25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Beleth

" W atch your fucking back!" I bellowed, sending my shadows after Celeste just as she whipped around to face the fire serpent that had burst from the rock behind her. Her calm mask slipped and fear crept into her eyes, but then the ground beneath her shook and giant pieces of rock chipped from it, flying toward the monster. "Fucking hell, this is all your fault!"

‘What do you mean?' Cyrus shot back, his anger and concern making our stomach twist. ‘She can't use fire because those creatures literally live in it and her necromancy doesn't work because the serpents are made of rock! All things considered, she's doing a splendid job!'

"Have you been paying attention at all?" I snarled. "She almost died three times already! If she gets killed here, we'll lose everything!"

My shadows wrapped protectively around her just as the creature's tail swished underneath the onslaught of debris, smashing into my magic. The pain was a small price to pay for her life…

What the…? My pain was not a fucking small price! Her life would have been worthless if I wasn't dependent on her power .

I lost my focus and didn't see the tail of the second creature that crashed into the ground beside me, missing my foot by mere inches. The stone exploded, sending me flying back. The landing forced the air out of my lungs and while I stared at the dark forms circling overhead, I silently cursed this stupid place and that infuriating woman.

Celeste's scream had me rushing to my feet and when I found her again, she had escaped the protection of my shadows and was just ducking under the tail of the second goddamn snake. The first one was lying squashed underneath a giant pile of burning stones, but knowing its kind, it would soon slither into the ground and come back up in no time. We had to move faster.

‘Where is the third one?' Cyrus asked, and I froze.

Shit, there had been three. That's why we couldn't keep up. But where had it gone?

I got my answer when the earth beneath Celeste's feet cracked. All I heard was her shouting "Ah, shit!" before the entire section beneath her shot toward the sky. She fell back, rolling to the edge of the rock, but caught herself short of falling over. With a scream of frustration, she pulled herself back up just as the fire serpent let out a deafening roar. ‘Fuck whoever picked this stupid challenge and fuck their mother too! ' I cursed as I covered my ears to stop the drums from bursting.

My eyes never left the woman, who was swaying dangerously while trying to remain upright. I could translocate up there, but the slab of stone was shaking so much that there was a bigger chance of me ending up inside the rock or the empty air than reaching her. But what choice did I have when she was about to be devoured by something even worse than a monster made of stone?

I watched as the three bird-like creatures in the sky dove one by one, hungry red eyes locked on their prey. Their giant forms made them look like dragons from this distance, but I had seen them up close. They were actually smaller, bodies made of cursed bones that seemed to be gathered from all kinds of animals, so deformed and asymmetrical that their shape played tricks on the eye. They had no flesh, just a thin layer of skin over their enormous wings and massive torsos.

And talons. Four enormous talons on every leg, each almost as big as Celeste herself.

Stranded up there, she was basically food served on a rocky platter.

"Fuck!" I cursed, breaking into a run. "I never should have agreed to this! Fuck! "

Celeste's scream made me look up again, but to my relief, it wasn't to see her being snatched away. Fire exploded toward the red sky, engulfing one of the demons in a bright motherfucking blaze while the others screeched and drew back. Unfortunately, her victory lasted only a few seconds, because another of the creatures returned, landing on the edge of the rock and reaching toward her.

She ducked and crawled between its talons, grabbing a long, sharp-looking stone and shoving it in what seemed to be its fucking ass. The bird let out a shriek that made even the serpents cower, then flew up, leaving the third one to try its luck.

The final beast circled her, searching for an opening while Celeste raised her pathetic weapon. Her flaming hair whipped into her face every time the rock tilted and she didn't seem to notice that the bird flew closer and closer while she tried to clear her vision.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! It was going to kill her if I didn't get her down from there!

‘Catch her,' Cyrus said in a panicked voice. ‘You can catch her and translocate to safety!'

‘Are you crazy? She won't jump from up there! No sane person would!' I snarled as I drew closer to the serpent, looking for a way up. The other two birds had returned, moving above her in circles like they could already foresee her demise.

