CRIMSON RUIN

"What have you done?" She repeated as her voice grew faint and as light as a feather, yet the weight of the situation pressed between them, as thick as the scent of blood lingering in the air.

Saint exhaled slowly and indulgently, savoring the unraveling of something so beautifully fragile yet inevitable.

He let his fingers trace the sharp line of her jaw, tilting her chin upward and forcing her to meet his gaze.

His silver eyes burned into hers with an unreadable quality.

"I've given you something precious," he whispered in a low tone as he ran a hand through her dark curls.

She blinked at him slowly as she struggled to comprehend his words while being so lightheaded yet unbearably weighted at the same time,

Her mind was sluggish and empty as a force continued to drag her towards something she couldn't name.

When her eyes opened again, the world seemed to be clear and bright, she could taste the colors at the tip of her tongue and smell the world around her vividly.

She could feel the cold press of stone beneath her knees, the tremor in her fingers as they curled into the folds of her torn robe, the lingering metallic taste of blood still coating her tongue and the sounds of the animals deep inside the forest.

Then she caught a whiff of the rich scent that slithered through her veins like a whispered temptation, It was deeply intoxicating as it curled inside her, spreading warmth in her chest and calling out to her,

Luring her closer with an aching pull that she dared not to resist.

Saint's blood.

It wasn't like the priestess's whose blood wasn't nearly as aromatic with a sharp and foreign taste on her tongue, she could taste the sweetness of his blood from just the scent of it.

Saint watched the ranges of confusion flicker across her face at her own reaction to the blood trickling out of the gash beneath his armor that was slowly healing with mild intrigue.

He didn't feel the need to command or instruct her, he was more than happy to wait patiently for her final reaction.

And that, somehow, was worse for Crystal because the vaguely hidden expectation in his gaze made her pulse stutter erratically as the hunger churning in her belly transformed into something dangerous and new.

His hand drifted lower, brushing the smooth paling skin of her throat as he let his fingers press just hard enough to feel the rapid thrum of her pulse beneath the skin.

A smirk ghosted his lips as amusement shimmered in his eyes like a rascal with a secret he hadn't yet decided to share.

She felt oddly calm as soon as he moved, leaving a breath and a whisper of warmth as the corner of her mouth felt the tenderness of his lips when it brushed by fleetingly with a touch so light that it felt so much like something and nothing at all.

Involuntarily, her fingers curled tighter in the fabric of his coat, grounding herself against the quiet storm raging and unraveling inside her.

She was sure of it now;

A traitor, was all her body was to her,

All it took was a single touch, and it wasted no second to betray her.

Her body trembled like the petals of a lotus flower in a pond as she was drawn forward into the warmth of his arms before she could berate herself for leaning into the embrace of the enemy.

The air between the two creatures bound to hate each other became charged and stretched thin by a current better left unexplained.

Saint held her gaze as his eyes softened while holding her like she was the most beautiful piece of art in the world, but the King of the North didn't move, he was not one to chase.

He only waited, his patience as maddening as it was intoxicating.

The choice was hers.

Crystal's chest rose and fell in uneven breaths as she kept her eyes locked on his, the pull inside her grew unbearable with every sharp intake of air she inhaled.

It wasn't just the blood or the lingering taste of power in her veins.

It was him.

Saint Valerian.

The one who had broken and ruined her.

The one who held her in the palm of his hand and still let her choose; just like the saint that he was.

Her heart pounded violently against her ribs as her resolve wavered and shattered into a million splinter pieces like a mirror bound to give a person seven years of terrible luck.

She knew he was her bad luck and yet she moved, only faltering when she took a sharp handful of air into her lungs before pulling him in by the lapels of his runed coat.

Their lips met and her warm, unsteady breath mingled with his, slowly and uncertain as her body that gave her the push to do this couldn't quite believe what she was doing.

But she couldn't care less.

He let her take.

For the first time in her life, Crystal who had never taken— who had only ever been told she could only receive whatever they allowed her to have, felt the shift in her world like a matchstick catching fire.

She pressed in closer to him, her grip tightening against his coat as her nails scratched over the protective sigils embroidered in it, her hunger morphed into something deeper and raw.

And when her lips parted, Saint finally answered.

He let his hand slid to the nape of her neck, fingers threading through her thick dark hair, tilting her head just so he could deepen the kiss.

She sighed into his mouth as his other arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her body to his, while his lips moved against hers with a passionate calculated ease that made her shudder.

Warmth pooled in every part of her body like a quiet destruction unfolding between them as a soft whimper slipped from her throat before she could swallow it down.

She felt it when he smirked against her lips.

