Elias stilled at the sound of that name, Cladria! It all started because of that witch! She smiled sweetly while wrapped in silks but in her heart there was nothing but cruelty. A noble's daughter who had once made it her favorite game to humiliate a slave like him by playing a love game with him and then sending him to prison.
"I will stand against her family?" he muttered in a questioning tone. "This area is part of their estate. Even if they were only barons. Would I have the right to challenge them directly? Her family would recognize me anyway."
She smirked with amusement gleaming in her eyes. As if he was a naive child who did not understand the rules of the world.
"Oh Elias! Did she have the power to challenge a noble standing in the authority of her father, herself?" he frowned when she boosted. Even if she did not have, her father would have the power. No?
"You will see, Elias. The world of nobles is not that simple." Seraphina whispered with her fingers still curled lightly around his wrist. "I know how she toyed with you. Do you not want to toy with her this time?"
She stepped closer, her voice turning low and intimate. "I am offering you more than revenge, Elias. I am offering you a stage where every noble who ever spit on the salves will bow when you pass. I will give you the mask of Baron Crestford. But you won't just pretend, you will become him. You will learn how to walk in their halls and burn them from within."
Elias searched her face. Her smirk was mocking, but her eyes, those traitorous, restless eyes still burned with that flicker he had seen earlier. A hunger not just for victory, but destruction.
He sat back down but his eyes still looked at her with uncertainty.
Seraphina smiled like a cat who had lured the bird into the cage. "You know the way slaves feel, let them trust you. Lure them to your side and defeat the nobles, as long as you do that, I will give you the chance to burn all those defeated nobles on stake."
She turned, pacing slowly, the hem of her chemise brushing against his thighs again.
"My brother believes fear keeps people obedient. Starve them, beat them and scare them, and they will follow for the little mercy you provide them. I want you to prove him wrong. I want him to see that fear crumbles when hope rises." Her voice lowered near his ears as if she was taking a sacred vow. "That's what you will offer the slaves, a new hope to live a better life. A noble who listens to the public. A man who does not punish but rewards loyalty. Who gives coin and land to those who are cast aside."
Elias's jaw tightened. "You would still be using them."
"Oh Elias! Who is not getting used in this whole world? At least, I will provide them a better life to live." She said slowly. She turned fully with her eyes gleaming. "When you rule the slaves and commoners, the nobles would be intrigued. It would be your chance to tempt the nobles with whispers of profit, alliances and secrets. Offer them promises, let them betray each other for your approval. Let them rip themselves apart while reaching for your hand."
"And when will they do it?"
"You close your fist," she whispered as she closed her open palms into a fist with her eyes beaming with ruthlessness. "And take everything they once hoarded."
He stared at her for a long moment. Her lips were red from wine. Her eyes gleamed with something dark and terrifying. Yet he was tempted with her madness.
"And what happens if I rise too high?" he asked. "Will you burn me too, Seraphina?"
She leaned in, close enough that he felt her breath against his jaw.
"No," she said softly. "You are mine. And I don't burn what belongs to me."
Seraphina's eyes never left his as she slowly raised her hand and gripped his jaw. Her fingers were firm but not cruel or commanding.
"I claim what is mine," she whispered again in his ears. Her voice was enchanting but for the first time it felt sincere to him. Then she leaned and kissed him.
Her mouth crashed against his, hot and unrelenting. her lips moving with a hunger that burned through the cold mask she wore. Elias stiffened for a moment, startled by the force of it. but then he felt the sharp edge of her tongue slip past his lips, tasting him and teasing him. Her mouth was full of the wine she had drank earlier with a strong metallic taste to it. It spread through his mouth like fire.
His restraint finally shattered. He gripped her waist with both hands, pulling her against him with a raw force that made her moan into his mouth. Her fingers slid from his jaw down to his chest, then curled at the hem of his shirt. and in one swift motion, she tore the fabric apart. Buttons flew on the ground and the rip echoing in the small dining room.
Their mouths tangled again in a passionate kiss, their tongues dueling and their lips bruising. She bit his lower lip just enough to draw a bead of blood, and licked it clean with a wicked sound that made his breath catch.
"You taste like rage," she murmured against his mouth. her hot breath trembled him. "And hunger."
Elias responded by grabbing the back of her neck and deepening the kiss, like he wanted to consume her. His hands roamed over her back, memorizing the shape of her, her heat, her bones carved of hatred and resentment.
She straddled his lap without hesitation, her chemise falling open at the shoulder, exposing her pale skin. The scent of her wrapped around him like a spell.
"This world," she breathed between kisses, "will kneel to you as long as you stand with me."
His lips moved to her throat, tasting the pulse there. "What if I want more than your war?" he whispered hoarsely. "What if I desire the world for myself?"
She paused, just to catch her breath, before lifting his chin to meet her eyes. "Then you have to win it from me." she said with a smirk. Her eyes provoke him with a challenge. "Become the man who can rule beside a monster like me."
Her words were a dare. And Elias? He kissed her again, this time slower, deeper, like he was sealing his fate.
"I will accept your challenge then."