Chapter 168: Caelis Revenge

"Dragons don’t stop at one," Rhydian growled against Aria’s ear, his chest pressed flush to her back, his hips already setting a punishing new rhythm. "This is what happens when you fall for one, Aria. You get claimed until you can’t remember your own name."

"Rhydian—" His name came out broken, half protest, half plea, though her hips pushed back into his thrusts, betraying exactly how much she wanted this.

"That’s it," he rasped, one hand fisting in her hair, tilting her head back so his mouth could find the curve of her throat. "Take it. Take all of me, little mate. You wanted a dragon. Now you’ll learn what that really means."

Every filthy word sent a fresh wave of heat crashing through her, and Aria found herself mewling helplessly into the sheets, overstimulated and utterly wrecked, yet unable to stop chasing the way he made her feel. His pace only quickened, driving into her deep and relentless, the slap of skin against skin filling the room alongside her broken moans and his low, possessive growls.

"You feel this?" he demanded, angling his hips to hit somewhere devastatingly deep. "This is mine. Every part of you belongs to me now."

"Yours," Aria gasped again, the word barely coherent, her body shaking as another climax built impossibly fast, stacked right on top of the last.

Rhydian felt her tighten around him and lost what little restraint remained, chasing his own release with brutal, driving thrusts, his grip on her hip bruising as he held her exactly where he wanted her.

"Come for me again," he ordered, voice broken and guttural. "I want to feel you fall apart, Aria. Now."

She shattered on command, a scream tearing from her throat as pleasure crashed through her in violent, uncontrollable waves, and Rhydian followed instantly, a savage growl ripping out of him as he spilled deep inside her once more, hips stuttering through every last shudder of his release.

Rhydian collapsed over her, careful even in his exhaustion not to crush her beneath his weight, rolling them both onto their sides so she remained tucked against his chest. Neither of them spoke immediately, the sound of their ragged, uneven breathing filling the room instead.

Rhydian pressed a slow kiss to the top of her head, his hand trailing idle patterns along her spine, tracing the same path he’d worshipped earlier, though gentler now, almost reverent.

"Are you all right? Did I hurt you?" he asked, voice low and rougher than usual, though the concern in it was obvious.

"You hurt me in the best way possible, Rhydian," Aria replied with a small, contented smile. She burrowed closer, adding, "Wake me like this every morning, and I might actually start liking you."

Rhydian chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. "I’m up to the task, Treasure." His arm tightened around her, pleased by the sight of her curled so trustingly against him, claimed and entirely his, at least for now.

After a while, Rhydian reluctantly pulled away from her. "I need to clean you up."

Aria only hummed in response, already drifting toward sleep as exhaustion finally claimed her.

Rhydian slipped out of bed and went into his bathroom. He filled the golden basin he had never bothered using for anyone else with warm water and grabbed a clean towel before returning to the bedroom. Except the sight that greeted him made him freeze.

Caelis was standing beside the bed with Aria trapped against him. One clawed arm was wrapped around her neck, holding her effortlessly in place, while a sinister glint shone in his silver eyes. The basin slipped from Rhydian’s hands and struck the floor with a loud clatter, water spilling around his feet, but he barely noticed.

"Don’t you dare touch her, Caelis!" Rhydian roared so deeply that the force of his aura seemed to shake the entire building. Caelis didn’t so much as flinch.

"I told you, didn’t I?" Caelis said coldly. "One day, I would come for the one thing you loved most."

"Rhydian..." Aria called his name, real fear filling her eyes.

"Aria..." Rhydian reached for her instinctively, but Caelis tightened his hold and dragged her closer against him, making her whimper.

"Fine, you win!" Rhydian said desperately. "You can take my life, but please, spare her."

"No!" Aria cried. "Don’t do this, Rhydian. Don’t you dare!"

But one look at Rhydian’s face told her there was nothing she could say to change his mind.

Caelis’s cold chuckle filled the room. "The great Rhydian Drakhar reduced to begging. I never thought I would see the day."

"Rhydian, please..." Aria was crying now, struggling to reach him, but Caelis’s grip held her as firmly as death itself.

"You can have me. You win. Let this war end with my death. Just spare her." Rhydian lowered his head, surrendering himself without another thought.

Aria’s cries grew louder as she fought uselessly against Caelis Cobryn. Rhydian kept his head bowed, every instinct inside him raging against the submission, but there was nothing the basilick could demand from him that mattered more than keeping her alive.

Then Caelis said, "I can’t say this isn’t satisfying, but I’ve changed my mind."

"What?" Rhydian’s head lifted sharply.

Even Aria’s struggles stilled, a flicker of desperate hope breaking through her tears.

"Killing you like this would be too easy." Caelis smiled. "I’d rather break you first and kill you afterward. I think I’ll enjoy that much more."

Rhydian understood his intention a second too late.

"No! Don’t touch her—!" he roared, already lunging toward them.

But Caelis had turned Aria’s face toward his own. Her terrified blue eyes met the beautiful, glowing silver of his, and in that instant, she was lost.

"ARIA!"

Rhydian’s scream rent through the room as he watched the color drain from her skin. Stone crept across her body with horrifying speed, swallowing every trace of warmth beneath cold gray until even the terror in her eyes was frozen forever.