Where Ashes and Oaths Collide

Chapter 9: Stubbornness

“I don’t mind being consumed either,” Amelia said softly. “You don’t know what you are saying,” Luz whispered harshly, his hands trembling slightly as they frame Amelia’s face. “Being consumed means becoming a monster. Losing everything that makes you human.” The darkness on his chest pulsed violently at the intensity of his emotions– anger at himself for putting her in danger mixed with overwhelming gratitude for her blind faith in him. “This isn’t some romantic gesture,” he insisted desperately. “It if consumes you too, we will both be lost. The darkness inside me will have two souls to feed on instead of one.” His thumb brushed across her cheeks roughly, as if trying to erase the words he couldn’t un-hear. “You can’t scare me away, Luz,” Amelia said stubbornly.

The stubbornness in her voice– the sheer refusal to be frightened– was Luz’s undoing. A raw laugh escaped him, half-laugh and half-sob, as he finally admitted defeat. “f*****g hell, you are impossible,” he muttered, pulling her flush against his bare chest. The contrast between her warm skin and his corrupted flesh sent another jolt through him. “Fine– have it your way. If you insist on throwing yourself into the pit with me.” His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, crushing her close as if trying to absorb her entirely. The crimson glow in his eyes softened into something almost pleading. “If I lose you,” he breathed against her red hair. “If this– this thing kills you or changes you… I will spend eternity making sure every Corrompido regrets it.” The black veins on his body flared aggressively at the surge of protective fury coursing through him.

“I will never leave you,” Amelia said seriously, then she kissed him again. The seriousness in her voice, coupled with the firm pressure of her lips against his, completely dismantled his defences. The kiss started tentative, almost questioning, but quickly deepened as he responded with desperate relief. “Never,” he breathed against her mouth between kisses, one had sliding up to tangle in her red hair while the other pressed firmly against the small of her back. “Promise me you mean that. Promise me you won’t run screaming when you see what I have become.” His body reacted instantly to her proximity– the heat building between their bodies, the way his muscles tensed beneath her hands. The black veins on his skin pulsed erratically as the darkness inside him sensed the rising tide of human passion.

“Tell me again, tell me you are really staying– because once I have you properly claimed, there is no going back.” he demanded huskily, breaking the kiss just enough to look into her green eyes. “I am staying by your side no matter what,” Amelia said clearly. The finality in her voice seemed to break the last of his internal resistance. A shudder ran through his body as he processed her absolute commitment. “Good,” he breathed, the word filled with a mixture of possession and reverence. “Because now that you have said it, I am not letting you go.” His hands moved from her waist to cup her face firmly, tilting it up to meet his crimson gaze. The black veins on his neck throbbed violently as the darkness within him reacted to the binding nature of their vow. “You are mine now,” he declared with the authority of a commander claiming territory. “My lover, my shield, my reason for finishing this damn war.”

Without waiting for another response, he lifted her easily into his arms and carried her toward the cot at the back of the tent. His body covers hers, his weight settled over her, the familiar solidness of his muscular frame pressing her into the cot’s thin mattress. The scent of leather, sweat, and something uniquely him– like ozone after a storm– filled her senses. His hands braced on either side of her head, crimson eyes studying her face intently in the dim lantern light. The usual hardness in his expression had softened considerably, replaced by a raw hunger that made her stomach flutter. “Last chance to change your mind,” he murmured roughly, his voice vibrating through his chest against hers. “Once I start this… I am not stopping until I have marked every inch of you as mine.”

The black veins on his neck pulsed steadily now, no longer aggressive but responsive to the intimacy building between them. Amelia wrapped he arms around Luz’s neck and pulling him down for a kiss. The moment her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, his control snapped completely. He answered the kiss with ferocious hunger, capturing her mouth as if starved for this specific taste after six long years of deprivation. His tongue swept into her mouth possessively while one hand slid down her side to grip her hip firmly, anchoring her beneath him. The other hand tangled in her red hair, tilting her head back to deepen the angle of the kiss. “Gods above,” he growled against her lips between kisses. “I have dreamt of this every night since I left. Tasting you again, having you in my bed.”

The black veins on his chest pulsed faster as his arousal grew evident through the thin fabric of his brown trousers pressing against her thigh. His breathing became heavier, more laboured as he explored every curve of her body with desperate hands. “You have no idea how much trouble I am in now,” his voice was a low growl against her neck as he trailed hot kisses down her throat. His hips pressed harder against her, the hard length of him obvious through his brown trousers as he rocked slowly. The black veins on his chest pulsed with each thrust of his hips, reacting to the primal instinct taking over. “Tell me you want this,” he demanded roughly, his crimson eyes burning with a desperate need that had been building for years. “Tell me you are ready for me to claim you.”

His hands worked quickly to remove the grey button-up shirt she was wearing, exposing her pale skin to the cool air of the tent. Amelia gasped as he took her clothes off. “Don’t stop,” she said and moaned sweetly. The sweet command in her voice was gasoline on a fire Luz had been fighting for six years. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he finished stripping her brown trousers off completely, tossing them carelessly onto the floor.