Page 52 of Shadows of Fate

Walking into the room, I was startled for a moment to actually find others there. Although no one turned to look at me. There were more arched windows along the far wall, but the rest of the room was taken up by more gold and cream gossamer curtains, plush pillows strewn about, and one massive four-poster bed in the middle of the room. The floor was a dark stone now, not the same gold as outside of the room, and there were miscellaneous-sized fur rugs under the pillows. Across the room, there were four females kneeling on some of the pillows that I could make out from here, but all of them were turned facing the opposite direction of the door.

“Excuse me? I don’t mean to interrupt but—” I started, but still no one turned.

I started toward them when one of them abruptly turned in my direction. I stopped where I was, shocked for a moment at what I was seeing.

“Silvana?” I questioned quietly. But she didn’t seem to be looking at me, so much as looking back toward the door where I’d come from.

She also wasn’tmySilvana—at least not how I knew her. Her hair was shorter, just above her shoulders, and pin-straight. Her signature red lips were a pale pink, and she wore a light blue floor-length dress that hugged her entire torso until her hips where it was slit up the sides. The sleeves billowed long around her wrists and gold jewelry adorned her ears and neck.

But none of that was what truly stopped me in my tracks. No, it was her eyes. Where there was normally fire behind that ice-blue gaze, there was a distance now. Her gaze was blank as if her body was here, but her mind was a million miles away.

I took another step toward her but stopped when someone passed by me—again, not seeming to see me at all. I looked over and realized it was the same male depicted in the statue. I growled as he walked to Silvana and gently cupped her jaw. A modest smile curved against her lips, while her eyes held that same dead gaze. She didn’t look up at him, though, she kept her gaze toward the floor.

What the fuck was going on?

“Now, my pets, what has Silvie taught us today?” he asked.

Silvie?The nickname made me want to puke.

“Cora?” he continued.

One of the females next to Silvana glanced up at him and back toward the floor. She was kneeling on a pillow, her back perfectly straight, hands in her lap, gaze toward the floor. Her long black hair was curled and almost to her butt, it was so long. I knew this must’ve been Silvana’s sister.

“To only speak when spoken to, Master,” she answered quietly, her voice so low it might’ve been more of a whisper.

“Good. What else? Cassia?”

The next female to speak was a small little thing, even smaller than Allie. She had short brown hair, the same length as Silvana’s. Her gaze never left the floor, but her hands were wringing together in her lap, the anxiety clear.

“Gazes to the floor unless told otherwise,” Cassia whispered.

He walked over and stood in front of her, then squatted in front of her. Grabbing her chin, he jerked her face up toward him—her gaze never left the floor.

“Look at me, Cassia,” he growled, and her eyes slowly rose to look at him. “Have you learned your lesson?” She started to nod her head, and he roughly released the lock he had on her jaw. She caught herself before falling, and none of the other females moved a muscle.

“I’m glad Silvie has taught you all a valuable lesson.” He smirked and then walked toward the bed. He started unbuttoning the shirt he was wearing, before throwing it on the floor. “Now, who’s first? Little dove? Would you like to show the others how to please Master?”

Without lifting her gaze from the floor, Silvana slowly rose from the pillow where she was seated. “Of course, Master. It would be my honor,” she replied. Her voice was now just as dead and unfeeling as her gaze when she saw him enter the room.

I started walking toward her, every fiber of my being determined to get her the fuck out of there. I couldn’t leave her there. I wasn’t fully sure what was going on, but I didn’t care. I had to wipe away that look in her eye.

I reached for her?—

I was blinking, staring up at my ceiling. I could feel the warmth of Silvana next to me. It was all a dream. I clenched and released my fist a few times. Trying to shake off the unease without waking her. I glanced down at her long silver hair spread out on my chest where she was sleeping.

My shadows writhed under my skin again, begging to be let out and to protect what was mine. I’d only slept a short time after we completed the bond. I released a few shadows from my palm, and they wrapped around the back of her body, pulling her closer to me. She shifted slightly and let out a pleased sigh, leading my mind to vastly different places than it had just been.

I slowly pulled my arm from under her and pushed her onto her back. Happy she was still naked, I began kissing down her stomach and along her hips. Glancing up at her, I was pleased to see she was still sleeping soundly. I quickly shed my pants before I gently pushed her thighs apart and nestled myself between them. I began slowly licking her cunt, starting from the bottom and ending by pulling her clit into my mouth. I smiled as she started to thrust her hips against my mouth.

“That’s it, My Queen,” I growled against her soft skin as I kissed along her inner thigh. My cock was already leaking from the taste of her alone, I ground my hips into the bed. I kissed back up her thigh and started fucking her with my tongue. Wrapping my arms around her thighs and gripping them tightly to hold her still, I released my shadows to tie her arms above her head, and a few more to caress and pinch her nipples.

“Fuck, Raiden,” she groaned, as she slowly started to open her eyes. She tried to move, but quickly realized she wasn’t going anywhere. I licked back up to her clit again and slid a finger inside of her as she continued cursing my name and begging to come.

“I do love it when you beg, darling.” I could feel her cunt tightening around my finger with her impending orgasm. I pulled my finger out, only to rise over her and replace it with my cock, thrusting roughly and filling her to the hilt.

“You don’t come unless it’s on my cock, Silvana,” I growled, as she gasped at the intrusion. “You know the rules.”

I pulled her legs up to my shoulders, her hands still stuck above her head, my shadows writhing against her breasts, and set a brutal pace. Part of me was still raging against the visions my mind had conjured while I slept, and I needed to know—to hear it.

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