Wings, Beasts and Claws: Amethyst Flame

Ch. 20 : A Sudden Haze

*Amara*

News about the attack on Rosanna and Prince Dorian spread quickly through the Palace, and many servants and Queeness’ were anxious to learn if either one of them had been hurt, myself included.

I couldn’t deny it, no matter how hard I tried to. But I was unable to rest or think clearly, my stomach knotted up and a soft pulsing heat spreading through my body as I paced around my room. I couldn’t sit still, couldn’t even stomach my favorite pastries that Ivy brought over with tea. And the more I tried to calm myself or shove that panicked emotion aside, the stronger it fought back.

Even when Ivy left for the night I tossed and turned, my mind overcome with the endless possibilities that could have taken place in that gazebo. And when I finally managed to lull myself to sleep, I was drowning in nightmares.

Thankfully, I was informed that both of them had escaped the attack unharmed and my body relaxed, finally letting go of all the tension. My brother pointed out my worn out appearance and pushed for me to sleep some more, reminding me that it was the weekend and I didn’t have to do anything. So I did just that, dismissing Ivy for the rest of the morning and wishing my brother good luck on his training.

Once I was alone though, I sat in bed and started to question everything that had happened to me since arriving in the Fafner Capital. The changes that I had been going through and the millions of things I had started to feel. Things I never thought I would ever feel again. I thought of the plan that Arden and I had set for ourselves, even asking Ivy to come along with us. But leaving seemed like such a distant and terrifying thing to do now, my body shivering against the idea itself.

But Arden and I had been planning to leave the Fafner Kingdom for a long time, so a small part of me was stubborn in letting it go completely. And I felt ridiculous with these conflicting emotions, picturing the source of my dilemma every time I tried to settle my mind on leaving. And past conversations on the topic I had had with Ivy and Arden were further stopping me from truly wanting to go.

Ivy, even though she grew up serving the Du Pleasant family, still had a family of her own that lived just outside of Du Pleasant city. Her parents were retired servants and her younger siblings still lived with them, depending on the extra pay she sent to them. Then there was my brother, who was questioning the idea of leaving while he struggled to understand what he was feeling to Lady Spornette. I had managed to stay away from that conversation with him, but he would still utter small things here and there that opposed our plan. And his choice alone was stopping me from just picking up and going myself.

Arden was the only thing I had left in this world, the only person whose life and happiness mattered to me. Not just because he was my only true family by blood, but also because of everything we had gone through together. Losing our Grandfather, then our mother, being dragged into the Du Pleasant estate after her funeral, the beatings, the lashings, and days of starvation, and those final years when he would be torn away from me for months at a time. My brother and I endured it all because we had each other. We knew that the other would be there waiting to help no matter what, and now, with him second guessing the choice to leave, and my struggle against these forbidden emotions, I felt torn.

Hours passed as I sat there thinking, and before I knew it Ivy was walking in with lunch. She joined me and helped me set aside the mountain of thought that had overcrowded my mind.

With her keeping me company I spent the rest of the day in my room, chatting and joking around. Eventually I began to question why I was suddenly feeling excited. But I quickly realized that I was anticipating a visit from the Prince, my mind and body already wired to know when he would arrive and keep me company. Yet the hours passed on again and the sun soon began to hide behind the distant mountains. I was frustrated with myself as a heavy sense of disappointment hit me, my body going limp in response.

“Let’s get you ready for bed My Lady.” Ivy said, smiling weakly after the light of the sun fully vanished. “He was probably busy after the attack yesterday.”

I hummed a response, not wanting to admit that I was upset because I didn’t get to see him. Yet I seemed to have failed in covering up that emotion, because Ivy went on and on about what she had heard about the Prince as I bathed and dressed in my nightgown. How brave he was to face the poisoned Knights, how skilled he was with his sword and how he handled that aftermath of it all with a calm authority that helped everyone else around him.

I wanted to ask her to stop talking, I wanted to hear more. I wanted to smother the mass of butterflies in my stomach, while also dance around along with them.

His velvet like onyx hair, those deep crimson eyes, his voice, both warm and slightly raspy that embraced my very heart, setting it aflame. Every single thing about him had become the center of my universe and I didn’t know how to stop it. I was lost inside the maze of warmth and peace I felt in his presence. I was weak against the way my body would respond whenever he would look at me. And even though I was still fighting against the feelings and emotions that were still taking root inside me, a part of me had already given in. A piece of me had already accepted what he was to me, even if I would never say it out loud.

“Oh!” I heard ivy squeak out suddenly, my eyes blinking rapidly as I returned to reality.

