Echoes of Blood and Glory

by Ripley Proserpina

  His face went from stubborn to stony as he shut her out. “I’ve said what I think.” Facing his brothers, he waited for them.

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Seti replied. “We’ll take the car, which allows us some measure of protection. In Ra’s memory, the crawlers fanned out from the asylum. It should be easy enough to find one or two.”

  “I agree,” Ra said. “If all else fails, we kill it and run.”

  Rose studied the larger man as his brothers spoke. She couldn’t read him at all right now. He was locked down tight, not letting a thing past.

  But he replied, “Fine.”

  Rose swished the empty cup in a circle. She needed the bathroom to clean up a little and brush her teeth. What a crazy world she lived in. “Just hold on a few minutes while I apply deodorant, and then we’ll get to the vampires,” she said dryly. “I’d hate to offend any of them with my coffee breath.”

  That got a tiny smile out of Horus. On her way to the door, she touched his hand, linking their fingers and squeezing. “Don’t be mad,” she whispered.

  His gaze softened, but he was still shutting her out. “Hurry up,” he replied. “The sooner you’re finished, the sooner we can get this over with.”

  Rose found a bathroom with a shower, one without a curtain but with a towel. It was a good thing she hadn’t planned on a shower this morning, or else her goodies would be on display for anyone to see.

  Jittery and anxious, she stumbled through her morning routine. As she brushed her teeth, she stared at her reflection in the rusted mirror. The fluorescent lighting wasn’t doing her any favors. Having very little ego to begin with, Rose could honestly admit she’d looked better.

  The running around and stress had caught up with her. From her frizzy hair to her chapped lips, she was no one’s dream girl. Now tie that in with how she’d hurt Horus’s feelings, and she was zero percent surprised he’d gone cold.

  But she wouldn’t risk him getting hurt again. It had been a day or so since she’d seen him without his shirt, seen the healing wounds on him, and she had no idea if they’d closed up completely.

  Rose held her hands under the water and then finger combed her hair. Right. It was time to get this done.

  Brushing her hands against her thighs to dry them off, she steeled herself. “I’m ready,” she called as she opened the door.

  “I hope so.”

  “Holy shit!” Rose spun, hands covering her boobs.

  Horus glanced down at her, half of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Such a strange habit,” he said. “Why every time you’re scared do you grab…” He trailed off but gestured to her chest.

  “No idea,” she muttered. “Maybe I’m just making sure they’re still there.”

  He chuckled, and she smiled. If grabbing her boobs made him laugh, then she’d do it more often. He could jump-scare her all day.

  But his smile didn’t last long, nor did his good humor.

  “Horus,” she touched his arm when he turned away. “I just want you to be okay. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

  “I’ve lasted millennia.” He frowned. “I can survive a crawler’s bite.”

  She stopped him. “Yeah, but you didn’t have my blood running through your body. Just—cut me some slack, okay?” Horus and his brothers were her family now—her only family. She wouldn’t lose them.

  Dark eyebrows drawn together, Horus studied her. She let him, fully aware of how horrible she looked, how tired and ragged. But she cared about him. And she hoped he could see past the surface.

  The seconds ticked by, but he said nothing, and Rose gave up. She’d insulted him, and he needed time to cool off. Or get over it or whatever.

  She got it. She was pretty fiery, too.

  Letting out a breath, she stepped toward the stairs, but stopped when he gripped her arm. He studied her still, the intensity of his gaze making heat flow from her neck to her face.

  “Horus?”

  He nodded, like he’d come to a decision, and swept her into his arms.

  “Horus!” she cried. “What are you doing?” Ra and Seti were waiting for her, and they had a plan.

  “They will wait. In fact, they are going to explore right now.” His hard gaze was directed on the hall.

  “Explore what?” she asked. She wiggled in his arms. “Put me down for a sec.”

  But he didn’t. He held on even tighter. Striding down the hall, he shook his head. “Stubborn woman.”

