20. Livy

CHAPTER TWENTY

LIVY

" T he doctor said I'm going to be fine. Really. I'm okay. I promise." Ferina insisted, rolling back against the numerous pillows in her infirmary bed.

She had a private room with a bedside table and a large bay window allowing the bright sunshine to funnel inside.

Malek's face scrunched up in profound concern, irate enough to kill someone. And it was easy to see why. We three had collectively spent more time in the infirmary than we did our own rooms over the last week.

"I hunted down the mage who'd interrupted our vacation pretty quickly. I then went after all the mages I could find in the library," Malek said. "I had no idea so many of them had slipped through my fingers. He let a small army into the palace and all in a matter of minutes. My carelessness almost got the two of you killed. I'm so sorry."

He turned, pacing over to the bedside table and flickered the lamp on and off. He fidgeted with it just to distract himself from his feelings.

"Mally, you saved us. None of this is your fault." Ferina argued .

"Exactly. If you hadn't shown up, that giant would have swallowed me whole." I moved a fluffy pillow to the side and sat on the end of Ferina's bed.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Why is a gigantic, hideous corpse decomposing in the palace rose gardens?" Ferina asked and the three of us looked through the window at the dead giant's foot outside.

"Sooooo about that..." I drew out my words, not sure how to explain it.

I didn't remember if the issue of me being a chaos elemental ever came up during my childhood. As far as I knew, Malek and Ferina still had no idea about my hidden powers. Nor was I sure I should divulge it.

People with my element were seen as cursed. We were routinely thrown into a river as babies in most wolf packs across the world, all for the crime of being way more trouble than we were worth.

Malek stalked up to me, stopping just short of the bed. His steely gaze transfixed on my face and looked as if he'd only just remembered something important he wanted to say.

Kneeling at my feet, he captured both my hands. His touch was warm and comforting.

"To have to resort to using your chaos element as you did, you must have been so scared. Sunny, I promise you I will never let you fall into the hands of my enemies ever again."

"Ohhh. So that's the power of a chaos elemental, huh? Fascinating." Ferina said before casually reaching for her phone and flipping through social media like none of this even mattered.

"You knew I was a chaos elemental?" I asked, bewildered.

"Of course. Even back when we were younger, you tried to hide it from me, like your element embarrassed you. But random explosions would happen around town every time you got really angry or scared. It was obvious that you were a chaos elemental. I just decided to let you tell me when you were ready. "

I wasn't sure what impressed me more, the fact that Malek could easily figure out something that no one in the Prometheus Pack ever could. Or the fact that he cared enough about my insecurities that he would wait until I was ready to come clean to him about my chaos.

"So, you don't think I'm cursed?" Still a bit insecure about my secret being revealed, my hands shrank away of their own accord.

He scooped them up, nestling them over his chest.

"I could never think that about you and if anyone ever tells you anything to that effect, I want you to tell me and I will handle it." He showed just enough teeth to make his violent intentions absolutely clear.

I didn't like that everything for Malek seemed to link back to ruthlessness and brutality, but I did like how willing he was to fight for me.

"Okay, I didn't want to have to be the one to say this but you two have been in here all day and it's starting to get a little ripe. Plus, you guys look like hell. Why don't you wash up and get some sleep, okay?" Ferina said sweetly, clasping her hands to her puffy cheek.

I glanced down at my dust and blood smattered blouse. Malek would look gorgeous in a burlap sack, but even he was looking pretty chewed up after his battle with the mages.

Malek agreed with Ferina and escorted me back to my room. I took a well needed hot shower, fighting the sleepiness that weighed down my lids.

The violet skies were dotted with clouds and wind rattled the window. I hoped it would rain, it was always easier to sleep during a downpour.

The bed called to me so loudly, I didn't even check my phone before crawling under the thick fluffy covers and drifting off to sleep.

A deep throated yell jolted me from sleep. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since I went to bed but I guessed a few hours since I felt moderately well rested.

A second scream rang out, this one drowned out by the heavy rain that now drummed against the window.

Flipping the covers up, I climbed out of bed and searched for the light switch.

"Livienne." A voice called my name, it was distorted as if the sound were bubbling up from under deep water.

I shifted on my heels and something thick got stuck in my throat. My heart chimed like a symbol, and I drew myself back two steps.

First I sensed the presence of someone in my room and then I saw it. It was a male. He was see through, appearing like a wispy ghost or a corporeal hallucination. His eyes, dark and soulful and his handsome face gaunter than I remember. His clothes were tattered, soiled and peppered with tiny holes.

"Chasten?" I asked and he didn't answer.

He looked just like Chasten. I was sure of it. I tried to forget about him and the other demi-gods but now with him in my room, it was utterly impossible to ignore him.

I touched his face, my hand moving right through him as if he were smoke.

