— –Alexander Montclair– —
Looking at the card in his hands, Alexander couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Gaunter O'Dimm had been quite clear about the time he had before he "lost" to Belasco. Gaunter had given him an exact deadline, to the second. And yet, as he looked at the hourglass, he could see that the sand wasn't falling proportionally to that deadline.
No, the hourglass was still too full.
Rubbing his head, Alexander placed the card back in his coat pocket. Really, demons were nothing but headaches. Headaches he couldn't afford to spend too much time thinking about, at least not yet. No, he had bigger issues on his plate. The biggest being the fact he was running out of time.
Closing his eyes, he placed a hand in his chest, taking a deep breath as he focused on his soul. Something he could only do thanks to the taint Limbo had left when he'd cast his first few spells. More specifically, he focused on the fragments that were missing.
Even here, entire worlds apart, he could feel his connection to them. To himself. Something he believed to only be possible thanks to his power. A power that connected him with every other version of himself. And what closer connection to him was there than his own soul?
After talking to Yennefer, he had been debating what he should do. Yennefer had been right, he didn't have a good plan. He was going on a suicide mission. There was nothing he could do. For a second, he had allowed himself to give up on Illyana, on everyone. But that's when the dreams had begun. When Illyana herself had called out to him.
No, that's when Limbo had called to him through the taint in his soul. Through his connection with Illyana.
"What an idiot." He couldn't help but whisper, unable to hold back the slight smile as he walked through the halls of Kaer Morhen.
Illyana was an idiot for fusing her soul with his bloodstone. Alexander was an idiot for listening to the call. And Belasco was a prideful idiot for giving Illyana everything she needed to overthrow him.
Or perhaps Belasco was a prideful… genius?
Really, it was incredibly hard for Alexander to get a clear picture of everything that was happening. After all, he only had the vague foggy memories from his dreams. Memories of helping Illyana with her magic. Of communing with Limbo through her. Of trying his best to guide Illyana.
Said memories had made him discover something new. The fact that time didn't flow equally between the different dimensions. It made sense, in some way, that not every single universe and dimension would be on the same exact clock. But it was still a massive surprise to discover just how differently time moved in Limbo.
He experienced months in what felt like seconds whenever he woke up. And that was something even he struggled to parse. In fact, were it not for how much he had improved in swordsmanship through Illyana, a skill he never really planned on using once he got his hands back in his lab, he might not have believed what was happening to him.
But no, the truth was staring him in the face. And that truth was all Alexander needed to make his choice. As much as he would love to stay with Ciri, to turn this world into his home, he couldn't. Not anymore.
Really, it was times like this when he wondered if destiny was real or not.
Arriving at the bedroom he'd been looking for, he knocked on the door, which was opened a few moments later by a pale elf with tired eyes.
"Avallac'h." Alex greeted the Aen Elle with a smile.
Yennefer had cured the elf from his curse, just as she'd promised. It had taken her longer than Alex hoped, but at least Avallac'h was himself again, unbearably curious, mildly judgmental, and just as Yennefer had pointed out, looking at him quite strangely.
"Alexander." The elf said with a nod, stepping aside to let him in.
The room he'd been given at Kaer Morhen was simple, lit by a single candle and cluttered with scrolls Yennefer had shoved at him "to keep him occupied." Judging by the loose pages and scribbled diagrams, he'd been very occupied.
"Ciri said you were awake. How are you feeling?" Alex asked as he shut the door behind him.
"Tired." Avallac'h answered as he began to pick up the pages he'd been working on. "And irritated. A curse like that twists one's perception. My mind hasn't stopped spinning since I woke." His gaze drifted over Alex slowly, lingering with the kind of scrutiny that made the hairs on his arms rise.
After a moment, the elf straightened, eyes locking fully onto his.
"I believe you came here for more than polite inquiries about my health, did you not?"