She was standing by the door to my room, her arms holding a tray with the pot of tea and cups that we had used a short while ago. And standing in front of her in a simple buttoned shirt and weathered pants was Prince Dorian.

He looked slightly flushed and breathless, like he had been running around a lot. His hair was standing on end in a few places, looking wind swept as he slowly walked further into my room. I watched him as he slowly paced beside the loveseats, his eyes unfocused and his movements stiff. It took me a few seconds to understand why his actions looked familiar, and my entire body tensed as I realized what this meant.

“Your Majesty?” I called out to him softly, taking small hesitant steps towards him.

Ivy moved as though she was going to step closer to him but I stopped her, shaking my head sharply and motioning for her to step away.

“Dorian?” I called out again, gasping when he suddenly stopped walking and turned to face me.

His eyes, those same garnet eyes that I had been thinking about just moments ago, were glowing softly, his gaze heavy with hunger.

“I-Ivy.” I stammered, feeling my own body heat up as he took a small step towards me. “Go.”

She looked confused as her soft brown eyes bounced between the two of us, her hand raising as if she was going to move towards me and speak.

“No.” My voice was nothing more than a breath as I focused on the Prince, a shiver taking over my body as he let out a soft growl. “He’s in a Haze… just go.”

She squeaked again and I quickly glanced at her as she rushed out of the room and closed the door, leaving me alone with a lust filled dragon.

A Haze was something that happened to all Shifters, whether you had a Soul-Animal or not. It would hit you every three to five months, your Soul-Animal wanting to reveal the accumulated stress and tension that it had felt in between that time. It would crave a physical release, encouraging you to breed and raise you fertility levels, driving your body into a fever like trace that seeks out an intimate touch. I had been around my brothers and father while they were in a Haze, seeing the same hungry glow in their eyes in the Prince now who was still stalking towards me like a predator.

Thankfully I was related to them so they obviously didn’t do anything and even welcomed my help when I would push them into their rooms and away from the Unclaimed maids walking around in the estate. Kaliden had gone through a Haze in front of me as well, but it was after I had learned of everything so I just hid in my room and let his instincts guide him back to his wife.

This was one thing that made married men safe when it came to a Haze, because a part of the wedding ceremony was to Claim your spouse with a bite to their wrist those forming and sealing a Bond. So when the Haze hit you, your Soul-Animal would seek out it’s partner and just blindly pass anyone else around them, especially the Unclaimed.

Yet here I was, painfully exposed in my thin nightgown with nothing but a fluffy shawl over my shoulders for cover. And strangely, my own body was beginning to heat up, a burning flush spreading across my cheeks as another shiver hit me.

“Amara.” His voice was thick and husky, making me whimper as he reached out to me. “You… you are so beautiful.”

One hand came up and caressed my face with his fingertips, his palm molding itself against my cheek. His other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him as I struggled to breath. The feel of his hands against my body drove my inner flame into a crazed inferno, adding pressure between my legs and clenching my stomach tightly. His thumb swiped across my lips as I looked up at him, losing myself in those breathtaking red eyes.

“I have been dying to kiss you.” He whispers, his hand folding over and tilting my chin up further with his knuckles.

I couldn’t stop myself as I leaned in with him, closing the distance between us as my eyes fluttered closed. His lips against mine were so gentle and sweet, hesitant almost, as if he were afraid to hurt me. But when I pushed against him a little more, that hesitation died out and he slowly let his desire take over. The kiss grew deeper, more passionate as he tightened his hold on my body. The hand that had caressed me was now moving gently across my jaw, fingers light as they moved behind my ear and gripped the back of my head, entangling themselves in my still damp hair.

At some point we moved and the shawl was pushed off my shoulders, pooling at my feet as something fluffy hit the back of my thighs. A small part of my mind recognized this as the end of my bed and willingly leaned back as Dorian held me. We broke the kiss for just a moment as I pushed myself to the center of the large bed while he pulled his shirt off, not bothering with the buttons as they flew in all different directions.

The sound of clothes tearing, his soft growls and my breathy pants were the only things that could be heard in my room. His lips against my skin, his body pressed against mine and his hands that lovingly adored every other piece of me. I felt like I was in a pyre, my body embraced by the flames of passionate hunger that I wanted him to extinguish. Him and only him. And as our bodies joined together as one, I dared to accept him and what I had been feeling for him. I let myself, for just this moment, be joined to him. To be taken over by the way he looked at me. The sweet words he whispered to me. The way he kissed me. Touched me and how everything made me feel.

I let myself feel love once again.