for an Immortui ritual to be fulfilled. With how much I want you?" His mouth lifted at the corner as he buttoned the cuffs of his shirt, exposing his forearms, "I am not sure."

Leila laughed breezily, strategically moving past the man so that her perfume would invade his senses. He inhaled sharply, leaving her smug.

"You are worried I am so beautiful the ritual won't work? How precious." She turned her back to him, messing with her nails.

"You are wrong once again princess." Leila startled, feeling him right behind her once again. His voice a low, svelte grumble in her ear, "I will make it work. I am just not sure you can handle
it."

Leila turned fully, but he did not startle. Instead he stepped closer, his face bent deliciously towards hers.

"How many more times will I have to tell you that I want you? This should not be a fight, though I love to argue with you. We both know what we want. And frankly, it is you who cannot handle me. So will you? Bind yourself to me forever, so that you are always tied to the one person who can best you?" Leila lamented, tired of pretenses.

His eyes trail from her eyes to her lips. His tongue flicking at one hidden fang, "You have no idea what you do to me. Just hearing that you wish to do this from your lips is—" His lips pursed, his eyes growing dark, "Get on the bed Ignis."

Her intake of breath is quick, one of longing. Letting go of her coy exterior, she listens faithfully.

She sits up on her elbows as Taehyung prowls before her at the end. Across the midnight sheets, her hair waved and the night air seeping through the window, she wondered if this is what the constellations felt like when humans gazed at them with wonder from below.

The man slowly got onto the bed, on his knees before her. He placed his hands on her thighs, and she felt her heartbeat everywhere. He slyly lifted the skirts of her night dress, and she had to hold back a moan as he dragged her undergarments off from her legs. A little backwards, but she wasn't complaining. Her skin was overly sensitive, every drag of fabric or quick slight of his hand felt like the heat of an open flame.

He threw the fabric behind his head, his warm hands heating her tan thighs, "I do not care of the curse, or the black sun." He pressed a kiss onto her knee, "I was made for you. And no one can tell me any differently."

Yes you are.

"Prove it, sheereen-am." Leila said, her smirk searing through her flushed cheeks. Reminiscing of their first kiss.

The man clenched his jaw in determination, taking the rest of the clothes of her body. He was delicate, kind and it was sending her further into desire. He watched her with open eyes, tasting her reactions as he carefully pulled the materials from her body. He untied the front of her dress, each pull hurried by a kiss. Softly caressing every part that her clothing fell off of, a minnow chasing a ripple at the surface of a river.

Falling apart when he kissed along her chest, his eyes fluttering closed as he relished in her skin. He muttered something about cinnamon and amber, and she was grabbing at the sheets underneath her like a mad woman.

She lifted off of her elbows, grabbing desperately to pull off his shirt. He gently pushed her back, shaking his head.

And slowly started to undress himself.

Taking him in ravenously, she watched more and more bronze appear. He was skilled, elegant as he undid the rest of his buttons. Muscles flexing as he pulled off the black garment. Eyeing her carefully as he worked on the fastenings of his trousers.

"You want to be tovarăş?" His deep voice sounded, wrapping eloquently around the word she had fumbled over.

Leila answered too quickly, "Yes."

He must have believed her to be of fair mind this time, because his smile spread so wide lines appeared on the sides of his cheeks.

"My tovarăş, my Ignis. My friend. My love. My oblivion. My solace. Mine to cherish and protect."  He holds the hem of his trousers up, which hang loosely around his hips, "I am the luckiest of men that I have somehow been bestowed the honor."

Leila crawled forward on her hands and knees, making sure to sway her hips as she did so. Taehyung leaned back, his lips parting as she daringly pressed a kiss to his bare navel. Then, sat back onto her knees so that they were closer to eye level. Taking the edge of his trousers into her hands, and pulling down.

"Until I'm senseless." She commanded him.

Taehyung swore, a low groan, before grabbing her wrists and maneuvering her until her back met his chest. Both of their breaths were labored as their skin met, shrouded by candle and moon light. Just savoring the feel of them together once again. The meaningful significance of what they were about to do finally settling in. Leila felt the strong pump of his heart, even through the hair that caught between them.

Her prince ran his straight nose along the edge of her shoulder, to her neck. His wavy hair tickled her skin, along where he traced. Her backside rested against his pelvis, his already hard length settling under her and between her thighs. And while they had been sleeping together, and learning each other, nothing has ever felt this excruciatingly intimate before.

Leila placed her hands onto his strong thighs, gripping and hoping to find sanity. And alas, with him, it was out of her reach. They had been in a similar position before, on their wedding night. He had not dared to be closer than an inch of her. And now he would die without her skin upon his for too long.

