Fairydale: A Dark Gothic Fantasy Romance

‘Darcy! Darcy!’ Amon calls my name in a frenzy.

Opening my eyes, I regard him through the lens of our combined history and everything that we’ve been through. I look at him as the male who’s faithfully waited for me, braving any danger in order to bring me back.

But more than anything, I look at him as my greatest love. My mate. The owner of my heart and soul and everything that I am.

Lifting my hand, I focus my energy to the surface as I’d done in the past, feeling my old self back. My palms heat up, light emanating from them as tendrils of electricity coil around me.

‘Darcy?’ Amon asks in a worried voice.

I shake my head, my lips curling up in a hesitant smile.

‘Call me Sela,’ I whisper.

His eyes widen in shock just as he pulls at the neckline of my shirt, ripping the material.

My birthmark is gone, as is the jewel from the necklace.

‘You…’

‘I’m back,’ I confirm. ‘I’m back for good, my Amon,’ I say as I reach out to cup his cheek, caressing him gently. ‘You brought me back.’

‘But…how… It didn’t work before.’

‘Maybe because my powers aren’t bound? But this time I remember everything. As Sela and as Elizabeth. I remember absolutely everything, Amon.’

‘Sela?’ he croaks, his voice breaking. ‘You’re back? My Sela?’

Tears trickle down his cheeks before he’s on me, pulling me to his chest and hugging me, murmuring sweet words in my ears.

‘I didn’t dare believe the jewel would fuse with you again. Not after it didn’t last time.’

‘I’m here,’ I whisper. ‘I’m here and I’m never leaving you again, Amon. Thank you for fighting for me all this time; for waiting for me. I am humbled to know everything you’ve been through just to save me.’

He shakes his head.

‘Never thank me for doing what comes as naturally as breathing. Not when I am not whole without you. Ah, Sela mina, Sela mina. I can’t believe you’re here,’ he whispers, drawing back to look at me reverently.

Cupping my cheeks, he lays soft kisses all over my skin.

‘My darling girl,’ he murmurs against my lips.

We hang to each other for what seems like an eternity as we cannot get enough of one another. His body heat transfers to me, that masculine scent that is so thoroughly him enveloping me from head to toe as I get drunk on his very essence.

All my senses are reeling from finally being with him—so close to him. Yet it’s because I can experience him through so many mediums that I know this is real. With my combined memories, I love him even more as I see him through the eyes of Darcy, Elizabeth, and ultimately Sela.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him to know of our history and our love but to try to pretend it wasn’t there as he romanced me repeatedly, each time making me fall for him just like the first.

My heart hurts to think of him so lonely and desolate, waiting eons for me to come back, going through life like a shadow of himself because he was missing his mate—the other half of his soul. Our bond goes beyond marriage, maybe even beyond regular mating, for we are truly one—only ever sane when we are together.

Rising from the bed, I move to the middle of the room as I have one more test to perform.

‘Sela?’ Amon inquires, following behind me.

My lips quirk up as I realize just how panicked he is that something might happen to me again. He’s watching me like a hawk to make sure everything is alright.

‘There’s one more thing I need to try,’ I say as I take his sword from where he usually stashes it.

‘Love, maybe not now…’

I shake my head.

‘I need to know that I’m fully myself, Amon.’

His mouth set in a grim line, he agrees, though he still hovers around me, his expression one of constant worry.

Withdrawing the sword from its sheath, I’m once more struck by the stunning gleam of the rhodium—how something this beautiful could be the source of pain for so many.

Without hesitating, I bring it over my arm, cutting my inner forearm in a straight, deep line. The pain is immediate as my lip twitches—the only reaction. With my memories as Sela, I also remember what I’d had to withstand in the past, and compared to that, this is but a light caress.

Blood coats the silvery blade, a few drops falling to the ground.

Under our eyes, the wound immediately mends and heals, leaving behind only the faint trace of red sticking to my skin.

My lips tremble with happiness, and I turn to him, a brilliant smile stretching across my face. Amon’s expression echoes mine, yet there’s still a trace of disbelief, as if he can barely believe this is happening—that I’m actually here in front of him.

Gods, but he’s been alone for so long… I can barely stand to think about his fate in this damned prison, let alone the fact that he wandered the Earth for hundreds of years waiting for me to be reborn.

Letting my eyes roam over his figure, I greedily take him in, his beauty never failing to make my heart skip a beat. Yet it’s more than that. His beauty is made even more potent by what I know hides within him—the love and compassion, the dedication and sacrifice.

He’s Amon d’Artan. The mate of my heart. The only male in existence who’s ever going to lay claim to me—body and soul. And this time, I want to give him everything just as he’s done to me.

He saved me when it would have been impossible for anyone else to do it.

Now it’s my turn to embrace him fully.

‘Amon,’ I softly call his name as I meet his gaze. Taking a step towards him, I remove the shirt off my body until I’m standing naked in front of him. Allowing my energy to surge to the surface, I drape myself in tendrils of electricity, letting my entire body be illuminated by this coveted source of power that lives within me.

‘I come before you as my truest self. When all the layers are peeled off, this is the me that loves you more than life itself—your wife, your mate, your eternal companion. This is the me that’s been hunted for hundreds of years for this strange ability I possess. Once, you said we are both creatures. Both outsiders. Both hiding in the shadows—whether on Earth, or on Arkgor. So show me, too, my love,’ I coax slowly. ‘Show me your truest self.’

His eyes widen, and for a moment I doubt he’s going to do it.

After all, this is the first time I’ve requested that of him—the first time I’ve dared to do so.

In the past, while I’d known everything about his Reva heritage and even witnessed it on occasion, it had been something that seldom made its way into our lives. There had always been a reluctance to Amon when he’d speak about his Reva form, most often simply claiming the powers without bringing up the physical change.

