CRIMSON RUIN

Crystal's body betrayed her like that last flicker of a candlelight before it gave way for darkness to seize a room as she barely registered the moment she collapsed on him as her fingers twitched when she tried to anchor herself by holding on to him,

Her hunger slowly dissolved into a dull pang and warmth engulfed her as the excitement of earlier drained from her limbs.

He was expecting it,

Saint knew that she would break in his arms and he was prepared as he effortlessly caught her in a tender embrace,

Her body visibly relaxed as his soothingly spicy scent wrapped her up in soft blankets like a lullaby written by a cruel god.

"You should have fought harder, Eve" He mused as a deep chuckle rumbled in his chest and vibrated against her cheek,

"Maybe, it wouldn't have felt so good" He whispered as his lips trailed over the crown of curly hair on her head.

She wanted to retort with a snappy comment and curse him as the need to push away the comfort that he offered so freely and mockingly beared heavily on her shoulders.

But her lips barely parted before exhaustion dragged her under and her eyes fluttered shut.

Saint exhaled slowly, tilting his head to get a better view as he glanced down at her ethereal features.

Brittle and ruined, yet still so soul-crushingly his.

He didn't linger at the temple he burnt to the ground any longer as he easily scooped her up into his arms and turned towards what remained of the temple doors, carrying her through like she weighed nothing more than a feather.

The massive doors protested with a groan as they opened at the command of a mere flick of his wrist, revealing the night beyond and the weeping forest that embellished it and gave cover to the figures waiting for him under the crimson glare of the moonlight.

The royal carriage of blackened steel glittered under the stars as it stood at the base of the temple steps, and the crest of Elyria emblazoned on the side in deep crimson seemed to glow in the dark just like the eyes of the massive and spectral horses that pulled the King's carriage.

At his arrival, they stamped their hooves twice and whinnied a salute, mist escaping from their nostrils in a silvery swirl that sailed up to the low hanging bloody moon.

He stopped in front of a man with long jet-black hair pulled back into a low braided ponytail, who immediately bowed his head respectfully as his dark golden-embroidered robes rustled when he greeted the King.

"Your Majesty" the warlock murmured with an impossibly calm and smooth voice that hid any emotions coursing through him.

"You may rise" Saint ordered in a firm tone as he tightened his grip on Crystal.

"Is she alive?" He inquired as he lifted his gaze to the unconscious woman in the King's arms.

"Very" Saint replied as his lips curled up into a malicious grin.

The warlock's sharp green eyes scanned the torn fabric of her priestly garments and the bare stretch of pale skin marred with dried blood and the remnants of a ritual.

"She cannot be seen like this when we arrive at the Winchester castle." He stated, offering his counsel to the ruler calmly,

"Then fix it?" Saint whispered as a cold reply,

The warlock lifted a gloved hand, fingers spread as a hum of magic filled the air.

Silver threads of energy slithered around Crystal's frame, weaving through the tattered fabric as it binded and shifted until the ruined robe was gone,

And replaced by something entirely different.

A smooth and flowing gown of midnight silk caressed her skin and draped over her form like a waterfall of dark liquid with a high collar adorned with rare obsidian jewels that encircled her throat accompamied by long sleeves with fur at the end that hugged her arms.

"Fitting" Saint hummed in approval as finely embroidered runes were added as a touch of elegance and protection.

"May I?" The warlock offered as he stretched out his arms to hold the priestess in them,

"No, you may not" Saint answered firmly as he stepped forward and walked past the carriage door that swung open without anyone's influence.

He climbed inside and settled into the plush seats as Crystal instinctively curled deeper into him.

The warlock closed the door behind them with a wave of his hand, and the carriage lurched forward, raising a storm of dust just after the horses took off and galloped in the air as their hooves floated about two feet off the ground.

The forests of Elyria stretched endlessly under the night sky as the carriage ventured through the winding pathways in it's heart,

Shadows shifted through the trees as the branches swayed in the direction of the wind as they complained and wept for the dead souls beneath their roots.

Soon enough, the road twisted through a valley and past rivers glistening under the moon and ruins of the older temples of the sacred order that had been abandoned centuries ago.

Saint sat still as he watched the sleeping former priestess with an intense gaze.

He noticed the way her long and full dark lashes fluttered and cast shadows on her cheeks.

His eyes darted down to her parted full lips and her twitching fingers, adjusting and seeking for his comfort in her sleep,

He placed his hand in hers and she immediately stilled as calmed breaths escaped her lips.