Wordlessly, the man runs one hand up her bare skin. Her center pulsing and aching with every new sensation. She felt as if she couldn't breath when his arm snaked around her chest, his hand settling on her neck.

"This is what you want?" He gritted out darkly, nipping at her jaw.

"More than anything." She gasped out

He shifted his hips, lining himself up with her. She sucked in a breath as he pressed forward, making them both moan as they made contact.

"I can tell." Taehyung commented, amusement and desire mingling on his tone, "I did not even have to touch you for you to be ready for me."

"Do it Taehyung, I am ready." Leila practically begged, not caring how she sounded. Not caring for one moment. Feeling maddened as he refused to thrust fully into her. She lifted her left hand, using it to touch his face. His neck. To pull him in closer.

Wanting to be bitten. She bent her chin down, ready to latch onto the smooth skin of his wrist. Ready to feel the warmth of him inside her mouth.

And he obliged, moving his pliant mouth to the skin of her neck. To the left side. Hovering.

She was about to protest when he fully thrust into her, making her head fall back with a cry of insurmountable pleasure. And instead of biting her neck, he gripped her jaw tightly and brought her mouth to his.

He stole her soul, her mind. Kissing her like the fate of the world depended on it. Nothing existed but him, his lips, his scent. Him inside of her. She opened her mouth, taking him. His lips searing her own, branding her as he consumed her in other ways. His tongue ran hot along her bottom lip, conquering her mouth. Caressing along her in a way that made her hazy, stricken with her need for him. Leila strained her head, kissing back just as furiously. Bringing her tongue to tangle with his without restraint, tasting the peppermint he always preferred in his tea. She moaned, drunk with him as he continued to move his hips. She couldn't hold back her sighs of pleasure as he kissed her fully, holding her up with one arm, and continued to slam his hips back into her. 

He only stopped kissing her long enough to watch her body recoil as he made them meet. Leila could do nothing but part her lips, begging and mumbling taking over. The man chuckled darkly through his panting, licking the sweat along her spine. Then bringing her closer again, her body flush against his own. 

"Now you are ready."

He lifted his palm from her throat, lifting it to her lips. Leila could barely see through her heavy-lust filled gaze, but still held him to her lips. He brushed aside her hair, still moving into her at an aching pace. 

He kissed her once, twice. Licked along the veins. 

It was Leila who bit first. 

She just needed more of him, in any way possible. 

Her mouth flooded with golden ichor, and her mind soared. She opened her mouth wider, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she willed herself to take more of him. More. More. His taste flooded her senses, spice and salt and iron. She should be disgusted, but it only did more to arouse her. She sucked in her cheeks, her tongue lapping at the wounds. 

The man shuddered, his abdomen rippling against her bare skin. 

"Fucking Ignis," Taehyung moaned into her neck, feeling weak, "Fuck." 

Before his lip parted wide, and his sharpened fangs pierced her skin. 

Her pleasure was muffled into his wrist, but the feeling only heightened. His teeth ejected their intoxicating venom, making her body feel electric. His body waved into her, and she met his thrusts by grinding into his navel. Leila was almost sliding off of his thighs, their bodies were so slick. But she would not unclench her jaw, not letting him go. Warmth dripped down her mouth, her chest. Ready to burst, as he began to make love to her neck. Sucking and licking at her wounds, coaxing out more moonlight from her star-drenched skin. Forming a new spot to wring lust from her body. 

The prince ran his free hand down her thigh, then between her thighs. Right above where their bodies met. 

She screamed into his wrist, golden blood falling from the sides. She tried to drink more, even as her body convulsed with rapture. Taehyung bit down harder, pistoning into her as he met his release simultaneously. 

Leila did not stop, her body still quaking as she ran her tongue over the bones of his wrists. Their bodies writhed together, Taehyung releasing her neck. His breath heavy against her neck as he slid out of her, his release slipping between her thighs. 

"Easy, Leila. Easy." Taehyung breathed against her cheek, trying to gently remove himself from her mouth. 

She resisted, letting more gold coat her tongue before she swallowed. And then let go.

The princess struggled to catch her breath, her vision swimming as her desire refused to crest. There was no end. Only him. 

Leila turned to him, taking in his mussed raven hair. His bronze body slick and glistening, his swollen lips, and reverential eyes. Leila did not want to be apart from him, leaning forward and kissing him just as hungrily. Falling back onto the bed, and pulling him on top of her.

Taehyung bit her bottom lip, suckling before pulling back. She followed him, and he pinned her wrists to the bed. 

"How do I taste?" The man asked. His eyes were bright, and trailed thirstily over her gold flaked mouth. He needed to know. 

"Ambrosial."  Of the gods. 

