A few weeks later. Indra and Laurin are sitting on a bench outside the castle, admiring the alluring rose garden. It's early morning and the first rays of the sun trickles down over the dew-soaked leaves on the clusters of flowers making them shimmer like blushing diamonds. Here and there, Emerald Green dragonflies dart through the air on hasty wings. One of the dragonflies’ lands on the bench next to Indra, seemingly basking in the morning light alongside her. The sea below the mountain reflects the suns bright rays temporarily blinding them where they sit. The peace she feels in this present moment is stronger than the longing for the revenge she plans for Lucifer. The sight is simply breathtaking and Indra catches herself feeling amazed at the raw beauty that the world and this landscape have to offer.
Laurin hands her a cup of warm herbal tea that smells almost as wonderful as the nature surrounding them. There is no immediate danger and therefore she allows herself to relax and enjoy the sheltered beautiful scenery for a while. The herbal tea tastes spicey and earthy.
Her problems will have to wait until she can deal with them. She still wants revenge on Lucifer for everything he's put her through, but first she needs to rest and regain her powers.
Through the corner of her eye, she sneaks a peek at Laurin. He lays out a blanket on the grass before stretching out on top of it. His body looks like it was cut out of the hardest marble, made up of pure lean muscle. He reminds her of a Greek statue. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of fat on him. The sight of his well-defined body makes it difficult for her to breathe. He oozes power and grace in his smooth movements.
Laurin turns towards the warming sun and it lights up his restful face. Indra bites her lower lip, trying to hide her building desire for him. He has distinctively high cheekbones and a strong jawline. And, as if that's not enough, he has the most plump and juicy lips she's ever seen in a man. They are expressive and look like they were created only for the purpose to give a woman, long and steamy kisses.
When he talks and smiles, a deep dimple emerges in his left cheek, giving his appearance a unique charm.
His dark chocolate-colored hair is just long enough to reach the collar of his pale blue attire and it’s filled with sun kissed highlights that give him a luminous glow.
Indra has never taken much of an interest in men’s appearance, she prefers to look for a person’s innermost qualities. Most of the men she knows are not that attractive and their intelligence hardly impress anyone, other than themselves. It is usually other qualities that make her pay attention to someone rather than the look of a proportionate body or well styled hair.
Once again, she lets her eyes trail over Laurin's muscular body. As far as this man is concerned, perhaps she could make an exception. Indra brushes away her fringe that repeatably falls into her eyes from the lukewarm breeze coming in from the sea. She brings the cup to her mouth and gently sips on the hot liquid and resumes to study him. After a while, she gets up from the bench and lays down on the blanket next to him.
Laurin turns around and leans slightly towards her, close enough that her nostrils fill with his musky scent mixed with the heat from his body. His stare bore deep into hers, but she is still feeling a bit reserved.
"My senses are exceptionally evolved, Indra." He lowers his gaze to her nipples, which stiffens under his intense stare. "I can hear your heart beating harder. I hear the blood flowing faster through your veins and I know that you are wondering if I can really be trusted."
He's certainly intimidating. "Can I trust you then?" she says quietly, turning away to admire the blossoming rose bushes growing everywhere before turning towards the rising sun.
Laurin catches her wandering eyes. "What do you think?"
Indra tries to read his emotions, but the man is as impenetrable as a stone wall. "Honestly, I don't know yet."
He turns around to his stomach on the small blanket and rests his head gentlyon his folded arms. He smiles and her stomach fills with fluttering butterflies. "You're smarter than I thought," he says, his tone calm and collected.
Indra doesn't know what to think, or what to answer. Instead, she puts her empty cup down, sits herself up and looks towards the majestic castle.
It's certainly an impressive sight. The castle is made of smooth black slate stones and sits on the edge of a cliff surrounded by somber, daggered mountain ridges. The ocean crystals formed from the saltwater waves continuously thrashing over the mountain walls now embellish the facade with thousands of tiny sparkling jewels. The light from the crystals dazzles her, and she has to squint to make out anything at all.
At dusk, magic envelops the shimmering jewels on the castle. She has witnessed it with her own eyes when Laurin woke her one night and dragged her out into the crisp dawn. The powerful sight took her breath away. The gates are adorned with reliefs of twisted dragons with large, green emeralds as eyes, shining menacingly in the soft morning light. She knows that the intention is to deter unwelcome guests.
The night before, Laurin showed her around the halls of the castle's four wings. Every hall was larger and grander than the last one. Indra almost found it surreal to wander around in the luxurious rooms and somehow, strangely, it began feeling like home. She admired the ceiling paintings that adorned each room, paintings that showed the history behind the creation of time.
The painting that captured her the most was the one that adorned Laurin's grand ballroom and showed the life and eradication of Adam and Eve. Indra has a history with Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain. He was banished by the Triune God Elohim after he murdered his brother Abel. Elohim then branded Cain's skin with the eternity symbol in the form of an eight, which became his immortality mark. Elohim forced him to wander forever amongst the people of earth. Indra met him in Asgard, when she was sixteen years old.
