.•42•.

.•42•.
A slow and romantic tune resounded through the dark and deserted hallways of King's Estate, disrupting the eerie quietness of a cold and moonless night.
Nicholas' fingers stroked the piano keys with natural grace, playing one of the multiple songs he knew by heart.
His gaze was lost, though. Trapped in that dark and endless abyss that was staring him right in the face. He couldn't even hear the wet squelching sounds of Adelaide's fangs tearing into another random human's throat, or even feel that strong scent of blood surrounding him. The pungent smell of decaying corpses littering the floor in his living room. He felt as lifeless as they were. Drained. Depleted. His heart was as still as ever. As dark and empty as it had always been. He could not feel. Could not think. He wouldn't dare.
A dark and smoky tendril slithered up his suit-clad back, curling over his shoulder before it moved to caress the side of his throat, his painted cheek. He did not react. Wouldn't even blink.
"Are you not hungry, my love?" A delicate hand snuck over his abdomen, followed by a wet kiss on his cheek. His right hand gave away the slightest tremor as it hovered above the piano keys.
She came into view, planting her bare ass on the piano. She smiled, her grin bloodied. He smiled back, his expression sinister with all that paint adorning his face. Yes. He did hunger, although not for blood. He hungered to bash her head against that piano. Watch her brains splatter everywhere. He hungered to hear the sickening crunch of her skull popping open like a fucking exploding watermelon.
He continued to play, staring back at her with rapt attention as that graphic image kept appearing at the forefront of his mind. Keeping that devious smile plastered over his face. She switched positions, spreading her legs open before him. She was still naked after that earlier tryst with two human males and a female, her body reeking of sex.
He let his gaze trail over her milky skin. Her doll-like features. Once, she had been beautiful in his eyes. A being carved in the most fantastic dreams, with those enticing blue eyes, and that dark mane of curls spilling down her slender back. Now, she appeared rotten to him. Like a long-dead flower. With grayish leaves and a putrid stem, hidden by wilted petals. She even smelled of rot. Her breath stunk of the blood of the innocent, her body of acrid depravity. It repulsed him.
Her eyelids hooded as she continued to gaze upon his features, trailing a hand down her body. Conveying the way that she felt upon looking at him.
"So handsome you are tonight, my love,"
"It makes my cunt leak, whenever I lay eyes on your figure..." She sounded breathless. Needy. Nicholas' insides twisted with disgust. He continued to smile nonetheless, remaining silent. Unresponsive. He watched her tongue dart out to lick her lips, cleaning some of the blood away. A failed attempt to appear seductive. She let her hand trail further down over her stomach, reaching her wet pussy. It was leaking indeed. With a dead human male's cum.
He did not stop playing. Even though her legs were kind of getting in his way now, and he did not appreciate the fact that she was staining his once-pristine piano with her filth. Her leg rose, pressing the sole of her foot against his chest.
"Touch me, lover," she moaned, slipping a finger inside herself. He did not react. He continued to watch her with that dark gaze of his. Cold. Impassive. She mewled with displeasure, starting to rub faster at her pussy. "Come on, Nicky. I want it!" She urged. But he did not obey. He wouldn't. Not anymore.
She grunted, abruptly stopping. And then, a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. "Hmm..."
"Or maybe..." she sat up and leaned closer, her eyes level with his, "you'd like to see me squirm?"
His brows pinched. Just a little bit. She noticed.
She leaned back over the piano, those dark tendrils of shadow making their appearance once again. His jaw ticked. They circled her throat, wrists, and ankles. Acting as restraints. "You'd like to see me beg, Nyktos? And cry?" She taunted. And then another shadow appeared, fondling her breast. She mewled, the sound squeaky. Grating.
"Is this what you're into these days, my love?"
The shadow continued to fondle her, trailing over her body, pinching and kneading, making her pant and squirm.
"Punishment? Torture?"
Nicholas' expression hardened. Teeth grinding inside his mouth. Her smirk broadened.
"Is this what you want? A squirming little girl, reeking of fear and begging for her life?" She expressed an exaggerated pout, the shadows tugging harder at her limbs in an attempt to hold her still, right before the sixth one turned into a whip and struck her breast. She let out a pained mewl, pretending to look scared. Desperate.
"A human soul for you to destroy, to taint?" She continued to egg him on, barely able to contain that triumphant smirk that threatened to form on her lips as she could definitely notice his change in demeanour. The way that his body shook with barely-restrained anger. Yesss...
"A certain green-eyed girl, with tears in her eyes and a virgin pussy?" she cooed, producing a set of fake tears. And then the shadow morphed into a large cock and speared into her pussy with a violent thrust, making her cry out.
Nicholas snapped. An angered roar escaped him, and his hand wrapped around Adelaide's throat, slamming her body against the piano with a loud wrecking sound. The shadows dissipated into nothingness.
She let out a loud and manic laugh. Nicholas breathed fast and hard through his nostrils. His eyes were red, his whole body vibrating with nothing but pure, unbridled fury. She smiled cruelly.
"Do it. I dare you."
He wanted to. He wanted nothing more. The monster within him thrashed wildly, thirsting for murder. Retribution. He yearned for nothing more, from the moment that he'd found her in that cafe, where Diana used to work. She even had the gall to approach Diana's best friend, Dan. He knew right then and there what she'd done. Who she really was. A scheming, backstabbing bitch. One that didn't deserve to breathe air from the human world.
His hand tightened around her throat. A small pop sounded, the sound of her windpipe cracking. She barely winced, keeping that twisted smile on her face.
"Do it. Do it," her defiant gaze seemed to say, working in sync with that voice inside his head that kept screaming those exact two words. He was so close. He could've done it so easily. A firmer squeeze and that wretched head of hers would've detached from her body. He would've bathed in her blood, revelled in the sick satisfaction of having her death on his hands. She deserved it, and so much more.
But then, he would've lost them forever. His shadows. His powers. His godly grace. And it sickened him. The thought of losing them to her. He couldn't let her win like this. He wouldn't. She'd already taken so much from him, he couldn't allow her to take them too. She'd robbed him of his soul, his heart, and now his freedom. He wouldn't allow her to take any more. He needed to seek out vengeance. And he knew just the way to do it.
A smile suddenly spread on his face, an even more sinister one. Adelaide's faltered, uncertainty glinting in her eyes as she peered between Nicholas'.
"You want this, my love? You want to have my cock inside of you?" he whispered against her lips, his voice taunting. She nodded quickly. She wanted him. She was desperate to have him. She'd been trying to get him to fuck her ever since he'd emerged from the gods' realm. He was hers. He belonged to her, he'd always had, and the thought that that whiny sack of blood had put her filthy hands on him irritated her so incredibly.
"Well then..." he loosened his hold on her throat, allowing it to heal quickly. He trailed his thumb over her lower lip, his gaze following the action. Her tongue darted out to try and lick it.
"Have this." He spat in her face. Literally. A blob of spittle landed in her eye, and she let out a shocked gasp. She rose into a sitting position, staring after his retreating back as he left. She let out a loud, enraged scream.

