by KC Kingmaker
Even though Dax had saved me, we were far from winning this thing.
I recalled my lessons and drew within myself, conjuring up shadows from the umbrage around me. The dark limbs cascaded through the air and wrapped around the demon’s arms as it moved to attack Dax.
A smirk came to my face when I felt the tension hold on the demon, keeping him at bay. Within two seconds, the tension snapped—the demon moved through the shadows like they were nothing—and my smirk turned into another look of disbelief. Fuck! It can move through my manipulations? Almost like it’s made from shadows itself!
I quickly tried to summon more shadows to do my bidding. Something knocked me in the back and I stumbled forward, losing my concentration.
Dax went flying, rolling onto his side before popping up, a ragged gash across his hide.
I glanced back to see Sunny had bumped into me. He was fending off his own demonic entity in hand-to-hand combat, putting on quite a show as he moved like a hellspawn, fists flying in a blur. The slower, winged creature couldn’t keep up, yet I knew it would only take one massive swipe of those knifelike claws to put the vampire on his ass.
Dread pulsed through me. We aren’t going to win this. We have to run. “Abort!” I shouted suddenly, my voice speaking before my brain could compute what was going on. “We need to flee!”
Genevieve stepped close to the portal and raised her hands. Lightning glowed in her palms. She steadied them forward like she was about to send a bolt of electricity through the portal itself.
Is she trying to break it? Wouldn’t that trap the demons here? You dumb bit—
Her blood-curdling scream cut me off.
I slapped a hand over my mouth as a gruesome hand emerged from the portal and wrapped around her arms, silencing her spell and holding her in place.
“Genevieve!” I screamed.
My feet propelled me forward. Sprinting, my arms waved frantically as I tried to draw the emerging monster’s attention. The third monster, when we were already struggling with two.
Vivi writhed frantically, body twisting as she tried to break free from the beast.
I drew out energy into my palms, planning to burn this bitch like a gas stovetop.
I was ten feet away.
Five.
For a split second, Vivi’s face locked onto mine, the pure horror there stamping itself onto my memory.
Two feet away.
Then Vivi was gone, the fight giving out of her as she was plucked and dragged into the flickering portal.
“Nooo!” I brought my flaming hands down on nothingness—on the place where the demonic arm had been just milliseconds before.
I stared into the opaque haze of the portal.
Spirits grant me the courage to run into this thing blind!
I couldn’t do it. My feet were rooted to the ground, fear tightening my bones.
The wind was knocked out of me from the side—Sunny colliding with me, tackling me to the ground.
I glanced up, over his shoulder, just in time to see the demon he’d been fighting fly into the portal and vanish.
Sunny had saved me from a much nastier collision with the retreating monster.
Seconds later, the demon Dax had been fighting floated into the portal and disappeared as well.
By the time I sat up, rubbing the bump on my head, the portal blinked, the jagged rip in the fabric of reality shrank, and the gate fizzled away.
Silence followed—a beat of quietness so profound and lengthy, I could hear the second-by-second pumping of my heart, beating against my rib cage, until it began to slow down. I fixated on the rush of blood in my ears, the labored breathing in my chest, as they began to fade away and the adrenaline left my body.
“Son of a bitch!” Sunny pushed to his feet. He swiped hands where the portal had been, but it was no use.
Worse still, it wasn’t a shadowgate he could just hop into. He couldn’t sinkhole into this shadow like he’d done with me. This had been a portal made for a specific reason, by a specific person or thing, and I had no idea how we were ever going to replicate it or find out where it went.
Dax’s low purr sounded in my ear. Close to tears, I rubbed a hand across his powerful neck as he nudged his head against my shoulder. “Oh Dax,” I whimpered. “You saved me.” My eyes tipped to Sunny. “You both did.”
Sunny spun, eyes alight with fury. “But we couldn’t save Genevieve.”
