A silver moon hung high, casting cold light over the Karas Snowfield, as if the entire world had fallen into an icy, frozen silence. But deep within the Saint Flame Corridor of Atavis Ancient Castle, a passion more blazing than the cold night was burning.
Vierhanna stood between the mirrored stone pillars, the sheer veil across her chest already torn away, leaving only indigo shoulder straps outlining her trembling collarbones. Her eyes flickered with unease and longing, her long hair clinging damply to her back, as if she had endured more than one clash of passion.
"You know full well this is a punishment, my queen," Lucian approached slowly, lifting her chin in his palm, his voice low and with un unmasked possessiveness. "Yet you still came."
Vierhanna's lips parted, as if to speak, but fell silent under his flame-like kiss. Her hands were bound behind her back, chains restricting every inch of her freedom—a command she had personally ordered upon herself.
His lips and tongue traced her neck, moving downward until they reached her firm breasts. He suckled and bit without mercy, his fingertips sliding beneath her clothing, slow yet deliberate as they tore away the remaining coverings.
"From the moment you betrayed fate, I swore to make you remember who I am every night," Lucian's voice burned into her eardrums like a curse, and in the next second, he slammed her against the mirrored pillar.
Her body tensed, yet she met his deeper intrusion without resistance. It was the speed of flame tearing through ice; each thrust echoed with a wet sound, mingled with the stifled moans in her throat.
"Ah... Lucian... is this—punishment?" She barely forced the words through her teeth, only to arch her entire back at the next deep thrust.
"Redemption, and glory," he growled, whispering in her ear.
His hands clamped down on her hips, lifting her entire body into the air, letting her legs wrap around his waist. That fierce intrusion seemed intent on shattering her entire consciousness. The mirrored pillars reflected her flushed cheeks, parted lips, and eyes—wet with a mix of shame and pleasure.
He drove into her without pause, each stroke like thunder splitting the ice field, dragging her from her lofty throne into the sea of mortal desire.
She moaned and met his movements, forgetting her identity, mission, and even the fate of the entire empire in each collision.
As climax neared, he whispered in her ear: "Tell me, queen—who do you belong to?"
A strangled moan escaped her throat: "You... I belong to you, Lucian... only you!"
In that moment, Lucian erupted ,a flood surging within her, and she screamed uncontrollably in the grip of intense pleasure. They reached their peak almost simultaneously, and for an instant, it seemed the entire castle trembled.
They slumped against each other, bodies still tangled tightly, breathing heavy as thunder. Sweat and desire mingled, as if they had forgotten the passage of time.
But the outside world did not wait for their respite.
"Your Highness, the apostles of the Cracked Moon King have appeared," a knight's voice came from the end of the corridor, shattering the brief silence.
Lucian released Vierhanna, meeting her gaze deeply: "Our night is not over."
Vierhanna pulled up her tattered veil, yet her eyes had ignited a flame different from lust.
"Good," she smiled softly. "Let us continue this climax of fate, between blood and fire."