Chapter 31 - The Sweet and Bitter Life of an Awakened - XIII
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Selene's day unfolded with a rare serenity. Like a gentle breeze in an enchanted garden, no crucial meetings disturbed the demon queen's peace. Neither the chatter of merchants, the venomous rhetoric of politicians, the haughty presence of noble family lords, nor the influence of imperial agents dared to break that almost illusory tranquility.
Days like this came few and far between, like mirages in a desert.
Before her, floating over a rectangular jade, an ancient grimoire slowly rotated. Its pages, yellowed with time, were laden with secrets and power. Selene didn't need to touch them; the magical aura emanating from the book guided her eyes through the knowledge contained within.
Intricate and refined prana flowed from the tip of her index finger, feeding the jade and turning the pages with melodic precision.
Unconsciously, her other hand moved to her lips. Her finger slid gently over her mouth, and in an instinctive gesture, her tongue touched it with a slow and subtle lick. The gesture was involuntary but carried an intoxicating sensuality.
Her eyes turned to her hand, the finger still moist with saliva. The atmosphere was dense, seductive enough to make mountains hurl themselves into abysses and stars lose their shine.
"Phew..."
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
Turning her head slowly, her eyes fixed on the royal consort's tower, separated by an abyss between the castle's structures, connected by stone suspension bridges.
Her eyes glimmered with a glassy shine, piercing the veil of clouds, crossing the abyss, clearing the stones of the floors, and penetrating the thick foundational beams of the tower. Until they focused on a man sitting in a bathtub, surrounded by floating pearls that emitted electric discharges.