I’d assured him I didn’t think him monstrous in the least, but I’m not sure he ever believed me. Certainly, I never pushed when I now realize I should have.

Many things have become crystal clear to me as I’ve recovered my memories. In more ways than not, I’ve acquired a new clarity to instances in which I’d been blinded in the past. I can see every mistake and every wrong step I took that brought me closer and closer to my death.

It had been my sheer stubbornness and inane selfishness that had led me to put my faith into Ambrosius—to the point that I’d ignored Amon’s instincts and his opinions. I’d been so closed off in my grief and loneliness, that at some point I’d…pushed him away, or, at least, I hadn’t paid enough attention to him. Maybe it had not been intentional, but it had happened, nonetheless.

Yet he hadn’t budged. Like a steady rock being hit by the strongest torrent, he’d staunchly been by my side in the darkest hours. He’d been most selfless when I’d been at my most selfish.

It’s only retrospectively that I see the little signs, his own silent struggles to come to terms with his own dual identity and the fact that he’s held that side of himself back. It might not have been a conscious decision as hundreds of years of conditioning, of forcing him to hide and be ashamed of who he really was, have left their mark on him.

Yet it hurts all the same to realize he’s been living half a life in order to bury that part of himself that he thinks will not be acceptable to the world.

Not anymore.

We have this precious third chance to do it all over again and I will grasp at it with all I have in me. For the first time, I want to reverse the roles and even the scales.

It’s time for him to take and for me to give.

And the first thing I want to offer him is my unwavering acceptance of who he is—what he is—of his past, and everything that will dictate the future. But I don’t want it to be a fleeting acknowledgement, or a mere verbal affirmation. I don’t want him to think that he needs to keep his Reva form hidden when he doesn’t have to.

I am his home for a reason—just like he is mine. Because he can truly be himself with me and know there will be no judgment, no reproach and no fear.

‘Do you know what you’re asking of me, Sela?’ he rasps, his voice low and tortured.

I nod.

‘I should have asked you eons ago, Amon. In a way, I thought you would show me eventually. But…’

‘I never did,’ he completes my sentence.

‘Why?’

‘You know why,’ he slumps his shoulders. ‘But it doesn’t matter. This is who I am and who I’ve always been.’

‘You’re wrong. This isn’t only who you are. There’s so much more to you, Amon. So much more that even you don’t see.’

He opens his mouth to reply before closing it, appearing speechless.

‘It’s enough that you know that side of me exists and accept it.’

‘No,’ I shake my head. ‘It’s not enough. You know, before, I never quite realized what your lack of transformation meant. Not until I relived the past again. You told me yourself that once you turned fully, the impulse to do so again would become more and more pronounced. Yet in two millennia, I never once saw you turn like that again. Why?’

He stiffens as a flash of shame crosses his face.

‘You changed in secret, did you not?’

‘I did,’ he answers.

I release a relieved sigh. At least he hasn’t suppressed himself all this time.

‘More so in the last century since there has been no one to see me,’ he jokes as his shoulders angle up in a lazy shrug.

‘Why did you never do it in front of me?’ I ask, but at the same time, I ask myself.

Why did I not see this as an issue before? Had I been so egocentric as to not realize what was right in front of me? The quiet struggle he was going through?

That in itself makes me feel like the worst type of mate.

I’d been so lost in my grief because of my infertility that I’d lost track of what was most important in my life.

Him.

My Amon.

The most important person in my life.

‘I’m a monster, Sela. One that can’t even stand the sight of himself in a mirror. I could never bear to see the same reaction in your eyes.’

‘Is that how little you think of me?’ I whisper, his words hitting me in the chest.

‘No, no,’ he denies vehemently. ‘It’s how I see myself,’ he admits quietly. ‘I am the problem. Not you.’

‘Show me,’ I demand again.

If he doesn’t trust himself, then I will trust him for the both of us.

He closes his eyes, exhaling in defeat.

‘As you wish,’ he inclines his head.

I swallow hard as I watch the slow transformation.

When he opens his eyes next they are wholly black, his irises a muddy mix of white and red. The blackness bleeds into his skin, his color changing as his body grows in size.

If before he’d been close to seven feet tall, now he is well beyond that. His body mass grows, too, his chest broadening as his muscles ripple with renewed strength. The shirt he’d been wearing tears, the material falling to the ground. The same thing happens with his trousers, the seams bursting as his muscles continue to grow.

Everything about him is bigger, including his cock. Semi-erect and hanging between his legs, it’s already almost double the previous size.

Claws protrude from his fingers, long and sharp.

And finally, a tail extends from his back, flailing in the air before it coils around his leg. The tail is long and thick, flaring into a broader ribbed end.

Licking my lips, I look up at him in awe.

When I’d seen him before, it had only been from a distance. I’d seen the distinct features, but I hadn’t been able to properly appraise his size.

He is…absolutely magnificent.

Taking a tentative step forward, I lay my palm on top of his chest, a spark of electricity bursting through the surface when we touch.

My eyes widen in surprise.

He senses it, too, because his eyebrows go up as he looks at me curiously.

‘Read my mind,’ I tell him, giving him full access to my thoughts so he can see what I truly think about him.

‘Are you sure?’

I nod.

‘I want you to see everything, Amon. Everything I feel about you and the fact that your form doesn’t scare me, nor disgust me. It does nothing of that nature. On the contrary,’ I pause as I feel myself redden. ‘It pleases me immensely.’

Maybe it’s a side effect of us being mates, or maybe it’s just him and the effect he has on my senses, but Gods, he is utterly mesmerizing.

