Page 25

CHAPTER 24

NOVA

“W ell, this may be my last cup of coffee ever; better have two— joking! Totally joking!” I almost burst out laughing at the looks my men offered me.

I snorted in amusement—partly to expand on the upbeat mood I was clinging onto, mostly to dispel my own slight nervousness—before taking another sip of my liquid gold and a bite of a red velvet donut.

But I was being serious—I really doubted they had coffee and donuts where we were going…still, I knew my joking made my men uneasy. Especially since we were currently gathering everything we needed for our itsy bitsy journey to an alternate reality to destroy some cosmic beings.

“Don’t worry, baby girl, we packed you some of those energy drinks,” Cassian said, his expression filled with humor despite the dark implications of my words.

“Oh good.” I flashed a smile in gratitude that he was going along with it. “I’m going to open one of those before going to kick Ra’s ass.”

Everett chuckled as I finished my coffee and gave a good stretch, then washed out my mug and placed it in the sink. We were nearly ready to call on Apep.

“Do I need to change?” I looked down at my simple leggings and hoodie with combat boots. I didn’t think I needed to; we were arriving early to set up camp, so I wanted to be comfortable. I had assured Lorcan that we had ‘this’ side of the plan handled. I figured she had enough stuff on her plate with trying to craft the sole and singular weapon to defeat the dark ones…I would handle the war stuff. Apparently, I had a knack for it.

“I wouldn’t; you look comfortable,” August said, his smile genuine despite the tension I could see in his frame. Last night with him had been incredibly relaxing—the moment alone needed—but I could see the shift in his disposition now that the sun had risen.

“You’re right, and comfort is key,” I said happily. “Alright, well if everyone is ready to go, I’ll call Apep— and there you are! How nice is that!”

Apep popped into existence, literally out of nowhere, and caused River—who was the closest to him—to tense before offering the primordial god a dark look and continuing to pack the bag. Apep didn’t notice or didn’t care as he looked around at all of us, seeming to analyze if we were ready or not.

“You’ll be the first there, but then we’ll work on getting everyone to the correct dimension. I have been in contact with your allies and plan to help them with this process.”

I hadn’t known what to expect from Apep, but he was quickly becoming one of my favorite gods. I knew he had his own reasons and motives in this situation, but it didn’t take away from the fact that he was helping us a lot.

“Thanks, dude,” I said sincerely “Seriously, that is extremely helpful.”

Apep frowned. “I’m not trying to be particularly helpful. I’m trying to ensure I don’t lose the universe I rain hell upon. Often.”

“My type of helpful.” I brushed off his attempt at humility and faced my men. “Are we good to go?”

“Got everything on our end—those backpacks ended up being really useful—and anything else we need is being brought by allies,” Ramsey confirmed.

With a nod, bouncing on my toes in anticipation, I looked toward Apep. “We’re goo?—”

Darkness swarmed around me. I felt the air expel from my lungs as a coiled, scaled frame wrapped around me, the pressure on my body painful and suffocating. What the hell? One minute I’d been in my kitchen and the next it felt like I was being squeezed by a python. I nearly screamed to get Apep’s attention, but in the snap of a second, it was over.

The pressure released, and I let out a cry in the darkness as I slid down a scaled surface, falling into the dark void of unknown realities. This was not fucking portalling. I had no idea what this was, but the air was icy and my eyes squeezed shut as I began to see shapes and forms to either side of me, moving and shifting right out of view.

When light and heat blasted across my face, I barely had a second to prepare before falling face-first onto the ground. I groaned, my body radiating pain as I laid there pathetically, feeling every bone in my body ache. What the fuck had that been?

I heard another body drop behind me, followed by a grunt—then another, and another, and several more as I stared at the blade of grass right in front of my face.

I was going to kill Apep; it was decided.

Suddenly, Volkan was lifting me up from the ground. Staring skyward, I shouted, “That was an asshole move, Apep!”

I had no idea if he was listening, but he deserved to know. My gaze darted around, wondering not only where he had gone, but where the hell we were now.

“Shit,” I whispered in awe as Volkan placed me down.

We had been dropped— literally dropped—into a valley. The ground was made of thick, dark grass, and running up each side were ledges of stone. The silence was deafening, the lack of wind or any movement leading me to almost assume this was a simulation of nature, rather than reality. The temperature was mild, and the sky, possibly the most unique element of this place, had a perfect ombre effect from day to night.

