Chapter 4 Seraphina

• "Is there anything else I can offer Your Majesty?" my servant asks. His lips return to kiss my thigh, sending a shiver through me.
• My body remains in ecstasy from the orgasm I just had; I still feel the tremor throughout my body and the throbbing of my swollen clitoris in my intimacy. I look at the man lying between my legs. His devotion to pleasing me is almost pathetic.
• "Silence," I respond coldly, pulling him up by the arm.
• I notice that his member is rigid and ready to penetrate me. I lay the man down on the bed and climb on top of him, guiding his member into my entrance. The penetration is easy, and I feel pleasure coursing through my entire body. The man begins to pant and wants to moan, something that disrupts my pleasurable concentration.
• "Silence," I order before covering his mouth with my hand.
• My entire body is charged with lust and desire. I control the rhythm of the penetration, moving quickly back and forth. My body becomes sweaty, as does the man's beneath me. He grips my waist tightly, helping me maintain balance.
• It does not take long to use my servant to bring me pleasure. I know that Caelum is in a meeting with the kingdom’s advisors, and that takes time. Time enough for me to have two orgasms and still send the servant away without any rush.
• Caelum catching me in the act of betrayal would be one of the least of my worries here in the castle. I do not doubt that he does the same to me when he has to travel somewhere and insists on not taking me along.
• I put on my clothes and fix my hair, glancing at the clock on my vanity and realizing it is almost time for my most important appointment of the day. I look at myself in the mirror and run my hand over my small, flat belly. I need to bear a child!
• The marriage, in the early years, was incredible. Caelum was attentive and really made an effort to make me feel at home; we traveled, and our honeymoon phase was very long. The s*x was not bad either; I pleased him, and he pleased me. We discovered each other's tastes over time.
• But with each passing month, as my period came, the hopes of producing an heir began to diminish. The pressure from his family, the members of the royal council demanding an heir every month, started to erode our relationship. And the attacks from the Wolfspawn Renegades, clamoring for a king who was purely Lycan, began to build a wall between me and Caelum.
• Even magic started to be forbidden, something that breaks my heart. Caelum increasingly denies his Enchantrix side, rejecting the use of magic and thereby depriving me of so many things within the castle and throughout the kingdom.
• Not only the kingdom of Veridiana, but my own, the kingdom of Syltirion. My heart cries out to return home, to bring life and salvation. The lands are dying, and the kingdom will not survive much longer.
• I cast a camouflage spell, just to ensure that no one will recognize me when I leave the castle. I look at myself in the mirror again, my elegant and sophisticated clothes now appear as those of a maid, simple and with rips at the front of the apron. My glamorous appearance transforms into something common, only my golden eyes remain the same.
• The path out of the castle is uneventful; I cast small spells to confuse the guards and any other staff who might question who I am. The journey to Grimroot Forest, the forbidden forest where all the Enchantresses were banished due to Caelum’s new laws, is full of magic and familiarity for me.
• I feel much more at home in Grimroot Forest than in the palace, where I am surrounded only by Lycans and humans. I head towards the shop of an ancient Enchantress, a woman with powers far greater than mine.
• The shop is quaint and simple, filled with knickknacks scattered about. The place is small and very intimate, the scent of burning herbs and magic fills the air with mastery, making me breathe deeply as if it were a sea breeze in the summer season.
• "Your Majesty, what an honor to have you here again," the Enchantress declares, making a simple bow.
• "I did not think I would need to return here, but I need your talents, your magic," I say with a heavy heart, feeling the anguish that afflicts me in my chest.
• The Enchantress gestures to the round table with two wooden chairs. I follow her and sit across from her. I hear the beating of my heart resounding throughout my body, along with my growing anxiety.
• "What troubles you, Majesty? Is the gold of the palace no longer pleasing to your eyes, or is it the longing for your homeland?" she asks, her voice raspy and drawn out.
• "Why am I unable to bear children for my husband? I have been lying with him every month; before, it was every day," I recount with anguish in my voice, desperation creeping into my words. "Is the problem with me or with him? Without a child, I will never be able to perform the ritual to save my kingdom, Syltirion."
• "Do not despair, Majesty. I will see what fate is hiding from you. What curse or blessing is hovering over you and your mate," she replies, then offers her hands across the table. I take them gently, knowing the kind of magic she will perform and fearing the revelation that is to come.
• The ancient enchantress recites the forbidden spell, and the shop’s atmosphere becomes dark, surrounded by entities from another plane—dangerous and treacherous creatures if the enchantress does not know how to control them. The eyes of the enchantress, once violet, turn to darkness as she accesses the forbidden realm. Some objects around us begin to float, and a ghostly breeze stirs my hair. The entity she summoned possesses her, and her hands grow cold and stronger, gripping my wrists.
• "The king’s seed has already been planted and nurtured. It grows strong outside the palace walls, protected and forgotten by noble fate. A new queen will arise, more powerful and more dangerous. The kingdom of Syltirion will fall into darkness and ruin. What you plan and desire will only succeed when the king's first seed is uprooted. Seek the mother, a woman with a crescent moon on her neck, and your wish may be fulfilled!" the entity declares in a deep, terror-filled voice through the enchantress’s body.
• My heart is seized with fear at the news that Caelum already has an heir. I knew there was a possibility he would betray me as I do him, but I thought he would at least have the decency to take precautions with his prostitutes, as I do with my lovers.
• "Where can I find her? The mother of this child?" I ask hastily.
• "She will come to you, the woman with the crescent moon on her neck," the entity responds. The enchantress regains control, and the atmosphere returns to normal.
• The ancient enchantress coughs, as if she has choked on something, and quickly releases my hands, causing me to unintentionally strike the table. I notice the red mark on my pale skin, a mark that will remain, and Caelum might notice it.
• "Majesty, be careful. Remember that sometimes the entities are merely treacherous; they only seek to create chaos," the enchantress advises.
• I take a deep breath and adopt the coldness I need to have with those who are not noble like me, even though I feel lost and hurt by the discovery.
• "I do not care what the entities want. I must save my kingdom, Syltirion. If I have to kill a baby to do that, so be it!" I declare firmly, refusing to let the terror of having to actually do this take hold.
• Before the enchantress could say anything to persuade me, I rise quickly and leave her shop with hurried, heavy steps, leaving payment for the consultation on the counter.
• Days pass, and the revelation continues to eat away at me. Meals with Caelum become cold and silent. Looking at my mate, knowing he is already a father, makes me nauseous. Does he know? Is he hiding his mistress and bastards child somewhere in the capital?
• The day of our wedding anniversary arrives, and the celebration is grand and extravagant, perfect for trying to fill the emptiness in my chest. I distract myself with the guests; some nobles from my kingdom, Syltirion, attend, including my parents, whom I have not seen in a long time.
• When the banquet begins, and the waiters move around the tables, a young woman of about twenty-five approaches us with a tray of drinks. She lists the options, and I decline, but Caelum accepts, and as the girl bends down to place the glass on the table, I notice the birthmark on her neck—the cursed crescent moon.
• My blood runs cold at the audacity of fate to bring my mate's mistress to my wedding anniversary.