‘She's… not exactly sane,' Cyrus chuckled nervously, his fear palpable. ‘She's out of time! Do something!'

"Fuck!" I cursed again, running around the boulder that blocked my way. "RED!" I screamed and her head snapped in my direction. I raised my arms toward her. "JUMP!"

Her lips parted and horror flooded her gaze, but then one of the demons shrieked and she was suddenly running toward the edge. Despite telling her to jump, I still stared in shock as she kicked her feet off, soaring into the air for a moment before free-falling toward the ground. The terrified scream that tore from her pierced all the way to my black soul, and in the next instance, I was running alongside my shadows and positioning myself in her trajectory. It felt like an eternity passed while she fell, then all of a sudden, her body smashed into mine and I was left breathless again.

With the last of my sound mind, I translocated.

Our landing was hard and painful—for me at least, since it was my head bouncing off the stone floor and her body crashing on top of me. I tried to stay conscious, but even when I felt her move, I couldn't do anything but lie there and wait for my magic to heal me. Once my gaze finally started working, I found her leaning over, her long hair tickling my face while her lips formed words I couldn't understand.

"Beleth!" I heard her shout when my ears eventually popped. "Are you alright? Did you—"

"Get off me, you idiot," I snarled, pushing her away, so I had room to breathe. She dropped on her ass beside me, wincing in pain and glaring at me like any of this was my fault. "I shouldn't have listened to you! This whole idea was insane! You are making me insane!"

I sat up, or at least tried to, but my head was still spinning, so I fell back down, landing almost in her lap. Her arms came around me as if she was trying to hug me and I pushed her off again, skidding away from her. Once I had a solid hold on the edge of the table, I rose to my feet.

By the time I could face her without the ceiling falling, she was up and glaring. Dust covered her from head to toe with several holes burned into her clothes and bruises and scratches healing all over her pale skin.

Her hair had slipped out of her braid and there was dry blood smeared across her cheek, but she was in one piece. Unlike me. I felt like I fought with all seven princes and none of them held back their punches. I couldn't even pinpoint all the places I was bleeding from because of her.

"I need to have some fucking strength left when I reach the prince, not die before fucking passing the first two trials!" I snarled. "You are not only not helping, you are making it worse! You're weak and useless!"

"Oh, fuck off!" she snapped. "We passed the first challenge in five minutes because of me! Those trees or whatever they were, they responded to my magic, and they led us out!" She glowered, then quickly looked away, but not before I noticed the shift in her expression, something almost like pain.

I looked her over again, searching her body for any wound that would explain the reaction, but found none. Was it internal bleeding? Concussion? What the fuck was wrong with her?

"If you had to pass through them alone, it would have taken you hours!" she continued to shout. "And I bet that those eyes we saw weren't just a figment of my imagination!"

Her words drew my attention back to her face, my anger returning .

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled, taking a step toward her. She straightened up, jutting her chin out in defiance. "None of it matters if we can't pass the second trial and you are too fucking slow!" She gasped in indignation. "You can't fight those creatures with brute strength and I can't fight and protect you at the same time! I have better chances alone!"

"You'll never beat the prince if you've spent all your power before that!" she hissed, balling her hands into fists. I raised an eyebrow, daring her to use those, but she just took a deep breath. When she released it, her face was calm. "We'll figure out a way."

I shook my head. "No, we won't! Because I'm not taking that risk anymore! It's done!" Anger flared in her eyes, but again , she looked away, her entire body stiffening. "It was a… decent idea, but it didn't work. You're staying here until I figure this out." She opened her mouth, but I raised a finger in warning. "Do not push me right now, Red."

Her good sense seemed to prevail because she said nothing as I ran my hand over the back of my throbbing head. Pain shot through the wound and when I withdrew my fingers, they came back smeared in red.

"Shit," I hissed, striding to the basin with the water I prepared.

‘She is trying to help,' Cyrus said pointedly.

‘I can't risk her dying. This would defeat the whole purpose of winning the trial,' I replied as I set the bowl on the table, ignoring the liquid that sloshed over my fingers.