I turned in place, taking it all in. The landscape on every side of the valley seemed to extend indefinitely to the horizon—except for one. To my right, the grass plains that extended at the top of the valley flourished underneath the sunlight, but to my left…rock broke the grass as the stars shone down on a landscape of cold stone. It was the only direction in which reality appeared to abruptly cut off.

Directly ahead was a rocky hill that led to a cliff, not a single leaf of vegetation growing. The stars and galaxies, ones that should have been millions of miles away, shone brightly, as if they were being drawn forward to the magnetic energy this reality held. It was gorgeous. I could see now that it was the perfect place for the dark ones to approach.

I could hear my men talking about camp behind me, but when I went to turn, Nour appeared right next to me and pressed his hand protectively against my back. His eyes were on the cliffside ahead and he looked almost dazed, his jaw so incredibly tight I worried it would shatter.

“What’s wrong?”

Nour’s gaze moved down to mine. Sometimes I felt like this man was hiding things from me—or not telling me everything—and I had an inkling that this time it was about his visions.

“That is exactly the cliff I saw in my visions. The place where you and Lorcan fight the dark ones.”

Oh. Okay, well that was lovely. Also terrifying. At the same time, I was pretty proud of myself for guessing that they would approach from there.

“Well at least we know we’re in the right spot,” I murmured before turning to face the others. Nour took a deep breath and dropped a kiss on top of my head before joining the others to unpack. I knew his thoughts were troubled, but I also predicted that until this war was over, there wasn’t much I could do to ease his mind.

Soon there would be a ton of people here to help set up camp and decide ideal placement for our front lines, so hopefully they would serve as some type of distraction. My brows dipped as I considered all the work ahead of us to prepare for the upcoming attack.

“I’m going to help. Are you feeling okay after that fall?” Volkan asked.

“Wait—come with me to explore. I want to check something out.” Namely that cliffside, although the climb looked pretty steep, so maybe not all the way up…

“Don’t do anything dangerous, Nova,” River warned. I intertwined my fingers with Volkan’s and flashed the healing mage a smile.

“Me? Dangerous? Never ever.”

River narrowed his eyes briefly before I playfully pulled Volkan to walk southward through the valley, the night sky darkening the landscape ahead of us. Volkan let out an amused noise. “You’re more than dangerous, Nova.”

Leaning into him and offering a teasing smile, I said, “ You don’t seem to think it’s an issue.” In fact, I would argue that my chaos and danger really appealed to Volkan, considering his magic and how grounded he was.

“That’s because there’s nothing you could do that would change how I feel about you,” he admitted. It was such a simple but direct statement that brought my thoughts to a halt as my cheeks filled with heat, his eyes running over my expression with interest.

“And…how do you feel about me?”

Volkan let out a low rumble from his throat. “I’m not sure I can put that into words, αγαπο?λα μου.”

But a really big part of me needed him to at least try. I needed to feel more secure in what was happening between us, because my feelings were too strong to let this keep going like it was.

At this point we were still on the soft grass, so I made a detour up the side of the valley and along the stone ledges. Still, twilight light from the ombre effect of the sky seemed to surround us, and the distant sounds of my men were comforting in an otherwise silent reality. When we reached the top of the valley, the grass plains extending behind us, I sat down in the greenery. Volkan joined me, pulling me against him so that I was melting against his chest.

“I know how I feel about you,” I finally offered, looking up at him. His gaze was on my expression. “So you shouldn’t be worried about telling me how you feel.”

I was normally much bolder, but there was something about Volkan that made the softer, more vulnerable side of me slip out. I could feel how he felt about me through our bond, but talking about it seemed way harder.

Volkan’s expression turned serious. “I’m not worried, exactly…I just don’t want you to ever feel burdened by me, Nova. I want to be the one that supports you, the one that can be strong for you since you’re so strong for everyone else.”

Pulling back slightly, I decided to go for it. I straddled him, needing to look him directly in the eye. His hands slid around to my ass as he let his words settle. “Burdened? What do you mean?”

We could totally get back to how I felt about him in a minute—or the fact that we all supported one another in this, and that Volkan didn’t need to carry the weight of everyone. That was fucking insane.