My body reacts to his immediately, desire building inside of me as wetness gushes from my sex. My nipples harden at the thought of those sharp nails touching me, scratching and clawing at me. Strange, but there is not one iota of fear that he might hurt me. In fact, I would rejoice if he did.

‘Sela,’ he growls, his voice deep and thick—a rich bass that rumbles through my entire being.

I open my mind and broadcast all my thoughts to him. I show him the way he makes me feel regardless of his form—that he makes me hot and bothered in such a unique way, as if I would die if he didn’t take me right here and now. Yet I also show him the other aspect of my desire—the fact that I want him to take me hard and fast, regardless of the consequences. That I want the pleasure and pain and everything he might give me, for even if he hurts me, I can always heal.

Now, more than ever, we are truly equal just as we are complementary.

He is destruction and I am salvation. He is ruin, but I am the one who can repair.

‘Do you see, Amon? Do you see what I think of you?’

His nostrils flare as he undoubtedly scents my arousal, his mouth set in a firm line as he regards me with frightening intensity.

‘Sela you… You want me.’ he states in disbelief. ‘You don’t think me…repugnant?’

My brows furrow together.

‘Repugnant? I would never think you repugnant in any shape or form.’

‘But I’m a monster,’ he whispers in a hurt tone.

I shake my head as I place my other palm on his chest, touching him gently.

‘You’re not. To me, you’re my Amon. My husband. My mate. My everything.‘

To show him further that I mean everything, I lean in and press my lips to his skin. His scent is dark and alluring, but so thoroughly him that I would know it anywhere.

It’s familiar, and it’s home.

It’s simply…home.

Moving my lips over his chest, I pepper kisses everywhere, leaving not one inch of skin uncovered.

‘Sela,’ his voice rumbles with pleasure at my touch, a purr-like sound erupting from his chest, the vibrations spreading through my whole body as I glue myself to him.

‘You’re so handsome,’ I whisper. ‘So beautiful, sometimes it hurts to look at you. But like this… Like this you are absolutely stunning, Amon.’

His muscles coil under my fingertips as his breathing intensifies.

He hasn’t touched me yet, keeping his hands still by his side. I belatedly realize he might be afraid to hurt me with his claws.

Taking hold of his hands, I bring them to my body, wrapping them around me and urging him to touch me.

‘Feel how hot I am for you, my love. How much I want you,’ I murmur.

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he finally says in a strangled tone.

With our bodies so close like this, I can feel his cock between us, stirring to life and growing larger than ever before. So much so, in fact, that a thrill of anticipation goes down my spine.

‘I’m back to my old self, big guy,’ I let him know. ‘Nothing can hurt me now. And you might recall that I do like a little bit of pain,’ I confess, a blush suffusing my cheeks.

His breath hitches just as his claws lightly rake down my back, the effect instantaneous as I moan loudly and arch myself into him. Slowly, he reaches my ass and for a moment I think he’s going to stop. But he doesn’t. Instead, he surprises me by cupping my ass and raising me to him.

My legs naturally wind around him as I wrap my arms around his neck.

‘I can’t believe this,’ he rasps roughly. ‘You’re not…scared.’

‘You do look quite scary,’ I add playfully. ‘And deadly. And if you had horns I don’t doubt you would have everyone believe you’re a demon. But you’re also too goddamn hot. Were I a nun, and I would still want to fuck you, even if I thought you Satan himself.’

His lips tug up in an amused smile.

‘You would?’ he chuckles.

‘Of course,’ I reply seriously. ‘I’d even sell my soul to have you do wicked, wicked things to me,’ I wink at him.

‘Ah, Sela mina. You really are a treasure, aren’t you?’ he muses as his eyes sparkle with love and warmth.

As I wrap my legs around him tighter, my center comes into direct contact with the smooth and firm surface of his abdominals. He gives me a mischievous grin before he rubs me up and down his body, coating his skin in my wetness.

The friction makes me gasp, tiny dots of pleasure dancing before my eyes.

‘I need you, Amon. I want you like this—the real you. I want to be a Reva mate in truth.’

‘But you’re so small and I’m so…’

‘Big?’ I raise a brow, my lips trembling with laughter. ‘I hadn’t realized that.’

‘Sela,’ he groans, though this time it’s clearly in amusement as playful energy emanates from him. ‘You’re killing me, lass. You think I haven’t dreamed about this? About fucking you like the beast that I am, stuffing your tight little cunt with my thick cock until you can no longer walk? Until you’re so thoroughly fucked you feel me in your body for days after and you remember both the pleasure and the pain? Sometimes I think of little else, Sela, but I fuck you hard enough in my normal form. Like this I would fucking wreak you…’

‘What if I want to be wrecked?’ I whisper as I grind my pelvis against his rock-hard abs. ‘I can take it. Stop denying yourself, Amon. Not when I’m right there with you in this madness.’

I cup his cheeks as I lean in to kiss him softly on the lips.

‘I’m not made of glass.’

‘I know you’re not,’ he releases a ragged breath.

‘Then?’

‘You’ll tell me to stop if I hurt you, or if it gets too much?’ he suddenly asks.

‘Yes, although I highly doubt anything you do to me would be too much.’

He smirks, his lips pulling up against my own.

‘Maybe I’ll surprise you.’

‘Now I’m even more intrigued, dear husband, and I fear you’ll have quite a lot to live up to.’

‘Really?’ he drawls, his tone changing.

If before it had been sweet and caring, now there’s a dangerous lilt to it that makes me shiver in anticipation. My body is already primed for his, ready to welcome his invasion—ready to become his again. But this time, it will be an entirely new experience—the culmination of everything we’ve been through and all the lessons we’ve learned.

‘I have quite the imagination,’ I whisper.

