“How does that feel?” Rift asks, stepping down into the water with me and putting his arms around me. For a moment I lean back into him, pressing myself against his body. I close my eyes and Rift kisses my neck. “I hope you find yourself refreshed enough to indulge with me again, Princess.”

The spring soothes my body in its cool and refreshing embrace. A sigh escapes my lips. “The best thing you can do, is get me some clothes,” I tell him, and give him a “you better do it or else” look.

Rift chuckles.

The ruins of an old temple surround the spring. Broken statues are scattered in the water. With one of my feet I touch the base of a statue of what looks like a drakon, but I realize it isn’t a drakon at all, but a Cursed. A row of statues showing the transformation from human to beast circle the pool of the spring.

“What is this place?” I ask Rift.

“It was once called, Gateway of Peace,” Rift murmurs, continuing to nuzzle me. His hips move into me a moment, “That was centuries ago.”

“Gateway of Peace?” I ask him. “Why would it show statues of Cursed?”

“The mage my mother served told her of this time in the history of Underland, for he was there when the Cursed were far more plentiful in number, this temple was dedicated to reversing the rule of the Cursed,” Rift says. “The mage hated the Cursed because they challenged his own power. He was the one who forged the dagger I gave to you.”

“The entirety of Axus was divided, the Cursed took sides and became leaders of each country, but they soon went mad with their power. They began fighting each other for pieces of Axus and cared not of the ways of mortals. The mage was only powerful enough to create the dagger because of the horrors of the war raging at that time. Many mortals died during that time. The mage told my mother that the war wiped out an entire race of mortal people, their existence is but folklore today. That war, from what I can gather, is what my mother wants in Axus again. Except this time she wants to take everything. The mage ruled as a king himself until he made the mistake of being too greedy with his dark magic. He used it to a point that he was unable to function, he withdrew to recuperate but by the time he crawled from his hole to take back a throne for his own, the Cursed had killed each other off and peace was restored to the lands. Shortly after he met my mother.”

“What will your mother do once she gets her way and finds herself all alone?” I murmur, staring at the statues thoughtfully. “I don’t understand why she’d be so motivated to carry the responsibility of an empire?”

“She doesn’t want an empire, Kyla,” Rift says, his voice low. “She wants to destroy empires and take the soul of Axus. She told me she will not make the mistake of her mage predecessor who overstretched his power, she will simply enjoy the delights of her depravities as chaos reigns.”

“Would you stop your mother if you hadn’t met me?” I ask, turning in his arms to face him and circling my arms around his neck.

“I don’t know,” Rift says, he furrows his brow in thought.

Hmm… I don’t know how I feel about this. “Go get me some clothes, Rift, so we can return to the others,” I say, I can’t have him right here in the flesh distracting me, I need some time to think about everything.

“Alright,” Rift says, he steps out of the water and gets dressed. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

After he leaves I contemplate how things went down with Rift. I’m so frustrated. There is a part of me that wants to fall right back into Rift’s arms (or his chokehold as it were) and another part that wants to run away because he’s, well, honestly he is kind of messed up.

What did you expect having sex with the Sorceress’ son, you idiot? My cynical, princess side berates me, that it would be rose petals and sweet treats? That he’d lie you down on the grass tenderly and whisper his adoration? No, love is not something he is capable of and you are depraved if you think that recent experience you had was anything close to making love. Rift is a monster and you know it. He’s only helping out your cause because he wants to have you as his personal toy, not because he genuinely want to see good triumph over evil. I shudder, the princess in me has a point.

But it felt so good, so right, my beast objects to her, and does it really matter if he’s personally devoted to the cause as long as he’s helping you out? He’s not forcing you to stop caring about your family. He’s doing all of this, not because your vendettas fit together, but because he wants you happy. Maybe you’re scared of it because you’ve never known a dedication like that. You’ve spent your entire life shunned by the people your family rule. You’ve lived isolated because of their prejudices while technically fighting for the same cause because they desire order just like you. Do you really have to sacrifice your mate to them? Rift wants you to embrace what you are, and a normal man like Wes, although willing to marry you, wants to strip you of it.

And that’s where I am. Torn in two over a man that drives me crazy.

It’s not like I didn’t consent to what happened between Rift and I. He had even told me I could tell him at any point when I’d had enough.

And I haven’t had enough.

I shiver. I know I’ve just touched the surface of what will happen between Rift and I, but I haven’t had enough of him. It may be the biggest mistake of my life, but he thrills me. Everything he does thrills me, and the madness he inspires, my new addiction.