Imperial (Insight #8)(15)

I was numb. His touch, his essence was fortified with a powerful hum, one that was so deep that all you could do to fight it was sigh, and not surprisingly, that usually encouraged him to continue his pursuit.

Which was exactly what he was doing at this moment. Vibrations of his essence were wavering over me, swirling deeper and deeper, saturating my soul with his powerful presence.

But I was mad. Furious. He’d left me in the Veil. Everything I had or was had been taken from me. That’s what my mind was telling my soul right now. That was the rational side of me trying to block his sensation, what was bellowing in my thick skull. I didn’t want to feel this good in his arms, I didn’t want him to sense how much I craved him. I didn’t want him to find equal pleasure in my response. I wanted to be in pain. I wanted him in pain.

I felt the heat of his breath rise higher, and just under my ear he breathed, “My Glory…I’ve got you…let go.”

His voice filled my soul, and I felt tears that I was too stubborn ever to let fall sting my eyes.

Rage, wrath, fury—every word under the defined emotion of anger was coursing through me. Enough to make this mansion and every level of The Realm crumble. That didn’t happen. It didn’t happen because he had sealed us within his essence.

A storm raged around our bodies, and as it did I thought of my human life, my reign, our fights, the betrayal that had landed me in death. I thought of every single hour I’d spent lurking in that vast cathedral. Every moment I’d secretly yearned for Vade. I thought of all the souls I released from my line. I thought of this day. The revelations and the clear signs that stated the life I once had no longer existed.

Maybe this was what grief felt like. My chest ached; there was a heavy weight there that produced visions of my worst fears not coming to life, but existing. It was an agony I never wished to feel and craved amnesty from.

My knees gave way, and even though Vade had a firm grip on me, we slowly fell to the floor. Somehow, I turned in his arms and buried my face in his warm, broad chest. As the scent of mint and the hum of his touch filled me more and more, rage came. So much time had passed. So much agony, confusion, and fury.

Half of me wished I’d never known him, that at least if that were true then I would not have had to remember the torment of his absence. The other part was grateful I was in his arms right now. That for the first time in eons I felt something close to peace. Peace was letting this storm out. Peace was the release.

I was no fool, though. A girl obsessed with her adored. I was a sovereign, for Creator’s sake. So, in his embrace, through the raging storm I analyzed his energy. I searched for the lingering scent of another. I searched for a past fever. I searched for a reason to find hatred for him.

I found no such thing. Instead, I saw my auburn laced with emerald green eyes staring back at me. My ivory skin, my long auburn hair. I saw my image a million times over. There was no essence beyond my own within him. There was no room, I consumed his every thought.

He pulled me onto his lap, encasing me within the tangle of his powerful arms and legs. With a deep, hypnotic tone he breathed, “I would never forsake you, my Glory.”

Those foolish tears spilled from the corners of my eyes. He lifted my chin and gazed into my being, which could not find one solitary emotion to grasp.

Those eyes, the light behind them had dulled, much like the light that turned mine to a warm honey shade had, but with each pulse of our souls the light was breaking through. Diamonds were before me now, exquisite diamonds.

Ever so slowly, he leaned forward. His warm lips framed one of mine, gently teasing me, trembling ever so slightly, as if I were a forbidden fruit. I responded shyly, much like the first time he had dared to kiss me. I felt my soul throb with raw energy. His arms tightened around me as he pulled me closer to his firm chest. His will to remain gentle was losing its battle, the way that every muscle in his chest would flex and then release was telling me that. His lips teased mine softly once more, then the warmth of his tongue reached out for mine. The heat of him, along with the sensational flavor of mint, was causing my very being to beat wildly in time with my heart. I missed him. I hated that I did. That I needed him. But I did. I really did.

Life, ecstasy, that was what we were both feeling as our kiss grew deeper. Fierce one moment, then gentle the next. All the while, the storm around our bodies raged on. All the while, I let loose the caged emotions that had entrapped me in misery.

I felt his long fingertips frame my face just as his thumb dared to catch that dreadful tear that escaped my closed eyes.

He slowly let his kiss end before he dared to lose control. Gently, he pulled my head to his chest and let the hum of his essence caress my weary soul. The storm within was subsiding. He’d managed to quell my soul once more.

My power, my essence, lurks within my emotions. When it is elevated, the world responds, wicked storms are birthed, humans I’m meant to reprieve are forced to face the wrath of nature.

One of the first lessons my Creator taught me was how to control such a power. How to live with it in my soul. I dare say that was the hardest lesson to grasp, one I continue to find myself struggling with from time to time.

When Vade and I began our life together, our Creator told Vade that he had to let me release. He told Vade that I could hold in that power for eons, but at some point I would have to be held, caressed, as my power found its balance and I found my respite. The Creator knew that Vade’s essence was powerful enough to shield not only our world, but also the ones below from such a wrath.