"Yes," Alex answered honestly. "But—"
"Then allow me to begin with my own questions first." Avallac'h said smoothly, raising a hand to cut him off. "I had intended to ask you this earlier, but with the curse tightening its hold, we did not have the benefit of a private conversation."
He stepped closer.
"Your powers," he said, studying Alex's face as though waiting for it to crack open and reveal its secrets. "Do you know how they came to be?"
"There's two explanations for them. But I don't know the clear answer." Alex answered, trying to earn more interest from the elf. "For one, the world I come from has natural occurring powers as a step of human evolution. I believe I am one of those people, a mutant."
Avallac'h's eyes narrowed at his words, a hint of annoyance passing through his eyes.
"Does that mean you cannot breed?"
"What?" Alex asked, completely caught off guard by the question. "Kids? I mean, what?"
Avallac'h didn't blink. He simply waited for his answer. It took Alex a few seconds to connect the dots.
"I can… mutants aren't...." He muttered under his breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Right. Ciri mentioned the ones from her world can't—" He waved his hand vaguely. "—have children. We are a different kind of mutant. Why the hell is that the first thing you ask?"
In the back of his mind, Alex knew he should perhaps be kinder to the person he was trying to get help from. But he had been thrown so completely off balance by the question that he struggled to keep his composure.
"Curiosity." Avallac'h replied, as if the question were the most logical place to begin. "I've spent my life researching the Elder Blood and its manifestations. Your power appears to be a natural variation of something I have never observed in any world." His tone shifted, becoming faintly clinical. "A mutation without the possibility of inheritance is a dead branch on the evolutionary tree. It cannot take root. It would truly be a shame."
"Right…" Alex answered slowly.
"You said there were two explanations. Tell me the second."
"My father created a portal that allows someone to cross dimensions using technology." He said, keeping his voice steady. "There's a chance that stepping through it exposed me to some sort of radiation or energy that became the catalyst for my mutation. Something that accelerated it. Or changed it."
Avallac'h's expression barely shifted, but something sharpened in his eyes, a flicker of interest that hadn't been there moments ago.
"Technology." The elf repeated, as though tasting the word on his tongue. "Yet you cross worlds without machines. Without a focus. Without Elder Blood. Your very existence contradicts what I know to be possible."
"I'm still figuring it out myself." Alex shrugged.
"No." Avallac'h murmured. "You misunderstand. This is not confusion. It is a contradiction. You break rules that have shaped worlds since their birth. It's unnatural."
He stepped closer, not invading Alex's space exactly, but circling it, like a scholar examining a relic he couldn't believe was real.
"I've observed your training with Zirael. When you travel…" Avallac'h continued. "...the air shifts. The space bends. The world does not part for you, it fractures. As if acknowledging a pressure it cannot resist. You have no idea the amount of damage something like it could do to the fabric of space."
Alex swallowed. He was still trying to understand his power. But even without witnessing it first hand, or having a chance to properly examine it, the elf in front of him appeared to have a far clearer view of how it worked.
"It's… not intentional." He said quietly. "At least not usually."
"Which is precisely why it is fascinating." Avallac'h folded his hands behind his back. "Elder Blood is a key, a thread woven into the fabric of the spheres. It opens the doors between the worlds, allowing someone like Zirael to walk freely between them. But you… you are something else. Something that forces a way through, even without belonging to the pattern."
"I'm not sure if that's flattering or horrifying." Alex let out a tired breath. He really didn't want to have to worry that every time he used his power he might accidentally make a black hole or something like it.
"Horrifying." Avallac'h answered immediately. "But also extraordinary."
"Thanks, I guess?" Alex blinked.
The elf didn't acknowledge the sarcasm. His gaze narrowed, thoughtful and uncomfortably bright.
"If your father's portal altered you." Avallac'h said slowly. "Then the change was not random. Dimensional exposure does not simply grant power. It unravels. It corrodes. It destroys. But you…" His voice dipped, almost reverent. "You were reshaped. Refined. Something willed that outcome."
