PROLOGUE

SOFIA

"SOFIA!" my fiance Vidar screamed, his voice thick with rage.

I ran desperately, not realizing I'd gone too deep into the forest. A place forbidden to those who didn't know it — luckily, I'd known it since childhood, but unluckily, my family knew it just as well.

Branches struck my face without mercy while I heard the horses' hooves closing in behind me. The anxiety and the pounding of my heart were louder, more powerful than anything else.

My feet ached, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep running. I couldn't stop, I mustn't stop.

Before I knew it, I reached a ravine that was quite deep, and without hesitating, I jumped. As I did, I clearly heard Vidar's voice in the wind, calling my name one last time. It was distant, loaded with rage, with frustration.

The wind buzzed in my ears, drowning out every other sound. Soon the weight of my body began to drop lower and lower until I fell into the deepest darkness of the night.

I felt the crack of bush branches breaking as I fell until I finally hit the ground. I got up and ran. I ran and ran without knowing where I was going. I just wanted to be free and start a life far from everything and everyone.

Then I stopped when I heard a soft but persistent groan. Curiosity got the better of me, and I came to a cave not far away. Inside was the figure of a wounded man — the smell of blood saturated everything. I approached carefully, and when I saw him a little more closely, I knew this was no ordinary man. He was a noble.

His crescent-moon seal made it all the more obvious. I didn't think twice and simply healed his wounds with my witch powers. I knelt beside him, my fingers glowing with a faint light, the white energy of my magic flowing as a healer's gift, ideal for mending wounds like these. I murmured words under my breath, words in a forgotten ancient tongue that only healer witches knew. The magic flowed — though the wounds were complex, they would heal. Some were deep, while others were less so despite the excessive bleeding. The torn flesh closed, soothing the physical damage.

When I finished, I sighed with relief. He would recover. I couldn't see his face because of the darkness, but it didn't matter. I was about to leave when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. His warm breath brushed my neck in a way that made me shiver.

My inner witch felt the deep need to see his thoughts, but I didn't let her. I had to leave — yet this unknown man in steel armor wouldn't let me.

Then I felt his face, burning hot to the touch. It wasn't just his breath. I checked the pulse at his neck — racing. He was breathing with difficulty, sweating, complaining about heat. It was a cool night and the cave was cold. On top of that, the man was saying incoherent things I couldn't make sense of. He was drugged, and from the looks of it, with a very powerful aphrodisiac.

Without warning, he tore my white dress, exposing my corset, which he ripped apart without a second thought. He took me by the back of my neck and kissed me. I tried to pull away, but desire won out, and my inner witch finally let herself go. She took control.

I felt every caress of his, making me shiver in ways I never imagined I could feel. We broke the kiss. I tried to see his face — it was too dark, I couldn't see anything.

We joined our lips in a deep kiss charged with unmatched desire and passion. Soon I felt his hands gripping my waist more firmly. I responded by pulling him closer. We deepened the kiss even further.

I felt him move his hands from my waist. I heard him remove the armor, cold to the touch, and let it drop to the ground. He gripped my waist again, lowering me onto the remnants of my dress. He looked at my shoulders and kissed them with desire and lust. I stripped away the rest of his armor and threw it far. I felt his warm kisses on my neck, down to my breasts, which he didn't hesitate to kiss, lick, and suck.

I gasped, gripping his arms. His kisses traveled down to my abdomen. I screamed with pleasure. He didn't look up as he removed the rest of my undergarments. He smiled wickedly and kept kissing my abdomen until he reached my most intimate part, which he kissed and licked until I gasped and moaned so loudly that the forest animals fled to hide after hearing me scream with pleasure. He left my clit in peace, positioned himself over me, and removed his chain mail along with the gambeson. I looked at his torso — it was perfect, so masculine, so strong.

The scars across his pectorals were faded lines, but well-defined. The ones on his abdomen were more pronounced, the marks harder to hide. I looked at them and touched them. He flinched at first but then yielded to my touch, to the brush of my fingers. He took my hands and pinned them above my head, then kissed my neck with the same wild, accelerated rhythm that drove me wild.

I dug my nails into his back with every kiss and bite he gave me. Without thinking, I used magic to remove the rest of his clothing. He pulled off his underwear. I looked at his member and didn't think it would be that large — I even doubted it would fit. He wasn't gentle. He was rough, savage, and fast as he thrust inside me, making me dig my nails into his shoulders. It was painful at first, but then pleasure consumed me completely.

We switched positions. I moved to his neck, leaving kisses, licks, and small bites that made him sigh. I continued until I reached his chest and followed the path down until I finally reached his abdomen. He looked at me and I simply smiled. A few kisses on his member were driving him mad. He wanted to take me right then, and he did — he gripped my waist firmly and set me on top of his strong, perfect thighs.

I took his face in my hands and kissed his forehead as an apology. He, in turn, took one of my breasts and licked it until I gasped, then did the same with the other, and I collapsed against his shoulder.

After that, I knew I had to leave, and I did. But I made sure he wouldn't be cold — I lit a fire and left, praying we would never meet again.

As I was leaving the cave, something on the ground in the darkness began to glow. I approached, without the slightest idea of what the hell I was doing. In the end, I looked more closely and it was just a silver crescent-moon pendant. I took it between my fingers, looked at it, and for some reason put it on.

Something told me it would be useful in the future.

I didn't look back and simply left without thinking too much about it.

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