Violet Flames: Primordial Gods Book 1, page 14
Hopping out of bed, I stumbled to the bathroom with shaky legs so I could relieve myself. After peeing and cleaning up a little more, I came out of the bathroom and crawled into bed naked. I figured I would throw a nightgown on after he left. I was super confused about what the proper sex etiquette was because, usually, I just parted ways. But I was not going to ask him to leave. At that moment, I realized that I didn't want him to go.
Val was picking his clothes up off the floor. I laid there on my back, quietly watching him, figuring he was about to leave. He threw them on the chair and crawled in bed next to me with nothing but his shorts on. He had something in his hand, a piece of clothing, I was not sure what it was.
“Here is your nightgown, in case you would feel more comfortable sleeping in something.”
“Thanks,” I said. I took it and laid it next to me.
“That was fun,” he said, making me laugh.
“Indeed, it truly was.”
He slid up next to my side and laid there, he had his head propped up on his hand while he watched me.
"Do you mind if I stay?"
"I would love it if you stayed." He smiled brightly.
“Goodnight, Ember.” He laid his head down flat on the pillow and got comfortable.
“Goodnight, Val.”
I watched him as he closed his eyes. He was the most perfect man I had ever met—kind, gentle, fierce, and drop-dead gorgeous. Deciding I couldn't stare at him all night because I needed sleep, I rolled away from him and curled up on my side. I felt the bed move as he curled up behind me, hugging my body, pulling me close to him. He placed a gentle kiss on my shoulder before he snuggled in.
I had never been cuddled before, the feeling was weird at first, but I ended up loving it. It was comforting. I had never felt more safe in my life.
We laid in comfortable silence. I felt his chest rise and fall on my back as I watched the light flicker from the fireplace. My breathing became slow as my body relaxed, and my eyelids felt heavy. Sleep came to us both not long after that.
Chapter Fifteen
The sun was coming through the window and awakened me from the best night of sleep I had ever had. As soon as I opened my eyes, I had a smiling Valarian in my face. I realized that I was still naked.
“Good morning, love,” he said.
“Good morning,” I whimpered out as I buried my face in my pillow. Val laughed at me. Now that the night had worn off, I felt embarrassed.
There was a knock on the door and Val got up to answer it. I cringed at the thought of it being one of our friends. He said something to the person and then shut the door. He had a tray in his hands, still wearing only in his shorts.
“I had the servants bring you up breakfast. I am going to head down and get cleaned up. Would you like to take the day off from class and hang out?” He set the tray on the bed next to me.
“I would enjoy that, thank you.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I will be back in a bit.” I smiled at him as he grabbed his clothes off the chair and left.
Is he just going to walk down the hall shamelessly, with only a pair of shorts on, showing his sexy body to the servants or anyone else around? Of course, he was.
I shoved my head into my pillow and let out a happy scream as the entire night’s events ran through my head.
Sitting up, I pulled the tray toward me and ate my breakfast. As soon as I was done, I took a shower and got ready for the day. I had a permanent smile plastered on my face as I thought about last night’s events.
A knock at the door brought me back from all the sexy memories I was replaying, and I wondered if Val was back already.
I opened the door to a smiling Angel—my friend, Zayn.
“Oh. Hey, Softy.” He strolled in.
“You have any plans, Red?” I couldn’t tell him I planned on hanging out with Val.
“Not much, just reading.”
“Good because we got a mission and you’re on the order.” He handed me a piece of paper.
My heart skipped as I read my name. I already had my first real mission.
“I know it’s our day off from classes, but when missions come up like this, we have to take them. Don’t look so surprised, Ember.” Hearing him say my actual name brought my attention back up to him.
“I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”
“The first one always makes you nervous. I got mine on my second day here, so yours is not soon at all. Just like the portal, it gets easier with time.”
“Your name is not on the order, I noticed.”
“Nope, you will be going with Val and Cash. You will be well cared for.”
“Do you know what the mission is? It says DS on here.”
“I do, and if I tell you, you can’t freak out.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“There has been a Demon spotting. You must go and collect information.”
“Where?”
He ran his hands through his hair, and I looked back down at the paper.
“MZ.” My hand went to my mouth.
“Mazuria, your home.”
“What of my sister?” I asked Zayn, trying to keep my promise and not panic, but I was sure my heart stopped working.
“She is perfectly well, I checked on her this morning, unbeknownst to her or anyone else. I flew in and quickly returned after I was made aware of the sighting.”
“You flew to Mazuria?”
“Not the whole way, that would have taken a week or more. I took a portal to my homeland, to Valheim, and flew across from there. I knew you would have questions and I wanted to have answers for you without being seen.” He smiled lightly.
“Thank you, Zayn.” My heart ached at the love I had for my friend. I pulled him in and hugged him.
“Now, get ready and meet me at the bottom of the stairs.”
I swallowed and then nodded. I was about to do my first real mission.
I changed into my fighting leathers, strapped on my dagger, and headed down to meet Zayn. We met by the front door and he took me down to the weapons storage.
