by Aja James
He didn’t know what to do with her. He’d never felt this way before.
Whereas Ashlu had made him chase after the affection that she always held just out of reach, Eveline offered hers with open arms. In abundance. Mesmerizing him with her guilelessly gorgeous blue-gray eyes. In return for his pleasure, however he wished to take it, she wanted him to herself. That’s it.
Just him.
She didn’t want empires to be built. Wars to be won. Gold to fill her treasure chests. Knowledge to wield against others.
Just him.
And just her.
He’d humored her entertaining little tirade over Queen Valentina’s visit until she boldly demanded exclusivity. It had made him feel…
Trapped.
Afraid.
Because deep down, even though he’d never admit it, he wanted the same with her. Even if it was only a short while. The three months of their Blood Contract sounded perfect, actually.
What he’d do to her…with her…in her…
Gods, his cock hardened to stone and his balls drew tight just imagining the things he could teach her. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
But, then, Ramses was abruptly shaken out of his inner thoughts when Maximus said:
“We’re here.”
*** *** *** ***
“Devlin! Grace! Clara! Eli! Anyone!”
Eveline rushed down the corridors, pounding on apartment doors with one fist while cradling several scrolls in the crook of her other arm.
She couldn’t find Ramses. She’d searched everywhere.
He wasn’t in the throne room. He wasn’t in his chambers, though she’d had a time of it convincing the Sentries to let her inside. Given her heightened emotions, she had no trouble bespelling them to do her bidding. There weren’t even any side effects. She’d controlled her intensions perfectly, which spoke volumes about how panicked she was feeling.
She knew, just knew, that he’d left for the Challenge without her. Not that she expected him to let her tag along, but she thought she had another hour still to catch him before he departed.
“What is it, Eveline? What’s wrong?” Clara stepped into the hallway from her apartment, her daughter Annie tucked into her side.
“I must find Ramses,” Eveline said breathlessly. “He’s gone to fight the Challenge. I think something terrible will happen. I don’t know exactly what, my premonitions are never certain, but I have this awful feeling… please help me, Clara!”
“Calm down,” Clara said, putting her hands on Eveline’s shoulders to steady her. “Take a few deep breaths. First, let’s go get Eli. He’s in the training halls, I think—”
“No time!” Eveline shook free of Clara’s hold and dashed down the corridor again without another word.
“Eveline!” the other woman called out, but Eveline didn’t look back.
She skidded around a corner and rammed straight into a wall.
“Easy there, woman.”
No, not a wall, a man.
Eveline looked up into strange yellow eyes, almost amber in color, glittering shrewdly down at her.
“Hello,” the tall, angular, broad-shouldered male said with a friendly, flirtatious smile, “where did you come from?”
“Back not even one minute and already charming strange women,” a female spoke from behind him in a rueful tone.
Eveline hadn’t seen her at all with the male blocking everything from view. Because aside from his extremely wide shoulders, he also wore a thick, feathery-looking cape.
That moved. The cape moved.
Eveline was startled into stillness despite her current frenzied state.
It wasn’t a cape the male was wearing but wings. He had gold and brown wings folded behind his back, the same color as his tousled wavy hair.
She shook herself out of it and focused on the task at hand.
“Never mind where I came from,” she said in a rush. “I’m the Cove’s temporary Keeper, not that that’s of any significance. I need someone to take me to the Dark King. He’s in grave danger!”
The female behind the…eagle-man—yes, he looked rather like an eagle with his hawk-like eyes—leaned to the side so that she could be seen beyond the edge of the man’s massive folded wings.
“We’re just about to head out actually. Maximus called for backup and we got here as soon as we could. I’m Anastasia, by the way.”
“Chat later, leave now!” Eveline commanded.
Distantly, she was rather alarmed and amazed at her own nerve. She wasn’t the type of female to order others around. She also seldom (close to never) raised her voice. And yet, here she was, being all commanding and impatient, and she’d shouted quite a bit already this night.
“Walk and talk,” the eagle-man said, grabbing Eveline by the arm and charging down the hallway in long-legged strides that made her run to keep up.
“I’m Rhys, temporary Keeper. Why are you in such a tizzy? What danger is Ramses in? It’s a Challenge, as far as I know. And our king is a bloody awesome fighter. Maximus in his tiger form might put up a contest, but the rest of us don’t stand a chance. He’ll defeat any opponent that—”
“Not if the opponent uses magic!” Eveline interrupted frantically, making Rhys glance at her sharply.
“I know. I am a sorceress. Witch, if you want to use a more pedantic term. I’m the Seer of the Pure Ones for a reason. I see things. I interpret prophesies. I know how to wield magic. And I know that your king is in danger!”
“We’ll never catch up to them in time,” Anastasia said from behind them, easily keeping pace with Rhys’ brisk strides. “They left over an hour ago.”
“I can catch them if I take to the skies,” Rhys returned. “Go with Devlin in the SU—”
“Take me with you! I need to go with you!” Eveline interrupted again, as Anastasia took a right sharp turn down a different hallway to presumably round up the Hunter.
“I might be able to help him,” Eveline said.