“I mean that you are already the emotional anchor for everyone. I want to be the one that makes that easier. My love comes with a heaviness that I don’t want to touch you. I don’t want you to feel the weight of my past and what I’ve endured. I want to carry your burden.”

“Volkan,” I whispered, smoothing my hands over his chest and holding his electric gaze. “I want you for more than a singular role in my life. I don’t want you here because you serve a purpose. I want you here because I want all of you. I want you here because I love you. ”

The silence that hung between us after my admission oddly didn’t make me nervous—probably because of the indisputable heat that lit up Volkan’s gaze. His grip on me tightened, his lips dropping to nearly brush mine. “Do you mean that, αγαπο?λα μου? I need to know that you mean what you’re saying—that you truly want all of me.”

“I want all of you, Volkan.”

“I love you, Nova,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. His words lit up my entire system, causing a smile to break onto my lips. His hands smoothed up my waist, and he picked up my left hand and intertwined our fingers between us.

“I vow to love you for the rest of our lives, αγαπο?λα μου.” His magic seeped out over his hand and across mine as he briefly brushed our lips. I could feel his power wrapping around my wrist and my fingers, creating a web of magic between us, our bond solidifying with his words alone. My skin stung, and I could barely hear him as his voice turned a bit more rough.

“I vow to protect you with my life. I would rather die and never experience another second with you if it meant keeping you safe.”

Shit. I inhaled sharply at the intensity of his vow. Our hands lit up, and I pulled back to look down at the markings that surrounded my wrist and crawled up my fingers. There were sigils placed alongside the markings, and I could feel his magic embedded in them, embedded in me.

“I want you next to me, forever. I won’t let you die.” I wouldn’t let any of my men die. I didn’t even view it as a possibility. “Also, I love this.”

Volkan’s gaze ran over the marking, and a possessive heat flashed in his bright eyes as he kissed each finger. His touch was soft and worshipping, causing chills to break along my skin as my other hand tightened on his chest, wanting his lips on mine. Luckily, he didn’t hold me in suspense.

Our kiss was deep and hot as his fingers smoothed back down my waist and mine tightened on his chest, pushing him back so that we were laying in the grass. I could feel my skin heating, my desire amping up, and a small whimper left my mouth as his tongue traced my lips. I shivered at the sensation, my center shifting against his hard cock.

Loving Volkan was hot and slow, burning, and the exact opposite of our magic. In response to our closeness, our power broke out and surged around us, creating a shimmering dome of power over our bodies to shield us. When Volkan rolled us so that he was over me, I let my hands sink into the grass as he kissed along my jaw and down my neck, his weight keeping me pinned in the best way possible. I let out a needy sound as he pushed my sweatshirt up and pulled it over my head. His gaze ran over my body with hot appraisal, and my nipples hardened against the lace of my bra.

“You are so incredibly perfect,” Volkan growled, sounding almost frustrated by it. I tried to sit up and reach for him, but instead the man met me with a kiss, pushing me back down against the ground and holding me there, pinned.

“Please touch me,” I begged, pulling away from our kiss. “I need to feel you—all of you.”

The demi-titan didn’t hesitate. He ran his lips down my body, peeling off the remainder of my clothes and then his fingers teased my breasts as I squirmed beneath him in frustration. When his sinful mouth grazed the apex of my thighs, I couldn’t even be embarrassed of how wet I was—his tongue spearing my slit. I moaned as distant thunder rumbled above us, rain hitting our dome of magic but barely pulling my attention. I had no doubt our magic was up to something, but as his thumb rolled my clit, I let out a gasp of his name at how damn good it felt.

“Holy shit, that feels amazing,” I breathed out, my legs shaking from the pleasure. His hands were rough on my hips, holding me against his mouth as he let out a hum of agreement, the vibration causing me to moan out his name.

When he finally broke away and moved up my body to sear a kiss to my lips, my taste between us, I eagerly reached for his cock. The hard length was heavy in my hand as our kiss grew more frantic, my hand pumping and stroking. I shifted, moving my legs up to wrap around his hips as I let go of his length, loving the way he pressed right against my pussy.

“I want all of you, Volkan,” I whispered, my need turning desperate. “I want you inside of me—I want your cum inside of me.”