Living in Asgard wasn't always easy. Indra grew up on a small farm, east of the large longhouse that forms the heart of Asgard. There, the Vikings gathered before each sunset to socialize with friends, to seek warmth and sanctuary.
In the countryside surrounding the longhousewas extensive arable land and farms in radiant colors of butter yellow, auburn red and matured green. Outside the village, stretched miles of vast forests beneath high snow-covered mountains. Beyond the old growth forests lay the dark sea waiting to take the Vikings out on pillaging and plundering raids.
Indra loved everything about Asgard, but the best part was the tight nit community and sense of security. But that sense of security disappeared the day Cain showed an interest in her and wrapped her around his finger, with his flattering words and undivided attention. And for the first time, she felt like a woman.
At first, she enjoyed his attention, but soon the previous excitement turned into fear and uncertainty when Cain wanted to take thing further than she was prepared to. These are thoughts that she has pushed to the back of her mind for the longest of time, not wanting to even want to think about these memories.
She shakes off the unwelcome flash back, turns around and looks at Laurin. It looks incredibly inviting to lie down and relax on the soft blanket in the thick grass.
She hears Laurin grit his teeth. Doesn't he usually lie next to a woman? She hears him swallowing and deeply sighing, and eventually he apparently manages to relax to the point where he falls asleep.
Indra looks at his hands. His elegant, long fingers are adorned with medieval rings with twisted intricate patterns. It's really hard to remember that this man is not a man, but an entity out of a fairy tale.
Laurin turns around in his sleep and suddenly puts an arm around her. Indra’s body stiffens and her heart begins to race in her chest. All his manly strength is pressed against her in an extremely distracting way. He really is sexy. His facial features get more of a boyish charm now that he's so relaxed. His hair has fallen over his eyes and his full lips are slightly open. She wants to taste them so badly to see if they would fit with hers.
What's the matter with her? She's not a sex-crazed nymphomania, is she?
Her sex drive is healthy and normal. Yet, she wants to touch his tanned skin, sun-kissed hair and his full lips every time she looks at him.
What's wrong with her?
Aah, just forget it. She closes her eyes and starts counting pretend sheep on the meadows in Asgard. After a while, she gives up, sighs and reaches out to touch one of his rings, the ring that has captured her interest the most. It's big and feels cold, the ring covers most of his finger. She traces over the twisted pattern, from the tip of his finger down towards his warm palm.
Before she can comprehend what's going on, she is holding his hand. Laurin mumbles incoherently in his sleep and presses himself against her. Indra’s eyes widens when she feels his warm breath fan her cold skin and his growing erection pushing against her hip. His grip around her tightens and he pulls her closer against his strong body.
He whispers in her ear: "You are mine Similde." She shrugs by the sound of the unfamiliar name. Who's Similde? She can't help feeling hurt about being called another woman's name.
Indra tries to free herself from him, but he holds her in an iron-grip with his body wrapped around her. Maybe she just misheard. It's hard to hear exactly what he's saying when he mumbles so low. She decides to ignore what she thought she was hearing – so far Laurin has been surprisingly kind, but she doesn't know him and doesn't dare trust him fully yet.
"You are mine, princess..."
Suddenly Laurin’s body hardens and he looks up with blurred eyes at Indra, before closing his eyes, relaxing and falling back asleep.
No one's ever held her like this before. Her heart races uncontrollably in her chest, it's as if it already belongs to him. She feels as if she's completely enwrapped by his warmth.
What surprises her most is that, against her will, she likes this new feeling, far more than she wants to admit. Curled up in his warm arms, she finally falls asleep.
