Page 25 of Crown of Flame

That looks interesting, I think. Might catch the moss on fire if I sleep next to her though.

Even so, I find myself strangely longing to sleep beside her. She quiets my hunger.

As I float in the air, hearing remnants of Serena’s dreams in my mind, I find myself drifting off to sleep.

9

SERENA

Did all of that really happen? Did I really escape a band of murderous dark elves and get rescued by a primordial being made from fire all in one day?

I wake up with a dry mouth and a sore head. I ache for water and food. But I am grateful that the harsh noise of the blizzard seems to have disappeared, along with the rest of the storm.

It is still frigid outside though, and the bitingly cold air manages to seep into the dwelling that Cinis crafted for us last night.

I roll from my side onto my back and blink drowsily at the sight above me.

I am alone in the bed he made. Because Cinis, instead of still being asleep next to me, is hovering in the air above me.

He’d probably catch the moss on fire, I think.

He hovers horizontally, with his arms folded across his chest. He inhales and exhales slowly, and his eyes are closed tightly.

It is clear that he is deeply asleep – I wasn’t sure that his kind could sleep – and I sit up then, grateful to be somewhat alone.

I shudder then as memories of the previous night invade my thoughts. Memories of him saving me, memories of me finding shelter in his arms. Shelter from the danger, shelter from the cold.

My face flushes at the memory of his body heat, burning against my skin. My throat goes dry at the memory of how hard and solid his body was against mine.

It is inevitable that I start to dwell on the mental link that popped up between us last night.

Was he reading my thoughts? Was I hearing his?

My entire body is warm and flushed at this point when I remember the way I felt him, solid and heavy and sharp, in my head.

It was an unusual experience and it was uncomfortable, to say the least.

What sane person would want a monster from a different dimension, summoned up by the dark elves, to have access to their brain?

I swallow convulsively as I remember the way he swept through my mind, rifling through my thoughts, and analyzing them.

He could sense, could feel, could probably taste, my every fear and desire. At that moment, Cinis knew more about me than I did.

But it was a double-edged sword, because while he was looking at my thoughts, sensing my desires, my body and brain were flooded with his desires.

His thoughts.

His primal base needs.

I saw how he viewed me. I saw how he wanted me. I saw that he did not understand his own need to have me.

He wanted to take me. He wanted to have his way with me. Like the dark elves would have.

But strangely, the thought of Cinis taking me, ruining me, filling me up with his heat and seed, does not scare me away.

Instead, my body grows hotter, if that is possible, and when I cross my arms over my chest, I brush up against my hardened, tight nipples.

A sudden unexpected wave of anger crashes into me then.