by Linsey Hall
“You’re impossible to resist,” he murmured against my throat, his breath warm and his lips soft.
I pressed my body full length against his harder one, plunging my hands into his hair as he licked along the column of my neck.
A shiver raced down my spine, and I tilted my head to the side to give him better access. His fangs dragged along my skin, a perfect pleasure pain that made me see stars. When his lips met mine, I gasped.
He kissed me with a hunger that felt like it could never be satiated. His tongue was a miracle, so talented that my breath came short and my skin heated to burning. Tension tightened within me, desire making me shake.
I ran my hands over his strong shoulders, unable to get enough of him. It was all I could do not to wrap my legs around his waist and take this all the way, hard and fast.
He carried me through the water and pressed me back against the stone wall of the pool. His hands and lips were everywhere, making my mind go blank. It pulled me under, until all I knew was him.
10
I rose before dawn, tension making it impossible to sleep any longer. There was no light coming from the door that led to the outside, and the rain seemed to have lessened.
I turned toward Tarron, who slept on the other side of the huge cushion that had been laid out over a stone platform.
We hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night. And we’d barely spoken.
I didn’t regret a single moment of it.
Sex with Tarron had been pretty much the best thing ever, and I wouldn’t regret it. Even when things got difficult.
I poked him. “Wake up.”
He blinked, coming awake immediately. His eyes heated as they met mine.
“Dawn isn’t far off,” I said regretfully. “We need to go.”
His eyes cleared, as if he remembered why we were there and everything that stood between us. I still hadn’t told him about our future. Guilt tugged harder than ever at me. I would tell him. As soon as we spoke to the goddesses, I would tell him. The guilt burned so strongly that if I had time now, I would.
I swallowed hard and shoved it away, then climbed from the pallet and began to dress. Tarron did the same, moving quickly.
Once we were ready to go, we headed toward the path that he’d found last night. Neither of us spoke. The field of flame would stop burning soon, and we’d need to reach the goddesses.
“Let me.” Tarron stepped in front of me, going first into the darkened tunnel.
Unlike the beautifully carved chamber in which we’d spent the night, the tunnel was roughly gouged out of the rock. It was only a few inches higher than Tarron’s head, and wide enough that three people could walk side by side. It made it a bit tight to stick right at Tarron's side, but I was stubborn and didn't like the idea of him going ahead of me and facing the danger alone.
No doubt he’d have scoffed at that, so I kept it to myself.
The tunnel was quiet and dark—eerily so. The air became staler the deeper we got, and Tarron ignited a flame in his palm to provide light. As we walked, I began to feel eyes on me. The prickle of attention was impossible to mistake.
“Do you feel that?” I whispered.
Tarron nodded. “Someone is watching.”
I turned around, searching the space behind me. A pair of bright white eyes blinked out of existence, disappearing. Definitely a creature, not a person, from the shape of them.
“From behind,” I murmured. “Not sure what it is.”
“And ahead.” Tarron pointed to the left wall in front of us.
I peered at it, spotting the slightest glow of eyes—as if the creature were squinting so they could still see us but not be spotted as easily.
“I think they are little animals,” Tarron said.
“Or sprites of some kind.”
I debated drawing a blade or shield, and decided against it. They didn’t feel threatening. Not yet at least. No need to change that.
“Burn?” I asked to the air. “Could you come here? Don’t act like a badass, okay? Try to look nice.”
Tarron shot me a curious look.
I shrugged. “The Thorn Wolf can often sense threats. And animals are better at reading other animals.”
A few moments later, Burn appeared. His spiked, thorny fur lay against his back in a non-threatening way, and he made a point to wag his tail.
I patted his head. “Good guy. What do you think of the creatures in here?”
He sniffed, then whined with interest. Bacon.
“They’re fine,” I translated, peering into the dark.
Finally, I spotted a little creature with enormous eyes and soft beige fur. The little animal crept forward on little hands with long fingers. It was about the size of a house cat, and looked a bit like a cross between a monkey and a fat-faced rodent. But cute.
Really cute.
One after the other, the creatures climbed from crevices in the rock, moving toward us.
“That’s a lot of them,” Tarron murmured.
I swallowed hard, my heart picking up speed. They crowded around us, making a weird purring noise. Soon, there were so many that we could hardly walk.
“This could be a problem.” Tarron shifted his legs, disrupting twenty little fluffy balls that piled up.
More were coming out of the walls, a tidal wave of them. Little fangs glinted in their mouths, and unease tightened my muscles. I spotted tiny claws on their toes as well. Little, but sharp.
We were surrounded by a couple hundred now, more and more piling on top of each other in their desire to inspect us.
“There are so many that if they turn against us, we’re in trouble,” Tarron said.
“Totally screwed.” I eyed the fangs on a cute one that hung from the ceiling. In half a second flat, these things could turn nasty. There were enough that they could tear us apart.