"Open the damn door or we'll smash it in!" screams an angry voice.Rebecca holds the rifle in her hands and holds her breath from fear. The damp air inside the small thatched cottage feels suffocating and she attempts to grip the rifle tighter in her calm hands."What are we going to do, Mom?" asks the little boy hiding behind her skirt with eyes wild of terror. His low whisper almost drowns in the noise from the continuous banging on the door.Rebecca can't answer his question but tries her best to reassure him. "Don't worry, Joar, everything's going to be okay. I promise." She smiles at her seven-year-old son and strokes his golden unruly hair.Both of them stare at the front door, buried behind the kitchen table and the wooden dresser which she used to barricade the door with. No more threats are heard from the men outside, but it sounds like their voices are getting closer.Rebecca holds the rifle securely in her hands and focus all of her atte
A firm knock on the door can be heard behind Laurin, where he stands with a handwritten letter in his hand. Outside, the libraries large oriel window glimpses the view of a calm, quiet, and sunless landscape. He doesn't want to be disturbed, not now."One minute!" He growls at the closed door and curses quietly to himself.Having Indra as a guest progressively feels like a full-time job. Indra clearly wants to make life as difficult as possible for him, with her constant questioning of why she is not allowed to return to Asgard to check on her family. Why is he putting himself through this? What does he get out of protecting Indra in this way?The night before, they got into a drawn-out discussion which ended with Indra storming out and slamming the door so hard that the hinges came loose leaving the door on a slant behind her. Sometimes he’s almost intimidated by her powers – but only almost."Come in then!" Laurin calls out before sighing an
Indra spends all morning in her room. The letter, and Laurin's refusal to oblige with her wishes, have made her anxieties reach new levels. Soon she won't be able to take this anymore. The uncertainty is unbearable and she bites her nails nervously. It is also exhausting to just sit alone in the bedroom and wait for God knows what...She needs fresh air to clear her head. She doesn't know exactly why she decided to threaten Laurin with a pistol, but somehow, she convinced herself at the time that it was a good idea. Her brain created a rational reason to perform a foolish act.She had followed an impulse to search the halls of the castle, room by room, to find a weapon that could harm Laurin, even if it would only last a few hours. She remembers stopping outside the door before entering, but otherwise the memories are blurred and vague, like a bizarre nightmare.Indra decides to find the kitchen to fill her ceramic cup with something both strong and refreshing t
Indra's stomach twists itself small when she hears King Laurin talking to an unknown woman in his room. The female gives away a certain powerfulness, Indra can sense it even through the thick wall that separates them."Dear King Laurin, you have not reported on your successes with Indra."Indra suspects Lucifer is behind the visit. Lucifer would only send the best body hunters after her. Indra knows how frustrated he must be when he sends his elite and they repeatedly fail to catch her.All she can do is remind him of how powerful she is, and she will do so as soon as she gets her powers back, they seem to have disappeared without a trace overnight. She has no idea why her powers have abandoned her. Perhaps it is a result of Lucifer's prolonged torture, which had been going on for months. Perhaps all the stress she has been put through has messed with her head, but for whatever the reason, she must find her powers again and then show both Lucifer and King Laurin
King Laurin brings the whisky glass to his mouth, takes a sip of the balanced brown liquid and stares into the somber darkness enveloping his bedroom. He’s leans back heavily onto the beds large wooden headboard completely focused on clearing his crowded mind; the strong whiskey is a deliberate attempt to try to dull the tensions that flow through his bloodstream. He sighs heavily and takes a few deep even breaths.Control... Where has his self-control gone? He always keeps his emotions in check, that's what makes him a fair king.Yet Laurin knows that there is no denying that it is his impulses and desire that drives him when he is with Indra, not the mission he has been forced to. But if he doesn't focus on the mission, both he and Indra will face a premature death. He spellbound her powers at her weakest; Indra had been so emaciated and weak and had carried all the signs of neglect after Lucifer's brutal treatment. It had made him see red, but now it was only
King Laurin is extremely aroused to the point he thinks he might burst the seams on the tightening silk fabric across his groin. He suspected that she would try to use her body to seduce him and then escape, but it has turned into a chance for himself to get one last hold on Indra, through both body and soul. And he's going to give her a well-deserved lesson.Never before has he felt this way about a woman. The strong desire for her brings the sorcerer in him to life. His fingertips twitch with magic that rushes through his body like a raging river. The magic increases by their closeness and her alluring scent that fills his nostrils. The roses stems hold her arms firmly over her head and her large soft breasts are displayed in a most daring way right in front of him.She's the most powerful creature in the universe. The world belonged to her, until he spellbound her powers. He will teach her the lesson that he and no one else owns her mind – and soon even her be
The stems of the roses brush against Indra's ivory skin and the thorns graze her erected nipples. She shivers with pleasure mixed with pain."Laurin," she whispers, turning towards the window. The roses twist themselves tighter across her exposed body – it's as if they are controlled by Laurin’s emotions. The stronger his desires grow, the more the roses want to hold her in place, for him.Laurin is still wearing his silky pyjama pants while Indra is naked, vulnerable and trapped. Laurin releases the roses hold on her slightly and takes a step back. Indra can see how he studies every curve of her pale firm breasts and swollen pink nipples. The roses seem to follow his eyes, massaging her breasts under his hungry gaze. The stems caress her blushing skin, acting much the same as gentle hands tracing their way all over her soft body The scene unfolding in front of him sends the blood rushing to his growing member. He pulls down his pyjama pants and his swollen
Indra's state of mind is quite different from before she went to King Laurin's room to seduce him. While she puts on his white linen shirt and brown leather trousers, which are far too big for her, she does not take her eyes of the sleeping man.His muscular body is stretched out on his back, with one arm resting lightly over his eyes. The black silky covers have slipped down to his hips, revealing his flat stomach and well-defined muscles. She desperately wants to reach out and touch his smooth tanned skin, wake him up and look into his bottomless dark eyes. To get to experience the desire he holds for her, one last time.He is dangerous – even when he sleeps, he exudes an almost threatening power and strength – but when he gave himself to her, she felt her own powers return. After all, she has succeeded in her original plan: to seduce King Laurin. The plan did not go quite as she originally intended, she had not at all anticipated that it would also give