“Do you know how to use a sword?” Zayn asked as I looked at the walls lined with weapons.
“I don’t. I only know how to use a bow and my dagger.”
“You can bring a bow if you would like, I see you have your dagger.”
I nodded. “I would like a bow.”
“Take whichever pleases you.”
I grabbed the bow I used for hunting.
“This one will do.”
Zayn grabbed some arrows and a quiver, then handed them to me. Cash strolled in and the look on his face said he was ready for this mission.
He had on a deep brown shirt with leather armbands for fighting. He also had a dark brown leather gorget hanging on his chest, which had leather shoulder caps attached. There were small, rounded leather scales decorating the chest piece. They almost looked like dragon scales.
In the center of the gorget was an embossed emblem. It was a sword with a wing on each side—the same symbol as the Angel’s tattoo. He also wore brown trousers, boots, and his blonde hair was in a bun. He grabbed two battle-axes and stuck them in his belt.
“Are you ready for this, Ember?” Cash asked with a huge smile. I nodded. I was, indeed, not.
I am not ready.
“She’s ready,” Valarian said as he walked in, and my attention turned to him. He smiled at me. I smiled back, trying not to blush at the last memories I had of him.
Valarian had a single leather pauldron that was black. It was attached to the leather harness belt he was wearing. I watched him as he walked around, picking out his weapon. He chose a short sword for his harness.
Since I saw him rip that wolf’s jaws apart with his bare hands, I was unsure why he needed a weapon.
I didn’t know violence could be so sexy.
I think the same thing when I look at you, love. He winked at me and I flushed.
“Alright, troops, let's go.” Cash was too excited.
We headed out of the manor and walked toward the portal.
“Since the mission is on Mazuria, we will have to portal over there.” Cash looked apologetically at me and nodded at the portal guard as we entered.
I hate portals. I wielded the thought to Val.
Just breathe, it gets easier each time. Valarian smiled sympathetically.
We stepped onto the portal and were whipped through air and life. The rush was intense, I tried to keep my eyes open this time, but it was like everything was going by so fast. I felt as if I was going to get sick, so I closed my eyes as I started to sway.
Oh no.
Two hands went around my waist and hugged me, and I steadied. The warmth of the skin felt lovely. I knew it was Valarian by his scent, so I laid my head against his chest. Then we landed. I opened my eyes, and we were in the country of Mazuria.
Cash glanced back and forth between our faces in surprise by our hug. He smoothed his beard out and didn’t say anything. I looked up and met Valarian’s eyes.
“Are you okay, love?” He grabbed my chin, looking over my face.
“I’m fine.” He is so sexy.
“Shield.” He grinned and dropped his hands.
I threw my shield up.
“What happened? My shield was up when we left.”
“It fell. Always check them after galing, any large emotional response, and especially after using a portal.”
Once we left the portal, we started walking toward my town, Pyreland. Seeing everything was weird. I had not been gone long, but it felt like forever ago. My new daily routine had taken over, and I had forgotten about how different my life used to be.
Cash stopped walking, so we came to a halt with him.
“We are meeting the Duke of Mazuria, so we must go to Spellchild Castle first.”
“Good. I don’t need anyone to gale me, I know the way,” I said.
“I don’t know the way,” Valarian said sheepishly.
I prowled over to him the way he does to me and wrapped my arms around him. I deepened my voice to sound like a male.
“I will take you,” I said to him, trying not to laugh.
“To the Gods!” Cash started shaking his head and laughing as he galed away.
“I like your arms around me.” I completely froze at his words. I looked up as my heart raced. I swallowed as I looked into his beautiful violet eyes. We might have more than just sex.
“Don’t get used to it,” I quickly said, trying to hide my emotions. He laughed, and I galed us right outside the castle wards.
Chapter Sixteen
Spellchild Castle was as impressive as I remembered. It was not as big as the king’s castle, but it was still gorgeous, even on a smaller scale. It was a light-colored brick with steep, pointy, red towers on the outside. Ivy leaves were growing up most of the castle.
Cash walked up to us, and I let go of Valarian.
“Ember, Zayn said that you are going to take the lead today since you know the Duke of Mazuria, and you need the practice. I will start it off and you follow suit,” Cash informed me.
I cringed on the inside at the mention of the duke. I found him to be not to my liking.
“Of course.” I politely smiled.
“Lead the way.” Cash gestured with a slight bow.
I smiled nervously as we strolled. We met our escort and a few of the guards outside the castle. Something was odd about them. There were not many of them like there usually were, and the ones here did not seem friendly. They treated us more like enemies than they did fellow guards, which I found extremely strange.
We walked inside, and I looked around at the castle. It was the same as when I was younger. There was a touch of soft blue color everywhere. It was on the curtains, the rugs, and the flags. They were the duke’s color. I squished up my nose at the thought. The duke was never a friend of mine, he was mean, so I now hated the color.
