“You scared me.”
“I know; we humans fade into the background after a while.”
“The way you dress?” I teased softly, not sure how far I could push a joke with him.
“Are you saying my clothes are loud and obnoxious?” He gasped, patting his pink-pinstriped gray jacket rolled to his elbows and green designer jeans.
“Noooo.” I shook my head, a grin tugging at my mouth. Ember and I loved to razz him about his clothes, but the boy dressed better than anyone in the castle. “I would never say obnoxious…offensive, maybe?”
“Ohhh! You did not say that.” Ryan put a hand to his mouth. “You know those are fightin’ words.”
“What are you gonna do, pretty boy? Go change your outfit?”
He tried to look aghast before a guffaw went through his nose. “I’ve missed you, sweet one.”
Tears burned through my eyes, forcing me to blink. “I’ve missed you more, salty one.”
“Never,” he whispered. “I felt as if I lost my soul.”
My legs bolted forward, both of us crashing into each other with a laughing sob, my arms squeezing him, not wanting to ever let go. He was my home. My heart.
“Your mate is going to have to deal with the fact another man claims you as his soulmate,” he whispered, choking out his words.
“He knew that before he even started anything with me. I don’t work without you…”
“It might make the bedroom awkward.”
I snorted loudly.
“I know you, Ken.” He cupped the back of my head, keeping me tight in the embrace. “I can see the weight you are carrying. I can feel it, because when you hurt, I hurt.”
I squeezed my lids tighter.
“I realized no argument in the world should stand between us, keeping me from being there and carrying the burden with you.” He leaned back, searching my face. “Plus, I really have nothing better to do than look fabulous at your side.”
Even with the horrors we were going to face, the dangers heading straight for us, I felt a tiny bit of relief. I stared back at Ryan, understanding it was only him who could do that, because some of my fear and sadness had been the loss of him. Of us.
“I love you.” I gripped his hand.
“I love you too.” He wiped his face, quickly brushing off any sentiment. “Now, if you want to take that love to the bedroom, I really must insist on two hot males joining us… Because I love you, but I don’t want to kiss you. Again.” He wrinkled his nose, shaking his head.
A laugh bubbled up my throat, lightening my heart and soul. Ryan was always able to ease my serious nature.
“Of course. Sure, Lorcan and Castien will be fine with that.”
“Oh, did I say them? I meant any two hot-bodied males.” He winked. “Preferably with exceptionally loose morals.”
Chapter 14
Ember
Twigs and foliage crunched under my boots as I ran through the forest, my senses tasting everything like a buffet. A few deer were close by and after what I had been through earlier and the loss of blood, my dweller craved food. Raw and bloody.
“This way,” Eli muttered ahead of me. Deep aromas of musty dirt and decaying vegetation crowded my nose, but the smell of people and warm-blooded animals overpowered them, especially when they were scared. Terrified humans smelled somewhat sour, similar to sweat, and their hearts hammered in their chest, thumping in my ears like a drum.
My tongue slid across my bottom lip as I took a deeper whiff of the fear exploding through the forest. The majority of it came from the village right next to the trail where we ran. I could control it but couldn’t deny the taste of terror excited my dark dweller side.
My legs pumped a steady rhythm trying to keep up with the boys. Eli and Lorcan treaded ahead of me, staying in their human shape. The rest shifted, prowling the other sections of the forest, circling the castle right outside the protected line.
“Look.” Lorcan stopped, his finger pointing to the streets of the village. Dozens of citizens ran around, the atmosphere filled with fear and restless anxiety. Automobiles and horse-drawn wagons moved down the lanes, some already parked in front of houses, people loading their belongings with rushed movements.
“Crap.” My shoulders sagged, feeling crestfallen for Kennedy, which stirred up anger with my need to protect and defend her. I wanted to fight these faithless asses. Did they not realize how much she had sacrificed for them? What she had done to keep them safe? To keep the kingdom standing? “What a bunch of fickle, disloyal, dickhead, bagnuts sacks!” I yelled toward the hamlet. Each second I watched another person fill a wagon with their possessions, getting ready to run, to either join Stavros or hide like cowards, my fury rose. My powers began to spark through the layer of dust still coating my skin.
