Page 3 of Midnight Kingdom

CAMBION

The Castle in the Sky

I don’t move from the dark room at the back of the library. Instead, I find a rickety old chair and I make it my own. The wood creaks beneath my weight as I rest my weary bones. My eyes close of their own accord, meditation taking me instantly. I haven’t had the luxury of resting while the others slept in their beds while we were safely in the Veil.

Whether owing to the guilt or paranoia, I have yet to truly relax since Raflamir’s betrayal. I wince, the memory still fresh in my mind as I drift off into the place where I am free.

At first there’s nothing but darkness, but then a faint light begins to flicker in the distance. I walk toward that light until it brightens, engulfing me in its radiance. When the light dims, I stand in the center of a beautiful, flourishing garden with the scent of sweet flora hovering in the air.

Here, in the trenches of my mind, I find Eilish. Not a lecherous she-demon, but a brilliant angel with her wings spread wide and her pale hair blowing in the wind. She is nude and her nudity entrances me. I want her.

She smiles my way and I find myself helpless, falling to my knees.

“Do not kneel before me,” she whispers.

My forehead rests on the flat planes of her abdomen, and I soak up her warmth. I press soft kisses on her skin and bask in the whimpers that escape her. Elegant fingers trail through my hair, curling in the silken strands as I worship at the altar of her body. I stand then to tower over her as I stare into endless depths of her blue eyes. She lifts her hands and grips my shoulders. My hands drift down to her lush rear. I lift her up, eliciting a tantalizing moan from her as she wraps her legs around my waist.

Only here can I allow myself to feel our bond. Only here can I lose myself in the desire I have for her. Only here is it safe to do so.

“What do you want?” I ask. “Request anything of me and it’s yours.”

“You... I want you, Cambion.”

I almost believe her. She licks her lips and writhes in my hold, grinding against me until I feel the wetness of her arousal against the muscle of my bronzed stomach. I feast upon her with my eyes. Eilish moans unabashedly.

“Yes,” she whispers and then shivers. I feel an electric shock echo through me.

I press Eilish’s back against a tree, and the more I study the tree, the more I realize it’s an apple tree. And I suddenly understand the metaphor—Eilish is my forbidden fruit, a symbol of the destruction that will fall on me, should I give in to her witchery.

But, I know I will give in. There’s only so long I can go denying this need, this hunger.

My mouth latches onto the pink bud of her nipple, causing her to arch back with abandon. Her hand slips between us, wrapping around my length. I groan deeply and thrust into her grip. She positions the crown of my erection at her opening and pushes her hips down, sinking onto the velvet steel of my masculinity.

The sharp pleasure of penetrating her heat rolls through me and I wonder... is this what Dragan and Baron feel when they take her? Or is this intensity of feeling something that only she and I together know? Regardless, this sweet, torturous agony is something I wish to never escape.

And yet I know our time in the garden is fleeting.

Eilish rolls her hips as I match her rhythm, pulling the climax from her body, forcing her to submit to the pleasure that only I can give her. Her channel quivers as though it thanks me.I don’t stop when her muscles go slack from exertion. No, I lower her to the plush grass and drive my hips with so much force, that her teeth click with each thrust. Nails scrape down my back, causing heat to flare in the most exquisite way. I lick my hand and slide it along her folds, pressing against her clit as I push deeper and deeper into her body. Tears bead at the corners of her eyes, but still I don’t stop.

***

EILISH

I stare through the cracks in the floorboards, wondering if it’s simply dirt that exists beneath them? My mind returns to thoughts of the Midnight Queen and I can’t help the excitement that travels through me. I have a feeling that once we emancipate Morrigan, she’ll be able to give me all the answers I’ve been searching for. Answers to topics like my missing memories—where I came from, what my purpose is, how I still have my wings even though I also bear the marks of their removal?

Dragan walks over to me and leans against the wall, watching me. “I want to know what happened with Variant when we were prisoners in his castle.”

I immediately feel my stomach drop. “What happened isn’t your concern,” I say much harsher than I intend, but this isn’t a subject I want to revisit. I have a feeling if Dragan knew the specifics regarding exactly what I’d been doing (forced or not) while Variant fucked and then killed Anona, he’d be less understanding than Cambion was.

“But it’s Cambion’s concern?”

Damn Cambion! He must have told Dragan! Even though he swore up and down that it wasn’t his secret to tell!

“Cambion told you what I told him…”

“Cambion didn’t tell me anything,” he nearly interrupts.

“Then why did you mention his name?”

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