He looks at me, and I give him a wink. He barks a laugh, the sound rich and beautiful.
We’re led to a smaller room, the walls made of cracked stone with glowing lava veins. The room is bare, save for a stone slab shaped like a bed—no mattress, no covers.
“Well. I’m glad we’re not sleeping here.” I say, wrinkling my nose.
“Yeah. He doesn’t get many guests, as you can imagine.” The guard leaves as Korithax sits on the edge of the stone bed, pulling me between his legs.
“But I don’t need a mattress to make you scream, little flower.” He whispers, stroking a hand down my bare back.
I pull away, watching as his brows furrow. “Oh no. I’m just a business transaction. And I don’t recall seeing anything in the contract about sexual relations, Korithax.”
He runs his tongue over his teeth, making a low sucking noise.
“Really, Daisy?” He asks, irritated.
“Really,” I say, crossing my arms. “If you want to play those games, then so do I.”
“I’m not playing any fucking games,” he snaps.
“So, I’m just a business transaction then?” I ask.
“No. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” He growls.
“So, what do you mean, Kori? Because I’m tired of your bullshit now.”
He raises a brow. “Such a foul mouth, my little flower. I’m really rubbing off on you.”
I roll my eyes. “Maybe you are.”
He sighs, running a hand through his tousled hair. “And that’s exactly what I don’t want. You’re too pure for a man like me, Daisy. I don’t know how to navigate this.” He gestures between us. “I don’t love. I don’t do gentle. I’m a beast, a man built to destroy, born from darkness.”
I step between his legs again and cup his cheek. He closes his eyes at the contact, inhaling deeply.
“Look at me, Korithax,” I murmur.
His obsidian eyes meet mine, and I take a deep inhale, trying to calm my nerves. “I told you; I’m yours. And if you don’t want me, that’s fine. But I’m only going to say this once, because I’m not going to beg you to feel the same way. I want you, Korithax.I see who you are, what you are, and where you came from. And I still choose you.”
My heart thunders in my chest, the fear of rejection almost too much as he stares at me in utter silence. He exhales sharply, dropping his head and shaking it.
I sigh, lowering my hand. I take a step back, “Okay,” I whisper, my voice trembling as I feel my heart crack—fracturing just like the stone all around us.
We sitin silence for an hour.
Korithax hasn’t moved from the bed, and I alternate between the windows in the room, looking out over the realm before me. It’s terrifying here. Nothing but broken rock, rivers of lava, and storm-filled skies. I really can’t wait to leave.
If I’m right, we only have one more realm before we arrive in Noxthrallia, where I’ll say goodbye to my mortal life and spend thousands of years with a man who sees me as nothing more than a contract.
I suck my bottom lip between my teeth to stop it from trembling, and discreetly wipe away the tear that escapes my eyes. How did I let myself begin to feel this way for him when I knew from the start he only wanted a bride to silence the celestial asshats who controlled the realms? He’d done nothing but treat me like dirt, and my traitorous heart still decided she wanted him. Evidentially, I’m living up to the ‘weak, pathetic mortal,’ brand he gave me. Clearly I just have issues with caring about asshole men. My dad, Ethan, now Korithax. Lucky me.
A knockat the door pulls me from my thoughts. I turn and watch as Korithax strides over and opens it. He nods once, takes something from the guard, and shuts the door behind him.
He’s holding a scroll, sealed with his sigil pressed into ruby-coloured wax. He breaks it open and reads it as I bite the side of my thumb, waiting patiently.
“FUCK!” He roars, slamming his fist into the wall. Lava trickles over his hand before he jerks away with a hiss, chunks of stone crumbling to the floor.
I startle. “What is it?” I ask, walking toward him.
He turns to face me, his eyes feral. “Those fucking assholes, who think they’re so high and mighty. That’s what’s wrong.”