Before I know it, my back hits the bed, my breath knocked out of me as my eyes widen in surprise.

He looms over me, his body looking even bigger from this angle. But what captures my attention is his huge cock as it proudly juts out of his body, thick veins covering the entire length. As size of his erection increases, the ring is now a tight fit at the end of it.

‘You asked for this, Sela,’ he warns darkly.

I don’t get to ask what he means because he has my legs parted, his mouth already on my sex as he licks every bit of my wetness. My back arches as my hands search for his hair, grabbing on to his scalp as I urge him on. But if this wasn’t torture enough, his tail trails up my body, the flared end slapping my nipple before brushing softly against it. He does the same with the other, giving me a tiny dose of pain before soothing it with pleasure.

My eyes snap open as I scream his name, the climax claiming me immediately.

Amon’s lips are wrapped around my bundle of nerves as he brings his hands to my thighs, raking his claws on my skin, deep enough to draw blood, but not enough to hurt me. There’s only a light sting that makes the pleasure even more potent as he racks another orgasm from me.

I barely catch my breath before he tortures me all over again.

Drawing back, he brings his claws to his lips as he licks the drops of blood from them, his eyes swirling under my very gaze.

‘So sweet,’ he purrs. ‘So very sweet, Sela.’

My gaze is drawn again to his cock, my body instinctively clenching as I imagine how it will feel when he’s going to fill me—how full and stretched I will be taking all of him.

The tip is wet, clear liquid seeping from it and leaking down his shaft.

My mouth waters for a taste. Licking my lips, I get to my knees in front of him, moving closer. I swipe the moisture from the tip with my tongue, tasting him and letting out a moan of pure pleasure.

Gods, how long has it been since I’ve had my mouth on him? Certainly far too long as I lap greedily, loving his male taste and the sounds of rapture that escape him.

He hisses loudly as I wrap my lips around the head, barely able to fit my mouth around it as I give it a good suck.

He doesn’t let me continue, though, as I find myself on my back again.

Yet he doesn’t move either.

His lips are tipped in a dangerous smile as he watches me, desire dripping from his eyes.

Raising myself on my elbows, I hold his gaze with mine, so entirely enraptured by him, I barely register the feather-like touch against my folds. Looking down, I’m surprised to see his tail between my legs, stroking me softly with the tip.

‘Trust me?’ Amon asks in a pained voice.

‘Always,’ I nod.

Drenched in my wetness, his tail slides down to my entrance, the ribbed end pushing inside of me.

A gasp escapes me at the foreign sensation as the grungy texture caresses my walls.

‘Fuck,’ Amon tips his head back and lets out a harsh moan.

‘You… You can feel it too?’ I ask, my voice laced with wonder.

‘Yes. The end of my tail is covered in nerve endings. I can feel…everything,’ he releases a harsh breath as he thrusts it in and out of me.

‘Is this what you’ve been dreaming about? Fucking me with your tail?’

‘Oh, Sela, what I dreamed was far, far more depraved,’ he confesses.

‘Show me,’ I urge him. ‘Show me everything, Amon.’

‘Fuck,’ he curses.

Lifting me by my waist, he continues to fuck me with his tail, rotating it inside of me while he holds me, rocking me back and forth to accentuate the sensation. Though not as thick as his cock, the ribbing enhances my pleasure the more he strokes my inner walls.

My body is glued to his, my lips parting to suck on his skin while my hands hold on to his back, my nails lodged deep into his skin. It doesn’t escape me that despite his indestructible armor, he has his guard down with me, allowing me to penetrate his skin and draw blood. And just like he did to me before, I bring my nails down on his back, scratching him.

‘Amon,’ I pant as he thrusts lightly into me.

His breathing intensifies as he shivers from my touch, the effect causing his tail to twitch inside of me. Bringing his mouth to my cheek, he kisses me sloppily before he buries his face in my neck. He licks me leisurely, purring with pleasure every now and then.

Gods, but there’s something absolutely magnetic about this Amon. His sensations seem to be intensified in this form, his pleasure much more potent as every inch of his skin serves as a conductor for it.

His teeth bump against my skin, and I note they are much, much sharper than before.

‘You could rip someone’s throat with your teeth, darling,’ I tease him.

‘Maybe I could,’ he chuckles. ‘But that doesn’t mean I would. Your blood is the only one I’ll ever taste,’ he murmurs.

‘Then do it,’ I urge him. ‘Bite me. Take my blood. Take everything.’

‘Not yet,’ he whispers. He scrapes his teeth against my skin but he doesn’t bite, merely teasing me with the option.

I’m about to protest when I find myself flat against the wall, held in the air by his power.

My channel clenches at the sudden emptiness, but I know it’s not for long. Not when he strides towards me with such determination, a lopsided smile on his face that speaks of wicked pleasure and sweet retribution.

With only one hand motion, he has my arms and legs spread to form an x.

Stopping in front of me, he takes a moment to let his gaze roam hungrily around my body, taking in my breasts and the way my chest rises and falls with the intensity of my breaths, before going lower to my stomach and the soft hairs of my sex that glisten with arousal—the evidence of my unquenchable desire for him.

‘So wet,’ he murmurs as he brings his tail to my wet folds, the ribbed end brushing softly against my sensitive nub and making me tremble from the onslaught of sensation. ‘So mine, aren’t you, darlin’?’

‘Always yours. Even dead and I’m still yours,’ I whimper, trying to push my hips towards him so he would touch me more.

‘No,’ he rasps, his features hardening. ‘You’ll never die on me again. If anyone attempts to harm you, I will fucking raze their world to the ground. I don’t care if you heal. I don’t care if you don’t mind the pain. And I don’t fucking care if you forgive them. I won’t. If anyone tries to do anything to you, they are dead. And so is everyone else who conspires with them,’ he tells me dangerously.

