I circled him slowly, tracing my fingertips along his back, ribs, and stomach. His hair stood and I saw other clear signs of arousal, but I knew I could do better. I wanted him to beg - for what, I didn't yet know. He would tell me, and I would use it against him.

"Scarlet," he whispered, voice heavy with need.

I kissed his cheek.

My purpose was to serve the Ivory Kingdom. Be their sacrificial princess; enter the Other world; seduce our enemy, Rowan the Crimson King. I did all of these things. Now he would take me to the Crimson Gates and unwittingly break the banishment curse on my kingdom. My kingdom would invade his overnight. But he wasn't the monster I was told he would be. He was precious, playful, and all things good. I didn't want to betray him, but I didn't know what else to do.

18+ for sexual content
TW: mild violence; substance-induced psychosis; recovery from cult/mental abuse.

Of What is Red is created by Diana Regolizio, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Of What is Red

Rowan and I knew we wouldn’t be in a good place, emotionally, to drive anywhere but back to Ametyst Reigholt. We had no plan on where else to go now. I still couldn’t enter the Crimson Kingdom. Tulip deciding she didn’t want to leave the Other world changed things, but we couldn’t yet conceive what that entailed.


The sun was rising by the time we returned. We fell asleep the second we reached our bed at the inn. 


I woke up to Rowan returning to the room. I couldn’t guess at what point he had left.


I realized I still wore my clothes. I had gotten as far as taking off my shoes, but I hadn’t even made it beneath the blankets. 


“I didn’t want to wake you, I just… I wanted to see if I could also find anyone with the radio.”


I sat up. “You could’ve done that before we left the Land of Night. I hope you didn’t hold back on my account.”


He shook his head and waved a loose dismissive hand. “I wasn’t ready to try. I still wasn’t.”


Chapter 42: We'll Trick The Curse