The Crimson Snow (A Realm of Chaos and Void #1)

Chapter 19

The Twisted Wolf

One being from the Otherworld shan’t hold dear another from the human and even less so the Underworld. If that were to happen, the punishment would be absolute death.

Retrieved from The King of The Otherworld by Kamera Willowpeaks.

Evren Wraithwood

He sensed Seraphine before she appeared in the main hall on the first floor of the library, still wearing his cloak.

It has always looked better on her.

“Did you complete your little task?”

Evren asked while his stomach rumbled, craving real food from the Otherworld. Still, he was excited to see Seraphine move her hair, her eyes eerie and careful. As if she should somehow keep her distance from him. As if he would hurt her.

He felt shame fill his veins. His guilt was heavier than blood.

From under the cloak and clothes, Seraphine took out the fox necklace. It was no quest or deal. He owed her that, a reminder of what she was. Evren had taken everything from her. Still, Evren couldn’t hold back his reaction, a sense of peace. Leander procured that for her. Leander had all the right to hate him, but again, this was not about him.

Examining the necklace, Evren noticed Leander had been aware of certain things from the Otherworld. He pondered if perhaps he knew he was destined for that. If so, Evren could not change destiny, but he would keep his name alive.

Seraphine cleared her throat, bringing him again to a reality where she was her enemy, something he found quite hard to resist. A reality where the face of dreams and eyes of starlights were masked in a mastered impassive expression once again. “I fulfilled the deal, so you better do your part, Evren.”

Ah, even if she sounds annoyed, the way she says my name is beyond delightful. Evren was in no position to bargain.

“I made a deal, and I am caged. I am yours—my truths and my thoughts. And my soul. You just have to ask,”

he said, shrugging.

Seraphine moved closer to him, and her essence enveloped him. She seemed ready to say something, but Evren cut her off.

“There is a lot to talk about, but Raggart put in a lot of effort, so shall we converse with food and wine?”

Seraphine’s stomach growled.

He took that as a yes.

Evren led Seraphine to a hidden room in the library.

“Rooms?”

Surprised, she turned and looked at Evren, waiting for an explanation.

“You know, those square things where you sleep or store things? Those are very common in the human realm.”

Her eyes darkened, and Evren was sure she was about to hit him, but she held herself in a perfect picture of nothingness. “You have been sneaking into my bedroom for how long? You know what? Doesn’t matter. I just did not know these rooms existed. I feel like I missed the whole mystery part of the library and just did the boring thing by reading books.”

He laughed at her surprise. The library had many tricks and doors, and for some reason, he was eager to show them to her. It felt like a second chance. “Books are the fun part.”

The doors were pretty secluded. Even Evren was having difficulty finding most of them now. The place was massive and full of secrets.

And bittersweet memories.

A long time ago, he built the library as a gift. He also wanted it to be a safe place, so he ensured it was packed with enough rooms and spaces besides the most important items—books.

Evren made a mental note to organize library expeditions. Hopefully, Seraphine could enjoy those since it seemed like they would be staying there for quite some time.

As they moved across the space, he recognized an ancient and dusty reading room equipped with a long table covered in dishes of all kinds—meat and color-changing fruit from talking trees, plus Evren’s favorite beverage.

“This looks… like a banquet instead of a regular supper,”

Seraphine muttered, her head angled curiously. She moved across the room and took a seat, her crimson eyes scanning every detail about the room and the food. She took a glass of the dark blue liquid. “Is this wine?”

she asked while smelling the content briefly.

“It is. Dark blue wine, popularly known as starlight wine,”

Evren said, moving behind her and taking the cloak from her. It was warm enough in the room with the fireplace.

She stilled for a moment and then let him take the cloak away. Moving to another seat, he took a glass of dark blue wine and swirled its contents. As soon as the wine moved, a couple of colored dots and sparkling dust started to appear in the wine, making it look like a dark sky full of stars.

Seraphine imitated Evren, and, to his surprise, she smiled. “It is so pretty that I do not wish to drink it.”

Her eyes seemed to follow the trail of starlight moving inside the wine, as if she was chasing the little dots.

Raggart jumped onto another seat, his face barely reaching the table. “We have plenty of it stored. It would be a shame if you bothered with the prettiness of it instead of experiencing it.”

He pointed to the other dishes. “There is also plenty of food you would probably enjoy. I especially recommend the berry roses over there. They are a delight,”

Raggart said, almost drooling.

“Make sure to eat just enough of them,”

Evren said, cutting Raggart’s explanation off, all too familiar with his ramblings.