‘I believe you,’ I whisper. ‘You’re my champion, Amon, and I will never blame you for seeking justice for me.’

‘Then you won’t mind that I went on a little…spree?’ he asks in a low voice as he continues to stroke me with his tail.

‘What…spree?’ I ask, barely able to form the words as he increases his speed.

Wicked, wicked male. He’s trying to distract me.

‘I may have caused another plague,‘ he adds playfully.

‘What did you…do…ah,’ I trail off on a loud moan.

‘Not much, just executed everyone who ever worked with Abel,’ he shrugs, as if it’s nothing.

‘How many people are we…talking about?’ I ask in between moans as he brings me on the brink of orgasm again.

He’s quiet for a moment as he takes my nipple in his mouth, tugging it between his teeth and lavishing it with exquisite tongue strokes that match the rhythm of his tail.

‘Half the town,’ he mentions as he licks his way up my body until we’re face to face.

‘That’s at least a couple thousand.’

‘Mhm,’ he purrs. ‘Maybe a bit more.’

‘Amon!’ I cry out scandalized, but he’s quick to fix it by making me climax again.

‘I might not be able to kill Kress and Finn because of that damned shield they used to protect themselves. But I can at least do this. I would never leave anything up to chance with you, darlin’. Just like I could never leave anyone go unpunished if they threatened you, in action or in thought.’

‘But that’s a lot of people, Amon,’ I chide lightly.

‘There are two point eight billion people on Earth, darlin’. What’s a few thousand,’ he murmurs as he touches his cheek to mine before taking my lips in a sensual kiss.

He distracts me with his kisses as he replaces his tail with the tip of his cock, swiping the ringed head between my folds.

I moan in his mouth, allowing him to push his tongue in deeper, kiss me with a savageness I’d forgotten he possessed.

Here I am, completely at his mercy as he holds me pinned to a wall with his powers. Never mind the fact that he just told me he’s executed two thousand people, or more. Never mind that he’s potentially the most dangerous male to ever live. Yet I could never fear him—not in that way, for I know everything he does is for my sake.

If he is the most destructive force, then it is for me.

But if he is the sweetest male, then it is for me, too.

He is so bad, but he is so good.

He is just…mine.

His tongue mates with mine, each stroke more powerful than the last as he tastes me deeply. At the same time, his hands are on my breasts, his claws lightly scraping my nipples and making him thrash against the wall.

His cock is still positioned at my sex, but he doesn’t thrust into me. He continues to languidly tease me with it, moving his length between my folds as he lathers himself in my arousal.

‘Amon,’ I moan. ‘Please.’

‘Please what, darlin’?’ he murmurs seductively, biting my lips until a few drops of blood trickle down my chin.

‘Please fuck me. Take me. Mate me. Just…do something,’ I pant, unable to bear the frustration anymore.

‘If you ask me so nicely,’ he smiles as he draws back. ‘How can I refuse you anything?’

Fisting his length, he aligns the head to my entrance, slowly pushing in. Already, the difference in size is noticeable as he stretches me.

‘That’s it, darlin’,’ he encourages, his eyes glued to our lower bodies. I bring my gaze there, too, just in time to see how his long and thick cock slowly disappears inside of me. The burn is both painful and pleasurable as he pushes into me until he’s all the way to the hilt—until I swear I can feel him in my very heart.

I breathe harshly as I accommodate to his size, feeling every pulsation of his cock, every little twitch against my inner walls.

Clenching around him, I hear him groan as he touches his forehead to mine.

‘Fuck, Sela. This… I can’t believe how well we fit, lass. So good. So fucking tight,’ he says in a tight voice.

I wiggle around him, urging him to move.

‘Show me,’ I repeat. ‘I want everything you can give me.’

His eyes snap open as he gazes at me intently.

‘Oh, Sela mina, there’s so much more I have to give you. So much more,’ he rasps.

Withdrawing all the way, he surges back inside me, the strength of his thrust making me reel, the wall trembling with us.

‘More,’ I encourage him, knowing he’s always waiting for my cues.

‘More,’ he echoes as he repeats the motion, every thrust harsher than the previous.

Finding that I can move again, I put my arms around his neck while wrapping my legs around his waist as he bounces me up and down his cock.

I look deep in his eyes so he can see that his appearance doesn’t scare me one bit—that I grow hotter just staring into his beautifully odd irises and the swirling flecks of red-silver that mar them.

And as I open my mind for him to see exactly what I want, I see the spark of desire that takes shape in his own gaze.

Bringing his hand to my torso, he trails his fingers on my skin before using his claws to cut a straight line right above my breasts, blood immediately pooling to the surface and spilling down my breasts. He bends down to lap at it, licking every single drop before the cut heals.

But I don’t want him to stop.

Time and time again, he cuts me to drink my blood, the slight pain only augmenting the pleasure I get from his wild fucking.

I come too many times to count, and though I think nothing can trump this crazy experience, Amon proves me wrong—that his dreams are, indeed, far more wicked than I would have ever imagined.

His thrusts become frenzied as he spills himself inside of me, his warm seed filling me to the brim and slowly dripping out of me.

He’s still hard when he pulls out, but he surprises me when I find out why he withdraws.

Swiping his tail along my slit, he gathers our mixed releases, coating the entire surface of the ribbed head. Before I know what he means to do, he pushes his cock back inside me, the sudden thrust making me gasp in surprise.

‘A…’ I trail off as I feel the end of his tail brushing against my other hole.

‘Trust me?’ he asks again as he stares deep in my eyes.

