Page 39 of Spring's Descent
“My wings are sensitive.”
“Oh,” she breathed, pulling her bottom lips between her teeth.
I leaned forward, dragging my nose up the column of her neck. “So fucking sweet, little witch. Like vanilla.”
Her breathing hitched as I pressed a kiss at the edge of her jaw. Her hands trailed up my chest, exploring the curve of my shoulders, before teasing the same spot.
“I’ll teach you all the ways I like my wings played with,” I said through gritted teeth. Gripping her hips, I pressed her against me, grinding my hard cock against her center. “Just as you will show me exactly how you like your pussy eaten and fucked.”
“Do you have to talk like that?” she asked as she ground against me.
“You seem to enjoy it.”
She stilled, drawing back to shoot me a glare before crossing her arms over her chest. “Aren’t you supposed to be flying us somewhere?”
Instead of pressing the matter, I gathered her in my arms and launched into the dark skies above.
I would keep my identity a secret a little longer. There would be no turning back once our threads were secured. Despite how badly I craved her, nothing could jeopardize the safety of my realm, not even Persephone. But a growing part of myself wondered if that was still true. Billions of souls hung in thebalance… and yet, if there was a choice to be made, I didn’t think I could give my little witch up.
25
PERSEPHONE
Aidoneus had the filthiest mouth.And gods did I love it. He said things that made me feel desired to the point that I could almost believe he cared. If I didn’t think too long on who he was or where he was taking me, I let myself envision a future where I could really be his. Where someone could actually love me. Not that I would want that person—demon—to be him. But the possibility of having achoicein my future would be nice.
I didn’t ask to be the daughter of Demeter. To be used by her and Cyrus until I was nothing but a shell of a soul, cracked and hollowed. I didn’t want to be Queen of The Underworld or to restore some cosmic balance when I wasn’t the one who fucked it up in the first place. Maybe that made me selfish, but I wanted at least a facade of free will.
All I was asking for was the freedom to fuck up my life the wayIwanted to. My life wouldn’t be perfect or heroic. There wouldn’t be any songs written about me or great legends to commemorate my name… but the book of my life would be writtenby me, the pages filled with failures and successes, adventures and heartbreaks of my own device.
Ironically, Aidoneus was the first being that had shown me glimpses of what that would look like.
Tilting my head, I glanced up, marveling at how his great wings beat. The air had grown cold, the smell of embers and ash replaced by frost tinged with brine. It wasn’t like the sweet scent of snow that clung to Aidoneus. This was a numbness borne of pain.
Another gust of frigid air lashed against us. Thankful for Aidoneus’s oversized clothes, I curled further into his chest. The rhythm of his steady heartbeat acted as a soothing lullaby and I latched onto it, anchoring myself to his strength, knowing that I had very little left of my own.
Aidoneus said I was powerful. He’d called me Persephone, The Destroyer.
Lark would’ve loved that title. She was always ready to test boundaries, breaking rules every chance she got, even if it was only playing with her forbidden magic.
My fingers brushed against the opal necklace as memories of our time together surfaced. We had spent every chance we got testing the boundaries of her persuasion. It usually involved me saying something ridiculous to a boy or sneaking an extra pastry from the kitchens. Nothing big. But the mere act of Lark using magic and me practicing breaking it were both actions that weren’t tolerated in the Earth Coven.
We were supposed to escape the Earth Coven together, but now I realized we’d never stood a chance. Mother had imprisoned her sister. I hadn’t known Larkhada sister.
It explained why she hadn’t run, why we never made it further than the edge of the forest when we’d scouted for an escape route. But why not tell me?
I wondered how Mother was punishing her now. I never saw a bruise on Lark’s body, but that didn’t mean Mother hadn’t found ways to torture her. Or worse, take out her anger on Lark’s sister.
Gods above, Lark had been with us for four years. Disgust twisted my stomach as I realized Mother must have been holding her sister as a hostage all this time. I hoped to the gods that Demeter hadn’t been aware Cyrus intended to kill me, that some sliver of my mother might actually care about me, but she’d been perfectly fine selling my body and magic to him.
But selling isn’t quite the right word. What did Cyrus have to gain from bonding me? As far as the coven knew, I was a witch with minimal powers. Sure, I was the daughter of the great High Matriarch, but there was no way I’d take over the coven one day.
Or maybe Mother knew about my magic—the possibility of it, at least. Maybe everything Aidoneus had said was true.
I swallowed against the flush creeping up my neck as I thought about the blast of power that had stilled the hydra’s attack, and then to the magic that had hummed in my veins when Aidoneus had made me come. It was single-handedly the best orgasm I’d ever had. Magic had seared through me, touching every inch of my soul. The fatigue gnawing away at me from our time in Tartarus had gone. I wasn’t sure if it was my magic or the enchanted waters, but my body felt rejuvenated.
Release magic was the only type of magic I’d been able to access. I had always hoped it would be the key to unlocking more of my magic, but nothing had ever happened… until I came to The Underworld.
Mind whirling, I searched my memory for every instance there was a flicker of energy between Aidoneus and me. When his shadow bindings failed on the shores of the Lethe, the small pricks when we had climbed through The Valley of Torment, along the bridge when Kampe appeared. And again, when I raced toward him, seeking refuge in his arms as the she-dragon gave chase.