The Game of Temptation: The Rise of the Moon

Chapter Three: The Moon Court

    I'm lying in a plush bed, tangled in silk sheets that slide deliciously against my bare skin. The room is dark and foreign, lit only by a strip of silver moonlight from the grand window, but it feels like home. There is warmth beside me, comforting me.
"Oh!" I gasp as a cool hand strokes up my side, and I sigh in pleasure, turning to see...
"Viserion," I mumble. His eyes are obsidian in the moonlight, fathomless pools that threaten to drown me. His fingertips glide slowly up my bare chest to my neck, and I shiver beneath his touch. The sharp angles of his face could cut me, and yet I am drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Knowing I will burn, and not caring at all.
"How did we... why are you here?" I ask. The Night Prince takes my chin in hand, his grip gentle yet firm, fingers like marble.
"Do you fear me, Alora?" He asks.
I shake my head. "I'm not sure why, but no." Viserion's eyes drift down to my mouth, the tip of his thumb stroking absently across my lower lip.
"You should be." He sighs, "Come here." Our legs twine together beneath the silken sheets. We're so close, Viserion's breath seems to be my own, his heartbeat pounding in my chest. It's not close enough. An ache swells inside me like hunger, and a soft whimper escapes my lips.
"Please," I whisper. Viserion's embrace pulls me flush against his body, every muscle taut and hard beneath his silken skin. I sigh, arms encircling Viserion's body to trail fingernails lightly down his back. He growls softly, one hand grasping the back of my neck with a grip like steel.
"Alora," He sighs. Fear and wanting swirl together in a delicious dance, the moment drawing out into an eternity before I feel his tongue against my throat, like a flame. Stars explode inside my chest at the contact, Viserion's touch electric and soft and frightening all at once...
   
    I bolt upright, gasping for breath, my heart still pounding like a runaway horse. "It was just a dream. Just a dream..." I say to reassure myself. I blink, realizing that, despite waking from my dream, my surroundings are still quite strange. A vine-shrouded chandelier paints the furnishings with its warm glow. Rich fabrics drape elegantly over the dark, lustrous wood, the luxury of it all making my head spin.
"Where in the world am I?" I wonder aloud. A sharp rap sounds against the door, yanking my attention away from my lush surroundings.
"Oh! Um, who is it?" I call out. The door swings open, and my calming pulse begins galloping anew as Viserion strides into the room, his dark eyes unreadable.
"I see you're finally awake." He says, stopping before the bed, arms crossed.
I nod, "I am, but I'm not sure what's happening."
Viserion nods, "How much do you remember?" It takes me a moment to search my memories of the night before, finding them hazy and ethereal. A dark forest...being chased in the night by a winged beast...the warm, unearthly merriment of the Fae revel...
"I remember dancing with the Fae...I let them do my hair..." I say, reaching up to touch the braided crown, somehow still intact. I remember Aeron offering me a place in the Sun Court. And then... My hand flies up to my neck, feeling the silver pendant still around my throat.
"You...you claimed me."
Viserion nods, "Good. You remember that part, at least." I groan and rub my forehead.
"I hardly remember anything. How did I get here?" I ask.
"After I pulled you away from Aeron, I brought you back here in my carriage," Viserion replies. I vaguely remember Viserion helping me up the stone steps in the dark, leaving me here to pass out alone in the plush bed.
"Where exactly is 'here'?" I ask, looking around the room once more. Viserion follows my gaze around the room.
"This is my home. The Moon Palace." He replies.
"Alright, and why am I here?" I ask with a sigh.
Viserion gazes at me, his eyes seeming to look right through me.
"Because, according to Fae law, you are bound to my service until the first day of Spring. At that time, the crown will pass to the Sun Court for their season of rule, and you will be free to go."
"The first day of Spring..." I count the days in my head, "...but that–that's weeks away! What am I supposed to do until then?"
Viserion shrugs, "Make yourself useful. And keep out of my way." His tone is cold, almost bored. Anger bubbles up inside me, making me bold.
"Then why bother claiming me then?" I demand, "It doesn't sound like you even want me here."
Viserion sighs, "Someone in that clearing was going to. That's what happens to pretty mortals who blunder into our midst." He says angrily, "I called upon the life debt you owe. That doesn't mean I want you underfoot." Fuming, I reach up to untie the charm he placed around my neck, and find that I can't take it off.
"What is this, a shackle?" I demand.
Viserion shakes his head.
"A warning. Any Fae you meet will know you belong to the Moon Court. When your obligation is ended, I will remove it. Until then..." He gestures to the necklace.
"How dare you." I spit. I barely see him move, and then Viserion is suddenly standing beside the bed, looming over me with one hand braced on the headboard.
"Do not interrupt me again." He says firmly, voice cold as ice. This close, I again feel power rippling off him like heat from a fire. For a moment I can barely breathe, every instinct screaming at me to fight, to flee... Well, almost every instinct.