Rhys looked down at her as they rode the elevator to the Chrysler Building’s rooftop.
“What can you do? You cannot interfere with whatever magic you wield. It’s against the Challenge rules.”
Eveline shook her head with frustration.
“I know. But I might think of something if things get out of hand. See, I have these. They could tell me something important at the right time.”
She held up her armful of scrolls.
“Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo,” Rhys said, frowning. “I’d fly much faster without extra weight.”
“Can you still get there in time if you took me?” Eveline persisted. “I’m barely one hundred pounds.”
They burst through the double doors to the roof all at once. Rhys raised his head to the night air, testing the breeze.
“The easterly wind is in our favor,” he allowed. “Yes, I can still make it in time if I take you.”
What he left unsaid was that he really didn’t want to. He doubted what she could possibly add to the occasion, other than being a nuisance and potential collateral damage if things went south.
“I need to be there,” she whispered, her eyes beseeching. “I have to help him. Please.”
Visibly suppressing whatever he wanted to say, Rhys reached into a metal cabinet tucked behind a tall concrete ledge and withdrew what looked to be a utility bag with a shoulder harness.
“Put those scrolls in here and tighten the belts. If needed, pull the cord on the side. There’s a small, built-in parachute. Depending on the height, it might not totally break your fall, but at least the plummet won’t kill you.”
“Good to know,” Eveline murmured, her preternatural calm taking that moment to reassert itself.
“But you don’t plan on dropping me, right?” she asked, just to be sure.
He grinned at her a second before transforming into a giant Golden Eagle.
Eveline barely tightened the clasps of the backpack befor
e talons twice the size of her head dug into her shoulders and lifted her straight off the rooftop.
With a muffled shriek, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but not before she suffered the vertigo of looking down.
Way down.
When she volunteered for this little flight, she’d forgotten about her fear of heights. At least her shoulders didn’t bear giant puncture wounds from the eagle’s sharp talons. He’d somehow curled them into the backpack straps, holding her in place with the fleshly part of his claws.
Eveline suppressed a slight shudder of revulsion. This was probably also not the time to dwell on the fact that she wasn’t overly fond of birds.
The chickens that used to run around the monastery (yes, monastery, not nunnery, long story) in which she grew up had the ugliest feet, which the monks used to eat along with every other bit of the bird when they grew too old to lay eggs.
She squinted one eye open and looked up at the giant eagle legs, leading down to the monstrous talons that held her in place.
Yup. Still unattractive. Not as ugly as chicken feet, but…
Eveline sighed and tried not to dwell on it.
What had become of her well-ordered life?
A few days ago, she’d been abducted and delivered to the Dark King to be his Blood Slave, which she negotiated down to a Blood Contract. Then, he’d gifted her with the most explosive sexual experience of her life—twice—before making her, the woman who never cried, weep buckets full of tears over his unequivocal rejection. Now, she was dangling thousands of feet in the air from a giant eagle’s talons, on their way to crash a royal Challenge.
Eveline had always thought of herself as the sort of female who wouldn’t be in such precarious, dramatic situations.
Well, now she thought—
Fuck it.
A whole new Eveline was about to come to town.
“Humans view Immortals as either gods or monsters. Dark Ones and those Gifted with Animal Spirits are the most obvious, given the physical manifestations. Pure Ones and those Gifted with Elements are much less so, their powers easily hidden. In the latter case, ‘magic’ or ‘sorcery’ are terms used to describe the ability of a Pure One to never age, our enhanced healing abilities, and our strength. Elementals have an even broader array of powers, each Gift unique from the next, like snowflakes. When an Immortal is also possessed of a Gift, all limits are imaginary…”
—From the lost oral histories of the Zodiac Scrolls
Chapter Twelve
Ramses stepped to the edge on the west bank of the American Falls after clearing the forest through which he, Maximus and Ariel had hiked through.
The night was eerily quiet, save the crushing deluge of the falls, the surrounding area within a two-mile radius deserted. At about two o’clock in the morning, this was not surprising.
Dark, looming clouds hid a low-hanging yellow moon, casting the falls in a pale, ghostly light that made the mists appear to rise into the air like sulfurous smoke, reminiscent of humans’ portrayal of the Devil’s lair, full of fire and brimstone.
A poetic setting, in other words, for the Challenge that was about to take place.
Upon Ramses’ orders, Maximus had arranged for Devlin and Grace to hack into the proximate security and lighting systems to shut off all video surveillance and the multi-color lasers that usually lit up the falls. If there were any accidental human passersby, they wouldn’t be able to see two feet in front of them in the veiling darkness. And if they had a flashlight, the vampires would be forewarned of their presence well in advance.
Even so, to ensure the secrecy of the race (something Queen Anya and her alliance of Dark nobles were less concerned about), Grace and Devlin were also tasked with remotely monitoring and redirecting any traffic that might come their way.
“Stand by.”
Ramses heard his Second-in-Command give the gruff order through his wrist-com to whatever reinforcements that had been assembled, probably already scattered throughout the forests at their back. Then, Maximus and Ariel took their positions a few yards behind him, protecting his rear while he stood on the edge of the bank, looking across the two-hundred-fifty-meter length of the falls to the far side.