“Easy, Brycin.” Eli nudged me. “Setting the village on fire is not going to help.”
“Why not?” I spit out. “They deserve nothing better than to be zapped in the ass with lightning. To suffer for their disloyalty.”
“I’m all for watching that.” Lorcan folded his arms. I had little doubt he felt how I did, probably more so. “Go for it, dae. Let’s watch them squeal.”
I was that angry; it only took a little push. I stomped forward, my teeth grinding.
“Whoa. I don’t think so.” Eli grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back as he looked between his brother and me. “Shit, how am I the reasonable one here?”
“Scary times are upon us,” Lorcan replied evenly, his focus on a few fleeing into the forest, running on foot with only the bags on their backs.
A baby wailed. Its mother and father led their brood into a car and peeled away, abandoning their cottage. My nose told me they were human.
Lars kept his compound small, so everyone had a blood link to the shield protecting it. We could go in and out without worry. Kennedy did not have that luxury. There were far too many people inhabiting the village around the castle. She could only erect a general protection from outside threats. There wasn’t anything to protect against inside threats.
“I don’t understand how they can so easily be swayed by Stavros. Especially the humans.” I tossed up my arms. “Do they really believe what he said? Didn’t they notice he singled out Kennedy for not having their ideals in mind, but he never said he did? He will be worse than Aneira. And does the average fae, who can do anything for him, truly think he will care what they want?”
“I’ve learned the power of words actually is stronger than actions.” Lorcan glanced over at me. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Because of Kennedy, we learned the truth about Lorcan, what he sacrificed for Eli, why he’d done the things he did. But I could never forget the day he tried to kidnap me. His threats had chilled my soul. Now I knew he never planned to go through with most of them, but at the time, his words had terrified me. “And sadly, a lot of people want to be controlled. It means they feel they aren’t responsible for their own lives. All that happens is someone else’s fault.”
Still, it was hard for me to see how anyone could look at Stavros and think he was the better choice. With fae I knew Kennedy being a woman didn’t really come into play, but with humans, sexism was still alive and strong. They would walk headlong into their own demise because they’d rather have a man leading them than a woman.
At least there were a lot of villagers staying, yelling at those leaving, standing up for their Queen.
Guys. We have a problem, Cole’s voice boomed into my head through the link, jarring both Eli and me out of our thoughts. Lorcan cocked his head to the side, as though he were trying to listen to a faraway noise.
What? Eli responded.
A large group of fae in the north part of the forest are headed for the castle. Looks like a renegade party, Cole declared.
There’s also another group coming from the east, Cooper stated.
The three of us shot off, the boys shifting into their dweller beasts, their clothes shredding into scraps, which they left along
the forest floor like breadcrumbs. Trying to keep up, my body flew through the woods, bounding off rocks, and scrambling over fallen trees. Roars in the distance signaled the location of both attacks, but we were closer to the east side.
Dax. Dom. Head to Cole. I’m heading to Cooper. Lorcan’s voice was vastly distant compared to Cole’s. Separating from our clan, Lorcan was alpha of Dax and Dom, having lost Samantha in the war. We could all still link, but theirs was close to a radio call from a remote island.
The boys found Cooper and Gabby and jumped into the fight. A hunting party, more than two dozen fae—some human-looking, some animal shifters, and a few trolls—pounced on the dark dwellers, slashing with axes, swords, and spiked clubs. Dark dwellers were killers, their claws, teeth, and spiked backs slicing through their prey with poison, but there were a lot of attackers.
Cursing that I hadn’t showered off the goblin metal, I tugged out my sword, swiping at a figure leaping for me.
The creature’s arm transformed into a cheetah’s paw, sharp claws swiping at my face. I dropped to the ground, rolling out of the reach, and pulled the knife Eli gave me for my birthday and sliced at his legs.
