She wrapped her legs around his neck and held on for dear life.
He rooted against her, moving his face back and forth against her like a dog with a bone. The enthusiastic movement shocked Steffy into a cry, even as his tongue delved deep into her channel. He filled her with his tongue, licking her deep inside with it. He tasted the very heart of her with an endless, insatiable hunger.
Heat filled her, his power flowing into her unchecked.
She gritted her teeth against a scream.
The Nippers pulled on her nipples until she almost came.
Cinder anchored her against him with an arm around her waist. He removed his tongue and thrust three long fingers into the depths of her. He moved down…he wouldn’t…
He did.
He buried his face between the cheeks of her ass and speared his tongue into her.
Steffy exploded.
Her scream echoed through the halls of the underground Shikar city.
* * * * *
Grimm smiled to himself as Steffy’s cry intruded into his brooding thoughts. He was glad to have another human join their ranks. But his smile faded as quickly as it had come. Darker things than Steffy and Cinder’s pleasure occupied him now.
He’d seen her.
There had been a moment when he’d seen the flash of her face in Steffy’s mind as he’d held her soul anchored to her physical form. It had shocked him, confused him. Then, when she had escaped his grasp and he’d followed her into the realm beyond…he’d seen her again. Steffy had known her.
His golden-haired Venus. The woman who had occupied his thoughts incessantly since he’d first seen her that long ago night when he’d saved Cady from her human death. The woman who he’d also saved—or so he thought—sending her back to the living world from which she’d strayed.
Had she died then or later, after he’d sent her back?
He couldn’t bear it, this pain. He’d only been able to endure his increasing loneliness these past few years by cradling the knowledge to him that this woman was out there somewhere. That, perhaps, after his duty to Tryton and his people had been fulfilled he might have a chance to find her. To be with her.
But now such a thing was impossible. She dwelled in the land beyond now, which meant she was well and truly gone from him. He could try and hunt her down in that realm—it was not beyond his power to do such a thing—but he doubted even he could succeed in such a fool’s quest.
She was lost to him now.
He gritted his teeth against the pain of that loss. Well…it was foolish of him to entertain such fantasies in the first place, he supposed. He was not the type of man who could so easily let go his ties to his people and duty over—of all things—a human woman.
He pulled the black cowl farther over his face and wondered ironically if he wore the shadowy covering to hide away from others, or from himself.
The fire in the grate before him blazed in a roar and Tryton’s form appeared, a nebulous shape in the flames. His leader called him. Duty called him. And it was just as well, really.
Duty was all he had left now.
Epilogue
“It is done. You will accompany Edge to Paris tonight and seek out any Daemon sign. After that you will move on to Ontario and then on to New York. My scouts have reported signs of the Horde’s presence in each of these places,” Tryton said with a great sigh of weary acceptance.
“What about the others?”
“Steffy is still learning her craft. She cannot fight with us yet, so I’ll have Cinder run patrol at the Gates so that he can stay closer to her side. Cady and Obsidian will scout out San Francisco, Tokyo, and Kathmandu, where other Daemon sightings have been reported.”
“The tide is turning.”
“Yes, but which way? For centuries we have been at a stalemate with the Horde. But now we are at last in open war with them and I do not know for certain who will be the victor.”
“Would I not better serve our people by continuing my search for the leader of the Horde army?” He broached the subject that he knew brought the most pain to his friend and leader. But he could not go on this new mission without once more offering his services in finding the Horde’s ruler.
Daemon. The Lord of the Horde, himself.
Tryton sighed. “No, old friend. You have spent too many long years looking for him already. He will never be found. I’m not sure he even exists after so many years in the shadows. We must meet this threat head on. I must send you out into the Territories.”
“As you wish.”
“If you encounter any Daemons you are to report back here with all haste. The monsters are growing too cunning, too strong. I will not endanger you or any of my warriors by leaving you to fight with so small a number. If and when you come across members of the Horde you will come here for reinforcements.”
“As you wish,” he repeated.
Tryton stared into the shadows of his room, brooding. Grimm joined him in silence, knowing his friend needed what comfort his company could give. “We no longer search for backdoors. To think there was such a time when we cowered with the knowledge that the Daemons could enter the world in such a way, through portals in the Earth.” Tryton laughed but the sound was devoid of any mirth or warmth. “Now we search for signs of Traveling Daemons in the Territories. How did it come to this?”
“It was only a matter of time before the Horde moved against us. Against the people of Earth. You knew they would not be content to stay trapped within their borders forever.”
“I remember a time when there were no monsters. No Horde army.”
“It was a simpler time. But simple times do not last,” Grimm murmured. “Everything progresses. Everything grows more complex as the years pass by.”
“I hate progress,” Tryton said and his tone was almost petulant. It was a surprising emotion from so staid and respected a man.
Grimm nodded. “And that is why we are here. Hiding away from the world which used to be ours just as much as it is now the humans’.”
“But progress found us. The world moves and we move with it.”
“It is ever the way of things.”
“You are a comfort to me, my old friend.”
A flash of golden hair and cornflower blue eyes burned into Grimm’s mind. “And you are a comfort to me as well, Tryton,” he said hoarsely.
“Look at us. Two old men, brooding over our misfortunes.” Tryton forced a smile. “We will see these dark times through, you and I. As we always have done. And we will persevere.”
“We will win this war, Tryton. To the last warrior, we will fight until it is done.”
“And that, Grimm, is what frightens me the most. For where will we be when the last man is standing? And what will it be worth, our last stand against the Horde? The end of our race. The end of theirs. And for what?”
“For honor, Tryton. And what better reason than that?”
Tryton smiled as he visibly rallied his waning spirits. “What better reason—indeed there isn’t one. Indeed there isn’t one, my friend.”
Also at Ellora's Cave
RAYVEN’S AWAKENING
MOON LUST
RAVENOUS
Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.
www.ellorascave.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Also at Ellora's Cave
Wanton Fire Page 15