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She was shaking so hard. Her head was turned to the side, eyelids screwed shut. She could feel the edges of those shelves at her back digging into her skin, her backbone. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.
She prayed for the palace to save her, open up a hole at her back that would swallow her whole, and teleport her somewhere else. Preferably back in Nicholas' quarters. Nothing happened, unfortunately. It held her there, standing before the mighty god and shaking like a leaf.
Something touched her cheek. Smooth. Warm. Gentle. Her breath hitched in her throat, eyelids fluttering open. What was... Her eyes widened, realizing that it was him touching her. Ares.
He had just caressed her with the back of his fingers.
Her brows furrowed, displaying bewilderment as she dared to turn her head in his direction. Slowly. She stared up at him, that certain look in his eyes bringing a heat to her cheeks. Why was he looking at her like that? She swallowed, hesitating even to breathe. He remained there, standing right in front of her. Towering over her with his large and menacing frame. Several minutes passed. His gaze was unnerving. Intense. It made her shrink into herself.
She startled at the abrupt thud coming from the balcony area. Her gaze darted in that direction, heart filling with joy and relief at the sight of Nicholas standing there.
"Hands off. My mortal," he ordered. He looked deadly, dressed in all-black attire, and with that murderous expression painting his features.
"Nyktos," Ares acknowledged his presence with a flat and uninterested tone. His attention remained trained on Diana. Unwavering.
"I believe I had specifically requested not to be disturbed," he sounded annoyed. Irritated. Diana stiffened, thinking about Wolf's warning.
"With all due respect, my liege, but you have broken the law," Nicholas spat at him with venom. At that, Ares' brow rose. "Have I now?"
His head tilted to the side, watching Diana with an eerie calmness as he gently asked her, "Tell me, have I hurt you, dulcet?"
She peered up at him, eyes widening a little.
"N-no..." She couldn't lie. He did scare the living days out of her, but he hadn't done anything to harm her. Yet.
Nicholas bristled. "You are scaring her, and that is also considered harming. You are altering her mind, and I will not have it. She is mine. Mine, and mine only,"
"So I have to ask you to step away from her. Right now."
Diana winced at the sound of Nicholas' strong and commanding tone, secretly worrying for his safety as she stared up at the mighty god before her. He did not respond to that. He remained perfectly calm, continuing to regard her with those blue eyes of his. They trailed over her, as if assessing her state.
He was about to say something. He didn't get to as his head suddenly snapped to the side, his attention seemingly drawn by something else.
There was a disturbance at one of the portals. One that Ares did not fail to sense. He was the god on duty, after all.
"Wolf," he commanded—firm and short.
"On it," the guardian answered upon materializing out of thin air, like a ghost, before swiftly vanishing again.
Taking advantage of that momentary distraction, Diana tried to subtly extricate herself from that spot, taking a step sideways. A corded arm suddenly appeared out of nowhere, effectively blocking her path.
"It would be wiser if you remained here, for the moment."
Her lips parted, staring at the side of Ares' face with disbelief. Despondency.
It angered Nicholas to no end, the sight of Ares' body caging his mate's like that. Trapping her, keeping her scared and uneasy. He felt so powerless, and it gnawed at him. He could've fought him, had he still had his powers. His godly grace. He would've easily ripped him away with his shadows and freed her.
Diana trembled, hesitating to make another sound, or even move. She had no idea what was happening. Until those wooden doors suddenly reappeared in the wall. They burst open, and Wolf strode inside, dragging a half-dead female after him. Diana let out a horrified gasp. She wore a black leather suit that was torn in several places, revealing gashes in her skin that were still bleeding, leaving traces of tar-coloured liquid in her wake.
"Niraxis!" She heard Nicholas exclaim with angst, watching him approach the wounded female with hurried steps.
"Nyktos," the female gasped in reply, her thin arms shaking as she sat on the floor, struggling to keep herself upright. Wolf stepped away from the scene with a small bow, before disappearing again. Diana's gaze returned to the woman, noticing her blackened and swollen eyes as she raised her chin to look up at Nicholas. She'd heard that name before. Wait. Was this... Miss Nancy?!?
"What happened?" Nicholas asked, placing one knee on the floor. Miss Nancy—Niraxis let out a shuddering breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She appeared to be in so much pain. Diana couldn't believe her eyes. This was Miss Nancy? Nicholas' Nana? Was this what she actually looked like? She appeared so...young. She could tell that she was beautiful, even with those bruises and gashes littering her body and face, and that tar-coloured blood marring her skin, her whitish hair.
Small, heart-wrenching sobs wracked through her, tears trailing down her cheeks. Her chin dipped, that mop of whitish hair on the top of her head falling over her eyes.