Volkan grunted, taking his cock in hand and sliding it against my hole as I shifted with anticipation. The man was so large. “Open up for me, αγαπο?λα μου.”

I moaned his name as he sank inside of my pussy in one hard stroke. I whimpered at the accompanying stretch to accommodate his size, loving the sensation of being filled by him.

A crack of thunder sounded, breaking through the moment. When I looked up, rain was pelting the roof of the dome.

Volkan’s fingers clasped my jaw as he pulled back, causing me to feel a sense of panic and loss, my walls tightening around him. “Eyes on me, Nova.”

I couldn’t look away—not after that. My back arched up as the demi-titan began to pump in and out of me, intense and deep and hitting just the right spot as he paced himself to the howling winds and rumbles of thunder outside. His kiss was demanding as his hand came up to string through my hair, his other braced on the ground. My legs tightened around him as he impaled me again and again, a white-hot surge of pleasure exploding across my body.

I climaxed hard, the world lighting up around me as lightning filled the sky.

The haze of pleasure was so damn intense that when he rolled me over onto my stomach, I barely fucking noticed. I gripped the grass as his cock slid between my legs, moaning against the earth in relief as he filled me again in one deep stroke. And when his hand wrapped around the back of my neck, holding me down as he pounded into me, I only arched my ass up further. Volkan was claiming every single part of me, and the sound of us paired with the storm was so damn erotic that it wasn’t long before my body was begging for relief—needing to come around his cock.

What had been a slow, hot inferno of pure desire quickly turned into a destructive force of need.

There was such an intense, silent dominance that Volkan had over me, one that had both myself and my magic bending over without fucking question. I hissed as he pulled back slightly, tugging up my ass so that I was in doggy, his hand coming around my front to rub my clit. I moaned as I tightened around him, his strokes hard enough that they nearly jolted me forward.

All of it was too much , and I couldn’t stop the blast of pleasure that exploded from my center. I cried out his name, his pace unrelenting as I detonated around him, my body melting into the ground as a river of euphoria swept me away.

Volkan growled my name against my neck, a massive boom sounding outside the dome before he slammed into me one last time—lodging himself impossibly deep inside of me, so much so that I let out a whimper, my nails digging into the grass. I shuddered around him, a moan of disbelief leaving me.

Volkan was un-fucking real.

The world felt dizzy around me as I inhaled sharply for breath, Volkan’s lips against my neck as he breathed deeply, our fingers, mine with the marking of his sigils, intertwined in the dirt underneath us.

“Holy fuck,” he groaned, rolling over. I nodded, keeping my body on the ground but turning my head.

“And here I thought we were going to scout the area.”

Volkan chuckled as the wards around us shimmered, almost happily.

“Like I said, Nova—you’re dangerous. I fear we may have created a storm,” Volkan said. “Let me help you get dressed, αγαπο?λα μου.”

“I heard the rain and thunder, but did we really create a full storm?” I asked. Volkan smoothed a hand over my waist as the dome fell around us, and my eyes widened at the destruction. The land was both drenched from the rain and seared by lightning bolts that had created deep blast craters. The once sunny daytime skies were black with clouds, and I couldn’t help but find it funny that our magics had decided to express themselves so violently.

“I figured that could happen with us—my magic broke from its chains when I was buried inside of you,” he murmured. I groaned, my center squeezing at the thought. “I suppose there’s no real point in putting it back, is there?”

The last part he said mostly to himself, but I wanted to confirm just how much I loved his magic. “Nope. Besides, it’s sort of cool that we made a storm baby.”

Volkan offered me a heated look and shook his head. “You should be careful what you say to me about that, αγαπο?λα μου.”

“Why?” I goaded. “Do you have a knock-Nova-up fantasy also?”

Volkan let out a ‘hmph’ of laughter, making me only that much more curious. Before I could tease him more, I heard a very familiar voice.

“Sunshine!” Ramsey’s voice echoed from a distance, filled with frustration.

“Oops.” I winced. “They probably got soaked.”

Volkan tipped my chin up and kissed me hard. “Come on, let’s keep exploring. I’ll protect you from Ramsey, I promise.”

“My hero.”

Seriously though, Volkan was my hero— of destruction .