Guilt swam through me like a waterfall. “We shouldn’t have come here. We were unprepared. I shouldn’t have pressed Vivi so hard—”
“Quiet, princess.” Sunny reached down with a hand. I looked at it for a second before taking it so he could help me to my feet. “We’ve opened up the floodgates. We needed to come here to find your sister.”
I appreciated his optimism, but it only made the hurt worse. “Yet we don’t have my sister. Or Genevieve, now.”
“These bastards won’t be able to hide anymore. We’ll take this to the headmaster.”
For some reason, the thought of that didn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it made my skin tingle with doubt.
“We’ll find both of them, princess,” Sunny said, giving me a firm nod, his lips folding tight. “I promise.”
Chapter 34
Coralia
BONE-DEEP EXHAUSTION hit me on the way back to Shadowblade Academy. The after effects of the battle, drawing into my power, and being terrified, swarmed me all at once. We had the same number of people as when we’d left, but we’d lost a woman and gained a man.
It turned out Dax’s wound was worse than he’d let on. Once he shifted into his human form, he found some rags on the nasty ground to cover himself with—disappointing, that—and limped over to us. Given Dax’s modesty, it made sense he’d clothe himself after shifting, though I doubted he would have if it were just him and Sunny alone.
Truth was, I wouldn’t have minded an indecent snapshot of the man.
I put aside my crazy, lewd thoughts once I saw the rags he pressed against his body quickly staining with blood.
Sunny took Dax’s arm over his shoulder to help the shifter walk. “We need to get back, stat.”
Because of Dax’s need for medical aid, I pushed on despite my weariness, hurrying after the limping panther shifter and the ornery vampire. Trailing a few feet behind them, I briefly paused to notice how endearing they looked, the two of them lockstep, arm-in-arm, aiding one another. A true show of brotherhood.
I wish I had seen this sort of camaraderie from Sunny to begin with. Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten started on such a bad note.
The vampire had been slowly coming around, it seemed, but I still wasn’t too sure about him. I didn’t know if he liked me or if he saw me as a nuisance and simply put up with me.
I jogged up to them as my thoughts faded, not wanting to be alone in the demon-infested city for even one second. Glancing out the corner of my eye, I saw the defeat written on Sunny’s face. He looked paler than usual, his face covered in sweat. Dax tried to hide his grimace from the pain he felt, though he couldn’t hide the blood trickling down his side and leg. He was in a lot of agony.
As we walked, I cleared my throat and tried to rally us. “We’ve been beaten and bruised, guys, but we haven’t lost. Let’s not forget that. We’re still not out of the fight.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, princess,” Sunny groaned. “We still lost Vivi.”
I frowned.
“She’s right,” Dax said, coming to my defense and wincing as he spoke. “Just like the failed hit, we’ll be able to glean information from this, Sunder.”
“Like what?” Sunny twisted his face as he stared straight ahead and led us through the dark, winding streets. “We didn’t know what that fucking demon thing was back then, and we still don’t know now. The only thing we know is there are more of them than we thought, which isn’t very promising.”
Okay, so Sunny Conway’s optimism was on a case-by-case basis. Given the fact we had just gotte
n our asses handed to us, I totally understood his anger.
“We’ll get answers this time,” Dax assured him. “We didn’t know the questions to ask back then. We were told to keep quiet about all that happened. Not now. They can’t keep us in the dark after this. Excuse the pun.”
I smiled, because it was the first time I’d ever heard Dax loosen up. The fact it came when he was injured and we’d just suffered defeat was baffling to me.
Sunny rolled his eyes, clearly not placated. “Don’t you get it, brother?” He stopped walking, straightening long enough to prop Dax’s draped arm better on his shoulder. “We defied Academy rules coming here. You saw the shitstorm it caused when I accidentally gated Coralia off campus. We can’t bring this to the higher-ups. Being the goody two-shoes you are, you should know that the best.”
“Goody two-shoes?”
“Moral fanatic? Brownnoser? Do those work better—”
“Guys . . .” I squeaked, trying to edge my way in. “Let’s not get carried away, please. We’re all tired. Morale is low.”
Expectedly, they both ignored me.