We were escorted to the duke’s quarters. He was sitting impatiently waiting for us. He had a scowl on his face from the minute he laid his emerald-green eyes on me. The duke never liked me much either, and I honestly did not know why or care to understand why.
“It is about time. I was worried I was going to have to manage the situation myself,” the duke said, rather snottily.
“We apologize, Your Grace,” Cash said sincerely. “We came as soon as we got word.”
I glanced over and noticed that Valarian went stone-faced. His eyes were narrowed at the duke.
“There were Demons on my lands. They came after nightfall last night. How are you going to manage this situation?”
Cash nudged my arm, reminding me to talk.
“Was anyone injured, Your Grace?” I was worried about the people I knew.
“No, they were not, female,” he spat the words like I was evil.
I went still.
I don’t like the duke. Val stiffened.
That makes two of us, Val. I let out a slow breath.
“What exactly happened, Your Grace?” Cash was giving me time to recover from the duke’s response.
“They came up on the beach, close to the edge of town. A woman saw them and warned everyone. People were hysterical.”
“What happened to the Demons, Your Grace?”
“Nothing happened. They left.” He looked like he was ready for this conversation to be over. I decided to try and speak again.
“A Demon has not entered these lands in years, Your Grace.”
“Leave the talking for the males, dear. Learn your place.” I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself.
I will rip his throat out if he speaks to you that way again. Val’s words shocked me. I glanced up at him, he looked angry.
Don’t do that. I am fine. I nudged his arm, trying to relax or distract him—I was unsure which.
“So, what are you going to do about this?”
“We will talk to the town folk and get as much information as possible. We will manage it, Your Grace,” Cash was good at being nice. He was an elegant speaker.
The duke stood up.
“You’re dismissed.” He waved his hand and quickly walked away before we had a chance to bow.
We hurried out of the castle, and I could feel the anxiety and anger coming off the males. I hated the duke. I did not know why, but he was always snarky with me even when I was little.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” Val let out a low growl that sent shivers down me. Good thing we were out of earshot of the castle.
“He is the worst duke I have ever had to deal with, out of all the lands.” Cash rubbed a hand across his forehead.
“I should rip his heart out for how he treated you.” Valarian touched my arm. I met his eyes.
“You can’t do that, and don't say that.”
“Why? It's true. I have no qualms about ripping his fucking heart out.” Val had a stone-cold face.
“Val, calm down,” Cash chimed in. “He just has superiority issues.”
“That I can quickly relieve him of when I drain him of his blood.” Val let out another growl. My eyes went wide at the sound and the fierceness on his face. Why is he so angry?
“I will wield your emotions to calm you if I have to, buddy.” Val went still at Cash’s words.
“That will not be necessary.” Val cracked his neck, and his face softened. I felt relieved when I saw him relax slightly.
“All right, let us head to the entrance of Pyreland.”
I took a deep breath and walked over to Val and put my arms around him so we could gale.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“I’m fine, love. Let’s go,” he said as he bit the inside of his cheek. He did not look fine to me. I laid my head on his chest and galed us to the edge of town, outside the wards, he kissed the top of my head as we landed. Cash came in right behind us and dropped my hands from Valarian
We started walking—all of us remaining quiet. We got to town and my house was in the first row of homes at the edge. I glanced over at it longingly, hoping we could stop and see my sister.
“She is at work, Zayn informed me, until late this afternoon.” Cash smiled longingly and sighed.
They are keeping watch on my sister, I thought to myself, feeling grateful.
I smiled and nodded, and we continued walking. We strolled into the center of town, and all eyes were on us—all eyes were on me. Some people waved to me; some people called out my name. Some people gasped at the sight of us. Some looked concerned about the recent events. Most of the people looked excited. It was weird to see their faces filled with such wonder.
We walked past the bakery where my sister now worked. I glanced in the window and saw her waving her hands and smiling while talking to a customer. I stopped walking as I looked at her beautiful face.
“What are you looking at?” Cash looked in at my sister, the expression on his face was pure longing. “Oh.”
“Can we stop?” He did not acknowledge me, he just kept looking at her.
Cinder looked over toward the window, her eyes going wide. She clapped a hand over her mouth and ran to the door. She slammed into me with the biggest hug I have ever had.
“What are you doing here?” her voice cracked.
“We are on a mission.” I let go of the hug.
Cinder noticed the others and her face looked slightly shocked.
“Oh. Hi,” she said sweetly while blushing at Cash.
“Hello. Nice to see you again, Cinder.” Cash smiled big at her. His blue eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“Cinder, this is Valarian Grey.” Her eyes went wide at the recognition of his name.
Since I had told her some things about Valarian, I was sure she was running through those memories. I hope she did not think any bad thoughts or he would hear them.
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled and held her hand out to Val and he shook it.
Since this was the first Vampire she had ever met, I was proud of her reaction. It was better than my reaction had been.
“Likewise.” Val smiled kindly at her. Which means she kept her thoughts in check, or so I hoped.
“How are you, Cin?”
