King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

PassionHate

I was lulled back awake by the rhythmic sound of water droplets. The cold sensation splashed against my feverish cheeks and cascaded down my neck.

I tipped my head back and stared at the vast sunset as the rain doused me. The sky was slowly consumed by opaque rain clouds as the sun dipped down and the two moons ascended. The bleak night couldn’t overshadow the countless stars’ splendor as a deep desire churned inside me.

I reached my hand out and tried to pluck each and every star from the ever-changing kaleidoscopic sky.

I closed my fist, brought it to my face, and opened it.

Frustration steamed within me and flushed out the last remnants of desire as I studied my empty palm.

I huffed and threw my head back, and the fuzzy feeling overtook me once again.

I studied Kaschel and traced his face lightly with my fingertips. His skin, smooth, yet still rugged and firm—maybe from his clenched jaw.

Kaschel’s face seemed to only know one facial expression: the same grimace he sported earlier as his dark brows squeezed together in vexation. A heavy contrast to his slicked-back hair drenched from the rain as it gave off a silverish tint in the moonlight.

He radiated like a beacon in the darkness ensnaring you with his celestial glow. Only to drag you down to hell and let you burn for all eternity. He was a trap, an enchanting but oh-so-cruel trap. A god of war and calamity ready to destroy everything in his wake. Even with the wave of giddiness flowing through my veins, I knew he was a lethal venom slowly poisoning me the more I stared.

My breathing hitched and I skimmed ahead as Kaschel carried me princess-style through an eerily lit street that had long been abandoned.

The intense pounding of Kaschel’s heartbeat sent tremors through me, yet it moved, slow and steady.

A grogginess consumed me, and a thundering pain hit me right above my temple.

My concentration muddled as my vision blurred—going in and out as the world danced in throngs of prismatic lights around me.

My vision cleared, and once again we appeared at a location teeming with laughter cutting through the dense air.

I rubbed my eyes and widened them, suddenly aware of everything.

“L-let me go,” I squeaked, glancing up at the dark stone building with the sign that read Galleget’s and shoved myself away from his burly chest.

Kaschel didn’t give me the time of day and answered in a clipped tone. “You were being facetious.”

I wiggled my legs and tried to get out of Kaschel’s hold, but I couldn’t rival his strength with my fatigued arms.

I sighed in defeat. “Please let me go.”

Kaschel lowered a brow in suspicion. “And let you act as a fool and do as you please? Look where that got you.”

“It’s not my fault you laced my water with something,” I grumbled as I crossed my arms.

Like hell if I would act like that of my own volition. I was stubborn, not stupid.

The corner of Kaschel’s mouth curved upward. Somehow my words amused him, and it pissed me off.

Kaschel tilted his head to the side, and his striking jawline tensed as he responded. “What a bold accusation, but I’d take no pleasure in drugging you, nor anyone.”

“But you get off on kidnapping and threatening? Oh, wait. I seem to remember being drugged by one of your dumbass lackeys.” I chuckled under my breath.

“You weren’t the person I ordered to be kidnapped.”

“Yet here I am.”

Kaschel scoffed and went back to ignoring me. He came to a halt and dropped my legs without warning. I almost fell ass-first onto the ground but managed to catch myself. I shot him a death glare, hoping it illustrated how much I detested him, but I knew my resting bitch face was weak.

He shook out his hands, nonchalantly stretched out his shoulders, and focused his attention back on to me with such authority I staggered back.

“If you touch or look anyone else directly in the eyes, I can’t say I have it in me to save you from another horde.” Kaschel gave me a once-over.

“How chivalrous of you.” I rubbed my throbbing temple as the pounding in my skull intensified.

Kaschel grunted and walked through the front doors.