Page 32 of Where the Dark Knelt (Worshipped by Darkness #1)

The ocean breeze rushed at us in soft, salty gusts, tangling his blond curls so they danced around his sharp jawline and high cheekbones.

My eyes… I couldn’t stop staring at him.

The ocean spread endlessly beyond us, a view I saw almost every day of my life, but him…

this stranger… no, Desmond. That was his name.

He made everything look different, as if he painted over reality in colours I’d never seen.

He turned to me then, his gaze burning into mine. “What are you looking at, ashpetal?”

“Ashpetal…” I repeated quietly, almost tasting the word. “Why do you call me that?”

His lips twitched into a gentle, knowing smile.

“Well… don’t you look like that flower?” His voice softened, threading through my chest like a prayer and a curse at once.

“You burned out during your lifetime, turned into ashes… but you’re still burning inside.

That light in your heart is almost gone, but it’s still there.

It just… it just needs a spark to resurrect. ”

I swallowed, my throat tightening painfully around my words. “Yes, but… ash roses aren’t real flowers,” I whispered, almost apologetically. “There are no such roses on Earth… unless you burn a rose to imitate that flower. And even then… according to ancient legends, it only exists in Hell.”

He didn’t answer. He just smiled at me again, slowly, with those half-lidded eyes that saw too much and revealed too little.

Then he turned, still holding my hand, and led me down the narrow stone steps towards the ocean.

The world around us blurred – sky, sea, earth – until there was only him, only his presence, only his warmth against the biting breeze.

And I… I realised I had stopped resisting entirely.

I let him guide me down until we stood on the lowest landing, where the water crashed softly against dark mossy rocks.

He stepped behind me, pressing his chest to my back, his heat sinking into my cold, tired bones.

His arms wrapped around me, enclosing me in his scent, his warmth, his forbidden reality.

He rested his chin gently on top of my head, and together we watched the endless quiet waves rolling against the shore.

The ocean was so still today, as if holding its breath for us.

The sun reflected brilliantly off its surface, almost blinding, and birds sang softly from the cliffs above.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel.

His presence behind me. The steady rise and fall of his chest. The wind weaving through us.

The thrum of life I’d almost forgotten existed within me.

“You know… you kidnapped me from the choir performance,” I murmured, brushing a curl away from my face as the ocean breeze blew colder.

He chuckled softly. “I didn’t kidnap you. You agreed to come with me.”

“No,” I corrected him sharply, raising my eyes to his. “Not by myself. You begged me on your knees, if you forgot. I wouldn’t have gone otherwise.”

His gaze darkened with amusement. “That is… if I beg you for something on my knees, you’ll do it, right?”

He snorted, and I smiled at him with feigned sweetness. “Well, you know… seeing a strong man begging a wise woman for something, that’s really worth watching.”

His grin widened into something wolfish. “Oh, you’re such a… bad, bad girl… Eveline” he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my skin and sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. A blush rushed to my cheeks before I could stop it.

“I’m not… bad…” I tried to protest weakly.

He leaned closer, his voice dripping with sinful mirth. “And I think you’re a hell of a bitch when you want to be one, right?”

I swallowed, shaking my head, heat pooling somewhere deep inside me. “I’m used to treating people with kindness, you know.”

“But they don’t all deserve it, little saint.”

His words sank into me like poison and honey all at once, but I forced myself to focus. “So what did you really want to talk about? I have to go on to work. We’ve already spent enough time talking.”

“I wanted to talk about you,” he replied simply, his eyes softening into something almost… gentle.

“And why would you want to talk about me without knowing me?” I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Because I want to get to know you better.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Is this some kind of test?”

“A test?” he snorted, glancing at me with playful disbelief. “Hmm…”

Then he tilted his head slightly, his smile returning, darker this time. “I don’t even know what to test you for… except…”

Except what, I wanted to ask, but his arms disappeared from around me as if they’d never been there. He stepped away, and cold air rushed in to fill the void his warmth left behind. I turned to him sharply, hugging myself against the wind.

“So that’s it? Are you done?” I asked, trying to sound unaffected, though my heart raced in my chest.

“I have something to tell you, babe. Come here today after sunset. After your service.”

“I have to get up at five a.m. tomorrow,” I said dryly, shaking my head. “I don’t want to waste my night meeting a stranger I’ve only seen twice in my life.”