“Are you alluding to my mission outside campus grounds, Sunder? The one Headmaster Cane sent me on?”
“Yes,” Sunny sneered. Keeping Dax’s arm draped over his shoulder, gripping it tightly, made the scene of them fighting inches from each other’s faces comical. “Sorry if I was being too vague.”
“If that’s what you’re worried about,” Dax said, “don’t you think my extracurricular activities for Shadowblade Academy would grant me some sort of leeway concerning this night run?”
“For you, maybe. Not for us.” Sunny tossed his chin my way.
Dax’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell you’re frustrated, Sunder. Speak plainly.”
They stared each other down, Dax finally letting his arm fall from Sunny’s shoulder. Their burly chests were inches apart.
My wide eyes veered from one to the other—pale face, dark face. Pale face, dark face. Somehow, I felt a little dirty watching the brotherly spat.
Unless they end up kissing. That’s a dirtiness I can support. I jerked my head at my thoughts. Where the hell is it all coming from? Oh, right. Just a few hours ago I was having salacious, sweaty sex in the woods with the other member of this little triangle. I’d nearly forgotten about it due to everything that had happened since then. I had to put the thoughts of Venn’s hard cock pumping into me on the backburner, because Sunny’s next words were the loudest yet.
“Where did you go?” he demanded.
Dax furrowed his brow.
“Where did Headmaster Cane send you?”
“You know I can’t tell you that until I report to the headmaster and he gives the okay.” There was a slight tinge of shame on Dax’s face as he averted his gaze.
I could tell he didn’t feel good about keeping secrets from his Glovemate, but he had obligations to uphold and he was nothing if not an honorable man.
Rather than exploding on him, Sunny deflated once more, his shoulders slumping with disappointment. “There. You’ve proven my point. You’re Cane’s fucking flunkey.”
Dax’s face shot up, the shame gone and replaced by a bestial mien that reminded me of his shifted form. “Take that back, Sunder—”
“Guys!” I shouted, feeling the need to intervene. “Guys!”
When I repeated it louder the second time, their eyes shot over to me, as if only then realizing I was still standing there.
“I think you’ve argued long enough.” I put up my palms, trying to get everyone to pump the brakes. “I’m making an executive decision: We get back safely to the Academy, bring Dax to the infirmary, and then you guys can dish it out as long as you want. Preferably when I’m not in the room. I don’t fancy watching Dax bleed out here in this terrible place.”
For the longest time, they both said nothing, staring at me like I was a tasty morsel or something they wanted to spit out. I thought I saw a glint of a smirk tug Sunny’s lips, but it could have been the play of the moonlight.
“You’re right,” Dax said. “I apologize. This is neither the time nor place for this. We’re all tired, as you said.”
I raised a brow. “You heard that? And here I thought you weren’t listening to me.”
“There’s a difference between ‘not listening’ and ‘not responding,’ Coralia.”
I rolled my eyes. To Sunny, I said, “And you?”
The vampire made an exaggerated bow, his cloak swishing dramatically as he tried to hide his smirk. “As you will it, princess.”
I grumbled under my breath. At least we kept on. After a few streets, we found the shadow that had brought us to the abandoned city.
“Fuck.” Sunny stood over it, eyes closed.
“What?”
“I’m too drained to shadowwalk. I can’t draw the portal open.”
Nervousness cycled through me. I spun on Dax. “And you’re too wounded.”
The shifter nodded glumly. “You’ll have to do it, Coralia.”
Embarrassment joined my anxiety, darkening my cheeks. “I . . . I can’t. That was one part of the midterm where I, uh, didn’t do so well.”
“We will show you how.” Dax gave me an assured nod.
To which Sunny snorted. “Like hell we will. This is no time for a tutoring session.”
“Then what do you propose?” Dax shot back.
Sunny’s eyes locked on mine. I saw the amber irises flare, the smirk he’d been hiding twitching his upper lip. “I’ll have to feed. That will give me enough energy. And since you’re already bleeding out, Dax . . .”