“You bitch,” he bellowed, stumbling back.
“You come to kill the Queen, to hurt my friend…and I’m the bitch here?”
“She is not Queen. She is a Druid. She should have been slaughtered, and her bones scattered the same as the rest of her brethren. As you should be, dae.” He spit out the term in utter disgust.
Daes didn’t have any better reputation than Druids. Thanks to Aneira, almost all my kind had been extinguished along with the Druids.
Rage discharged from my pores like steam, and my vision locked on my prey. I knew my pupils had elongated and gone black.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Spotted kitty cat was going to die.
With a cry, I leaped for him, my teeth snapping for his neck, both of us smacking to the ground. Underneath me, he shifted into full cheetah, hissing and digging his claws into my arms.
When I was like this, I didn’t feel pain—too much adrenaline pumping out the need to kill. Once a dark dweller locked on its prey, it was nearly impossible to get their attention off a target.
Deep scratches tunneled through my clothes into my skin, the sensation of warm liquid rolling down my arms. The cheetah’s teeth went for my neck.
I bit down first, going straight for the carotid artery in its neck. The cat screeched, howling into the air, its body wiggling violently underneath me. His front and back legs dug into me, trying to push me away. My mouth only locked down firmer; the taste of blood cloaked my tongue in a tangy warmth.
My sword and knife stabbed its arms into the dirt, pinning them back from clawing at me, but I continued to saw my teeth into his neck, my dweller wanting this kill.
Anger over our situation with the stone and Stavros filled me. I thought of the people being held as leverage. The loss of Lars and Zoey. The attack on Kennedy, who only wanted the best for her people. The shifter took all my rage.
Brycin. I heard Eli’s voice in my head, but I ignored it, feeling the dying kicks of the cheetah. He’s dead, Ember. Let go.
A touch brushed my back and a snarl vibrated through my throat. Mine. My kill.
“Brycin. Back off,” Eli growled back. An order. He might not be second anymore, but he was still an alpha, and I would always be the bottom of the pack. “Now.”
My sharp tunnel vision broke, and I pulled away from the man, blood dripping from my mouth. The first time, I gagged after tearing into a throat, though it was a disgusting strighoul. That sensation had passed long ago. Now I was as much a killer as any dweller. This was who I was. And I liked it. The power, the taste.
The rush intensified all your senses, which was why dark dwellers craved sex after a kill.
My gaze roved to where he stood over me, naked, his green eyes glinting with desire.
“Shit. Remind me not to get in her way.” Lorcan stared at me with awe a few yards behind Eli, also naked, but that was normal. Bodies of the hunting party were strewn across the ground in bits. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in full dweller mode. Impressive.”
“Yeah. She’s a force.” Eli reached down, helping me to my feet. The cheetah’s head fell to the side, the hole in his neck still spouting blood. I wiped my chin with my sleeve. Now I felt the throbbing pain from the scratches the shifter left on my arms, and the older wound Stavros left on my neck as a display of how far he’d go. He was unpredictable, which made him truly frightening.
Cooper and Gabby plucked weapons and anything else important off the bodies before dragging them into a pile to burn. They would be used as a warning to others.
“Cole?” I continued to rub my mouth.
“They’re starting their own bonfire over there.” Gabby flopped another torso down on the growing mound. Long ago, I had lost all disgust and shock of this kind of scene. The day I met Eli my human world, my reality of right and wrong, slowly changed.
“Do we tell Kennedy?” I leaned into Eli, the exhaustion of the day catching up with me. “I don’t want to lie to her, but there is only so much one person can take.”
Lorcan heaved out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. Honestly, I want to keep this from her. She has so much going on. And she’s holding it all on her shoulders. This might be the thing that makes her snap, but…”
I nodded. Kennedy was strong, but there were some things no one person should have to bear.