“Oh, but you want to come,” he teased, his voice dripping with certainty.

“Nope,” I lied immediately, shaking my head again, firmer this time.

His grin turned smug as he mirrored my posture, folding his arms and tilting his head to the side. “You’ll come… and see.”

A short laugh burst from my lips at his cocky face. But then, before I could react, he took my hand again and pulled me towards him so quickly my breath caught. He pressed my hand to his chest, his heartbeat strong beneath my palm. “You’ll come. I know you will.”

He buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply as if memorising my scent. The action sent a pulse of heat straight through me.

“Come on,” he murmured against my ear. “I have to get you back to your nuns before they curse me again. And I really don’t need that.”

“The nuns?” I giggled softly despite myself, feeling impossibly light-headed as I squeezed his hand.

“Well, you know…” he smirked, looking ahead as we walked back up the cliff steps. “Everyone has their secrets. And the power and strength of women is a scary thing… especially in anger.”

“So don’t make me angry,” I replied, my voice cool and teasing as I leaned towards him slightly. “Be a good boy.”

He laughed quietly, shaking his head. “You know, I like this tone of your voice better with me, ashpetal. Let’s go.”

And so we went back to the monastery in silence, the warm sunrise painting the sky above us in shades of pink roses and blood orange.

When he finally left me at the courtyard gate, disappearing into shadows as if he’d never existed, I forced myself to focus on my duties, serving the parishioners with forced calm until the evening came.

But the entire time, one thought pulsed through my mind, weaving into my prayers and chants and chores:

Was this… was it a date?

At the appointed time, I was already walking down the worn stone steps towards the ocean.

The sound of the surf rose to greet me, caressing my ears with its rhythmic hush.

I noticed him instantly. He stood there, clad entirely in black, yet his blond hair glowed under the moonlight like a halo of molten silver. It was impossible not to notice him.

My heart pounded so loudly it felt like it echoed across the cliff walls. I’m sneaking out like some kind of spy, I thought, pressing a hand to my chest to steady myself. And for what? For him. I went to meet him on my own, drawn by something I couldn’t name, like…

Like a moth to a flame.

He turned to me with a sudden, radiant smile, and I saw then that he held something in his hands. A huge bouquet of blood-red roses. I stopped mid-step, my mouth falling open in silent amazement.

“Is this… for me?” I whispered to myself, but he heard me despite the distance.

“Flowers for a beautiful woman,” he whispered, his voice carrying easily over the crash of the waves.

He began walking towards me, and as I reached the last step and stepped down onto the cold sand, he extended his hand to steady me.

The icy grains seeped through my sandals, sending a biting chill up my legs, and I bit my lip at the sensation.

He handed me the bouquet, and I buried my face in the velvet petals, inhaling their dark, intoxicating scent. My heart twisted painfully in my chest. Roses… I couldn’t even remember the last time someone gave me flowers.

“So,” I murmured, looking up at him, “what do you wanna talk about… God, right?”

But the words died on my tongue when I truly saw him up close. His black shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest, revealing smooth pale skin and a heavy silver chain that hung down, glinting in the moonlight as it traced the hard lines of his collarbone and disappeared along his torso.

I sucked in a shaky breath. He was… beautiful. Devastatingly, painfully beautiful. As if sin itself had descended upon the earth in the form of a man. And he was sin, wasn’t he? He was temptation incarnate. And I…

I couldn’t resist him. I never could.

Is this a test, God? I thought desperately. Before my vows… before I enter the monastery forever… is this what you want to show me? That I’ll miss him, too? That I’ll never fully belong to you alone?

The thought made something inside me ache, a sadness I didn’t understand blooming quietly through my chest. I lowered my gaze to the sand, embarrassed by the heat flushing my cheeks.

“Um… okay…” I cleared my throat, trying to gather my scattered dignity. “You… young man… you wanted to talk about God and life?”

“Yeah.” His voice was quiet, almost amused. “I wanted to talk. But about you. Once again”

“Oh please, Desmond.” I repeated, bewildered.

He stepped closer, and I realised he was looking down at himself. “Don’t you like my outfit?”

My eyes widened slightly as I shook my head quickly. “No, no… what are you… you’re… very…”