  Well, that was uncalled for. Truthful. But uncalled for. Wood split and plaster shattered as he kicked open a door. It probably wasn’t very feminist of her, but that show of strength was totally doing it for her.

  But now wasn’t the time. She had to mind control some crawlers, not swoon over Horus.

  There was a bare mattress on a twin bed frame against one wall, and he deposited her on it.

  He glanced at the window, which was uncovered. Rose followed his gaze, but all she could make out were rooftops. “What do you see?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he replied. “I wanted to make sure nothing and no one could see us.”

  Heat built inside her, but she didn’t allow herself to hope. What she was seeing wasn’t anger.

  It was desire.

  “Horus…”

  “No.” He placed her on the floor and touched his finger to his lips. “Your worry for me—I don’t know how to handle it. Of my brothers, I have been the strongest.” He suddenly smiled. “And I can say that because they’re not here to argue with me, but I am. Physically, I am the strongest.” Stepping away, he gripped the edges of his shirt and ripped it over his head. “But I don’t know what to make of this.”

  Without thinking, she reached for his chest. Red raised scars still crossed his chest and abdomen.

  “You can touch them.”

  Gently, she traced first one and then the other. He had healed, but not completely. His body was still fighting whatever her blood had done to him and this was the result.

  She took a step even closer, and then another one, until the heat from his body warmed her. Leaning forward, she rested her lips on the injury, kissing lightly. A sigh blasted out of him as his hands dove into her hair.

  He drew her against him, and she curled her fingers against his sides. “It is healing.”

  “Slowly,” he said. “Too slowly. I have considered cutting myself to see if I will heal any faster.”

  “No!” Pushing against him, she glared. “That’s not a good idea.”

  He studied her, grinning. “No?”

  It suddenly struck her. She’d once done the same thing to prove a point. All she’d gotten for her trouble was a trip through the air and into the wall of Briar’s living room. “Oh.” She glared again. “Smart ass.”

  He flicked his gaze to her lips and then back to her eyes. He moved slowly, sliding his hand along her neck to cup it. He stepped forward, as close as he could get, but only stared.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  He took her lips in a kiss that took her breath away. She should have been prepared. Warm skin, rough fingertips…

  Rose stood on her tiptoes, aching to get closer to him. He kept his hand in her hair, but gripped her hip, fingers digging into her skin.

  Soft and strong.

  Sensitive and closed-off.

  Like her. A study of opposites.

  Horus pushed her shirt out of the way so he could slide his hand along her back. His skin was so warm. God. She wanted to get closer.

  Skimming her hands along his muscles, she trailed down to his waist. She dipped her fingers past the edge of his pants, wordlessly asking for what she wanted more than anything in the world.

  19

  Horus

  He was changing. More than just this slow healing. More than the dread of the battle looming on the horizon. Something was happening to him—at a cellular level—that was changing him.

  He blamed Rose, this magical girl in his arms who was human and vampire and curse and cure.


  As her smooth hands wound their way around him, he recognized this was a defining moment. After taking her and making her his, he’d never ever be the same.

  And he didn’t want to be.

  He wanted to be hers. Horus was comfortable with the unexplainable. He was unexplainable—a creature who existed only in stories and myths—but the tie he had to Rose was beyond his comprehension.

  Maybe this was what his father felt for his mother. Maybe this was the reason why it had taken ten men, brainwashed by religion and ignorance, to cut him apart in order to keep him from her.

  If his father felt a tiny bit of what Horus felt for Rose, then his death—and his abandonment of Horus and his brothers—finally made sense.

  He hadn’t realized it, but until her, he was waiting for his world to end. He loved his brothers, and wanted nothing more than their survival, but for him—the color was gone.

  Rose brought back the wonder. The light.

  “Selfish.” Rose’s voice echoed in his head. Her thoughts were swirling, building with anxiety and guilt. He drew back, plucking her lips once before dropping his forehead to hers and opening his eyes.