"That's my girl," he murmured, the words sending a dark caress against her skin causing a fresh shiver to roll through her, burning the last wall of resistance like dry paper with flame.

His hand drifted lower, pressing against the curve of her back to pull her fully against him. She could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest in addition to the deceptive calm in his breathing as if this was nothing more than a game to him.

But it wasn't.

Not to her.

Not to the way her body responded as her pulse hammered wildly in her head, the remnants of her old self screamed inside her head while something new and darker welcomed the ruin.

Saint broke the kiss first.

His lips barely left hers and hovered close enough so that she could still feel the ghost of his breath against her mouth while his thumb brushed against the corner of her lips, smearing something warm, wet and familiar on it.

Blood.

Not hers.

His.

Crystal's breath came in shallow pants as her vision hazed as she realized what he was gifting her.

Her stomach clenched and her fingers twitched against his coat, torn between pushing him away and pulling him back in.

Saint watched her patiently. His smirk had softened, but the weight of his gaze was heavier than ever.

Crystal swallowed hard as her body still thrummed with the taste of himlingering on her tongue.

The hunger was still there.

And it was worse now.

Saint tilted his head slightly as if considering.

Then, with the same infuriating patience, he extended his hand toward her like an offering.

The scent of his blood was thick in the air, intoxicating and curling around her senses like a whispered promise of a forbidden fruit.

A single drop of the darkest shade of crimson welled on his wrist, shimmering in the dim candlelight.

It was an invitation that knocked the breath out of her lungs as her body screamed for it as the ache in her veins became impossible to ignore.

She hardly had time to contemplate on what she should or shouldn't be doing before Saint raised an eyebrow, showing his growing impatience for waiting,

Waiting for her to make the choice.

And that look that she didn't know she craved more than anything in the world was her fatal undoing.

Slowly albeit trembling, she leaned in and hovered above his wrist, her lips parted while her heart hammered so violently in her chest that she was sure he could hear it.

The moment of continuous silence stretched between them, suffocating in its quiet expectancy.

Crystal swallowed hard.

She shouldn't.

She shouldn't.

But her body betrayed her. Again.

Her fingers curled around his wrist, tentative at first, as if even touching him would solidify the irreversible nature of what she was about to do.

His skin exuded warmth beneath her touch, solid and real.

A stark contrast to the cold, merciless stone beneath her knees.

A shudder rippled through her system as her lips brushed the surface of his skin,

All it took was barely a whisper of contact and a moment of hesitation that felt like an eternity before she gave in.

The moment her mouth sealed over the wound, heat exploded through her veins as she took in a sharp inhale, releasing a tremor that wracked her entire frame as the colorful world narrowed to the taste of him,

Rich, dark while laced with something ancient and wrong, yet it felt so devastatingly right.

Power surged through her, a wildfire scorching its way through her bones and into her blood, sinking deep into the marrow.

It was overwhelming and unbearable but she couldn't stop.

"Yes, just like that, darling" Saint whispered as he let out a quiet breathy sigh, letting his fingers slip into her hair and thread through the strands of it with a deliberately tender touch.

He wasn't holding her there,

Neither was he forcing her.

No.

She was doing this on her own.

The realization sent a fresh wave of heat crashing through her body as something dangerous and unspoken bloomed in her chest.

Saint hummed, the sound coming out as a quiet vibration against her as he tilted his head slightly, observing her with a satisfaction that made her stomach twist and bring a bloody smile to her face.

"There it is, atta girl" he murmured, his voice full of affection as he praised her.

Crystal's breath hitched at his tone, but she didn't stop.

She couldn't.

The warmth in her belly deepened, coiling, and twisting as something unfamiliar clawed its way to the surface. The sensation was unbearable and her entire body thrummed with a hunger that went beyond mere blood or need.

It was him.

The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

She wasn't just drinking from him.

She was taking him.

And he was letting her.

A slow, dawning horror crept into her chest, mingling with the undeniable pleasure coursing through her that overpowered the fear easily. Her grip on his wrist tightened as the faintest tremor ever, ran through her fingers.

Saint exhaled again, slow and indulgent as his thumb smeared his blood on her cheek when he brushed it.

Crystal's eyes fluttered open, hazy and unfocused as her breathing shallowed and her lips tingled while her entire body had never felt so wrong and alive all at once.

Saint tilted her chin up so she could meet his gaze as her blue eyes flashing faint red burned into his.

"Good girl," he whispered, and this time, she didn't flinch. Rather, she shuddered as something inside her cracked open, filling her body with a peculiar undescribable power.

And she let it consume her,

While she danced to the tune.