"What are you implying?" Alex's stomach twisted.
"Did your father intend to create you as you are now?" The elf asked. "Your mutation may not be a mutation at all." He took a step closer, studying Alex's face with unsettling precision. "No. You may have been designed to fit his vision."
Alex's eyes narrowed at the question.
"No, my father might not have been perfect, but he wasn't some sort of mad scientist."
Avallac'h lifted a brow, clearly unconvinced.
"I'm serious." Alex insisted, though even he heard the uncertainty bleeding into his voice. "The portal wasn't some experiment on me. It was just supposed to be a faster way to travel in my world. I wasn't supposed to become—"
He gestured vaguely at himself.
"—this."
"If that is what you believe." Avallac'h hummed, not dismissive but unconvinced. "Now, then, I've asked some of my questions. And while I would enjoy learning more about you and your power, I believe you wanted something from me."
Alex had to take a deep breath at the statement. His opinion on Avallac'h had been fairly neutral at the start. But he couldn't help but feel slightly irritated at him. Still…
"I'm here to ask you for help."
"With Limbo." Avallac'h finished for him. "You want my help to protect you from the demon who controls the realm. I'm honored you think so highly of me, but I have my limits."
"I'm not going there entirely blind. Which is why I need your help." Alex answered, causing the elf to raise an eyebrow. And with a final sigh, Alex began to explain his connection to the realm, to Illyana, and in turn, Illyana's connection with Limbo.
He explained everything to Avallac'h, from the very moment he'd been captured by Belasco, to the last few memories he had from his soul fragment with Illyana.
The more he spoke, the more he could see the interest in the elf's eyes grow, and he could see the man in front of him nodding along from time to time. Until eventually, the elf began to talk, having made up his mind that he understood exactly what was happening behind the scenes.
"I can see the vision Belasco had." His tone wasn't disgusted or horrified, it was almost admiring. "Darkchylde was not born from chance. Belasco forged her inside the girl. He used his power as the ruler of Limbo to shape her into a counterpart, a queen for his realm. This is not my first time encountering something of the sort. However, it is my first time hearing about it from a first hand source."
"She's not—" Alex began with a frown. Only for Avallac'h to cut him off.
"A puppet? No." Avallac'h corrected calmly. "Not anymore. But originally? Yes. She was crafted. Not unlike a blade. A tool meant to serve his ends. You mentioned it yourself, didn't you? Darkchylde used to torture the girl every chance she got. Darkchylde was meant to break down Illyana so that Belasco could build her back up."
Alex clenched his jaw, but Avallac'h continued.
"Belasco used his dominion over Limbo to mold Illyana's soul into something more… elastic. Something capable of channeling the realm itself without breaking. A true daughter of Limbo." His eyes gleamed with cold interest. "Someone who could bend the realm the same way he does, perhaps even better."
Alex felt his stomach drop.
Avallac'h went on, voice dipping into something almost reverent:
"He intended to make her his key. The one being capable of breaking the chains binding him to his prison." A pause. "In a way, his craftsmanship was impeccable. His pride, however, must have made him far too confident. He never should have brought you in along with her, and he never should have let her escape in the first place."
"Darkchylde and Illyana were never meant to work together." Alex finished for Avallac'h, a frown appearing on his face as he thought back to Belasco.
"No, they were not." Avallac'h confirmed with a smile. "With that girl on your side, your chances of surviving Belasco are far higher than I first anticipated. I believe we could work something out. I would be willing to help you in your endeavors. I might even be able to help you contain the curse he placed on you. However, there is something that must be done first."
"What is it?"
"Zireael is to face the White Frost, and put an end to it once and for all."
"What?" Alex blurted.
At his question, Avallac'h raised an unimpressed brow.
"Did she not inform you of her agreement with me?" He asked. "I would have assumed that, given how close the two of you have grown, you would be one of the few she confided in."
