Chapter Text
The moon rose higher in the sky, bathing the landscape in a silver light that gently reflected on the surface of the river that flowed not far from the abandoned camp. The water flowed calmly, disturbed only occasionally by the sound of a fish leaping above the surface or a branch touching it.
Genevieve sat on its shore, her eyes red with tears, her knees under her chin, her wings embracing her.
At the House of Hope, she promised herself that she would be strong and that she would never cry again. A nice idea that failed with the first wave of emotions.
The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps on the grass walking towards her. Gena half expected it to be Raphael, to put chains on her hands and feet, a muzzle on her face, and take her back to hell where she belonged.
But instead of the devil's hot, cruel hand, Enver's pleasantly warm and gentle palm rested on her shoulder.
“Is it better now?” the Archduke spoke softly and sat down beside her. How could it be , Gena wanted to scream. She felt betrayed and cheated but she didn't want to take her anger and despair out on the only person she had left so instead she just nodded weakly.
“You know,” Enver mused aloud, “maybe it's better this way. At least you can see what kind of people they are. They weren't worth it.”
Gena remained silent.
“Everything bad is good for something, right?” Gortash continued his monologue. “At least this whole situation made you realize what spineless bastards they are and…”
“Enver,” Gena whispered, looking him straight in the eye. “Shut up.”
“Sure, just… I’m sorry.”
Gena nodded as a sign that she accepted the apology, moved closer to the archduke and put her head on his shoulder. Enver stiffened noticeably under her touch, but Gena didn't care. All she needed now was to feel human warmth, to know she wasn't alone. To know someone was there for her.
They sat in complete silence for a while, time seemed motionless as if it wanted to preserve this moment forever.
“Evie?” Enver spoke again. When she didn't answer, he turned his head to her, took her tenderly by the chin and forced her to look at him. “I just want you to know that I'll always be by your side. Forever.”
Instead of answering, she slid her gaze to his lips, which he moistened with his tongue during his promise.
Gena had enough of empty promises. She was tired of trusting and getting burned. But Enver's words sounded so sincere… Gena could feel his breath. She could smell him. She could see the longing in his beautiful black eyes.
Gena didn't want to think about anything anymore, so she let her body react for her.
Before she knew it, she brought her mouth to his. She just gently brushed her lips against Enver’s, but it was enough of a sign for him. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled her to him, his hot tongue entering her mouth where it melded harmoniously with hers.
Enver kissed good - slowly and deeply and sort of familiar. He tasted like wine and black cherries, and with every movement of his tongue, a greater and greater fire burned within Gena.
With her eyes closed, Enver stroked her cheek, but Gena had no thought of tenderness. She wanted to feel him inside her, hard. She wanted him to f*ck the sh*t out of her.
Gena ran her hands blindly up his shirt, enjoying the feel of Enver’s skin under her fingers, running them over his hairy chest. His hands stroked her in return - on her waist, on her breasts, on her ass... everywhere they could reach. And when she ran her nail over his nipple and he growled into her mouth, Gena could feel the wetness running down her thighs.
She was about to put her hand in his pants when she heard...
Everything’s gonna be alright…
Genevieve broke the kiss with a jerk as if she'd been slapped, scratching Enver's stomach in the process. If he was in pain, he didn't show it, just stared at Gena in confusion, obviously thrown off by her sudden interruption of the kiss. “What?” was all he could think to say.
Genevieve was breathing fast, half with lust, half with fright. She's heard those words from Enver in her dreams… She probably wouldn't be surprised if he said them now, but certainly not with his mouth full of her tongue. “Did you say something?”
“Uh... No?” He looked at her even more confused than before. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… Yeah, sorry, I must have been imagining things.” f*cking memories... not now!
“You must still be tired,” Enver nodded understandingly. “We should go back and-”
“No!” The word came out louder and more desperately than Gena intended. “I mean… Just… come here.” She had planned to drag him into that hot, open-mouthed kiss again, but at the last moment, she stopped.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement on the other bank.
Enver followed the direction of her gaze to see what she saw, and for a moment, they both remained seated as if glued, seemingly unable to move.
There was a figure, leaning lazily against a tree as if she was waiting for them to finally notice her, her milk-white skin almost glowed in the surrounding darkness. A cruel smile played on her lips as she raised her blood-red dagger to her throat, indicating a slash. Then she waved at them briefly before she transformed into petals and let the summer breeze blow her away.
Gena watched the petals disappear with her mouth slightly agape. She didn't even notice when Enver stood up until he started pulling on her arm.
“We gotta get out of here! Now!”