“I agree, we don’t tell her,” Eli said firmly. “It’s already done and taken care of. We’ll just let Torin know to be extra vigilant. We don’t need her focusing on something she can’t control anyway.”
Lorcan and I hemmed and hawed.
“Fuck, brother. You think you have a hellion? Kennedy may appear sweet and quiet, but have you seen her pissed?”
“I have.” I lifted my hand. “Not pretty.”
“Exactly. And if she learns I’m keeping something from her…” He appeared to be weighing his options. “But you’re right. I know her. This will keep her awake all night. She already can’t sleep.” Lorcan let his head fall back, his hands on his hips. “We’re doing this for her sanity. She doesn’t need to know that on top of everything else she’s being actively hunted.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my hand over my hair, turning my gaze to the ground. I was used to seeing the guys and Gabby naked, but even I had my limit. It was a human trait which would probably always be there.
“We should head back soon.” I leaned more heavily on Eli, wanting to sleep.
“We’ll stay.” Cooper walked over, letting Gabby light the pyre. “Do a few more runs around. See if there are any more coming. Gabby can check the forest, and I can scope the area close to the wall.”
“Thanks, man.” Eli bowed his head to the second.
“Hmmm. I wonder why you want to do the wall area of the castle and not the forest?” Gabby snorted, folding her arms over her bare chest. “Because I’m sure there is more danger there with all the guards around…” She snapped her fingers. “Oh right, they have snacks there. Being served by a tiny blue-eyed blonde.”
“Shut up.” Cooper lifted his lip at his sister. “As if you don’t want an excuse to go find your demon-fighter.”
“Where is Alki?” I scanned around, realizing he wasn’t there.
“He’s with Goran on the south rim.” She frowned. “What the hell is up with Goran anyway? He gives me the creeps now. Something is not right with him.”
I couldn’t disagree. He moved the same as an automaton, and his speech was void of emotion. Even the disgruntled, uptight guy I knew had something of a personality. Now there was nothing.
“Hey?” Eli whispered into my ear, and I peered at him. “Race you to the showers?” Before I could even respond, he took off running toward the castle.
“Damn you, Dragen!” I yelled, running after him, his laughter trailing back to me.
He beat me to the shower
by only ten seconds, but he gloated his win. He walked me backward into the shower. “You know what I want for winning?”
“What?” The spray of water trailed down my body.
He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him.
“You.” His mouth brushed mine with a smirk. “And a jar of peanut butter. Together.”
“Damn. You know just what to say, Dragen, to make me hot.” I nipped at his lip. I considered peanut butter it’s own food group. It was one of my favorite things, besides him. Many times we combined the pairing. “Too bad we don’t have any here.”
“Guess you’ll have to bring the rest of my prize to me later. Naked.”
“If I don’t eat it all first,” I teased.
“You know the rules, Brycin. Never mess with a man’s peanut butter,” he growled.
It was really me who won in the end as he shoved me back into the wall of the shower, entering me with fervor, pounding the thrill of the hunt into me. Already humming with peaked adrenaline, it didn’t take long for us to find our first release, but Eli didn’t stop. Not after the second or third either. Sometimes it took us all night to calm down, taking our excess energy out on each other.
It looked like this was one of those times.
The door to our bathroom rattled. “Why is it always me who has to get you two out of shower?” Gabby’s annoyance slithered through the door.
“Go away,” Eli growled, his mouth running down my neck, nipping at my skin. “I thought you were patrolling anyway?”
“That was an hour ago.”
What? My head went back onto the tile, looking into Eli’s eyes. Had an hour really passed? To confirm Gabby’s claim, my skin felt the icy water running over us. When did the hot water run out?
“What the fuck do you want?” Eli’s movements slowed, but he continued to rock into me, hitting me so deep, my nails dug into his arms.
“To present you both with parents-of-the-year award, of course,” she said dryly. “Really, your parenting is stellar. Your kids are drunk and running amuck, scaring the kitchen staff.”
Rise From The Embers (Lightness Saga Book 4) Page 18