"Isn't the White Frost an apocalyptic force? How is she supposed to stop it?"
"I suppose it is too late to contain the information now." Avallac'h sighed, though there was no real remorse in it. "She will face the White Frost with her Elder Blood. I have trained her for this moment, prepared her for it, and I am confident she will not fail."
"That's ridiculous." Alex tried to push back, but the elf's expression only became annoyed.
"Is it?" Avallac'h countered. "Have you not noticed the fall of snow increasing more and more recently, even here? Think of the time of year, Alexander." His voice cooled, speaking as if he were giving a lecture. "The White Frost continues to consume, and soon it will come to this world once it is done consuming my own. The only way to stop it, to save what remains of my people, and to spare countless lives across every sphere it touches, is to end it once and for all."
His eyes flicked briefly toward the window, to the quiet snowfall outside, then back to Alex. There was something in his gaze now, conviction, yes, but something else too. Something almost… haunted.
"You may think me cruel for involving her. Believe me, if it were up to me, I would choose a different fate for Zireael." Avallac'h said softly. "But destiny chose her long before I ever touched her path. She was born for this purpose."
For a moment, Avallac'h didn't look like the composed scholar or the calculating sage. He looked tired. Worn down by years of trying to fight the inevitable. After a moment, he exhaled and turned slightly, motioning toward the door with a faint, dismissive gesture.
"Go on now." His tone held no sharpness, just a calm, resigned finality. "I am still suffering the aftermath of the curse, and I need to rest."
He paused, letting his hand fall to his side.
"Go to Zireael." He continued, and this time there was something softer beneath his words. Not kindness exactly, but understanding. "You two will soon part ways. Make sure there are no regrets between both of you before the time is up."
His gaze lingered on Alex for one last moment, studying him, perhaps even pitying him, before he closed his eyes, already retreating inward.
The silent dismissal was clear.
Alex stepped out of Avallac'h's room with a slow exhale, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. The hallway was cold. Kaer Morhen always was, even with the fires burning. But tonight the chill felt sharper.
He rubbed the side of his face, trying to force the tension out of his jaw as he walked. Somewhere in the keep, Vesimir was probably still awake, tending to something that didn't actually need tending. Geralt was sharpening a sword. Yennefer was glaring at a book. Life in Kaer Morhen went on.
He wished he could sink into that normalcy. Even for a night.
When he found Ciri, she was sitting on one of the ledges overlooking the courtyard, legs drawn up, cloak wrapped around her shoulders. Snow drifted lightly around her, catching in the strands of her silver hair. She looked peaceful, or something close to it.
She turned at the sound of his steps.
"There you are." She said softly. "I was starting to worry that Avallac'h had kidnapped you to run experiments on you."
"He tried." Alex answered with a chuckle. "Good thing I carry Dimeritium with me."
That earned him a small laugh as he sat beside her, their shoulders brushing lightly.
"What'd he say?"
Alex hesitated, looking up at the stars for a moment.
"A lot of things. But… he is willing to help me." He paused, glancing at her carefully. "He also slipped near the end. Told me about your deal with him. About the White Frost."
Ciri's eyes narrowed, and she let out a frustrated grunt.
"Avallac'h doesn't slip up. If he told you, he meant to." She dragged a hand through her hair. "Damn him."
She huffed, the frustration slipping through her voice before she caught herself. In the end, she simply sighed, turning to look at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Ciri didn't answer right away. She stared down into the courtyard, her breath forming pale clouds in the air.
"Because it doesn't matter." She said softly. "Because it's something I've already decided. And because I didn't want it shaping the time I had left with everyone." Her fingers tightened slightly on the stone ledge. "Geralt and Yen would have done everything in their power to stop me. You already had enough on your plate. And everyone else would have told Geralt or Yen immediately. It was better this way."
Alex nodded slowly. He understood the logic. He hated it, but he understood it.