  “You’re not selfish,” he said aloud.

  “I am,” she argued, and then laughed, the sound a little off. “And I won’t stop myself. I want you, Horus. I want to keep you and protect you and love you, and even though I know that this,” she traced the scar on his chest and the one no longer visible on his throat, and he shivered, “is my fault. I don’t want to leave you.” Her dark eyes were sad, and she bit her lower lip. “There are things coming that are dangerous. I need to be pushing you away, but all I want to do is get closer.”

  He smiled. They were similar, him and her. “Shouldn’t I be doing the same?”

  Her desire suddenly flooded him, and he couldn’t not kiss her. He couldn’t leave. Couldn’t do it for her. Or for his brothers.

  For the first time in his life, Horus actually felt like the monster the ancient world had called him.

  Rose sucked in a breath and grabbed his face. Her hands slapped against his skin, palms on his cheeks as she dragged him to eye-level. “No.” Her voice was hard and her eyes glittered angrily. “You are not a monster. You are everything kind and good and honorable.”

  Was that how she saw him?

  He hadn’t meant for her to hear that, but she did. And so she showed him exactly how she saw him.

  Through her eyes, Horus didn’t recognize himself. He’d always thought of himself as a wrecking ball. Or a battering ram.

  Not to Rose.

  To Rose, he was a towering wall and a soft place to land. He was a loving embrace and an impenetrable shield.

  And he was hers. She’d laid claim to him at some point in time she couldn’t identify, because it had happened so swiftly and with such finality.

  “He is mine and I am his, and it will always be this way.”

  He couldn’t stop himself—even if he’d wanted to—from smiling.

  20

  Rose

  Rose could feel Horus’s joy and surprise at her claim. Moving her hands from his face to his shoulders, she balanced herself and stood on her toes. He was so tall that she could use a chair to reach his lips.

  But she didn’t kiss him right away. She dragged her cheek over his, imagining that she was marking him somehow. Goosebumps erupted along his arms as she trailed her hands to his elbows and then to his hands. His body shuddered, a full body shiver, as she kissed a spot at the curve of his neck and shoulder.

  She sucked the skin between her teeth and bit down.

  He’d been still until that moment, but the second he felt her teeth, he was a whirlwind. He lifted her, hands tucked under her ass, and pressed her against a wall. Head falling back, Rose gave him access to her throat.

  His teeth were smooth as they dragged along the side of her neck. She tilted her head, making room for him while she tightened her legs on either side of his hips.

  One of his hands stayed beneath her, holding her up, but the other slammed into the wall next to her head. Something broke, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was safe with him, no matter how rough and desperate his kisses were.

  Rose rolled her hips, slid her arms behind his neck and over his short hair. It tickled her palms as his head moved from one side of her throat to the other. She kept him pressed to her, and he moaned.

  Letting her head fall back against the wall, she sucked in ragged breaths. She couldn’t breathe when he kissed her like this, like his life depended on it.

  Slowly, gracefully, he lowered them to the floor. She sat, perched in his lap, arching and thrusting against him.

  It killed her to do so, but she leaned away from him. He stared at her, confused, until she tore her shirt off.

  His hands slid up her back as he leaned away, staring at her chest. “Rose.” His gaze flicked to hers and then back to her chest.

  It made her brave. Brave enough to unhook her bra and pull down the straps until she was exposed. Brave enough to stand and peel her pants and underwear off—fully exposed in broad daylight—in front of him.

  He stood slowly, gaze never leaving hers as he unbuttoned his pants and shoved them off.

  This was really happening. Her intake of breath was broken, and her hands shook as she reached for him. “Horus. You’re beautiful.”

  He was. Broad shoulders, smooth golden-brown chest. His stomach was muscled, ridged, and a deep V drew her gaze downward.

  She’d held him in her hands, but seeing him now, her breath caught.