The realization sent a slow, wicked smile curling at the edges of his lips.

And by the time the castle loomed in the distance, its dark spires could be seen clawing at the cloudy firmament.

The night seemed to have gotten darker as the torches that lined the path to the entrance casted eerie golden glows across the courtyard when the hooves of the horses touched the ground, gradually rolling the carriage to a stop.

The doors swung open once more, and Saint stepped out with Crystal still nestled in his arms.

The castle staff were lined up at the entrance in disciplined silence barely lifting their gazes as he walked past without uttering a word to them,

Candlelit sconces flickered in the quiet, and the marble floors gleamed beneath his boots as he moved through the grand halls, navigating his way to the room he had ordered to be prepared long before he had left to wipe out the Sacred order.

Whereas the rest of the estate was carved from dark stone, the doors of the room let out a low creak as they opened to reveal a warm and soft chamber with a four poster bed draped in silver and violet.

He stepped inside and carefully lowered her onto the silky bedsheets, just before a small frown graced her lips immediately the warmth of his arms dissipated from her form.

"Even in sleep, darling?" He whispered with a small smirk as he brushed a stray curl of dark hair from her cheek, knowing that the deep, slow rhythm of her breath was the only response that he would get from her.

Saint exhaled through his nose as he straightened up and glanced at her one last time, his gaze lingering for a beat longer than it was supposed to before he finally pulled away.

She was safe.

For now.

But morning came as swiftly as a moonflower wilting at dawn, curling it's petals away from the promise of the sun,

The high she once felt had faded like smoke dissolving into the air as it left nothing but the ghost of its warmth to settle on her skin like dew on the earth.

Crystal lay still as her body froze in a space between fever and frost as she listened to the sounds in the castle that were too loud and quiet at the same time,

The distant crackle of torches, the sound of slow, rhythmic dripping of water from a stone ceiling located somewhere beneath the castle ground flooded her sharpened senses,

She could hear and feel it all.

Her head hurt with an irritating ache that felt like her very existence had been cracked open and reassembled into something she didn't recognize.

It was unbearable to breathe in a body that felt nothing like hers,

Her fingers trembled as she struggled to lift her heavy hand, watching the way her skin looked wrong.

Her skin was a stark pale white color that seemed to glow under the golden lighting of the room, and when she curled her fingers into a fist, hoping for a weakness that would assure her she was dead.

There was nothing, and that realization kicked the air out of her lungs as she shot up from the bed so fast that her world tilted and the edges of her vision blurred while a striking pain stabbed through her brain.

The world around her was too vivid, too sharp, too clear and utterly overwhelming,

And a scent so thick, rich, and devastatingly familiar curled in her lungs, immediately sending warmth coiling low in her stomach creating a slow, aching pull that made her press a hand to her throat.

No.

Her tongue ran over her lips and the taste of him lingered.

It wasn't a dream.

She stumbled out of the bed as the memory of what she had done slammed into her like a heavyweight truck moving at full speed as the way he let her drink from him flashed through her memories, filling in the once blank spaces.

Hot and suffocating shame flooded her veins when her stomach twisted violently as something worse flickered underneath it.

She had liked it.

And she wanted more.

She clamped her hand over her mouth, choking down a soft purr she didn't recognize she now owned.

The more she tried to push the thought away, the deeper it burrowed.

The hunger was still there, dulled but present as it curled like an ember waiting for air to spark it and burst into flames.

And Saint had left her with it.

He wasn't here.

She could hear no cruel taunts or commands, she couldn't see any smirks carved from sin.

He had let her wake up alone in her own disaster.

She panicked as her hands curled into the sheets, shaking as her throat closed in fear,

You don't need him. You don't need him.

And it was all she repeated as she tried to reassure himself.

A soft breeze slithered through the windows that overlooked the endless stretch of Elyria's forests, framed by long silk curtains that matched the color pallete of the room,

And it carried the varying scents of blood from different parts of the sorrowful structure, but it wasn't the priestess's.

They were different and lacking.

Because they were not his.

Her breathing grew uneven and her nails dug into her palm as her body accepted the fact before her mind could deny it.

Only he would do.

And the full horrifying weight if the realization sent a violent shudder through her body when her mind blanked as she fell into the vanity, knocking glasses of expensive oils and perfumes.

She had been completely ruined.

And worse of all,

She had let it happen.

"MISS, ARE YOU OKAY?"