.••.

It happened so fast. One moment he was demanding that Ares let go of her, declaring loud and firm that she belonged to him and then, he was bidding his heartfelt goodbye to her. A small part of her still resented him for it. That he'd uttered all those beautiful words to her, and then broken her heart by leaving her here. She realized that he was only trying to protect her, that he'd trapped her in here so that she wouldn't throw herself in harm's way. In the demon's claws. But she still resented him for it. He shouldn't have left. He shouldn't have sacrificed himself for her. He shouldn't have left her with this sickening void, that was growing inside of her with every moment spent in his absence. He shouldn't have said all those things to her —about how special she was to him, how important. He shouldn't have made love to her so beautifully, only to leave her wanting and lost. Desolate.
She should've known that he was planning to leave her here. It was all there, written in his actions. On his face. But she chose not to see. She clung to his empty promise, his half-hearted lie.
Diana blew out a long and hitching sigh, her gaze lost in nothingness. Unaware of the god's attention on her, or the fact that she'd unwittingly pressed her cheek against his pectoral.
They entered another empty salon —one that appeared unkept, desolate. It was filled with dust. Cobwebs. There were amber leaves scattered on the floor, and tattered sheets hanging from the ceiling, flowing in the gentle breeze. They pushed past them, arriving before a set of wooden doors. They pried open, revealing a moonlit garden.
Diana sat up straighter, her brows drawing together. H-how...
She blinked, her gaze shifting to Ares, and then back to the garden. Hadn't it been sunny outside earlier when she left Nicholas' quarters with him? When did it turn dark? Had she somehow lost track of time?
Must be another trick, she quickly concluded. The land of the gods was full of them, as she was already aware.
Ares leaned over, gently lowering her to her feet. He offered his arm again and she took it, taking his lead. He guided her outside, into the garden, a timid smile tugging at her lips as she let her gaze wander around. Taking it all in. It was beautiful. Mystical. There were burning candles everywhere. Flowers glowing like embers, varying in colours. The scent of burning sage and rosemary clung in the air, heavy like a cloud.
They followed a stone path, lined with candles on each side. Diana's eyes rounded with awe as soon as they fell on the moon. It hung low in the sky, full and freakishly big. Glowing like a piece of lit-up marble. And then, her gaze fell on the female creature sitting right underneath it. Her lips parted open, for a second time struck with astonishment.