The implication finally dawns on me, and I get wetter just thinking about it, never mind actually experiencing it. It wouldn’t be the first time he fucked me in the ass. It was something both of us used to enjoy and do quite often. But it would definitely be the first time he fucks me both ways at the same time.

‘Always,’ I whisper.

His tail probes lightly at first, smearing our releases around my tight entrance before he gently pushes inside me.

My mouth forms an o as he breaches me, my muscles clamping down on him.

‘Just a little more, darlin’. You can take it,’ he murmurs in my hair as he pushes the ribbed head of his tail further in my ass. He does it just a little at a time, letting me get used to the intrusion. The combination of my wetness and his seed make it easier for him to slip in, but it’s still a tight fit.

The more he advances, though, the indentations on his tail brush against my anal muscles, making me instinctively clench and moan at the foreign sensations.

I’m so full, and getting even fuller as he finally impales me all the way.

His cock twitches inside my channel, swelling even more in size as he releases a loud groan. I’m so tight around him, squeezing him even tighter with every breath as I slowly get used to this foreign sensation.

Gods… His dreams may be wicked, but the reality is much, much more depraved. And I love every single moment of it.

‘That’s a good girl,’ he whispers as he tries to stay in control of himself. ‘We fit so well together, Sela, don’t we? Your cunt’s stuffed with my cock and your ass with my tail.’

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as he regards me with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

‘Have I scandalized you yet, darlin’?’

‘No,’ I say, unable to tear my eyes from him as I feel him everywhere. ‘You’re just making me hotter, Amon. You know I’m yours. You can use me as you like.’

I wrap my arms tighter around his neck, trying to wiggle my hips so he would move.

‘Fucking hell,’ he groans. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve fucked your ass, lass. I almost forgot how good it felt.’

‘I didn’t,’ I whisper. ‘But this feels better. If only you’d move.’

He chuckles, his lips pulling in a lopsided smile.

‘You’re such a greedy little thing,’ he coos right before he moves.

His expression matches mine as he grips my hips with the pads of his fingers, thrusting his cock and tail into me at the same time.

‘Amon,’ I whimper. ‘A-Amon…’

My head falls back as I rest against the wall while he gradually increases his speed. His movements are perfectly in sync as he withdraws almost all the way before pushing back inside to the hilt. I grow so wet and slippery that he has no trouble fitting inside.

‘I’m so full. So…’

‘You can take it, darlin’. You can take every inch of me.’

‘Please,’ I cry out, tears leaking out of my eyes as he starts to finally fuck me.

The slow thrusts from before were just the warm-up as he allowed me enough time to get used to having him in both holes.

But now… Now he’s pistoning in and out of me to the speed of light, my back hitting against the concrete wall and making it quake, the pain drowned out by too much pleasure.

‘Touch yourself,’ he commands. ‘I want to see you touch yourself while I fuck you.’

I reach between our bodies, finding my nub and rubbing it while he continues to fuck me more out of control than ever.

While his cock moves in and out of me at an incredible speed, his tail starts rotating while thrusting into my ass, the bumps on the surface rubbing against my muscles.

I’m crying and sobbing as I finally reach my climax, the orgasm so powerful, I lose consciousness for a moment.

Amon leans in to lick my tears, swiping his tongue all over my face as he soothes my cries, yet he doesn’t stop—and I think he has no intention to do so.

‘Beautiful. So fucking beautiful. That’s it, Sela. Come for me, lass. Come again,’ Amon demands harshly as he suddenly changes our positions.

My knees hit the bed as he mounts me from behind. His cock is back inside my sex just as his tail sinks deep in my ass. This time, though, his claws are on my back as he scratches me until he draws blood only to catch every drop with his tongue.

I grab the railing of the bed as he starts fucking me again.

With our size differences, his feet are planted on the ground while I’m fully on the bed, so he doesn’t realize that every thrust makes the bed shake and smash against the wall. Yet the sound of it is drowned out by my loud moans and his harsh groans.

‘Fuck, Sela. So fucking tight,’ he growls in my ear as he finally brings his sharp teeth to my neck, biting. Somehow, there is no pain, only an overwhelming pleasure as every single sensation converges in one point.

‘Mine,’ he whispers as he laps at the wound. ‘Mine. Every single part of you is mine, darlin’.’

‘Yes,’ I wheeze out. ‘Just like you’re mine—my mate, my everything.’

‘Come,’ he orders again, changing the angles of his thrusts.

Just when I thought I couldn’t do it again, he proves me wrong.

He fucks me relentlessly for what feels like hours, delaying his own release so he can rack as much pleasure from my body as he can. Only when he sees me entirely worn out and barely able to vocalize my moans does he finally succumb to his own pleasure.

Pushing into my body with renewed frenzy, he shouts his release, his cock twitching inside of me just as he pumps me full of his cum.

He withdraws his tail from my ass first before he slowly drags his cock out, his seed dripping out of me and staining the sheets.

And as he finally collapses on the bed, his Reva form disappears and he’s back to his original appearance.

Oh, and the bed breaks.

We’re both staring wildly at each other as a creaking sound erupts in the air before the wooden frame of the bed collapses, and the mattress falls to the ground.

I am the first to laugh and Amon joins in as he somehow still finds the strength to will the wooden pieces away until there’s only the mattress left on the floor.

‘Come here,’ he calls, holding his arms open for me.

I purr softly as I cuddle against his chest.

‘You were so good,’ he praises softly. ‘Thank you.’

‘Why are you thanking me? There is no wrong in our relationship, Amon. Between the two of us nothing is wrong or taboo. It’s just us.’

‘Exactly that’s why. Thank you for opening my eyes and reminding me of that. I’m never going to hide from you again, Sela, and I’m sorry I did in the past.’

‘You’re forgiven,’ I wink at him as I give him a quick peck.

