Page 110 of A Study of Blood and Ichor

“I would give up—” Vain’s breath hitched as he spoke, “everything.” Pain and immeasurable longing swam in the demon’s ethereal eyes. “I have lived a long life, mellilla. And I wish for nothing more than to finish this life with the two of you by my side.”

Vain took my hand and stepped over the chalk line into the empty circle, leading me with him. The moment we crossed over, the demonic runes hummed to life, glowing gold as they entwined themselves between our circle and Rory’s in a figure eight pattern. Their power vibrated like a living thing, a thrumming heartbeat, and I could feel their warmth inches from my toes. Even the candles appeared to burn a little brighter around us.

My eyes didn’t leave Vain’s as he drew me in close, his hands gripping my arms just below my shoulders. He was so much larger than me in every way. Even his mere presence felt looming, like a dark omen cloaked beneath flesh and bone.

Vain leaned down, his head bowed low, to kiss me. It was a chaste gesture, meant only to soothe my nerves, which I had no doubt he could sense.

I chose to allow my emotions to pour from me without abandon. There was no point in keeping my mental shields up against him anymore, not when I was about to give myself to him more fully than I ever had before. The binding ritual was an intimate ceremony, the act of joining our bodies physically meant to ensure the seal of the soul bond.

He kept a hand on the small of my back while the other cradled my nape, his fingers laced through my hair. The kiss was the gentlest brush of his lips against mine. I could have sworn it was Rory’s mouth when I closed my eyes. Or maybe I missed him so much that I wished it was Rory.

Vain pulled away, and I opened my eyes. His dark irises flickered, reflecting the golden flames around us with an uncanny iridescence. He brought our hands together between us, bloodied palms facing upward. My cut throbbed, a dull ache beneath the small well of blood that had pooled around it. Vain’s had already healed.

He made another cut to his hand with the blade, then raised the edge of his palm slowly to my lips, and I mirrored mine to his. I readied myself to gag as I drank from him, but the feeling never came. Vain’s ichor had the same bitter tang I had expected, but there was a hint of something sweet as well, making it palatable as it coated my tongue and trickled down my throat. He was careful not to allow me to consume too much, only enough to complete the ritual and nothing more.

After we had each taken the last pulls from one another, Vain sealed my cut with a kiss to my palm, and the flesh stitched together before my eyes. His wound had already healed as well, not a single mark marring the surface of his ivory skin.

Vain’s ichor was pure, absolute, and unfiltered energy. The power of it rushed through me like a warm current of electricity running through every last nerve and synapse in my body. This power felt different than before—not like a curse, but more like a gift. There was a soft pull toward it, a craving for more, but Vain sated my hunger with a deep and demanding kiss.

The taste of blood and ichor mixed together, overwhelming my senses, and I groaned into his mouth, low and deep. I could feel the hard length of him pressed against my stomach through the fabric of our robes. He twitched against me, and my body shuddered in turn. He held himself back with so much more restraint than I expected from him.

He gave a sharp snap of his fingers, and I shivered against the cold air on my bare skin as both of our robes were glamoured away.

With strong arms holding me tightly to him, Vain lowered us onto the floor. I sat poised above his lap, chest to chest, our mouths locked in a careful entanglement. His hands roamed over my body, exploring every inch of me, slowly at first, and then becoming more insistent and desperate. He released a low hum into my open mouth, our tongues locked in a fevered dance, which left my core aching for him. I was more than ready to give him everything I had, and it didn’t matter at all what remained of me when he was done.

He shifted his weight underneath me, positioning himself at my entrance and holding there. It took me a moment to realize the unspoken offer he was presenting me—a chance to change my mind before it was too late.

My choice.

But I had made my decision long before setting foot in this room. Maybe I even made it the moment I watched the light leave Rory’s eyes.

I lowered myself down and Vain hissed in a sharp breath and groaned as he slid into me. The hard length of him sank deeper and deeper until we were fully flush at the hips, our bodies melded as one.

We each released a heavy sigh and stayed like that for what felt like minutes as I adjusted to the size of him. I winced slightly and Vain froze, his eyes widening. I never thought I would see a demon’s face contort with such worry over a life other than their own. That look undid something within me, and I thought that it might have been the most wondrous thing I had ever seen.

I brushed a reassuring hand down his arm, and only then did he relax.

My hips rocked over him in a steady rhythm as we clung to one another. The air became hot, the flames burning radiantly as we moved as one, gasping in each other’s breaths with each stroke.

Vain’s mouth moved from my lips to my throat where he sucked and nipped at the sensitive skin until I was whimpering, desperate for everything he had to offer me. I sank my fingers into his icy-blond hair, the strands shining like ethereal silver in the candlelight.

The sound of our bodies coming together, slick and fast, echoed around the room, pulling me closer toward my impending fate. Vain’s hands were everywhere, in my hair, trailing over my back and clasping at my collarbone, nearly at my throat. He was close, his thrusts turning more insistent each time I slammed myself down onto him.

Every moan I gave him felt like a promise. Every gasp, every shudder, felt like an offering, sacrificing the pieces of my heart to an arcane deity to do with as he pleased. Soon he would have it all. He would have everything—anything if it meant having Rory back. If it meant having them both.

Vain hooked his hands under my arms and clawed at my shoulder blades, pulling me against him firmly as if he could meld us into one. His fingertips dug hard into my flesh, deeper every second he climbed closer to his own climax.

With his lips pressed against the shell of my ear, Vain whispered, “From this day on, I will be the guardian of your heart. Your burdens are now mine. My strength is now yours. I will protect your soul till my last breath, and you may wield me as you please.”

Vain’s name erupted from me in answer as I shattered around him. At the same time, he came undone too, and the flames encircling us surged higher as a tremor of energy shook deep within my core.

My intuition prickled, and as if by instinct, I recognized the warm sensation coiling through every atom in my body as the bond worming its way into every crevice of my soul. I opened myself to it, throwing my head back as the last waves of my orgasm subsided until I felt the bond snap into place like a lock.

There was a cord, like a tether, wrapped around my heart, and I felt it pull taut. And at the other end, Vain’s essence burned wild, bright and warm, sheltering my soul. It wasn’t at all what I expected binding myself to a demon would be like.

He felt safe. He felt like home.

I collapsed against Vain, and when I sighed into him, every last flame winked out from the candles, leaving us in complete darkness.

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