"It was Mephistos..." she shakily uttered, her voice weak and raspy. Nicholas' body tensed, brimming with fury.
"He..." she swallowed, letting out a hitching sob. She shook her head, choking on another few sobs.
"I'm so sorry, Diana!" She uttered out of nowhere, her voice thick with desperation. Diana's eyes widened, peering right back into Niraxis'. She instinctively tried to take a step closer, only to find her path blocked by that arm darting across her midsection. She turned her head and looked up, throwing the mighty god at her side a scornful look. He did not even bat an eye at her, his focus remaining trained on Niraxis.
"He has them," Niraxis said, again with that meek and defeated voice of hers. Diana's brows drew together. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother and Dan, your friend. He has them, and he has requested your soul in exchange for their safety."
The girl's large green eyes widened at the sound of that. No. Her knees softened. She didn't get to touch the floor though, as the god's arms immediately went around her, preventing her from doing so.
"No. No," she shook her head, chest heaving as she suddenly felt dizzy. The room was spinning around with her, making it hard for her to stand upright. No. She felt sick. It was getting harder to breathe, with every second that passed. She wanted to throw up. No. She had to do something.
She hastily pried the god's arms away from her body, the world swaying around her once more as she breathed fast. Hard.
"Momma..." she shakily whispered to herself. And without wasting another breath she bolted past those wooden doors.
She stumbled into one of the palace's many hallways, lost and reeling from the shock. Filled with icy dread. Panic.
"Wolf!" she called, desperately looking around the deserted area. She needed to get there as quickly as possible. She needed to save them!
"Wolf!" she called again, falling to her knees on the cold, hard, and unforgiving floor. Tears started to stream down her face.
Nicholas stepped into the hallway, his gaze landing on the human girl crying on the floor. His soulmate. He could feel her pain. It radiated off her with the force of a thousand lightning bolts. It hurt. It hurt so fucking much. It held his dead heart in an unyielding grip. His jaw clenched.
Wolf materialized, peering at the girl crying on the floor as he stood there close to her, unmoving.
"Please...can you take me to the portal?" Diana asked between hiccups and sobs, gazing up at the golden soldier.
He hesitated to reply, his shielded head ever so slightly twisting in Nicholas' direction. The girl's brows drew together. They did not exchange a single word. And instead, Nicholas approached her with determined strides, his whole body tense. She blinked away those tears, staring up at him with confusion. He took a firm hold of her arm, hoisting her up to her feet.
"Nick...what's..." she let out a breathless sound as he wound an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his body. And then he was kissing her. Hard. Passionate.
Her eyes widened, cheeks flushing as she was still aware that Wolf was standing there right next to them. But Nicholas did not seem to care. At all. He continued to kiss her, burying his hand in those soft curls at the back of her head. Claiming her lips with such fervour. Need.
He abruptly ended the kiss, pulling back to look at her. She peered up between his eyes with uncertainty, noticing the way that he was staring at her.
"I love you. I fucking love you, Diana," he uttered. Fierce. Rough. Her eyes widened.
He let out a humorless chuckle.
"Damn. I never thought that I would actually get to say this to anyone, ever," he shook his head lightly.
"I like it, though. I like the way it sounds. My soulmate. I love you," he murmured to himself, leaning in for another kiss. Gentler, this time. Diana could only stand there like a statue, too stunned to even form a coherent thought.
"I lied, Diana," he peered between her eyes again. "That moment when you set foot past my threshold, was the greatest moment of my long and excruciating life. The day that I became blessed. Fortunate. Because I got to meet you, look at you," he confessed, placing both hands beneath her jawline.
"I'm happy that I got to touch you, and hold you, and kiss your lips. I'm glad that I made that choice when I did, the choice of giving up my godly grace so that I could become a vampire. I would gladly do it a million times over and over again, if it means that I get to meet you every single time," he softly said, planting another kiss on her lips.
He pulled back to look at her as he held her face between his hands, his gaze roaming over her features in a way that made her blush. Tenderly, and with deep yearning.
"You're so fucking beautiful..." he whispered, trailing his thumb over her cheek. She blinked. She could not understand. What was happening? Why was he telling her all this, and right now, of all times?
He smiled, that smile, however, not quite reaching his eyes. It made her feel anxious. Worried. He stepped away from her, taking all that warmth that was surrounding her with him.
She suddenly felt restless. Alarmed. She could feel that something was about to happen. Something bad.
"Take her to my quarters," he ordered, his gaze turning heavenwards. Wait. What? She blinked, watching him approach Wolf. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Her eyes widened. "Wait! No! Nic—"
She didn't get to say another word to him as suddenly, she was back in his bed. Where he had made love to her that very morning.