Page 41 of Fire & Ice

"Ah... yes, well introducing you two was a mistake that I suffer with every day. Had I just told Beauregard I did not know you well enough for an introduction and allowed him to meet you the next day… sure you’d have felt the attraction but being mated-that would be null and void... no worries I have a way to remedy that and free you from Fate’s so-called hold."

"I don't want that... I want Beau and I know he wants me... something is wrong.”

"He wants you, Tempest... Really? Didn't look like that in his study when he had your good friend Sara pressed up against the wall. It looked as if he was seconds away from sticking his dick in her cunt and his fangs in her neck," he chuckled darkly.

"It's just not right Charlie... something's not right."

Charlie clears his throat, his breath ragged as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fist, tightly holding onto something. "Just take this as a show of my sincerest apologies."

His fist opens, and he holds it out to me palm up, proffering a delicate gold chain from which dangles a single red stone. Bloodstone, perhaps, or a ruby. There is something strange about it though, a subtle pulse of power I can feel even from here.

“It's okay Charlie really..." I said backing away from him, but for every step I took back, he stepped forward until my back met a stone wall that dug into my lace dress. I stare at the necklace, torn.

"I insist, Tempest," he said as he held the necklace's long chain open and slipped it over my voluminous hair, after he had lifted the mass of curls, allowing the chain to settle upon my neck. The pendant comes to rest between the valley of my breasts. For a moment, nothing happens, but then a surge of power floods my senses. A heady, intoxicating rush of magic that settles into my bones, twining with my own gift of fire.

"This brings out your beauty even more," he breathed, his gaze burning into me. "I insist that you wear it always."

Charlie's smile turns predatory, his eyes glowing with possessive triumph. He begins to chant, the words strange and hypnotic, his magic wrapping around us. The necklace grows warm against my skin, the pendant pulsing with power in time to Charlie's words.

A haze descends upon my mind, memories slipping through my grasp like smoke. Beau's face wavers and fades, our connection torn away strand by strand. I cling to the fading remnants of our bond, but it's no use.

Tempest

Confusion clouds my thoughts, a strange emptiness filling the void left behind. I search for the source of this hollow ache, grasping at shadows that slip from my reach. There is something missing, something vital and intrinsic to my being. But try as I might, I cannot remember what it is.

Only a bone-deep longing remains.

Charlie's grip tightens around my waist, his triumphant smile fading into a predatory smirk. "It is done. You are mine now, Tempest, as you were always meant to be."

Mine. The word resonates through me, an echo.

I meet Charlie's gaze, defiance fading into desire, the hollow ache inside demanding to be filled. Perhaps he can give me what I have lost, make me whole again.

"Show me," I whisper, leaning into his embrace.

Charlie's smirk deepens into a wicked grin. "As you wish."

The necklace pulses with heat, magic and desire swirling into an inferno. Charlie's lips descend upon mine, greed and possession in every searing touch. I give myself over to the flames, longing to burn.

A whirlwind picks us up, placing our feet within one of the palace room’s. I moan into Charlie's kiss, aching to lose myself in his embrace. The necklace pulses in time with my racing heart, chains of lust and longing binding us together. I am clay in Charlie's hands, ready to be molded into whatever he desires.

"You are mine," he growls against my lips. "Heart, body and soul. And I will give you everything you crave, my darling Tempest, if you surrender to me completely."

His words evoke a longing I do not understand, an emptiness I’m not sure can be filled. I nod, helpless against the tide of desire and the magic he wields.

Triumph gleams in Charlie's eyes as the necklace sears my skin, binding me to his will.

The necklace pulses hotter, magic sinking deep into my flesh and bone. Shadows gather in my mind, clouding thought and reason. I cling to Charlie as the darkness rises, embracing oblivion and the promise of bliss, until there is pain.

I gasped for air, wrenching away from Charlie’s kiss as I’m doubled over by pain. My heart feels as if a vice has it tight within its grip. Something deathly cold is fighting for dominance over the fire inside of me.

There is only heartache and the abyss of darkness as Charlie's voice washes over me, "obliviscatur tui memorias. Beauregard remota est ab animo."

Chapter 41

Gabriel

The study was a scene of chaos. Scorch marks stained the walls and furniture, and a single flickering torch was the only source of light. In the center of the room, Councilman Deakon Lacey lay unconscious on the floor, no doubt felled by Tempest's fire blast.

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