"That's fair." He said quietly. Then, after a beat, he added with a wry smile. "Still, I wish you'd told me. Here I thought I was the only one with a suicide mission. Turns out we have more in common than I thought."
Ciri let out a breath, almost a laugh, almost not, and turned her head just enough to look at him out of the corner of her eye.
"That's not funny." She said.
"I wasn't trying to be funny." Alex replied. "Just trying not to scream."
That earned him a real exhale. Not quite a laugh, but closer.
She shifted slightly, drawing her legs down from her chest and stretching them out over the ledge. For the first time since he sat down, she leaned her weight against him. Not much, just her shoulder touching his, but enough that he felt it.
"This is life, isn't it?" Alex muttered into the air. "Say, Ciri… when this is all said and done." His voice was quieter now. "Do you want to come to my world? It's different from this one, but it has its charms."
She raised an eyebrow at him, amused but skeptical.
"Or… would you rather meet here?" That earned a faint smile, small, crooked, and real, but she still didn't answer. So Alex pushed further, half teasing, half not. "No?" Alex said lightly, nudging her shoulder with his own. "Alright then. We'll just sneak off to some other world. One where destiny can't find us."
That made her smile grow, small, tired, but real. The kind that wasn't about the joke at all, but about the person beside her.
"You make it sound so simple." She murmured.
"It could be." Alex answered. "If we decided it was."
She looked away at that, and Alexander had to hold back a sigh as he turned his eyes back to the stars. At this moment, he remembered what Avallac'h had told him. To make sure there were no regrets between them. And so he spoke.
"It's funny. I've had time to think about everything. Hell, it's all I've done ever since we defeated the Wild Hunt. And I don't regret any of it. I won't lie, not to you, I wish a lot of things were different. I got another fifty headaches that I am pushing to the future, even now. But in the end, it's all led me here. To you. I don't regret that."
Ciri didn't respond, didn't shift, didn't even breathe any louder. She just listened. And that was enough for him to keep going.
"I know that I'm not the person you were hoping for." Alex said, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. "You saw me at my worst. And even now, you've yet to see me at my best. I'm a mess. I know that."
He lifted a hand toward the sky, watching it for a moment before closing it around the moon.
"But even with all that? Even knowing I'm a walking disaster… I still wanted to tell you." His eyes drifted back to her. "I still wanted you to know that being with you, being near you, has been one of the few things that actually made all this worth it."
Alex swallowed.
"I know I'm leaving soon." He continued, his voice lower now. "I know you have your destiny, and I have mine. But that doesn't change what you've become to me."
He hesitated, vulnerable in a way he almost never allowed himself to be.
"You're not just part of the journey. You're the part I'd choose. Every time."
For a heartbeat, Ciri didn't move. She just stared at him, the breath frozen in her throat. And for his part, Alex felt the moment closing on itself, the familiar ache of saying too much to someone who wouldn't say it back. He was already bracing to stand, to turn and walk away before he embarrassed himself any further.
"Goddamn you." She muttered.
He didn't even get a chance to blink.
Ciri's hand fisted in the collar of his shirt, not gentle, not questioning, just decisive, almost angry. She yanked him toward her, closing the distance in one sharp pull, and her lips crashed into his.
The kiss wasn't soft.
It was raw. It was hungry.
Alex didn't freeze this time. He didn't hesitate. His hands slid to her waist, pulling her in as he kissed her back with equal force, meeting every ounce of urgency she gave him.
Ciri shifted, her body practically folding into his, the cold forgotten instantly. Her other hand slid into his hair, gripping tightly, keeping him exactly where she needed him.
Her breath stuttered when he kissed her deeper, and she responded by pulling him even closer, her thumb brushing the line of his jaw in a way that felt both fierce and painfully delicate.
When she finally pulled back, she didn't move far. Her forehead rested against his, breath unsteady, lips still parted. Her cheeks flushed with cold and heat and something she wasn't ready to name.
"You are an absolute idiot." Ciri whispered, her voice thin, almost shaky despite the bite in her words.