He looked at me with a blank, dead-like expression as he floated past me, phasing through my door.

I pursued him, flinging the door open and darting after him.

None of the hatred or rage I felt the last time I'd seen the demi-gods was present now. Yes, they killed my parents and I needed answers. But as I flew down the dark hallway after him, confusion and concern swept me up like a broom. Was Chasten dead? If so, how ?

"Slow down. I can't run any faster!" I called out to him, but he just kept going, always maintaining a seven step lead, no matter how swiftly I moved.

Now on the bottom floor, he phased through the palace's front door. I hauled the heavy door open, ushering in the raging winds.

Challenging the pouring rain, I followed him into the gardens. My bare feet sunk into spongy grass as I tried not to slip.

The punishing water just kept rushing, blinding me and stinging my fragile skin. He moved through the gardens, towards the woods on the north side of the palace grounds.

"Chasten!" I bellowed and he stopped under the arc of two tilted trees that sat on the rim of the pitch-black woods.

He turned and faced me. "Don't trust him, Livienne. Do not trust the Demon God." Chasten's ghostly form spoke eerily. "Get away from him and stay away!"

"Are you dead!?" I asked and he stared back at me blankly. The Chasten I knew had always been so warm, a smile permanently drawn on his face.

This being in front of me was a shadow of the man I knew.

A shriek rebounded from the palace's direction distracting me. I looked back, quickly returning to Chasten but he'd vanished leaving no trace. The screaming continued from inside the palace making me wonder what the hell was going on in there.

The thunder rolled uncontrollably, lightning brightening up the night's sky like fireworks.

A bolt struck a nearby tree, splitting the trunk in two and setting it ablaze. The broken off section, twisted in the wind, cutting a path for me as it fell.

The flaming wood shot for me. I stumbled over the slippery grass and stones, trying to get out of the way .

Strong hands lifted me, moving me so fast that all I saw was a blur. Next thing I knew, Malek held me princess style. We watched the smoldering trunk hit land, from a safe distance away.

"What in the world are you doing out here?" He demanded, his face heavy with confusion, his enormous figure rocking with fury.

"Someone is screaming inside the palace. Did you hear it?" I asked, not wanting to mention Chasten to Malek. I was half sure I'd hallucinated him anyway.

"It's just the restless yells of palace soldiers, eager for battle." He avoided eye contact.

Or soldiers battling PTSD, I thought but didn't say.

"Are you-Are you crying?" he swiped his finger under my eye.

"No, it's just the rain." I lied. I was so shaken up by hallucinating Chasten, the tears pricked behind my eyes. Seeing him brought back memories and emotions I preferred stayed buried.

"Hold on tight." He straightened himself, carrying me inside the palace.

My face touched something cold on his chest. I saw it was the large green pendant he had offered me from his treasure chest. His mother's necklace, the one I refused before running away.

We still haven't discussed that little incident and I wonder if Malek was upset with me over it.

Upstairs, Malek bypassed my room.

"You passed it. My room is back there." I pointed out.

"We're going to mine." He said like he was telling me and not asking.

We entered his room. He wrapped me in the biggest, fluffiest towel I'd ever seen, and he rested me on his massive bed.

"Give me a minute. I'll turn up the heat." He looked for the remote and clicked it a few times while pointing it at the electric heater .

"What in the world possessed you to go outside in this weather?" he asked as the hot air began filling the room.

"I thought I saw someone out there and that they needed help, but I was wrong," I lied.

"Well next time, please call me first and I'll come with you." We worked a towel through his hair and dried it.

I sneezed, rubbing my nose in the towel. I dried my hair and visually explored Malek's room.

The room was large, three times the size of mine. It was well decorated and stately, bearing a mild smell of lilac. Dark wood was everywhere. The bed head, canopy, bedside table and dresser drawers were all made of it, giving the room a rustic feel.

The ceiling was higher than any other room in the palace with portraits of demons I assumed were either his family or historical figures adorning most of the walls.

Malek drew his shirt off, dropping it to the floor. His mountains of muscles sprawled out before me and my cheeks warmed just from looking at how wide his shoulders were. I'd never seen a man with such bulk or tantalizing power.

I ogled him like a horny schoolgirl, only looking away as I noticed him watching me.

"Wait right there." He dipped into an alcove at the far end of the room and away as knocking noises sounded.

He reappeared and plopped himself down beside me on the bed. He hovered over me like a lion considering when to attack, his gaze so hot on me my flesh warmed.

His lips parted and my neck tilted as if my body instinctively knew what was coming next, his rapturous kiss. I could almost taste the sweetness of his lips. My nostrils sucked in a greedy breath, desperate for the scent of musk and powerful man .

My lids had already begun drifting closed when he plucked a big red book from behind his back and held it up to my face like a picket sign.

