Page 110 of A Rising Hope

His eyes darkened as he drank in my body immersed in moonlight. My chest purred with feminine satisfaction at his gaze, so primal, so fucking feral. Just for me. Because of me.

I wanted him but he wanted me even more. He cupped my breast, his lips finding the most sensitive part as he kissed.

“You are fucking divine, Finnleah,” he uttered. “You are everything I desire. You are everything I crave. And if this is a hint of justice, then fucking heavens and hells, I shall spend my life atoning for all my sins just to get another taste of you.”

There was something so mighty, so overpowering to see his entire soul quake in my presence, to hunger for me with such strength that there wouldn’t be anything I could ask for that he would deny me of. A word from me and the most powerful man to ever exist would beg on his knees for a simple touch.

“I want you, Gideon. All of you. In all your glory. In all your might. I want it all,” I moaned. He met my look, understanding the silent ask. A thrill ran through my body.

I wasn’t dulling my godly powers, but in that moment, I realized that he had been masking his. Power rippled through the surrounding matter. His celestial exaltation uniting and tearing apart worlds all at the same time.

Universes collided and stars were born as he moved, plummeting deep into me. Pleasure like lightning seared through every corner of my soul. Our hearts united in a timeless rhythm. Our bodies singing a song of paradise, of heaven, of justice and of triumph.

His teeth scraped the tip of my aroused nipple, pain mixing with pleasure, sending me to places I had never been before. Anger, love, worry, excitement all mixed into one feeling of pure love. He moved faster, each thrust pushing me towards the edge into oblivion.

Time froze and my entire existence exploded as culmination thundered through my body. I moaned, a cry of pleasure.

We were divine.

Eternal.

One.

I tracedlazy circles on Gideon’s chest, cuddled against his heart as we watched the imminent sunrise. The large half-circle of the sun painted the sky in bright lilac colors. The first rays of light tangled between the last shimmer of the stars.

“So have you figured out which part of your soul they’ve taken?” Gideon eyed the sleeping dragons, their loud exhales in perfect rhythm.

I looked at the scaly creatures, wondering. I didn’t feel much different and yet I was changed, whether it was from the realization of who I was, of who I had become, or of my soul being split, I wasn’t sure.

“No, not really,” I answered.

“Well,” Gideon smiled, “Considering their behavior, they got a bit of your stubbornness. Which, if you ask me, you had more than enough to go around, so I don’t mind.” He chuckled, his chest rumbling against my cheek. The sound warmed my scarred soul.

A few crickets chirped nearby, and we paused our conversation to listen to their song.

“So you burned all the darkness, huh?” Gideon continued after a while. We talked about everything that had happened to us in the last few weeks. I nestled closer to him. The velvety wing of the dragon wrapped around us, keeping us warm through the night.

“Yes, with your swords, it was like my raw fire exploded.”

“They are powerful swords, passed down from the first Destroyer to each of the following male Justice Wielders. The stones in them contain a drop of blood from each of the prior raw fire wielders, magnifying the magic, a contribution from and to each generation to follow.” He brushed a kiss on the top of my head. “Not even typical Destroyers can wield them. The fact that you were able to touch them without burning your hand that day in the Cursed Forest was another confirmation you were a Justice Wielder.”

“It wasn’t quite the most pleasant feeling,” I admitted.

“That is because while fire courses through your blood, so does other magic.”

The dragons shifted behind us, still deep in their sleep.

“Fucking elves.” Gideon rubbed the bridge of his nose, still stunned at my recollection of everything that had transpired while he was away.

“I still can’t believe they came. It was a wild gamble. But if Elf King was anything like Tuluma, there was a chance he’d listen to me.” My hand instinctively reached for Tuluma’s necklace, only to find it missing.

“What did you say to him?”

“Well, I wroteI am avenging your sister’s death, are you?”

“That’s all?”

“I also included her necklace there too. I doubt that my message was all it took for him to set aside the waging hatred between our people, but I hope I get to learn one day why he chose to help. I hope I get to talk to him. I’d love to tell him about her. And hear him tell me about her before she cared for me.”

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