  “You have me,” he whispered. “Before, you claimed me. I’m yours.” He prowled toward her, moving in such a predatory way she edged back. “But now it’s my turn to claim you back.”

  He pounced, guiding her to the floor. The carpet was old and scratchy, so he switched their positions, lying on his back so she was over him. Her hair fell on either side of her face, blocking out the sunlight, and he pushed it behind her ears.

  This was a position that allowed her to study him. Holding herself up with her arms, she stared at him. His eyes—that deep chocolate brown— held her gaze though his breath heaved, and the hands on her hips dug into her skin almost painfully.

  His scars. They broke her heart. And scared her out of her mind. She scooted down until her lips were level with the scar and kissed it, turning her head one way and then another before gently running her tongue along it.

  He hissed, fingers pushing into her hair and holding her to him. Rose ran her fingers down his chest, tracing each stony ridge until she reached his swollen dick.

  She gripped it and pulled up. Horus jerked, then growled low. “Tighter.”

  Warmth slipped over the back of her hand as she tightened her fist and stroked faster and faster. She lowered herself until she could take him in her mouth and licked up the beads of precum leaking from his tip.

  “Not like this.” His voice sounded like glass and gravel. He pulled her forward fast so she sat up. He groaned again and snuck a hand between them. “So wet.”

  With one rough finger, he circled her clit and then pushed inside her. Rose gasped.

  “And tight.”

  She would be. This wasn’t something she had a lot of practice with. Her last partner had been an animations major at MassArt. A junior year mistake. Rose had thought he was nice and spent a semester watching Dragon Ball Z with him. But he’d seemed supremely disappointed with her body when she’d finally gotten naked, and he had come as soon as he’d gotten inside her.

  The way Horus took his time with her, watching her… if she gasped or shivered, he made the same movement. No one had ever been as tuned in as he was right now.

  Placing her hands on his chest, she lifted to line herself up with his thick crown. A constant growl rattled his chest. She tucked her knees closer and slid down him inch by inch. He fit her perfectly.

  There was nothing awkward or uncomfortable, despite his size and the way he stretched and filled her. He gave her a mome
nt to adjust to his size, but he wanted to move.

  His gaze was hard, brown swallowed up by the black, and a muscle twitched next to his eye.

  The sound he made went right to her core, it vibrated through his body into hers and she had to move. She was so wet, she slid right up him, and then down.

  She bent down to kiss him, smoothing her tongue past his lips to drag over his as she moved slowly along his length. Up and down. Forward and back.

  He slid his hands up her thighs to her hips, and suddenly slammed her down on him.

  “Fuck!”

  He stayed there, filling her like that, and then lifted her and slammed her back down again. Buried inside her, right to the hilt, he jackknifed until they were nose to nose.

  Something came over him—a desperation and fever—and he lifted her, slammed her down, and rolled his hips. He held her to him so tightly, her ribs ached, but she didn’t care.

  She dug into him, fingers curled into his back as her body strained toward release. Heat built in her chest, and at first, she thought it was just the heat of his body against hers, but then it grew. And grew.

  She was right at the edge, about to hurtle into space, when the warmth erupted into fire. Her body exploded, clenching down on his, milking his release.

  Warmth filled her, and she cried out. Without thought, she sunk her teeth into his skin, right above his heart and the scar that had just healed.

  It wasn’t until the taste of his blood touched her tongue that she realized what she’d done.

  “Oh my god.” She threw herself away from him. “Oh my god. Horus. I’m sorry.”

  He stared at her, hand clutching his skin. Blood dripped between his fingers and slid down his chest.

  What had she done?

  Desperately, she searched for something to stop the bleeding. She got onto her knees, reached for her shirt, balled it up, and pressed it to his chest. “Horus. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  He had been staring at her, frozen. All she could think was that she’d hurt him, and worse, that the poison inside her was now in his body again.