‘I know, but she's right. You can figure this out together. She found a way to pass the first test without using a single ounce of your power. What if she can find a way through the second trial too? You'd be facing a prince at your strongest and that has never happened!'

I grumbled in response, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of making a fair point.

The first time we went to check out the trial, we never made it past the forest because we couldn't figure out how to avoid the beasts lurking in there. Getting lost inside would have been a death warrant, and I wasn't risking her life for the fucking first test. But she had figured it out—she had begged me to take her again and she had gotten us through that forest in less than five minutes. I would have been impressed if it wasn't for the abysmal way we failed the second test just now.

‘It's too risky,' I murmured, more to myself than to him. Turning around in search of something to clean the blood with, I didn't realize Celeste had moved until I found myself face-to-face with her. Her expression was dark and unfriendly, but she held a rag like a peace offering. Except when I tried to take it, she pulled her hand away.

"I'll do it. Sit," she said, nodding toward the chair. I sneered at the command, trying to snatch the rag from her hand again, but she avoided me with surprising ease. "Stop acting like a child. The wound is on the back of your head, you can't clean it properly yourself. Now sit your ass down!" When I didn't, she shifted her weight to one leg, giving me an exasperated look. "Look, I don't particularly want to touch you either, but I need you in one piece if I want to get out of here."

I was just considering storming out of the room when Cyrus muttered, ‘You will just prove her right,' and I stopped, grinding my teeth in frustration. Taking a step back, I dropped heavily into my seat, trying to ignore her as best as I could.

Her touch was light and gentle, and before I knew it, my body was relaxing under her ministrations. The water quickly turned red, and she had to change the cloth twice before applying the paste I pointed her to. To my utmost shock, she did it all without saying a single word.

"It's done," she announced, wiping her hands on her pants. "Can I clean the one on your face, or are you going to throw another temper tantrum?"

‘Be nice, she is just trying to help,' Cyrus murmured while I was preparing to tell her to fuck off. I swallowed the words, making sure my face was blank when she circled the chair to look at me.

"Do whatever you want," I muttered, and Cyrus hemmed in approval. Instead of retorting something annoying, Celeste just nodded, pulling the other chair and pushing my legs apart so she could sit close enough to reach me. I clenched my jaw so as not to snap at her, but she seemed too preoccupied to notice. When she pressed the rag to my forehead, pain shot from the wound, and her eyes fluttered to mine like she was waiting for a reaction. I gave her nothing, so she returned to her work, still suspiciously silent.

I couldn't stand her constant blabbering, but it unnerved me even more when she wasn't talking at all. That usually meant she was plotting something, or she was hiding something. Either way, I didn't like it.

Hoping I'd find a hint of what was going on in that wicked head of hers, I studied her carefully controlled face. Her eyes seemed a little unfocused, her skin flushed, but that was probably from the exertion earlier. Her breathing was more shallow, even though she should have calmed already, and she kept swallowing. Staring at her throat bobbing brought memories of the way it felt to have my cock buried deep into it, the warm and pleasant sensation that my body craved even now.

I instinctively jerked back when I caught myself going into dangerous territory, but she caught my chin and forced me to look forward again. Her hand was hot, too hot.

"Are you injured somewhere?" I frowned. Her eyes shot to mine, but then she quickly looked away.

"Not really, just a few grazes. They'll heal in no time." She picked up the paste, dipping her finger into the concoction and bringing it to my forehead. Her hand was shaking when she patted it over the skin, the touch scorching.

"Then are you sick?" I snarled in annoyance. The last thing I needed was her dying of infection or some kind of disease she caught out there.

Celeste let her arm drop, giving me an annoyed look.

"What's with the million questions out of the sudden?" She hurried to her feet and picked up the bowl. I watched her stride to the cupboard where I usually left it, then put it down, spilling half of it. There was something odd in her walk too, not a limp, but it was definitely not her usual swaying gait.

She switched her weight from one leg to another, grumbling something incomprehensible under her breath.

