The crowd murmured as a young girl came forward, and Hrioshango immediately recognized her.
“He went into the temple with his friends to save us,” she announced. “They said they would stop the evil man from hurting more people.” All eyes turned to the darkling again, who looked like he might bolt for an escape. The people still regarded him suspiciously, especially the soldiers. His hand discretely fell to his sword. There was only one way out of this situation.
He raised his blade into the air and exclaimed, “Hrioshango slayed Margzor!”
He couldn’t believe his pointy ears when the people broke into praise. Hrioshango smiled as the people hailed him with excitement.
He spotted a woman below, clad in the vestments of a high priestess of Astalla. She was hugging the young boy and girl, the children whom Margzor spared. The little girl pointed at the darkling and pulled on the woman’s arm. Ava looked up at Hrioshango, and a smile creased her lips to thank him.
In that moment, Hrioshango did not feel alone.
* * *
Arxu fervently kissed her lips and neck, and Nishka responded with similar desire.
Their lips never parted until Nishka released him from her kiss. Arxu gasped for breath and regarded her with amazement. He gazed into her eyes and witnessed beauty more infinite than anything that existed in the afterlife.
His hands roamed of their own will across her body, the voluptuousness of her hips and her soft breasts.
The space between them ceased to exist. Nishka could feel his hands wander over her most sensitive regions, exciting her. The palpitations in her chest only increased as she found herself intimately embraced.
Arxu indulged her kiss, anxious to please her. There was nothing more wondrous than this feeling she induced in him. The smell of her skin intoxicated his senses, that of fresh jasmine from the forest around her home.
Nishka breathed sensuously in his ear and her sighs maddened him with delirium.
He kissed her breasts even as she layered on her charms, teasing his excitement one touch at a time. Nishka softly bit his ear and kissed his neck. Her hands slowly began their descent down Arxu’s spine. Her fingertips did not deny him even the smallest fraction of ecstasy, always giving him everything and more.
The merciless bliss she emanated was instantaneously addictive, no matter the willpower that came in contact. Her gorgeous, blue eyes invited a deeper consideration for the mystique that verily emanated from her being.
He pressed closer to her, longing to feel connected to her in the strongest way. The curves of her body contoured to him with ecstasy, and he felt that he was inside her. Their flesh seemed to have become one; one body, one breath shared among their lips.
Nishka roughly grabbed his hair and pulled his head close. She cried out loudly and gasped with pleasure, the melody itself a song of joy. Her lips locked with Arxu and she began to kiss him fiercely, lavishing him with another decadent kiss; her hands roamed adoringly over him as she felt herself tightening.
“Arxu…” she whispered passionately.
He felt as though he could make love to her for eternity and never gaze away. Nishka closed her eyes in reverie and seductively licked her lips.
Arxu wanted to remain in this position with her for infinity, to never let her go, to kiss and caress her until the days and nights blurred into one ceaseless eternity. Nishka felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. She did not dare let him go as they both grappled for euphoria.
A distinct and tangible high was within reach, they could both feel it building between them. The air sizzled with energy. Torrents of light began to wash over them like a heavenly tide.
A rift opened in the otherworld, a threshold to a place far beyond. The phenomena did not distract the entwined lovers. Nishka and Arxu were too focused on each other.
He could scarcely believe that such a feeling existed in this world. He wanted to worship her and this sensation she inspired in him. Everything about her was divine in his eyes, the way she moved with passion, her warm smile, the way she breathed and gasped when she felt pleasure.
“I love you,” he fragilely whispered, nearly bereft of voice as her lips entwined with his again. Her hands stroked his hair, her fingers gently contouring against his mind. He felt at peace with the world and with himself; hurt, anger, and sorrow could not harm him anymore.
Her face was so intimately near that he could feel her dark eyelashes flutter against his cheek. Arxu felt all of the power drain from his body and he felt mortal and weak once more.
But in place of that void was something else; emotions he had sought for so long and a woman who cared more deeply about him than anyone else in the world: a woman who eradicated that void and made him feel more complete than he ever had in life, this one and the last.
She validated him and accepted him entirely as the person he was. The love he felt when he was this close defied description.
She was the only happiness that existed.
White ashes drifted around them like souls unfurling on the breeze. Immersed in his arms, Nishka’s face rested warmly against his, her cheeks blushed with happiness. They closed their eyes and surrendered to each other.
When Arxu opened his eyes, he realized they were no longer on the Plane of Virginity, but within a forest. Their love was so opposed to the nature of Astalla’s otherworld that it had banished them to the mortal realm. The smells of the forest embraced them, that of spring rain and blossoms. It was peacefully silent, and no sound of the animals could be heard.
The sky blushed with a sunset of orange and deep purple. Its glow highlighted the wilderness in its twilit glamor.
Time had passed them by in a blissful daze. Arxu gazed at the surroundings, drinking in the beauty. It was the same forest Margzor entered as a boy. Now he was at peace, where no one could hurt him.
Arxu returned his gaze to the woman sitting before him. Nishka provided him more reason to exist than any god or calling in life. He only wanted to be with her and cherish her with unconditional love.
“Without you, I am nothing,” he said.
Nishka encircled him with her arms. She met his eyes, looking deep into a man who had once been hollow and spiritually lost.
“I will be there for you.”
She rested her hand over his heart, where a void once remained.
About the Author
I began to write fiction at the age of seven, inspired by my sister, Rachel. As the darkest chapter of my life unfolded in 2005, I embarked on a novel that would be known as The Undying God, a personal effort to find meaning and purge the poison out of my life. In all honesty, this book almost culminated in my death. Were it not for family and friends who saw the warning signs, I would have made a tragic mistake upon completion of the final chapter. Writing The Undying God has taught me the value of imagination in a world that is so often shrouded in confusion and hurt. However, I learned that without hardship, I cannot truly appreciate the love that has found its way into my life.
Connect with me online:
http://www.nrwilson.com
https://www.facebook.com/NathanR207
https://twitter.com/NathanR207
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NathanWilson
The Undying God Page 31