I blinked, his suggestive tone washing over me. I shivered, trying to fight the creeping alarm that told me to run away from his hungry gaze.
Because the shiver wasn’t only borne out of fear.
I bit my lip in shame as my heart pitter-pattered, realizing part of me longed for Sunny Conway to put his mouth on me . . . in any capacity.
IN A WAY, VENN HAD reawakened my sexual spirit. He had stirred to life what had been asleep since before my days in the Crust.
Now, I had a mind to think Sunny planned to feed it. To gorge on my newfound lust. Maybe even satiate it.
Before his elongated fangs made contact with my skin, Sunny’s strong hand curled around my body, clutching my spine and making my body go haywire.
I squeezed my legs together and braced myself, trying to stave off the growing anticipation and heat building inside me like a furnace. The humiliating dampness that stained my panties.
His hot breath tickling the nape of my neck didn’t help me fight off the sensations. Scary memories of the first time he’d done this racked my body.
“Don’t be scared, princess.” His lips brushed across the shell of my ear in a whisper. “You’ll enjoy this even more than I will.”
Before I could open my mouth to argue, the tips of his fangs sank into my soft flesh. My head tipped back on a moan. I screwed my eyes shut and it took all the willpower inside me to not let that moan escape my lips.
He held me there, standing, body entirely too close and emanating heat off his rigid core, transferring the heat over to mine until it felt like we were one—a symbiotic transference that just felt right.
His lips made a light sucking sound. A warm pulse thrummed through me, just under the surface of my skin, lightly tapping my veins like a thousand tickling needles. I could feel my essence being devoured, the exhaustion that had plagued me reaching new heights.
It made me want to fall asleep. Just sleep in his arms.
A heady knot of desire bloomed in my belly, flipping and making my stomach drop to the apex of my thighs. Sweet, cozy sensations drifted in and out, embalming me in a swelter I couldn’t fight off.
It was an incredible, unique feeling. One I couldn’t hide from my face as I stuck my tongue gently between my teeth. I could have gotten lost in it forever—a lazy river I floated down until I reached the horizon.
Something told me to fight, though, and that�
��s when panic sliced through me like a blade, alerting my senses.
When I opened my eyes, dizziness swam in my vision. Three sets of handsome vampire faces fed on me, faces nestled just above my cleavage. Sweat drenched my brow. My knees wobbled, barely able to hold me up.
“That’s enough, Sunder,” a faraway voice floated in.
It felt like I’d been getting devoured for hours.
“That’s enough,” the voice said more emphatically. “She’s too weak from fatigue.”
A moment later, the lightheadedness swallowed me whole. Darkness started to crowd around the edges of my eyesight, creeping toward the middle. I felt weightless, my body numb, like I was floating through air. The pulsing ecstasy between my thighs was growing to a massive orgasm that would explode any—
The vying sensations died. All at once. My vision chased the darkness away and my half-lidded eyes opened. I still felt lightheaded, but no longer entranced.
The fugue was gone, replaced by immeasurable tiredness. I noticed Sunny standing in front of me, towering, shoulders squared with color in his cheeks. He gave me a wicked grin that would have made me climax if I’d only had the strength to. I was ready to burst.
I judged the look on his face, the blood he greedily licked off his lips. “Y-You definitely enjoyed that more than I did,” I lied.
His grin stretched, gaze still hungry. “Did I? Are you sure about that, princess?”
Dax’s voice called out as darkness enveloped me, just when I’d thought I was out of the woods. He’d been right: Sunny had flown too close to the sun and I’d been too exhausted to take it.
When my eyes opened, briefly, I felt strong arms cradling me in a bridal carry. I had no idea how much time had passed. My legs, bent at the knees, bounced over the crook of a chiseled arm.
I blinked up at the underside of Sunny’s chin. He hadn’t noticed I’d woken up, so I gently closed my peepers again before the ache behind my eyes could become overbearing.
Neck craned sideways like I was unconscious, I peeked out and saw a familiar white, domed building.