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
The richly ornamented clock on the chest of drawers in Enver's chamber moved tirelessly forward.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Other times Genevieve would have found their regular rhythm soothing, but now she felt the tension growing under her skin with each tick, crawling from her temples to her fingertips and back again.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Just as she was considering throwing it out the window, there was a knock on the door.
Gena gripped the hilt of the short sword Enver had left for her and made her way to the entrance of the room.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me,” came Enver's voice.
Gena slowly unlocked and opened the door to a crack just big enough for her to slip her sword through and press it to Enver's throat. He raised his hands in the air to show her he wasn't armed.
“Your hand,” she commanded.
When he thrust his left arm through the gap, Gena grabbed it firmly and sharply pulled his sleeve up. The skin around his wrist glowed with the bracelet she'd conjured from the flames that didn't burn. It was something no doppelganger could replicate.
Only now did she let him in.
Enver made sure to close the door thoroughly behind him before he started talking. “We don't know if she's infiltrated the fortress yet. Steel Watchers and Flaming Fists are searching everything, but we don't stand much of a chance against her at night.”
“sh*t,” Gena cursed, resting her forehead on her hands. “It's my fault. I should have stayed in hell. Now innocents will die because of me.”
“Don't say that. Sooner or later, she would have attacked us anyway. It was just a matter of time.”
“No,” Gena shook her head. “We had an agreement that if I married Raphael and stayed with him, she wouldn't hurt you.”
Enver frowned, and his otherwise affable gaze turned cold, and a mercilessness crept into it, as if there was no human feeling in them, only sheer, terrifying ominousness. “You had what?”
Gena's silence said it all.
“That slimy, evil, fugly bitch!” Enver began to pace around the room, panting like a bull. “When I get my hands on her, I'll...” He paused and rubbed his eyes a few times before turning back to Gena. “You'll be her first target. We can't let her get to you. I'll wait on watch outside your door.”
“Enver,” Gena spoke, as he was almost taking the handle. “Why would you stand outside? You can stay here.”
“Evie, I…” he turned to her, pain showed in his face. “I can't just sit on the headboard of your bed and hold your hand. If I stay here...” Their eyes locked with each other and for a while, nothing could be heard but their breathing. “I want you so bad.”
“I know,” Gena said softly and watched Enver's expression change as all restraint that kept him from carrying Gena to bed and f*cking her face-first into the mattress disappeared. Without a moment's hesitation, Enver closed the distance between them, he captured her lips in a fierce kiss, his hands roaming hungrily over her body, leaving a trail of fiery anticipation in their wake.
As he eagerly began to strip her of her clothes Gena felt the arousal between her legs begin to burn again; she moaned softly against Enver’s lips, her own hunger matching his with a ferocity that left them both breathless. His lips were crushing hers, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth that he had missed on the riverbank.
Gena didn't stay behind either, she blindly helped him take off his coat, but she didn't have the patience to take off his shirt anymore. She needed to feel the warmth of his skin, his strong shoulders and hairy chest muscles. Eagerly, she dug her claws into his shirt and tore it to shreds in an instant.
The sound of tearing cloth ignited another spark in Enver. With a growl of desire, he lifted Gena into his arms, his muscles tensing with the need to possess her completely. Their bodies pressed together with desperate longing, each touch sending sparks of electricity through their veins.
Gena had her legs hooked around Enver's waist and fluttered her wings gently as he carried her to the bed, her tail wrapped around his arm that held her naked ass so she could touch him as much as possible. Gortash finally reached the bed and, with a swift, commanding motion, threw Gena onto the mattress. She landed with a soft thud, the sheets rustling beneath her.
Enver stood over her for a brief moment until he managed to pull his pants down, his chest heaving, a primal snarl escaping his throat at the sight of Gena spreading her legs for him. No sooner had his pants touched the ground than he joined her, this time instead of her lips his mouth sought first one of her nipples, then the other, his tongue swirling around them until Gena was writhing beneath him.
His tongue worked its way over her collarbone to her neck while his fingers dug between her legs, only to be momentarily paralyzed by lust when he felt how wet she was. He couldn't move for a moment, and all he could do was make hoarse guttural noises against Gena's neck.
Genevieve took advantage of this, bouncing slightly off the wings and rolling him under her with a force he didn't remember her having.
“Evie, I…” he started but immediately stopped trying when Gena shook her head. She didn't need his words, she needed his co*ck. So, so bad. “Please don't talk,” she said through gritted teeth as she mounted Enver with practised movements and watched him tilt his head in pleasure as he felt her heat begin to tighten around him.