Her hand stopped as she was just about to take one of the berry roses. “Why?”

“Because while the wine here is considered like water, berry roses tend to have a… numbing effect.”

“So you can get wasted?” she said.

He bit back a smile.

“Yes, something like that,”

Evren said, faking a cough to stop his imagination from running too wild.

Clearing her throat, she sent him a challenging look and took a bite of the berry rose, her eyes closing slightly. Evren felt a tug in his heart. How is it possible for me to get so overworked by the simple act of eating? He was such a pitiful creature.

“Well, those are delicious. I better be careful then.”

Then, she took another one.

I am done for.

As such, they dug into the food. Evren noticed that Seraphine had picked another of the berry roses. He also noticed Raggart trying to grab one, and Evren kicked him from below the table, which ended up with Raggart flying across the room. This rewarded him with another quick smile from Seraphine.

Cautious, Evren decided to have some meat instead, purple pineapples, which were spicy but forever his favorites, and golden strawberries covered in silver chocolate. His longing for food was equal to his longing for her, which felt overwhelming.

“I am ready for some answers,”

Seraphine finally said from her seat, her voice a tone higher and her cheeks full of color.

They were both facing each other at the table, close enough for him to touch her legs and never close enough to reach her. Evren cleared his throat and signaled Raggart to leave the room. The kilmoulis was more than happy to do so since he sneaked some berry roses under his small arm.

“Before you question me, I would like to explain some details about the quest and my plan. Hopefully, that will answer a couple of things, and I can save some of the precious words that come from those stunning lips of yours,”

Evren purred, putting his head in between his hands.

To his surprise, she just nodded. He took her silence as his cue to begin.

“I was cast out from the Otherworld years ago. While I found a loophole through you, I am not fully in my power, and power is all here in the Otherworld. Without it, we are…”

She sighed and bit some sparkling strawberries. “Yeah, yeah, I know that part. Go on.”

“I need to find something that can break whatever seal they put on my power, my essence.”

It was more than his power. They had taken part of him—of her. “That is why we are here. There must be something that can help us. Maybe a book, anything at all. Then, I shall be able to amend a couple of things I messed up years ago.”

Evren chose his words carefully. While he promised her the truth, there were some things he could not reveal.

Seraphine took another berry rose and ate it fully. Her eyes were a little blurry and unfocused, and Evren knew she had eaten too many of those berry roses. “What exactly are you?”

she said, a little tongue-tied already.

That was a tough question, especially because she had said “what”

and not “who.” “I—”

She interrupted him by standing up. Seraphine took a final berry rose and gulped her glass of wine. Glitter spluttered around the corner of her mouth. Suddenly, she moved to the other side of the table and sat in the seat right next to Evren. She licked her lips but failed to remove the little drops of starlight from the corner of her mouth.

Evren gulped nervously and decided to take a sip of his wine and not look at her. She was too close now.

And probably a little drunk.

Yet, Evren couldn’t help but notice how the soft light danced on her skin, the way her eyes sparkled with a mix of mischief and something deeper, a look he had missed. Her nearness was intoxicating to the point that he could drown in her view rather than berry roses, and he fought the urge to reach out and touch her, to feel her warmth against him.

Get a hold of yourself.

“Were you saying? I just want to make sure I hear every detail,”

she said, placing her elbows on the table and putting her head in her hand just like he had done a couple of minutes ago and looking expectantly at Evren. He thought he was safer in Aurum’s grasp than under the eyes of the crimson-eyed girl.

“I am a primal sith.”

He looked at her.

Seraphine froze on the spot, her eyes sparkling again. Evren could see little stars moving inside of them. He composed himself and continued, “My family lineage is distantly related to some of the high and noble arcane courts that rule the Otherworld.”

His family lineage was well known but far from being a court. Still, he was not close with other lesser courts and lineages. “As you probably know, the closer to royalty, the more human-like. No curious features or things like that as other lesser creatures. Yet, there is a part of me missing, which I hope to get back when I find a cure or a way to fully release my power.”

To his surprise, she giggled, the sound new to his ears. “You don’t look human at all,”

she said, taking the glass of wine Evren had and moving her fingers across the edge of the glass.

“Of course I do. I do not have any horns or canines!”

He opened his mouth and faked an indignant voice.

They were facing each other, a few inches apart. It was a stupid move since the closer Evren was to her, the emptier his head became.

Seraphine lifted a delicate finger, stumbling a little. “No, you are too handsome for a human.”

Evren could not help but laugh at the cuteness of her stumbling. Her laugh, her playful tone—it was all driving him mad. He wanted to pull her closer, to feel her lips, explore every inch of her.

