Chapter 403: Chains Broken, Hearts Laid Bare
Chains Broken, Hearts Laid Bare
"Leon..."
Her voice shook, delicate but striking, a strand of breath that pulled direct on his chest. Cassidy raised her face finally, black eyes shining with a tempest of feeling. Boldness struggled with vulnerability in her eyes, the two battling like flame and water and somehow being a part of the same soul.
Her mouth opened, tentatively at first, then the words tumbled out, weighted with memory.
"Last night... I think I would have shattered. I’ve never—" she swallowed, trembling lashes "—never felt anything like that. When your being overflowed me, it was like flame... no, not flame. Like light itself. The poison in my blood—each drop, each curse that devoured me—it was gone. I felt it flee.". And then... Her voice faltered, cracked and wheezing, her chest heaving beneath the sheet of threads entwined around her. "I broke through. Second Realm of cultivation. Novice Realm... all because of you."
Her admission hung in the air, bare, unguarded.
Leon’s golden eyes gentled, although his strength, that hard unbreakable presence, still enfolded her like a cloak. He leaned close, laying his lips on her wet forehead in a kiss that was promise rather than reassurance. His voice was deep, steady, intimate.
"Not because of me," he whispered against her skin. "Because you chose me. You opened up to me, Cassidy—not your body, but your heart. That’s what shattered your chains."
The words seeped through her defenses. Her lips quivered and for a fleeting moment she attempted to turn away, as if concealment might keep her safe from drowning in it.
But Leon was quicker. His hand crept under her jaw, fingers taut, to turn her face back to his. His thumb traced the edge of her chin, anchoring her, demanding without violence.
"Don’t play hide and seek from me," he breathed, golden eyes aflame with something richer than lust.
Her breath caught. That spark, that unquenchable confidence she’d always had, flared back in an instant. Her black eyes flashed with that same old, volatile playfulness. She smiled slightly, even as her cheeks flushed scarlet.
"If I don’t conceal myself, Lord Leon," she taunted softly, voice husky and uncertain despite the bravery, "you’ll discover just how much I desire you again."
His lips twisted into a slow, hungry smile, his eyes flashing with heat and humor.
"Good," he said, his voice half-demand, half-begging. "Then let me see."
She had her mouth open to respond, but before she could say a word, his mouth came crashing down onto hers. The kiss was harsh, devouring, nothing remotely like the delicate caresses that had preceded it. His lips took hers with raw intensity, his hunger spilling into her like flame into dry wood.
Cassidy gasped at him, shocked yet helplessly giving. Heat rolled through her veins, hot and overwhelming, her body betraying the uncertainty she held on to. Her arms slipped around his neck in surrender, pulling him closer, until the blanket dropped lower, exposing the delicate shape of her breast to the shadowy light.
Leon’s hand drifted with maddening precision, covering her, thumb tracing the crest of her nipple until the cry that burst from her throat was no longer held in check. A moan tumbled loose, ringing off the walls of the room like a boast too wild to be gainsaid.
Her thighs clamped tight together in reflex, pleading for respite, but Leon moved—intentional, unforgiving. His knee wedged between hers, opening her up with coaxing pressure. The abrasion arched her back, head thrown back as a scream ripped from her mouth. It was half-protest and half-surrender, her flesh outstripping the conflict within.
"Leon... please..." Her voice was ragged, broken between desire and fear of losing herself completely. "You’ll drive me mad..."
He broke the kiss just enough to breathe the words against her mouth, his breath hot and heavy.
"That’s the point, my love."
Her heart contracted, not aching but in the chilling sweetness of being undone. She shuddered under him, nails lightly digging into his shoulders, as if holding on to him was the only thing that anchored her.
"You already have..." she whispered, the admission pulled from her lips like something she could no longer conceal.
The light that filtered through the curtains deepened, becoming brighter with the advancing day. Gold spills covered their entwined bodies, illuminating the glistening sweat starting afresh on their bodies. Dust motes twirled upon them, trapped in the columns of light like minute stars—delicate, suspended, timeless in transitory loveliness.
Every breath in between was hastened, taken away, returned. The room was still except for their shared gasps and the faint squeak of the bed as the world outside their room continued on its way, oblivious.
Cassidy’s mind whirled. Once, she had been bound by poison, her existence measured in decreasing breaths. But now—for him—she was alive. She was powerful. She was free. And above all that, she had him.
It frightened her more than any foe ever had.
Her lips searched out his once more, pleading this time, her tongue wrestling with his in a battle of need and abandon. She needed him to understand her strength, her confidence, her blaze—but she wanted him to understand the parts of her that quivered, that hurt, that were afraid.
Leon responded to her kiss with equal passion, one hand moving into her black hair, holding it tightly enough to rock her head back. He released the kiss for a mere breath, his eyes drilling into hers.
"Cassidy," he said, her name biting but soft on his tongue, "never question it. You belong to me. Not my property, not my trophy—my wife. My equal. The bonds that tied you. they were never stronger than you. You shattered them the instant you reached out to me."
Her throat constricted. Tears stung at the edges of her eyes, bubbling over onto her cheeks. She ached to tease him, to mock him, to bite back with her customary spikiness. But the sincerity of his words left her utterly defenseless.
"Lord Leon..." she breathed, shaking. "If you continue speaking thus, I shall never live through it."
His smile turned kinder, his thumb wiping away the tear that finally rolled down her cheek.
"Then don’t survive me," he spoke bluntly. "Live with me. Burn with me."
Her heart succumbed. All the walls she had ever constructed melted into dust beneath the force of that promise. She moved forward, kissing him with an intensity that left no question, no uncertainty.
Their bodies entwined once more, the world outside growing more distant, until all that existed was their breaths, their heat, and their love.
And as the curtain rustled in the morning breeze, the sunlight surrounded them in a light that was almost heavenly.
There was no kingdom, no poisoned blood, no hidden enemies in the forbidden bed.
There was only Leon and Cassidy—husband and wife, tied not only by passion but by the perilous, undeniable love that neither of them could turn away from now.