Gena leaned forward, her hands pressing against his chest for support, her hair falling around them like a curtain, and began to move with a rhythm that spoke of familiarity and desire, each motion sending waves of pleasure through both their bodies. Enver's hands traced up her sides, his fingers brushing against her skin, eliciting moans from her lips.
Everything’s gonna be alright…
“I said,” Gena breathed between gasps, “don’t talk.”
Enver's fingers dug into her hips harder. “I - nnh - don’t…”
At that moment, a pain so terrible went through her head that she whimpered and had to stop, her nails digging into Enver's chest. Enver didn't think anything was wrong, rather he thought Gena didn't have the strength to continue, so he threw Gena under him as she had thrown him before and set his own pace.
As soon as he found her sweet spot, another wave of pain shot through Gena's head. No , was all she could think desperately, not now ! and suddenly it was as if she was in two places at once - in Enver's soft bed and on Enver's hard throne.
“Evie…” both Envers whispered in her ear at the same time before darkness appeared before her eyes, and when it disappeared, Gena was only in the throne room.
With each movement of her hips and every time she tightened her inner walls around Enver's co*ck, she could feel herself approaching climax. At the last moment, Enver's hand stroked her cheek as he said: “I'm so sorry, Evie.”
“Huh?”
“Everything’s gonna be alright…” he whispered.
By the time Gena realised someone was behind her, it was too late. A white hand covered her eyes, and through her head shot an overwhelming pain that made her scream. The next moment she was lying naked on the soft carpet under the throne. The pain continued, but Gena could not move, could not even speak, she could only lie there with her eyes wide open and take in what was happening around her.
“Are you sure you hit it right?” Enver's voice came from somewhere behind her.
“Don't underestimate me, lordling,” Orin hissed, the next moment entering Gen's field of vision. She took pleasure in licking the red dagger that had Gena's blood on it.
“Sure, but…” Enver, already with his black and gold coat on, walked over to Gena and stroked her cheek, “she doesn't feel anything, does she?”
“Of course not. I promised you, didn't I? And when Kressa is done with her, she'll be almost as good as new.”
“I still don't get it,” Enver sighed, sadly watching Gena's still face. “We're so close. It won't be long before we take over Baldur's Gate. Why would she change her mind now?”
“Who knows what's going through my crazy sister's head,” Orin snorted. “Don't worry. She'll be back soon and she'll remember exactly what she's supposed to.” Orin leaned over Gena's face and smiled evilly. “To carry out our father's will.”
Enver nodded before taking Gena in his arms. “Thank you.”
Gena blinked a few times and was back under the weight of Enver's body, still thrusting relentlessly. Such anger and disgust rose up in her that for a moment she forgot to breathe.
“You!” She yelled, knocking Enver off of her.
There was a thud as Enver hit the floor, surprise and confusion flashing across his face. “What the hell?” he managed to say, his voice rough with the remnants of their passion. He barely had time to steady himself before Gena was on her feet, her eyes blazing with pure anger, wings spread, tail swishing from side to side.
“You hired Orin to paralyse me?!”
“You… you remember…” he exhaled, the guilty look that spread across his face only made Gena more furious.
“You piece of sh*t!” she roared, a fireball appeared in her hand, but... she couldn't throw it. Instead, with a snap of her fingers, she got dressed and headed for the door.
“Evie, wait!” Enver grabbed his pants and half struggled into them, half hurried after Gena. “She wasn't supposed to paralyze you, she was just-”
“She was just what?! Supposed to change my memories to make me think exactly what you wanted?” She waited for nothing and started down the corridor.
“And what was I supposed to do?” Enver was still stumbling as he tried to get dressed while walking. “You decided overnight that our entire plan was a bad idea and that you refused to continue with it! I had to-”
“You didn't have to do anything! You had no right!”
When she reached the throne room, Enver's voice called out from behind her, still lagging behind. “Someone stop her!”
Before Gena could react, the captain of Flaming Fists emerged from around the corner, she grabbed Gena from behind and pressed a dagger to her throat. “Don't move,” she ordered.
Finally, Enver caught up with her, his trousers now fastened.
“Evie,” he panted, “you have no idea how sorry I am, and if I could change it, I would! Damn it, I would give up everything to make it right!”
“You betrayed me,” Gena hissed, the steel of the dagger chilling her throat. “Of all people, you! What else should I know, Enver? What else have you been lying to me about?”
“About everything,” came a voice, but it wasn't Enver who spoke.
Everyone turned their heads towards the main doors of the hall, where the voice was coming from, and Gena's heart stopped at the sight of familiar ruby eyes.
“Hello, darling.”