Taehyung laughed, his fangs sharp, running his tongue over forgotten silver, "Forgive me, I misjudged. Maybe you are not as human as I thought." He continued to taunt her, moving from her mouth to her collar bones, a path he often liked to take. Watching her breath catch as he flicked his tongue at her nipple, kneading the other breast in his large palm. 

She arched her back, moaning. Anticipating his next touches as he moved down the rest of her body. 

He looked up at her when he made it to her navel, tonguing her. She panted desperately, needing release once again. She placed her hands in his dark hair, pulling at the silky tresses.

"Please." She pleaded airily, needing him.

The man settled fully between her thighs, licking his lips. He could not wipe the satisfied look on his face, as he watched his release coat her body. He took some of the liquid that escaped, keeping eye contact with her as he pushed it back into her body. Using it to enter her easily. 

Leila gasped at the erotic sight, at the feeling of his fingers within her. Her body trembled with every movement. She couldn't look away from his beauty, his determination to make her feel all things a mortal should. 

"We have to ingest blood every time Leila. Do you understand?" The words were factual, but his tone was a different tale. Sensual, and inviting as he angled his fingers towards her front wall. Taking in every little sound, every movement. 

Leila nodded, unable to speak. Or maybe it was her, saying please over and over again. 

He offered his arm, the heavy weight of it resting across her body. Her bite already sealing over, though still blood covered. With his wrist in front of her face, she faltered for a moment.

"You are not going to bite my-" 

"Gods no, I am more creative than that." Taehyung shook his head, moving his head closer when he winked, "And you'll enjoy this much more. Trust me."

And Leila did, because she trusted him more than she trusted herself. 

The man lifts himself, seductively kissing along her navel. Before moving slightly lower. Leila gasps at the feeling, as he used one sharp fang to cut just above her slit. The silver blood started to leak down, coating her center with her divine essence. Effectively, allowing him to ingest her blood as he ate her out. 

Leila tried to hide her intense attraction, "You have thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

Taehyung looked up at her, his eyes hooded with desire, "Countless times Ignis." 

He smiled, biting his lip before devouring her. Leila's face contorted, pleasure ripping through her as the man began to feast on her like she was his last meal. She remembered then to bite his wrist again, and used it to anchor herself to the bed. His blood poured onto her tongue, tasting better than the last bite. Spicy and warm, and sensual. 

But the sight below her was much more invigorating. 

His lips were dripping with silver, mixing with what he left between her thighs and her new arousal for him. He licked her despairingly, looking both in agony and heaven between her thighs. He lathered her apex with the flat of his tongue, wringing out more of her cries as blood drip between them. Sucking the skin, and then moving down to dip into her opening,

She could not keep her hips down. Moans becoming incessant, as she ground herself onto his soft lips, and aggressive mouth. 

"Use me Leila, fucking use me." He whispered huskily into her, the words more of a whine, "Take what you need from me."

His words, his lips, his face were sending her over the edge. She waved into him, feeling that rising crest over. His eyes holding her steady, as she came onto his tongue. 

Neither spoke, an usual prospect for the pair. 

They were too inebriated by what they were experiencing, too lost in their carnal pleasures uniting with their love. 

Taehyung beckoned her from the bed, and she did not hesitate. She slid off as fast as she could, her body weighted. As soon as she made it to the edge, the man grew impatient, and lifted her into his arms. 

Placing her on the ledge of his window, which opened to the sky, the stars, and the sea. 

"Trust me?" He gritted out, situated between her legs. His eyes wild as he used the last of his restraint to ask her permission. 

Leila shivered, the warm air kissing along her back, "Always." 

The primal gaze he pinned her with made her shiver. She loved it when he got like that. Like nothing could hold him back from taking her, not even the gods themselves. 

He ran his fingers gently over her cheek, "Riveting." Before flattening the same hand across her neck and collar bones. He kept her gaze as he guided her body back, so that her torso met the night air. 

She breathed wildly, only the lower half of her body cradled by the sill of stone. She craned her head, looking down to the ocean below. Hearing the spray splash against the rocks, the breeze cooling the flush of her cheeks. But she felt safe, despite dangling miles above the chaos below.

Her prince was holding her, both hands gripping her hips tightly. He would never let go. 

 She looked back to the man, to see his eyes pooled with hunger and moonlight. 

"Fucking beautiful." He whispered, taking in every inch of her skin. 

Leila lifted her hips, urging him to enter her. And he did. His face contorted as he lined himself with her, agonized. And then relaxed, as he took in the way the silver light seemed to love her just as much as he did. 

I love you.

If fate exists, you are mine. 

If it does not, I will take you for my keeping. 

He quickly let her bite his wrist, telling her to drink him slowly, before he placed both hands securely around her hips. And then used the leverage to move his navel into her, stimulating all parts of her as he leaned closer. They cried out together, separate octaves as he quickened his pace. Leila let the blood pool in her mouth, her hands reaching out to grab onto the glass panes beside her. Not because she was scared, but because she needed someone worldly to hold on to. 