Waiting.
But not for long.
Right on time, three figures exited the woods on the other side and strode purposefully toward the falls. Two forms were obviously females, given their builds, though they were both relatively tall. They appeared small in comparison, however, to the giant of a male behind them.
Ramses narrowed his eyes and sharpened his vampire vision.
He could not yet make out clearly what the male’s features were, but there was something dangerously familiar about him. In the way he moved, his very aura, which Ramses could sense even from a distance away.
At the edge of the falls, the opposing contingent stopped.
Because of the deafening rush of the waterfall, there was no use trying to communicate with spoken words. Instead, Queen Anya reached out with her telepathy.
Ramses himself was not a strong telepath; it was not his Gift. Those Gifted with the Elements Air and Water were the strongest telepaths. Those Gifted with Earth and Fire, like he was, made the strongest telekinetics.
But Queen Anya’s Gift was strong enough to push her thoughts into his mind and take his thoughts in return. He knew from previous experience that she could not read his thoughts without his permission. And thank fuck for that. They were typically less than complimentary.
So, Dark King, you will accept the Challenge as your own Champion? she began without preamble.
In fairness, I feel compelled to warn you that my Champion is unimaginably strong. Are you sure you don’t want to choose someone else to stand in your stead? Perhaps that gorgeous warrior behind you.
Anya tipped her chin to indicate Maximus and directed an inviting smile his way.
Ramses heard Ariel’s immediate territorial growl as Anya checked out her Mate, and quickly redirected the Great Plains Queen back to the matter at hand.
I fight my own battles, the olden way. Unlike you modern, watered-down vampires who hide behind others more capable. Or more stupid.
Anya chuckled gloatingly.
You will eat those words shortly, Ramses, when you fall beneath my Champion’s steel.
Ramses tilted his head and tossed back at her, the weapon is my choice, and I have not yet spoken. I shall do so now.
Anya arched an elegant brow at him.
Don’t keep me in suspense, oh mighty Ramses.
Ramses narrowed his eyes at the male behind Anya and her Second. Still, he could not make the warrior out.
He had no intention of losing this Challenge, but even though it was to the death, he also didn’t feel like killing Anya’s stand-in. If it was the queen herself, he’d be less inclined towards leniency, just to send a clear message to her supporters.
But killing her Champion was a needless waste. It would declare him the winner of the Challenge, but it would teach Anya nothing. She would lose nothing, save a recruited warrior, perhaps not even from her own Hive, with no deep connection to her, and was therefore dispensable. Ramses could see from the way she and her Second kept themselves slightly apart from the male that this was true.
There was nothing he could do about it; it was any and every Dark One’s right to Challenge another for dominion or Claim. It was even encouraged in ancient times to Challenge the leaders of hives, for only the strongest should lead.
Because Ramses had been Queen Ashlu’s Champion as well as Consort, she had always won. The only war she’d fought on her own was the Great War after Ramses’ defection. And she lost that spectacularly. It had taken four millennia since for Dark Ones to establish powerful, ruling hives around the world again. But never as all-encompassing in rule as the Dark empire under the Queen of All Kinds.
Ramses extended both arms straight out, perpendicular to his body, hands fisted. Then, he turned them wrists up and opened his fists.
Anya’s eyebrows elevated in surprise.
Nothing. You choose to fight bare-handed? How…primitive.
Since you will be sitting out the Challenge, Coward Queen, your observations on the matter are irrelevant, Ramses returned.
Anya’s muffled shriek of outrage could be heard over the rumbling falls.
“Is it wise to bait her, Ramses?” Maximus cautioned from behind him.
Oh, level-headed Maximus, what would he do without the stoic Commander with no sense of humor?
Maximus would make a great king, Ramses thought.
“Grace reports that there are at least two dozen heat signatures in the forest on the far side. Anya brought backup,” Ariel noted.
“And witnesses,” Maximus added.
As he’d expected.
“What do we have?” Ramses queried low.
“About a dozen situated around the perimeter of the forest. If it comes to an all-out fight, it’d be even odds. Our allies are better warriors than Anya’s,” Maximus growled.
The Commander was merely stating fact; he never exaggerated.
Ramses stared at his Challenger across the falls and beckoned with a tilt of his head.
It was time to get this done.
Anya looked behind her and said something. But the male who came with them didn’t look her way, keeping his eyes locked on Ramses.
The Great Plains Queen grew impatient, turning fully toward the male to harangue him, no doubt.
He continued to ignore her, though he shifted his head from left to right, likely cracking the kinks out of his neck and loosening his shoulders.
Ramses deepened his breathing and prepared his consciousness and body for battle. With his Gift, severely weakened over the millennia as it was, his mental concentration was paramount for success.
He’d chosen no weapon because in this way, he might do the least damage to the other male. He also wasn’t planning to use the full extent of his Gift if he could avoid it (if his powers would even obey him) because there were observers, and he’d rather keep his secret to himself for now.
“Come,” he commanded the Champion with a beckoning crook of his fingers.