"You care about me this much?" Lotus asked with a warm smile, understanding he didn’t wish to go any further because he wanted to marry her first.
He carefully let her down, adjusted her clothes and buttoned her coat. His tender compassion sank deep into her heart and she let him smooth down her attire.
Plucking a flower from the flowering hedge Lotus had created, Razial went down on his knee and offered it to her with passion-filled words. His eyes truly sparkled with the undying love he held for this woman.
"I do. So will you be my wife? Lotus Leblanc."
Lotus didn’t take long before accepting the pink flower with a long stem.
Bending down she placed a small kiss on Razial’s pointed nose and delightedly answered.
"If we make it back alive, I will become your wife, Razial; we will build a small cottage near a forest and live there. A place where there will always be spring and songs."
Stuck in a vortex of overwhelming emotions Razial wrapped his arms around Lotus and pulled her into his lap, softly kissing her.
"We will, whatever you want. Thank you for agreeing to be mine."
Placing her head on his chest, she let his love and tenderness wash over her.
They made their bed on the petals Lotus had blasted a while ago and laid down under the warm blankets.
Lotus used Razial’s arm as her personal pillow, her hands resting on his chest as she snuggled with him and his warmth.
"I would never have imagined this, laying here like that in your arms under a dome of ice, watching a storm while agreeing to get married to you. We have come a long way."
Raziel smiled, his eyes focused on the storm above them; a few broken branches had landed on the dome, and snow had covered most of the top, but they could still see the dawn breaking and the storm dying down.
A new day was about to begin, both on the horizon and also in his life. The woman of his desires was finally in his arms and he couldn’t wait to own her, make love to her and be sucked into the madness that she wished to devise for him.
An unknown excitement unfurled inside of him regarding Lotus. The way she had bound him today and used her powers to pleasure him, he knew there wouldn’t be a dull day with his mate.
Lost in each other’s arms, they fell asleep.
***
(Realm of gods: Axiom)
"I wish to burn that shifter alive again and this time for good. Permit me to descend and put an end to this frugal attempt to reach that bloody tree. Can’t I burn it too?" Kalthian paced in rage, his flaming crimson hair dancing behind him like a phoenix.
Arkiam snuggly sat on his throne, his white hair flawlessly combed back. The royal blue and gold attire he donned effortlessly flowed over his body.
He watched the god of fire fret over and over. His frustration was valid; the man had forever been in love with Asara, but she betrayed him.
"That tree grows under the authority of Riemc (goddess of peace and goodness). You know how powerful she is. We can’t interfere with her plans," Arkiam answered. Whenever the evil surpassed the goodness in the Earthly Realm, Riemc stepped in, and this time, Arkiam was sure his estranged wife, Aylin, had a hand in prompting the goddess to take this course of action.
Kalthian bristled. Asara had slipped from his hands again, only if he had done the deed and planted his seed inside her, she would have been forced to return to him.
"Then, at least, we can interfere with their plans. I am not going to make it easy for them to reach the tree. I will create obstacles at every step. Asara will only be mine," he raged, his dark orbs, which held nothing but animosity, blazed with his fires.
Arkiam could sense his younger self in Kalthian. There was a time when he was similarly obsessed with Aylin. The goodness and the light she held fascinated him and yet he couldn’t hold her.
The torture he had put Aylin through broke her and he wasn’t even surprised when she left him and created a whole new species.
"Remember, Kalthian. You were reborn at your request without memories as you wished to cross paths with her as per fate. I helped you, but you blew that chance; you tortured her. Now you can’t return to Earthly Realm anymore. Whatever you wish to plan, you will need to do it from here. Even we gods cannot break some rules," Arkiam warned, hoping Kalthian wouldn’t be too reckless.
The Underworld and its gods were a whole different story, and even the gods of Axiom avoided messing with them, and the Earthly Realm belonged in equal amounts to both.
Arkiam had already asked for too many favours from them.
"I am aware but Asara will be mine, once that shifter is out of the way, she will be forced to return to me."
"Don’t underestimate her or her mother. I was able to seal her powers before because she hadn’t fully manifested them. She was young and her mother was unaware of what I was doing. Now, she is more powerful. The combined strengths of Aylin and me, runs through her and she has her backing now."
Arkiam could feel his daughter’s strength. The way she had broken the seal he had placed over her powers, he hadn’t expected that and now she was pushing boundaries. He wasn’t even sure if Kalthian could even defeat her in combat.
He had hurt her and she had permanently damaged his genitals to some extent. Even their powers couldn’t restore all of Kalthian’s privates.
"I am aware. Don’t worry, I will play my cards right."
The schemes and plans continued in the realm nestled between the clouds while Siroos made love to Cassandra in his chamber. They weren’t sure when they would be able to return again and this chance they weren’t going to miss.