Taehyung moaned, angling himself lower so he could reach deeper within her. His eyes losing their sternness as he stroked with her into oblivion. Leila swallowed the last of his blood, laughing and letting her head fall back. She arched over the night air, viewing the stars below her, and the see above. Feeling like she was flying as her prince worked proudly between her legs. 

He leaned forward, edging her as he worshipped her. Slowing his pace, and kissing along the expanse of her stomach, the underside of her breasts. Absolutely gone as he suckled at every place Leila liked to put her scent oil. She jerked back with every thrust, feeling more hazy and lustful as took his time. 

I love you.

I love you.

Taehyung was saying the words aloud, eventuating every meeting of their hips. Grinding slowly, his dark eyes glazed over. Saying what she could no longer say, because she was gone. 

We are one. 

This time, Taehyung cried out over her, his face crumpling as he moved disjointedly inside her. Leila melted, his pleasure helping her reach her climax once again. 

They both panted, as Taehyung fell overtop of her. Nuzzling into the skin of her neck, and kissing where he bit before. Ignoring the spots of silver that sprung from the wounds.

Leila felt silly for crying, but her heart was so full it could not help but flood over. She looked up at the moon, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he embraced her tightly. They stayed still for several minutes, holding themselves together to prevent collapse. Wondering, if they were just one entity, if they would still be too far apart for their liking. 

Her sentimental emotions ran out when she felt him hardening against her stomach again. That same inferno from before beginning to breach inside her, as she felt the man begin to move against her body out of discomfort. 

"Again." Leila whispered, placing a wave behind his ear.

Taehyung lifted his head, dark hair sticking to his forehead from their previous joinings. His lips sickly sweet as his smiled tiredly, "Again." 

The King and Queen found their limit the next morning. 

Staying up all through the night, kissing and fucking and making love. Crying and sleeping for only a few minutes, just to wake up and start all over. Tasting and memorizing every part of each other they wanted to give. 

And still, after their last coupling, the prince used the last of his strength to pull her thighs over his chest and wake her up to her own pleasure.

Leila awoke, groggy and fulfilled. A smile seeping through her lethargy. Recognizing she was in his large bed, settled onto velvet sheets. The moon shined brightly in her face.

Taehyung was looking at her, running his fingers into the dark hair that flowed from her pillow tp his. Smiling tenderly when he realized she was awake. 

Sea breeze and bronze arms, a vice and a savior.

"I do not feel any different." Leila exclaimed. 

She had expected some burst of light. Some ring to appear on his or her finger. Maybe a clap of thunder, or an insignia. 

"No?" Taehyung asked, a little surprised. And maybe a bit concerned. The kingdom's ruler, only disturbed by the thought that Leila did not feel the same. 

Because everything changed for him. 

He is cute, my prince. 

Leila yawned, settling closer to him. Enjoying the deep ache of her body, and the soreness of her neck, "I think I already loved you too much."

She closed her eyes, but she heard his smile. 

"Go to sleep Ignis, you are not making any sense."

Leila did.

Not knowing it would be the last time she felt peace for a time.

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(A/N: HHAHAHAH YALL THOUGHT!

Okay maybe I didn't dupe anyone, but I made it seem like they were gonna go super lovey dovey and gentle (like their first time) since yanno it was their mating scene but I'm sorry...Leila wasn't having it. She possessed my thumbs and made me serve passion, angst, ten chili peppers 🙄

Also please do not ask me if Leila is going to get pregnant. Hell no. She has more important things to do. I also hateeee, despise, loathe the pregnancy trope. Unless it's integral to the story it's just lazy writing.

I was listening to heaven and back by chase atlantic so I personally want to thank them for helping me write my spice

okay now I'm gonna get a little sappy but...

I'm estimating only 5 chapters are needed after this one. 😢😢

I cannot thank everyone enough for sticking through this with me for a year. Traditional authors do not have the luxury of people supporting them through the writing process, which honestly is one of the many reasons I do not get writer's block. I like to think you all were apart of writing this book as much as I was.

I wrote this book because I heard a song that I could not get out of my head. And also because of my deep love for the moon, the sea, the sun, and the stars. (I hope that much was clear) to the point that I personified them. I wanted you all to feel like how I feel sitting by the ocean at night, watching the moon make the waves silver. Or how your hair tangles because of the wind, or how the salt smells. That is Solace; the human experience and how we feel about natural phenomenon. And I hope that you all felt that in some way while reading:) and from some of your pinterest boards💕💕 I think you guys get it.

I know it's kinda sad that it's ending but trust me, by the end, you won't be too sad. I tend to not let go of stories and characters that I will miss so dearly.