‘Good, now turn around.’

I raise my brows in question and he chuckles.

‘Nothing is wrong or taboo between us,’ he repeats my words as he turns me around, grabbing my legs and pulling me towards him until his mouth is on my core.

‘I made a mess of you, now I’ve got to clean you up,’ he murmurs as he starts licking me.

My wicked male.

I shake my head at him, but I don’t let him get away with being the only one participating in this clean-up business. Grabbing his still hard cock, I bring the flat of my tongue against his shaft, licking all his seed and tasting the combination of our releases.

Though I love the feel of his mouth on me, he’s not trying to make me come again, merely petting me slowly and affectionately. I do the same to him as I suck him into my mouth, playing with his ring until his cock softens in my mouth.

When Amon is done, he lays a soft kiss to my mound before turning me to him and hugging me to his chest.

‘I love you,’ he whispers, his words dripping with emotion. ‘I don’t think you realize how much, Sela. I’d willingly lay altar at your feet.’

His words shock me and fill me with more joy than I’d ever felt possible.

‘I love you, too, Amon. More and more every day,’ I give him the words for the first time as Sela—for the first time in too long.

‘Soon we’ll be able to put all of this behind us,’ he murmurs.

‘About that,’ I lick my lips as I turn on my belly, lying on top of his chest with my hands under my chin as I look at him. ‘Can you tell me what happened in the past? I heard Kress and Finn talking in the library about the spell you performed when I died. Rhiannon said something about it too. Is that how I was reborn?’

He gives me a tight nod.

‘I stole the original codex from the Vatican Library. Since we’d already read the codex some centuries before, I knew the spell would be inside.’

‘But how did you know to do that? That I was…’

‘Dying?’

‘Yes.’

‘Because I could hear all your thoughts, Sela. You were so fucking weak you couldn’t put up any barriers. I heard everything, lass. Every. Fucking. Thing,’ he grits out as he remembers. ‘Hearing you think about not wanting to die alone was quite possibly the single most painful moment in my life. Your heart rate was going down, and I knew something was happening. Since I couldn’t find Ambrosius, and there was nothing that could help you, I took the biggest risk.’

‘You performed the spell,’ I whisper, blinking back tears as I remember how helpless I’d felt in that moment.

‘It was one of their most forbidden spells and it required an enormous amount of energy. The spell was said to be able to preserve a person’s essence and nurture it until it became ready to be reborn again. And it worked. After I performed it, your body metamorphosed right before my eyes and it entered a regenerative slumber—similar to the one I undertake when I use up my energy supply.’

I blink in surprise.

‘What?’

‘A metamorphosis to foster your essence. To my understanding, it was some kind of hibernating state to repair the damage that had been done—at least enough so you could be born again. And it happened,’ he smiles, his eyes misted with tears. ‘One moment you were in front of me, the next you turned into a small cocoon.’

‘A cocoon? As in a larva?’ I do my best not to laugh despite it being quite funny.

He nods.

‘You were like that for over a thousand years. It took you a long time to heal, lass. Alas, it gave me some time to heal too. I might have been a little beat up after all the energy I used for the spell and…my temper got the best of me and I caused a few natural disasters…’

He winces as he explains that he’d immediately gone after Ambrosius and had eventually found him. But not before Ambrosius had spread misinformation about Amon, the codex and the mark that appeared on my skin. In an attempt to paint himself the injured party in case someone looked deeper into the issue, Ambrosius had recorded an erroneous version of the events that happened and accused Amon of being a demon, which Kress and Finn had later helped perpetuate.

After Amon had found Ambrosius, they’d engaged in a few battles over a number of years before Amon used up his last bit of energy to control a mob of people to chase after Ambrosius in an effort to regain control of the jewel. He managed to kill Ambrosius through this tactic, but his strength had been too depleted, causing him to lose track of the jewel in the madness that ensued.

‘I was in a deep slumber for a few hundred years. But when I awoke, you were still a little cocoon,’ he continues, his lips in a perpetual smile when he mentions the cocoon.

While he was waiting for me to emerge from my cocoon, he’d been trying to trace the jewel again, and it had taken him until the year of our marriage as Jeremiah and Elizabeth Creed for him to procure it again.

‘That cocoon sounds…a little ridiculous, I’m not going to lie,’ I admit on a giggle.

‘It was magic. You, better than anyone, should know that it exists,’ he chuckles. ‘I spoke daily to you. I slept with you by my side. I read to you. I did everything I could think of to help you heal faster so you could be reborn again. And it finally happened. In 1772, you became a beautiful butterfly, and you flew from my side, choosing Fiona as your mother. Against all odds, it happened again when you died in o-five. Lydia was the one who found the cocoon in the church and brought it to me after I’d been imprisoned. I kept you with me until you spread your wings again,’ he smiles. ‘And each time, you were stronger than the last. I think all the time you spent as a cocoon helped you heal all the rifts in your essence.’

I nod, digesting all the information. Somehow imagining my Amon reading to a small cocoon in hopes I would reemerge from it and turn into a beautiful butterfly threatens to make me devolve into a weeping mess.

If I thought he was cute before, I don’t think anything else can trump that.

‘I can’t believe you did all that for me,’ I tell him as I wipe at my tears.

‘I’d do that and more, lass. You know I’m not whole without you.’

‘I know,’ I whisper. ‘But I still have a question. Why did my abilities only manifest when I arrived in Fairydale?’

The last time I hurt myself was when I’d pricked my finger on that black card Mr. Vaughan had sent me. After that, all my injuries had been able to heal on their own.

‘Lydia. I’m sure it must have been Lydia,’ he answers grimly, his expression shifting as he remembers our beloved daughter. ‘She was convinced you couldn’t know anything before you came to Fairydale. She must have ensured that you somehow didn’t trigger your abilities until you came to Fairydale.’