Is she aware that her emotions are showing more and more? “Crimson Eyes, there is one—”

Before he could finish, Seraphine’s eyes opened, and she put both of her hands on Evren’s mouth, silencing him.

Too close, this is too close.

She hushed him and then began again. “Wolf.”

Evren stiffened at that. “The first time I saw you, I thought you were like a wolf.”

He eased up a little. “A muddy, smelly wolf,”

she said and giggled again.

Evren pretended to be annoyed at her. Still, she had told him this before when he was under the guise of the Grim Wanderer. “I am not smelly,”

he said, muffled by her hands, and rolled his eyes.

Seraphine giggled.

No, that was not just a giggle. That is a whole crumbling event. Evren wondered if there was a way to encapsulate her laugh in a bottle so that whenever he needed a reason to smile, he would hear her giggles and voice. He thought he missed the dark blue wine, but he realized he missed this more. The sound of her. The feel of her so close, even if it was torture.

Sweet torture, they call it.

Her touch was light, her hands soft against his mouth. He imagined what it would be like to have those hands roam freely over his body, to taste the sweetness of her skin, to drown in her presence. He might not get drunk with berry roses, but he was drunk on her laugh and eyes already.

However, it was getting late, and she was already too dizzy. Better to take her to her chamber. Seraphine might pinch him tomorrow if he let her continue with this gibberish any longer.

She might pinch him anyway, but still, it was the right thing to do.

Reluctantly, Evren removed her hands from his mouth, lingering for just a moment longer than necessary, savoring the contact. “All right, Crimson Eyes. It’s time to get you to bed,”

he said softly, his voice betraying the desire he tried to keep hidden.

He held her hands in his and stood up, pulling her up with him. Seraphine stumbled a little. “It is time to rest. You can continue with the failed interrogation tomorrow,”

Evren said, and Seraphine nodded.

She took a step forward. As soon as she did, she almost fell, but he pulled her close to his body. There was no space between them, not a single barrier, just the slow movement of her chest against him. “Just kill me now, Aurum,”

Evren muttered, taking Seraphine by the waist and slowly sliding his other hand down her leg.

“W-what are you doing?”

she whispered, her eyes wide again.

He picked her up and gathered her in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, and her legs flowed in the air. It was the image of a damsel never in distress held by the farthest thing from a hero. What a fairytale, he thought. “I am making sure you don’t kill yourself on the way to your resting chamber, and I am avoiding a possible murder attempt from you in the morning,”

he said, stroking her hair a little, moving some strands off her face while exiting the room.

He carried her up the staircase. The windows and glass panes reflected the moonlight. It was late, and Evren could only guess how many days had passed since the incident in the human realm. Two, probably three.

“Warm,”

Seraphine muttered as he moved from the fourth to the library’s fifth floor.

Evren looked at her. Her eyelids were closed. “What is it?”

he asked, not expecting an answer. She was probably fast asleep.

In those moments, he hoped she was dreaming. Her life seemed more akin to a nightmare, so he prayed to the Ancients that she could have freedom in her dreams.

“I am always cold,”

she continued, almost whispering. “My heart, my head, and my body. It feels... like ice. Like my veins are...”

She sighed. “Alive but feeding me with frost.”

Evren recognized the feeling. However, he also knew that her body was still adjusting.

She moved her arms and shifted closer to him, her head now resting in the crook of his neck. Her breath caressed his skin, and he stopped on the fifth floor. Not because this was his destination, but because he dreaded to separate from her.

It was a selfish movement, but he just wanted a moment. One is enough. Still, he wished to hold her forever.

“You are warm,”

she spoke softly, and he moved slightly so he could look at her, her eyelashes down and her cheeks turning crimson. “I… I like to touch you because you—”

She yawned. “You fill my veins with warmth. With you, there is no frost. You are the snowflakes and the soft snow spots on the trees that lighten my lonely days.”

Evren could not muster a single word. His heart was beating like it caged a thousand butterflies, trying to make a hole in his chest so they could fly. He wanted to kiss her, to tell her how much he wanted to be that warmth for her forever, but he held back. She was vulnerable now, and he didn’t want to take advantage of that. Plus, he did not deserve it.

“I know,”

Seraphine finally said, her head falling, a cascade of hazelnut hair glowing in the moonlight. Somehow, she sounded more energetic than before.

“What is it that you know?”

he whispered while caressing her cheek.

Her skin was soft under his touch, and Evren marveled at the contrast between her usual cold words and the warmth she craved. She fell asleep after that, her chest rising and falling slowly as he continued carrying her.