Chapter 24 - Still a Dream?
Ismena jerked awake. Drenched in sweat. Pain in her veins. And that feeling.
That. Feeling.
Her hand shot up to that side of her neck, and sparks erupted beneath her touch, that she yanked her fingers away just as quickly.
Her breath was ragged. Her throat hurt. There was a ringing in her ears. And though, she knew that she was now in her room, it all still felt like a dream.
"Your Majesty!" Someone burst into the room, her voice sounding like an echo in the distance.
Another rushed in behind her, and shut the door but it was the first that spoke again, as Ismena struggled to get out of bed.
"You were screaming. What happened?"
They moved closer and she lost her footing as the room tilted.
Hands were on her immediately, and pain unleashed at the point of contact.
She yanked herself away from them.
"Your Majesty?"
"Don't touch me!"
She remained on the floor. Seated. Trying to think. But she couldn't. Her throat burned hotter and hotter like fire had been lit in them. Every part of her body stung with agony, and that part of her neck… by the Sun, she could still feel his canines in them.
She dragged in another breath but a particular scent in the room just burned her nostrils even more.
A fragrance she suddenly detested.
Alone.
Now.
"Shall we call the physicians—"
"Out," she gritted, and when they did not move, she turned her rageful gaze to them. "GET. OUT."
She could see them now.
Meryl had been the one talking and Lowie had pulled most likely being the one who had tried to stop her from falling.
The haziness in her mind did not vanish.
Everything felt so dreamlike. The pain felt so really. Her body seemed to be on fire too.
"We–"
"Get no one and get out! That is an order!"
They obeyed then, suffling out of the door and slamming it shut behind them from how quickly they had moved.
She had never yelled at them like that before.
But then, she wasn't feeling any way like herself right now.
Hot breath pushed past her nose. She pressed her hand against her neck once again from how sore it felt, only for the pain to return anew in tenfold.
Her hand jolted away. The sparks sizzled, like embers from a fire breathing mountain.
Water.
She needed water.
She tried to stand but her legs felt to weak to move. She shed off her robe because the fabric felt like a blanket of flames.
Naked, she crawled to the bathroom.
Haron's bathroom.
The trickling of water filled her ears and her body longed for it.
There were two bathing sections but she came across the smaller one first and her desperation could not wait for a delayed relief.
She pushed herself into the small tub quickly. The cold water hit her skin, engulfing her, easing the pain, cooling down the heat.
A sigh of relief slipped past her lips.
But the soreness of her neck was still very present. The dizziness in her head was still very present.
Was this a dream?
Was this real?
It was all too much.
She groaned as her soreness increased. The heat in her veins was starting to return too.
Panic flooded through her.
That bite.
It had to be.
She poured a handful of water on the aching surface, and her body went still as an euphoric feeling washed over her.
Her eyelids slammed shut, and the dream of the beast sinking his canines flashed in her mind, the images holding her thoughts hostage.
Goosebumps laced her skin, her nipples pebbled with lust and core pooled with need.
She gulped, gritting her teeth, panting with ache.
No.
She fought against herself, trying to suppress the feeling. But her hands jolted out of the water and down her thighs.
She yanked them away to clutch the edges of the tub. Her body trembled still. The pain returning.
The memories not leaving.
Of his hand.
His presence.
His claws.
His chains.
No!
The heat.
The pain.
Her bottom lip trembled.
It was torture again.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as her head drummed with agony. Her body quivered with pain, and she clenched the edges of the tub till her hands went numb.
The pain was rising… and rising… and rising…
Till it was suddenly… fading!
Ah!
By the Sun, this was… this was…
"Ah," a feverish moan slipped past her lips and she threw her head back, her mind dizzy with pleasure.
It was only then that she realized that somewhere within her struggles for restraint, her hands had deserted the edges of the tub and were now sinking into her.
Fast.
A quick rhythm she could have never imagined her body to be capable of.
The water rippled around her as her body gave in completely, her mind was already far gone with different memories of the prisoner. With all the dreams of him.
She grunted and bucked, her other thumb rubbing over her core, only got that hand to rush up just as quickly to tend to her aching nipples, to slip into her hair in absolute frustration.
Deeper. If she could only reach deeper.
Growls echoed in her mind again and she groaned, tears running down the corners of her eyes.
Of pleasure?
Of frustration?
She didn't know!
It was all too much.
She could feel the vibration of his growl, as if she were still in the dream, with his hand firmly around her neck. That rough skin.
Oh by the Sun… this was wrong… this…
Her body went still and her eyes rolled back, as waves of pleasure washed over her. Her moans filled the space so much that they refused to leave her ears. Like some reminder of a filthy sin.
Over, and over and over again. Till she came tumbling down from the peak of ecstacy.
Then she heard a voice that shattered everything.
"Ismena?"
Her heart dropped.
Haron.