I squeeze his hand as my expression mirrors his, pain overtaking me as I recall our last interaction.

‘She’s been doing everything behind the scenes hasn’t she? All this time, she took care of every little detail to make sure things went according to plan. She went as far as to let herself be used by the enemy so she could feed him false information. How could she…’ my voice breaks. ‘How could she be so selfless, Amon? She forfeited her own life so that we…’

‘We raised a wonderful girl, Sela. But she didn’t waste her life. That, I can promise you. She had an incredibly happy life, a loving husband and the best children. I could hear her thoughts before she died and she was completely at peace with everything. More than anything, she had faith that we would succeed.’

‘Do you think…’ I lick my lips as I remember the frightening event from my childhood. ‘Do you think that shadow watching over me was her?’

‘It could be,’ he nods. ‘She always said she wanted to know you again when you’d be reborn. And in her own way, I’m certain she did.’

‘I have an idea,’ I suddenly say as I pull myself into a seating position. ‘We should send Lydia and Abraham off with a small ceremony. We’ve never done anything like that for them and… Maybe it won’t help them in the afterlife anymore. But maybe it will help us cope with it better.’

His brows go up in surprise but his lips spread into a brilliant smile.

‘That’s a wonderful idea, darlin’. You know, in the Vissirian way, when a soldier died, we would give him a farewell by sending his body out in the ocean, or river that was closer. I know we don’t have their bodies anymore. But what if we penned them a letter and sent it out in the ocean? Who knows, maybe it could reach them at some point, since magic is very much alive.’

‘I love that,’ I smile at him as I reach for his hand.

One way or another, I always reach for him, needing his touch more than anything. It’s the only thing that can calm me, and I have no clue how I’m going to have to pretend to go along with Rhiannon’s plans on my own—not when I’d feel his absence even for a second.

There’s also the fact that he has far more information about the witches than I have. Even in the past, he’d always been the one getting more involved and having a knack for them. Besides, he had Lydia to show him the ropes, too.

Suddenly I frown as it dawns on me he suggested a scenario in which he needs to exit his prison.

‘But you’d have to come to the surface for that,’ I bite my nail as I regard him apprehensively. ‘You’ll get hurt, Amon.’

‘And you can fix me up,’ he readily replies.

‘But the pain…You’ll be in pain,’ I complain, not liking this at all.

‘I’ll be in pain anyway, darlin’. But I need this just as much as you do.’

‘We could do something different…’ I trail off when his expression falls. ‘Fine,’ I sigh. ‘But you’ll drink my blood before, after, and during. Alright?’

‘Darlin’, I’d drink your blood any time of the day. Just say the word,’ he drawls smoothly.

‘You rogue,’ I accuse before I launch myself at him.

Unfortunately, it’s still me who ends up being tickled until I declare I forfeit.

‘I have one more request,’ I whisper when I finally find my breath after too much laughter.

‘What is it?’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ I smile sheepishly, knowing he won’t be able to refuse me.

It’s close to dawn that we decide to hold the ceremony for Lydia and Abraham.

We’d both written the letters together as we’d poured all our love into the words, wishing them only happiness in their future life and apologizing for not being better parents.

Walking hand in hand along the beach in an area that no one would be likely to spot us, we both prepare two bottles in which we sneak in our messages.

Amon uses his power to move the bottles, pushing them towards the horizon line and dropping them in the water somewhere in the middle of nowhere—that way, there’s always a chance they might find their targets.

After all, it’s magic.

Our entire life has been steeped in magic, and it will always be defined by magic.

And as the sun rises, an orange hue painting the sky, I look up at my husband, watching the beautiful smile that pulls at his lips as he looks into the distance, undoubtedly thinking of Lydia and Abraham and the possibility of them getting our messages.

And that’s how I know for sure. Yes, it was magic that they were our children and that we had the blessing to be their parents—that we had even one moment with them.

They might not be among us anymore, but the memories will forever live on. And this time, I will value and defend them whatever the cost.

Amon was right and wrong.

Memories might not be the core of a person. But they certainly give you depth of feeling—for you must have loved to know loss and you must have lost to know the fear of loving again. And though the cycle always repeats, it makes us stronger.

One day at a time.

One loved one at a time.

In the end, only memory remains.

So will Lydia and Abraham take their place in the colorful mosaic that is our memory. And even though our time together had been brief on this Earth, every moment had left its mark on us.

We are here because of them.

We are who we are because of them.

‘I asked you before,’ I murmur as the harsh wind of the evening blows in Amon’s hair, tendrils of his white locks brushing against my face. ‘Would you do anything differently? Knowing the outcome as you do now, would you change anything?’

He turns to me as he pulls my jacket tighter around my body, his expression pensive.

‘No,’ he shakes his head.

‘Even after everything you endured? All the loss and heartache? Even then?’

‘It’s because of that, Sela. Regardless of all the suffering, it taught me the most important lesson of all.’

I raise my brows in curiosity.

‘Never take the present for granted; never take even one moment for granted. We might be the closest thing to being immortal, but we are not invincible, nor are we infallible. We can’t overestimate ourselves or how much time we have left.’

I nod slowly.

‘Do you?’ he fires the question back at me.

‘No,’ I smile. ‘My road led me to you, Amon. How could I ever regret that?’

It might have been a rather windy serpentine, but it had taken me to my ultimate destination. That we’re now together is a blessing, but it’s by no means the end.

We still have one more battle to face before we can prevail.

One more obstacle.

And in that moment, looking into my mate’s eyes and experiencing the most profound type of love there is, an uncharacteristic thirst for revenge blooms inside of me.