Chapter 153: Dreams and Nightmares

[Rosalynd].

I lie there frozen as I watch the black of his eyes expand to overcome the sclera. Wide and unblinking, they stare into my own and I find myself falling into them, losing all sense of where I am. My body is present in the here and now, but my mind and soul have moved on to someplace so vast that galaxies are formed and die around me as I watch.

And I remember. I remember being pulled to a place like this once before, at the moment of my almost death, when I had to make a decision. And I stand in that darkness now, the room gone, only darkness remaining.

A man steps forward. Whereas before the void had no shape, now that it has a form to inhabit, he takes the shape that has become familiar and comfortable and wears my fiancé's face as he waits for me to come to him. He is still dressed for a wedding, but the clothing doesn't seem out of place here. In his natural element, the void incarnate looks regal, his body radiating power in dark waves of energy.

"Do you remember me now, Rosalynd?" He presents our surroundings with a wave of his hand, the white glove stark against the endless black.

"Yes," I respond, my voice small. "This is where I spoke to you and the universe, you told me I was something bigger than myself, a bridge between the two of you."

The longer I am here, the more I remember. How could I forget speaking to the fragments of my soul? How did I misplace a conversation with creation itself, learning about how I was made and my place in the greater scheme of things?

"I am confused, why are we here now," I wave my hand at the nothing around us.

"I wanted to talk to you," his voice, while lacking warmth, is not harsh or cruel. I might even mistake him for Axel if it weren't for the black eyes and the tendrils of darkness that seem to spiral out from his core. "Without an audience. I was hoping we could make some kind of an arrangement."

"Do I have a choice," I ask honestly. "You have me trapped. My body is on earth undergoing goddess knows what, and I am stuck here. You had two people kidnap me to bring me here to be your bride."

"There is always a choice," he explains. "And this situation is no different."

"Choice implies the ability to say 'no,' and something tells me you are not going to take 'no' for an answer."

He smirks. "Maybe you can convince me."

While I am having this back and forth, I am vaguely aware of hands gently undressing me and leading me to another space where a bath has been prepared. My body is scrubbed and polished, covered in oils that are massaged into my skin. I can feel the cool kiss of satin covering my otherwise naked flesh as I am led to a room, dark, except for candles.

"Is this really a negotiation or a distraction," I scowl as I feel the motion of my body and the feeling of cold cement underneath my feet as I walk towards an obsidian altar about the size and shape of a table. "It looks like you are continuing with your plans before we've even discussed my options."

"Of course I am," he scoffs. "You are still my bride. You are still going to give me heirs. I am planning on wedding and bedding you tonight. You don't have a choice in that. It doesn't matter that I cannot get you pregnant."

He takes a step forward. I know that none of what I am seeing in this realm is physically real, but his scent becomes overwhelming as he draws near, making me dizzy with need. Even though my logical mind hates what he is doing and detests his methods, my body is wired to want him. That he is wearing Axel's face makes it worse, because no part of me would ever want to reject him.

And this bastard knows it. He picked the one person in the world I couldn't refuse.

"I just need to stake my claim," the void continues to explain, using Axel's mouth. "Your lover wants that as well. He has been fighting the urge to claim you as his since the moment you first met. Mating and marking you wasn't enough. He wants you to carry his name and bear his pups. He hates that he has to share you, and he wants you all to himself. He is willing to sacrifice his soul to have that with you, Rosalynd. It wasn't hard to win him to my cause since our goals are so neatly aligned.

"Just look at how much he loves you, Rosalynd," he urges me. "See through your eyes."

I blink into the void and wake up in my body. Axel's hands are holding mine, his eyes are golden and sincere as he looks at me, his expression full of love. I can feel him through our mate bond, our pull just as strong as ever.

The void may be the one behind it, but it is Axel right now who is standing here, waiting to marry me.

"Axel," I breathe.

"I'm here, Rosie." he smiles, the top hat tilted to one side. "I will always be here. I could never leave you."

I blink back to the void which is waiting for me, expectantly.

"What are you offering me, exactly?" I demand. "Why are we having this little meeting? Will I even remember it once we are done, or will it disappear like the last time I was here?"

His smile widens as he steps forward more confidently. Mirroring our corporeal forms, he scoops his hands into mine. "What I am asking for is simple, as is what I am offering. Marry me, Rosalynd. Marry this body and these souls. Join me and give me an heir, a child that belongs to you and the Void."

"In return, I will destroy those who have hurt you and give you the man that you love. I will be a part of him, of course, I need a host to survive on this plane, but he will be the one in control. He will be the one you kiss each night and the one to whom you make love."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, then I will wait for another millennium and try again," he shrugs, "But then you are left to fight your own battles." The way he said that makes me wonder how many times we've played this game and danced this dance.

Maybe it is time for the music to stop. A wedding and a child to bring balance to the cosmos.

"Void," I take a deep breath. "I ..."

"Don't do it."

A voice to my left draws my attention.

Standing in the void next to me is Gideon.