But her hand was still in his hair. And her lips hovered dangerously close to his. And she made no move to let him go.
"Fuck it." She whispered, more to herself than to him.
The world bent.
A soft ripple of power swept around them like warm air meeting cold, and in the next heartbeat the courtyard vanished. The ledge, the snow, the night sky, replaced by the dimness of her room. The scent of old wood and wool blankets filled the air, the only light around being the light from the moonlight coming in through the window.
Ciri didn't give him time to adjust.
She slammed Alex into one of the walls in her bedroom, deepening the kiss once more as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Alex, for his part, found his hands wandering. First they held her waist, pulling her tighter, before they began to explore, reaching under her shirt.
He could feel the muscles beneath her shirt, the scars from her countless battles, the warmth of her skin. Her lips left his for a moment, trailing along the line of his jaw, her breath hot against his neck. Alex felt her fingers slide down his back, pulling at his shirt, bunching the fabric in her fists like she wanted it off him as quickly as possible.
"Ciri—" He began, only to be interrupted by another kiss, a shorter one. A very persuasive way of telling him to shut up.
And then his shirt wasn't on him anymore.
He didn't even see it leave. One second it was there, the next it hit the floor somewhere across the room with a soft thump. Before he could process it, Ciri pushed him backward onto the bed, the impact bouncing lightly through the mattress.
She didn't pause.
Her own shirt came off in one swift motion, followed immediately by her bra. The moonlight caught the curve of her shoulders, the pale lines of scars across her ribs, the rise and fall of her chest. Alex barely had the chance to breathe in the sight before she crawled onto him, straddling his hips and kissing him again, hungrier than before.
His hands found her waist again, sliding upward, mapping the warmth of her skin, her breath hitching against his mouth as she leaned into his touch. But the moment he tried to deepen the kiss, he felt her hands slip down his stomach, fingers deft and unhesitating as they reached the waistband of his pants.
Part of him wanted to let himself get lost in the experience. To simply allow himself to be devoured by Ciri. The idea was incredibly tempting, and as she felt her begin to pull his pants down, he had to fight against his every instinct to not get lost in the sensation.
But, fighting the feeling with all his might, he broke the kiss and grabbed Ciri. Using his newfound combat training he flipped their positions until she was the one underneath him. For a moment, he had to catch his breath, looking at Ciri's emerald green eyes before letting his eyes wander down to her chest.
He only got the chance to appreciate her breasts for a moment before he felt Ciri try to pull him into another hungry kiss. Yet, rather than meeting her lips, he made his way to her neck kissing it and taking in a deep breath as he began to work his way downwards in slow kisses.
Really, if he let Ciri keep at the pace she was going, the experience was going to be over before it ever began. He'd get devoured, and he'd enjoy it. But that wasn't what he wanted. No. He wasn't sure why Ciri had suddenly jumped him the way she did, but he wanted to enjoy the experience. He wanted her to enjoy the experience. He wanted to enjoy every part of her.
Trailing down her neck, he eventually found his way down to one of her breasts with his mouth, wrapping his lips around her hardened nipple as he began to enjoy the taste of her skin, his other hand gently sliding to her other breast as he gently cupped it.
He heard Ciri take in a deep breath at his actions, her hands reaching his head once more as she pressed him tighter against her. For a moment, he got lost in the sensation, he could feel his mind going numb. Yet, before he could allow himself to lose focus, he let go of her nipple, making a satisfying smacking sound as he continued his exploration of her body with his hands and lips.
He couldn't help but trail down her abdomen with gentle kisses, caressing each and every scar he came across on the way down. The gentler he was with her, the more he could feel her breath and body shivering. He could even feel her body getting hotter and hotter under him.
Eventually, he found his way down to her legs, where he all but ripped her pants and underwear off, finally getting a clear view of her sex, of her scent. For a short second, his brain all but short-circuited. But thankfully, he recovered quite quickly as he moved lower, to her thighs, and surprising even himself, he gave her inner thigh a gentle bite.
