Mated (The Queen's War #1)

Chapter 4

Soft sheets tickled her skin as awareness came to her slowly. Moving around on the incredibly comfortable bed, she brought the duvet over her head and moved so she laid on her front. As she did so, her eyes snapped open with the realisation of where she was and what had happened.

The Archdemon Lucan, King of Gehenna was her soulmate.

The memory of their steamy kiss brought a deep flush to her cheeks, but it was her nakedness that made her truly redden. It was no mystery as to who would have stripped her and the idea of Lucan taking her clothes off made her sit up. She brought the covers up so she covered everything from the chin down, but she needn't have bothered, since it appeared she was alone in the massive bedroom.

As she tried to work out where exactly in Undercity she was, the events of the previous evening flooded through her mind and a scarlet red flush rose in her cheeks. Apparently the connection between herself and her mate was intense enough for her to pass out. Just the thought of Lucan stripping her for bed was enough to almost send her heart into overdrive. Wiping a shaky hand down her face she counted to ten and managed to get her heart rate down enough to actually think straight.

Perci shuffled to the edge of the mattress and brought the sheet with her, wrapping it around her like a makeshift toga. Carefully, she walked to the large windows that filled the wall closest to her and peeked around the curtain so she wouldn't be seen by anyone from outside. Directly below was an extensive garden that merged into the edge of a forest. From what she could see, she sat right on the edge of the Undercity boundary, faced away from the City since she couldn't see any other buildings in her periphery. Early morning light peeked over the mountains beyond the forest and for a second she stood there breathing the beauty in.

Finally stepping away from the windows, she took her time in cataloguing the few personal items Lucan had lying about. What she found wasn't surprising. Piles of weapons were scattered around and a few decorative antique shields adorned the walls. Everything screamed bachelor pad, except for the small reading nook in the far corner which had towers of tomes with well used spines. The sight made her relax a little.

Huddled as she was in the sheets, she began to feel silly walking around practically naked and sought out the closet. When she finally located it and wandered inside, it was to see dozens of plain armour-like pieces of clothing. She noticed with wide eyes that some of the jackets and tops had permanent blood stains that obviously couldn't be removed.

A large floor to ceiling mirror hung at the end of the closet, but it wasn't the magnificence of the ornate gold detailing around its frame that caught her attention. It was the familiar stranger who stood wrapped in a blanket staring back at her.

"What on Earth...?" Perci whispered to herself as she approached the mirror.

Staring at her neck, she saw a thick band of demon sigils. They swirled and dipped in intricate patterns down the curve of her neck and into the hollow of her throat. Nudging the sheet so it fell down slightly, she noted that they continued down over her shoulders and curled around her biceps. Biting her lip in an attempt to stop the hysterical noises from emanating, she dropped the sheet entirely, leaving her bare. A large swirl of sigils rested over her heart and cascaded down in beautiful lines to wrap around her navel and end in an explosion at her pubic bone.

"Oh my God."

Turning away from the sight of her body, she gulped in air and tried to breathe deeply for a few moments. So that was the explanation behind the pain she felt during Lucan's kisses last night, it was that he had branded her like a cow that she had fainted. Being permanently tattooed wasn't the issue she had, regardless of the fact she'd never wanted them. She actually found them incredibly beautiful. It was the idea that Lucan thought it was okay to make the decision without her consent, that she found troubling. What if other, more drastic choices were taken from her?