"Then what's wrong with you?" I demanded as she strode back to pick up the paste and the rag.

"Nothing," was her sharp answer. She moved to get back to the cupboard when I grabbed her hand and yanked her toward me. She let out a loud ‘Ooof!' as her body collided with my chest and when she tried to get up, I wrapped an arm around her middle.

The paste rattled as it fell to the ground, but all I could focus on was the racing of her heart and the heat that emanated from her body. Even through our clothes, she was burning and all it took was a deep inhale of her scent to realize why.

I hadn't noticed that little detail, too caught up in my frustration and what happened at the trial, but now… now it was as clear as day. Fucking witches.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Celeste gasped when I lowered my hand to her pants, undoing the button with a flick of my fingers. She grabbed my wrist and tried to pry my hand away, but her strength seemed even more laughable than usual. Or maybe her struggle was just for show. "Wait, what the—"

I slid my hand inside her trousers and almost groaned when I felt how soaking wet she was. Before I thought better of it, I was gliding a finger into her pussy. It went in so easy, the heat on my hand making my own body burn as I sucked in a breath, filling my lungs with her scent.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she half-snarled, half-moaned. Her nails dug into my wrist, cutting the skin, but I couldn't tell if she wanted to pull my hand away or push it deeper. Her voice came out as a rasp when she spoke again, "Let go."

"Is this the reason why you're so weak and uncoordinated?" I asked, cupping her pussy so she would stop moving. My finger reached deeper into her, massaging her walls in search of that sweet spot I knew she was dying for me to touch. "Because your magic is unstable?"

Celeste's breathing was ragged, her heart galloping inside her chest. When she didn't answer, I rubbed my palm against her clit. Her moan was like an electric charge to my balls.

‘Fuck!' I cursed myself for being put into this position. Part of me begged to continue, to see how far I could push her, push my own restraint… But another part screamed to just mind my own business and let her go. Her needs and desires were not my problem. She could fuck herself until she got her shit together for all I cared. Yet…

"Answer me!" I growled into her hair.

"Yes! Now fucking… let go!" She wiggled her hips as if to escape my hand, but she only ended up grinding against it. Her legs had started to shake and a small part of me really wanted to see what kind of face she'd make when she came. "Neither of us… wants this. So just… get out!" Her ass pressed on the hard bulge in my pants and I was sure she felt it. Still, she said nothing about it. She didn't even turn to glare at me.

"Why? I kind of enjoy seeing you squirm." I scoffed. Her walls tightened around my finger and it took everything in me not to sink in another one.

Fuck, why did I even start this? What did I expect to happen even if I confirmed I was right? I should have just left the room and let her deal with it herself.

"I'm done… having meaningless sex… with dickheads," she rasped, pulling at my hand again. My finger slipped halfway out of her before I tightened my grip. She snarled. "That's you in case… you didn't…!"

The words surprised me enough to loosen my hold on her. She took the chance and shot to her feet, but I instinctively grabbed her and pressed her to me again.

"I will not fuck you," I whispered in her ear. My body rebelled against the words but ignored my twitching cock. "But I can't have you losing your shit, Red." I slid my hand back into her pants, smirking at how she moaned when my fingers rubbed her clit. "So… think long and hard… if you want to cum by my hand." I ran my nose over the column of her neck and she shuddered, goosebumps spreading over her skin. "Or by yours."

"Be careful," she rasped, a hint of her previous defiance sneaking back into her voice. "Or I might think you care about what I want."

A chuckle rose up my throat, but I silenced it. My control was cracking the longer I kept my hand idle and if I didn't move or left, I was going to do something worse I'd most certainly regret.

"I don't, but that idiot in my head will start shouting again and that's annoying." I found myself saying. "So I'll ask one more time." I grazed my teeth over the soft part of her neck before biting into her flesh. She cried out, her legs tightening around my hand. "Do you want me to—"

"Yes," she whispered before I could even finish. One single word, yet it dripped with so much need, I had to take a moment to compose myself. What was wrong with me? Were Cyrus' feelings so strong I couldn't control myself again?

