Page 11 of Of Storm and Emerald
“Your eyes…there are bright green streaks in them now that weren’t there before.”
Auraelia shot up in the tub as Daemon’s words to her in the garden barreled their way to the forefront of her mind, colliding with the interaction she had with her mother while getting ready for the ball.
She stepped from the tub, sloshing water onto the floor in the process, and threw on her dressing gown as she hastily walked to her vanity. Peering into the glass, she saw it. Small streaks of green shot across her eyes like bolts of lightning. Closing her eyes, she once again felt for her magic.
Minutes seemed to pass with no noticeable changes, but as her frustration grew, the wind outside picked up and rattled the windows of her room. Then, just as she felt a warm heaviness in her chest, thunder sounded directly above the castle.
Chapter Four
Daemon
Ican’tbelievesheleft me standing out here in the goddess damned rain. How the fuck did she know who I was? Who the hell is she?!Daemon stood frozen right whereshehad left him.
Shortly after she had abandoned him there, the rain let up and the clouds started to clear away. He headed back towards the castle, adjusting his cock–that was painfully hard, thanks to a certain little minx–to a more tolerable position in his trousers. He made his way through the maze of hedges, trying desperately to remember all the twists and turns that had led them to the sanctuary.
Halfway back, thunder rolled overhead and lightning struck in the distance. Decidedly not wanting to be caught in the middle of another freak storm, he quickened his pace. After a few wrong turns, he finally made it back to the entrance of the garden.
The party seemed to have dwindled down to a few drunken stragglers, but he still didn’t want to draw attention to himself by walking into the ballroom sopping wet. Fortunately, while exploring the castle and its grounds before the ball, he’d discovered a few servant’s entrances. Unfortunately, the door he’d chosen to make his discreet entrance also happened to be where supplies were delivered to the kitchen, and there was still staff meandering about.
At the sight of the crown prince in the kitchen–soaked to the core and dripping on the recently mopped floor–all work stopped, and the eyes of the kitchen staff went as wide as the saucers on which their delicious meals had been served. They all dipped into low bows, then an elderly woman at the back of the room, most likely the head chef, cleared her throat as she straightened. “Excuse me, Your Highness, is there something that we can make for you? Or help you with?”
Slightly embarrassed at his current state—and that he was most definitely putting these people out—Daemon plastered a grin on his face and shook his head. “No, I’m quite alright, thank you. Just got caught in the rain while taking a stroll through the lovely gardens and didn’t want to disturb the party. Though it seems I may have gotten turned around. If you would be so kind as to point me in the proper direction of my rooms, I’ll be out of your way.”
Back in his suite, he roughly closed the door behind him and made his way across the space, once again adjusting his cock that still strained against the laces of his pants.
All the guests here for the coronation were settled into the east wing of the castle and separated by court affiliation. And although Daemon had an entire crew that traveled with him to Lyndaria, they remained on his ship in the harbor.
He’d only brought one person with him to the castle, so they ended up in a double suite. Both sides had a bedchamber and a washroom, the only shared space being the sitting area. For that, Daemon was relieved. He really didn’t want to hear what went on after dark in the room that his companion occupied.
It was simple, but well decorated and furnished to keep guests comfortable during their stay. Woven rugs covered the dark wood floors, and a cozy sitting area with a small fireplace opened to the floor to ceiling windows which overlooked the mountains in the distance.
Storming into the bedchamber, he bypassed the large four-poster bed, stripping on his way to the shower. He needed to bring some warmth back to his body and see if he could do something about the heaviness that still weighed down his cock.
Stepping into the shower, he groaned from the delicious heat of the water as it cascaded over his body.
He’d heard that the castle, and most of the residents in the city, had updated plumbing that brought running cold and hot water directly into their homes. But he was never more grateful for it than he was at that moment. The bathing chamber was small but had all the necessary features and the last thing he wanted to do was drag some poor sucker from their bed to bring water to his room for a bath.
In Kalmeera, the capital city within the Court of Sapphire Isles, only the castle had new plumbing. Though they were steadily working on updating the rest of the city to hopefully make the lives of their citizens a little easier.
As the water rained down, he closed his eyes, propped one arm on the wall and rested his head against it. Gripping his cock in the other hand, he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.Fucking shit, how am I still this hard?
Tightening his grip, Daemon worked himself in a steady rhythm as he reminisced on his evening in the garden withhis star.
The way her arousal tasted on his tongue, the feeling of her cunt gripping his fingers as he worked her to the edge over and over again until he finally tipped her over. The way her fingers tugged and tangled in his hair. How she smelled of lavender and chamomile, which would now forever be ingrained onto his soul. The way she looked at him like a wanton goddess for whom he would gladly get down on his knees for again so that he could worship at her feet.
He pictured her tight pussy riding his cock instead of his fist as he began working himself closer and closer to the release he so desperately needed. His imagination filling his head with the sounds of her pleasure-filled whimpers and moans. With one final stroke, he clenched his teeth as he painted the wall of the shower with his cum, the evidence of which was quickly washed away in the streams of water.
“Well, that was certainly intense. What cunt got you wound so tight?” A deep voice cut through the silence like a hot knife.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Daemon replied without even turning around, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right out.”
“Take your time, youobviouslyhave some things to work through.”
“Oh, fuck off!”
Sighing, Daemon pushed off of the wall and washed quickly. After wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out into his bedchamber to find none other than his pain in the ass best friend, Aiden, lounging on his bed picking at his nails with a dagger.
Aiden was a good-looking man, standing just as tall as Daemon. His sun-bleached hair was perfectly coiffed at all times and his skin was golden from spending his days on ships. He kept his face clean shaven, claiming‘women prefer it this way, they don’t want rug burn from my face.’His eyes were the color of warm honey, framed by dark lashes and bushy brows.