"I love books as much as the next wolf, but am I missing something here?" I scratched my temple.

"It was your favorite." He declared excitedly, slipping the book open and flipping through the pages.

I leaned closer, scanning the pages and reading a few random sentences. "I think I remember this. It was something about a crazy queen, right?"

"She was a little crazy but she was so much more than that." Malek continued flipping pages as nostalgia brightened his smile. "Do you remember it? This is the story of a legendary fae. You loved her story. She goes from being an outlaw and criminal to queen of her entire country."

"That's right, she was abused and despised as a child by her parents. They saw her as a mere spare and only cared for her twin brother." I continued, as the memories slowly returned. "Her brother was the only one to ever show her love. He was her everything and she risked everything to save his life when he was captured. Avoiding almost certain death she conquers her enemies, saves her brother and rises to become a warrior queen."

"That's right and the day we met, you had this book with you. I saw you reading it in the forest." He spoke. "I walked up to you and you noticed that I was crying."

"That's right. You were the cutest little crybaby I'd ever seen," I teased and he laughed.

"And then…" he continued. "You took my hand, invited me to sit with you and read this book to me, starting at chapter nine."

"The funniest chapter," I said and he slowly nodded, seeming pleased that it was coming back to me.

I'd never heard his tone so warm and jovial than it was now. Even his eyes that always maintained just a little bit of coldness, warmed like hot chocolate.

"I remember that day, I didn't even realize you were a demon. I thought you were some type of ‘goat boy' because of your tiny horns."

He glanced around not seeing anything, in an exaggerated show of surprise.

"And here I thought you were taken by my natural good looks." He swept his hair back dramatically. "Well, goat boy or not, you brought light to my life that day. And now I'm going to do the same by making you laugh your cheeks red with chapter nine."

He read the chapter aloud, taking numerous breaks for us to laugh. I couldn't believe my parents let a twelve year old read this. Almost all the Fae Queen's antics had sexual undertones.

By the end of the chapter, things soured for Queen Jessica. A man she'd been falling in love with betrayed her, getting her locked away in a dark tower. We both stopped laughing then.

"You know, Sunny. There is no betrayal so heinous that could ever make me turn my back on you." He slowly closed the book, going silent as if waiting for me to say something.

"Um, thank you?" I mouthed uncomfortably. I wasn't sure what he meant but the silence dragged on so long he must have been waiting for me to say something.

"That includes cavorting with the resistance," he said calmly.

My blood ran as cold as winter rain. Did Malek know that I'd met Varcus before and that he tried to recruit me?

"I know you met Varcus and his men in a chapel and didn't tell me." he said, confirming my suspicions.

I replied with silence, waiting for him to yell, scream or attack. Nothing happened. He just sat there placid and serene, with the same warmth emitting from his eyes that was there when he first opened the book.

"I just sat there and listened. I didn't join or take part in any way. Nor did I agree with everything he was saying." I said defensively, and he raised a calming hand.

Malek really did have eyes everywhere. How in the world did he know that I'd met Varcus in the chapel? Friendly as he was, Malek was formidable and impossible to keep secrets from. I'd better not forget that.

"I haven't made this easy for you, Sunny. I know that." His fingers feathered across my face and he followed the motion with his eyes. "I know you don't agree with all of my decisions. And you've been a wildfire since the day we met. I'm delighted to see that hasn't changed."

His gaze lingered on my lips as if possessed by them.

"So, you're not angry I don't tell you everything?" I asked and he shook his head.

"And, you actually like that I'm defiant and don't obey your every command?" I cocked my head to the left, unsure.

"You are the only one I would ever allow to truly defy my wishes." He seized me, wrapping his arms around me like a straight jacket. "I don't want to put out your fire. I'm not afraid of getting burned by you, Sunny. As a matter of fact, the power hidden in your flame thrills me. Knowing that you and you alone have power over me sets my heart ablaze for you."

He was not like any other alpha I ever met. Most alphas wanted to control your every move and thought, but Malek was different. He respected me in ways I never had been before.

My heart raced uncontrollably as heat ravaged through me like a brush fire. How could this demon prompt such desire in me? My every nerve ending ached, no, begged for his touch.

As our eyes locked, one thing became abundantly clear. All my defenses bent in the face of his grace. His vulnerability intrigued me, drawing me to him on a cellular level. Every word he spoke made me feel more adored, drawing me to him like parched lips to water .

Every inch of my aching body believed it belonged to him and demanded more. My expression voiced my ravenous hunger.

Clearly, he felt the same as twin flames lit up beneath his pupils. His large muscles flexed as his inner beast surged to life within him.

"I need you." He roared animalistically, and unable to hold himself back any longer, he pounced, drawing me into his lap.