Page 176 of Haunted Crowns
She had done it again.
His voice came low and sharp, poisoned with fury. "So this is the beast to whom thou hast yielded thy sacred flesh, Seraphina?"
Eris froze, fingers still trembling over Kareon’s wounds.
Kriponius stepped forward, his face hardening, fury carved into every line. “Even across centuries, through lives unnumbered, thy loyalty flickers like ash from a fire long dead.”
Her breath hitched, but her chin lifted, defiant.
His gaze turned cold. The ground split under him as his power surged outward, warping everything around them.
Then he moved—fast and brutal—and seized her by the hair, yanking her upright.
Eris screamed, twisting in his grip, her hands clawing at his wrist.
Kareon lunged—or tried to. One arm reached out, shaking and desperate, but the moment he pushed up, he collapsed. He hit the earth hard, breath choking, vision dimming at the edges. His muscles would not respond. But his golden eyes never left her.
For the first time in his life, Kareon was powerless. He would have given anything to reach her.
Kriponius dragged Eris away.
She kicked and thrashed, teeth bared. “Let me go!”
He did not answer. He threw her to the ground. She hit hard, then forced herself up on trembling arms. Before she could rise, Kriponius crouched before her, close enough for his breath to touch her skin.
"Look at him, my dear," he whispered. “Look well, for this shall be the last time thou seest him draw breath.”
Kareon growled, low and sharp. Kriponius’s smile curled in amusement.
“I was merciful once,” he said. “I let thy beast crawl away with his life. I let him carry the weight of thy death, knowing my hands had touched thee last.”
Kareon’s fists pressed into the soil.
Kriponius inhaled deeply. His eyes lit with something twisted and satisfied. “But now, I think I shall enjoy this more.” He leaned closer. “I shall kill him before thine eyes,” he said, his voice a knife. His fingers traced the line of her throat, slow and possessive, as though he were carving his claim into her skin. “So thou shalt live knowing his death was thine to bear. That every dream shall bring back the moment his blood spilled for love of thee.”
Eris’s fingers dug into the dirt.
Kriponius smiled against her skin. “And perchance, this time, thou shalt learn. Thou art mine, Seraphina. Only mine. Forever.” His hand gripped her throat as if molding her into what he believed she must become. “I shall have thee. Untainted. Unchallenged. Unrivaled. And when I claim thee, Seraphina, thou shalt scream my name and none but mine.”
A moment passed, heavy and still. Then Eris wrenched herself free, met Kriponius’s gaze, and whispered, voice like a blade. “The only time I’ll ever scream your name…is to curse it.” Kriponius stilled. Eris bared her teeth. "You can force yourhands upon me, but you will never feel my surrender. You will never have my desire. You will never have me."
For a beat, silence.
Then—
Crack.
The slap split the air like thunder. Her head snapped to the side, blood rising on her split lip.
Kareon snarled, a sound not meant for this world.
Kriponius sighed. “This incarnation hath left thee wild, Seraphina.”
Eris wiped the blood from her mouth, slow and deliberate. She raised her chin and met his gaze without flinching. He smirked.
“But fear not,” he said softly. “Even the wildest beasts learn to kneel.” His voice dropped, cold and cruel. “And I possess all eternity with which to tame thee.”
He turned with casual certainty, as if walking through ruins that already belonged to him. His gaze fell on Kareon. Kriponius raised Sanguine Oath, the blade gleaming with hunger.