‘Don't blame me for this one,' Cyrus muttered. ‘Now do as you promised. Maybe you'll get your answer then.'

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before thrusting my fingers into her pussy once again. My other hand found her throat, holding her tightly against my chest. Her moaning grew louder as she pressed against my hand. I leaned my face to her neck, teasing her until she was a trembling mess in my arms. My own cock was throbbing so much, it took all of my concentration not to bend her over the table and fuck the hell out of that warm, wet hole of hers.

She rubbed her ass against my dick again and I groaned, but the sound disappeared in the echo of her scream. Her pussy tightened around my fingers when she came and even as her legs shook, she kept riding them, prolonging her orgasm until my own body was screaming for release.

Fuck, the things I would have given to fuck her at that moment…

‘Do it, ' Cyrus whispered, his voice wistful and just as labored as mine would have been if I had tried to speak .

The fog cleared with his words, and I opened my eyes. ‘No,' I snarled, my body tensing while I pushed away the damning emotions that fueled the fire in my veins. ‘Not her.'

Celeste slumped in my arms and I tightened my grip before she crumbled to the floor. I considered letting her. I wasn't comfortable being this close to her and I most certainly wasn't the cuddling kind, but there was something in the way she leaned on me that made me hold on.

When she finally came down from her high and moved to sit straighter in my lap, I pushed her off. I needed to put some distance between our bodies or… there were too many things tying me to her, I didn't need one more.

I wasn't sure what I expected to see on her face when she turned around, but it most definitely wasn't loathing. I was so stunned that I didn't even see her hand move before my cheek started to sting.

"This is the last time… you touch me without permission!" she snarled through heavy pants.

Rage exploded inside of me, tearing through the stupor, and I jumped to my feet.

"I asked…" I bared my teeth at her, but she shoved me back so hard, I stumbled onto the table.

"That wasn't asking for permission, asshole!" she hissed. "You know we witches can't control ourselves when we get into that haze!" I opened my mouth to tell her that wasn't my problem, but she raised her hand like she planned to strike me again. "If you want to touch me, you fucking ask! I know it's a difficult concept for your brain to grasp, but I'm sure Cyrus can explain it to you!"

I started toward her, ready to tell her she didn't get to order me around when she took a step back. It was a small one, barely a few inches, but it made me stop just the same. The look of defiance in her eyes never wavered, her chin raised and hands at her side.

"Fine," I sneered, kicking the chair aside so I could go past her without actually nearing her. "I only fucking did it to stabilize your magic and…" Her expression straightened, the anger draining from her eyes as she gave me a deadpanned look. "You know what? Fuck this!"

I stomped past her, itching to get out so I could find some hellish creature to tear limb from limb until the murderous urge passed when she spoke.

"I figured it out. "

I considered ignoring her, but her tone wasn't mocking, so I stopped even before Cyrus could tell me to. I didn't turn, I didn't particularly want to look at her face right now.

"What?" I snapped instead.

"How to pass the second trial."

Well, that was enough to change my mind. Spinning on my heel, I searched for her, only to find her leaning on the table with her arms crossed.

"You… figured it out?Right… now?" I narrowed my eyes, letting her see all of my disbelief.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, now that… I can think properly, the answer is pretty obvious." I ground my teeth, holding back a retort when she added, "We need a third person."

Disappointment made my frustration return with full force. "If you are thinking of using another infernal creature, you can't. The moment they step into the trial, the princes can control them."

"That's not what I meant. We'll need someone from above."

"I can take in Hell only those who are dead or don't have a soul." I snarled, my patience growing paper-thin. "And you, because your life is tied to me."

" I know ," she said curtly. "That's why you are going to get Roman here. He is the piece that we're missing. He will get us through the second trial…" She pushed herself off the table, striding past me until she was close enough to open the door. "...and into the third." The ward sent a warning to my body, but she didn't try to leave, just stared at me while the sounds of Hell entered the space. "Like it or not, you need me. So, for both our sakes, let's win this fucking trial and never see each other again."