For a second he wondered if he might have gotten carried away, but as he felt Ciri squirming slightly under his touch, he took it as an invitation to continue, so he moved his head closer between her thighs until he was face to "face" with her slit.
She tasted somewhat sour, a little sweaty and fleshy too. Yet in the moment, Alex could have sworn that it was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Really, he had no idea what he was doing, but his enthusiasm must have made up for his lack of experience as he began to hear Ciri's soft moans. That was all the encouragement he needed, really.
For some time, he got lost in the sensation of feeling her squirming under him. But Ciri snapped him out of his trance as she pulled him up to meet her face more, and using his own move against him, she flipped their positions once more.
She was breathing quite heavily as she straddled him, and, reaching down again, she finally took off his pants, releasing his extremely hard member. Raising her hips slightly, she lined him up with her. Then she slowly lowered her body.
His member slid in smoothly, thanks to how wet she was. Yet, Alex couldn't help but grunt as he felt her insides wrapping around him. She felt hot enough to melt him, and she could feel her insides practically pulsing around his hard dick. For a second, he wondered if there was any greater feeling in the world. And then she'd begun to move.
Ciri rocked her hips in small, scarred arcs, as if testing the limits of her own body. Her hands braced against his chest, the heel of one palm pressing so firmly above his heart he almost wondered if she could feel it beating in his ribs. Alex tried to keep his eyes open, locked onto the wild green shiver of hers, but each movement sent sharp, drunken spikes of sensation careening up his spine.
There was nothing elegant about their rhythm. Ciri jerked, uneven and too tight at first, and he realized she was holding back. Maybe she was afraid that the wrong motion would break the spell. But he didn't care. He wanted to feel her lose control. She must have read his mind.
He tried to pull her down, to urge her not to hesitate, but she swatted his hands away, and her mouth curled in a lopsided, teasing smile. Then she slammed her hips down, hard enough that he almost bit his tongue from the surprise. The world wavered, colors flashing behind his eyes.
After that, Ciri lost all tenderness, grinding herself against him with a brittle, almost violent need. Alex held her hips, digging his fingers into her skin, not to guide her but just to withstand the urgency of her. Her hair stuck to her forehead in wild, silver strands. Every time she moved, she made these strangled, broken little sounds that practically undid him.
He could feel every tremor and stutter in her. It made him feel unsteady, like he'd caught some kind of fever from her touch. The desperation in her hips, the way her fingernails scraped along his ribs, her breath a ragged, animal thing. He wanted to remember every detail. He wanted to drown in it.
And drown he did.
He lost track of the time, and, when the pressure built beyond bearing, he tried to lift Ciri away, to withdraw before release. But she took his retreat as defiance, bearing down with renewed determination, pinning him beneath her until he surrendered completely inside her.
Her moan mingled with his as her body pulsed around him, drawing out every last shudder until he felt utterly spent. For several heartbeats, they simply breathed together in the aftermath. Then, just as Alex thought they were finished, he felt Ciri's hips begin their slow, deliberate rhythm once more.
She rode him through the aftershocks, not letting him slip out, as she drew another involuntary hardening from him. The second time was different, less frantic, almost meditative. She slowed down, grinding in lazy, torturing circles, taking every bit of him as she leaned down to kiss him once more. A less hungry kiss, yet just as passionate. Alex felt the raw, scraping pleasure claw up his spine, gathering at the root, and he let himself fall back, surrendering to the rhythm she forced on him.
At this moment, he truly had no regrets.
~A/N~
Avallac'h is like that creepy uncle. He's really into eugenics, so the idea of a cracked up space baby really makes him want to wingman Alex with Ciri. Look at him spilling the beans about the White Frost smh.
In other news, this is also the final chapter in the Witcher. I hope you all enjoyed to some extent the world and Alex's journey in it.