Worse, we couldn’t move forward anymore. There were so many that we were totally stuck.
Tarron created a small gust of wind, trying to blow them back gently. Their little claws dug into the ground and each other, and they didn’t budge an inch.
“They’re completely impervious,” I said.
He tried a stronger gust, and they held firm. Magic glittered around their feet.
Shit.
“They’re used to strong wind,” Tarron murmured. “They’ve got some defense against it.”
The creatures moved more quickly, jostling against each other. The energy in the tunnel was increasing as the excitement of the little monsters rose.
My heart began to thunder louder. I shifted nervously.
“They’re changing,” I whispered.
Burn growled, clearly nervous.
Crap, that was bad.
The Thorn Wolf was buried up to his belly in little furry pincushions of fangs and claws. Huge, glowing eyes stared at us from all around.
Four of them were playing with the shiny zippers on my boots, and another two had climbed onto my shoulders to fiddle with the sparkling comms charm around my neck. It clanged against the charm that Aethelred had given me, giving them two things to play with. They seemed delighted, but in a creepy way. Two had climbed onto Tarron to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt, and one clung to my waist, poking at my belt buckle.
“They like shiny things.” I could empathize. I was quite the fan myself.
Except they were totally invading my personal space. And there were so many of them now that I thought we might drown in fluffy bodies.
They started to pull at things that interested them, getting more aggressive. They clicked their fangs and hissed.
“I can work with that.” Tarron’s magic swelled on the air.
“Hurry,” I said, twitching as the creatures piled up to my waist. I could feel the pricks of their claws and fangs as they moved more quickly, excited. The energy in the air felt the same as it did before a big storm. Like something bad was going to happen on the turn of a dime.
“I’ve got it.” Tarron's magic prickl
ed from behind.
I turned to look back, spotting a pile of shiny rocks on the ground.
“Look, guys.” I pointed, praying it worked. There were so many hanging on to my legs and sitting on my shoulders that I felt weighed down.
Tarron conjured a few more.
Little ears perked up, and hundreds of pairs of glowing, round eyes swiveled to look at the shiny piles of rocks. They glittered invitingly, sparkling in the light of the flame that Tarron held. Then they charged, leaping off of me so their nails dug in.
I winced and cursed.
They flowed as a mass toward the shiny rocks, moving like a wave.
An image of us, buried beneath their fangs and claws and fluff, flashed in my mind. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Burn disappeared, and we hurried forward.
We were about twenty yards away when Tarron stopped and turned. I mimicked his movements, watching the piles of fluffy murder mice writhe around each other, playing with their trophies. Tarron raised his hands and let his magic fill the air.
A wall of ice formed between us and the creatures, just clear enough that I could see them turn hundreds of eyes toward us, glowing like creepy Christmas lights. Fangs glinted.
“Good thinking.” I shot Tarron a look. “We don’t need a repeat.”
He nodded. “And this way, it will melt and not disturb their habitat.”
It was thoughtful of him. What if there were little murder mice babies on this side of the ice wall? If he’d built a wall of stone, they’d starve to death.
That would be a shame. Not that I ever wanted to see them again. But still…a shame.
“Good thinking. Wouldn’t want the fluffy murder mice to be separated from their babies,” I said.
Tarron shot me a look, brow raised. “Fluffy murder mice?”
“You know, big eyes, little fangs.”
“Oh, I followed. I just think they should be called killer kittens.” He grinned, then nodded his head toward the tunnel. “Let’s get out of here.”
We turned and hurried forward through the tunnel.
“We must be getting close,” Tarron said. “It’s been miles.”
“Fates, I hope you’re right.”
When the earth began to shake around us, I hoped even harder. “What’s that?”
“Feels like an earthquake.” He reached out, steadying himself against a wall.
“This region isn’t known for them.”
“Magic, then.”
“My mother?” Terror sparked in my chest. She could be above ground right now, wreaking havoc.
Dust fell from the ceiling as the earth shook harder.
“Run!” I sprinted forward, skin cold with fear.
Tarron raced alongside me. I sliced my finger as his magic flared. The trembling minimized a bit, and I added my magic to his, imagining myself controlling the rock walls around us. Keeping them firm and in their place.
Please don’t fall and crush us.
I pushed my magic as hard as I could, trying to keep the walls from shaking. Tarron’s power surged, filling the tunnel with the scent of an autumn day and the sound of wind whistling through the trees. My lungs burned as we ran, trying desperately to reach the stairs I prayed were ahead of us.
Dirt and rock chips continued to rain down, and my legs felt like jello as the earth shook.
“Nearly there,” Tarron said.
“You can tell?”
“Can smell fresh air.”
I put on a burst of speed as the ground shook harder. This was my mother. I knew it.
Finally, I spotted the stairs ahead of us. They were roughly carved out of the rock and extremely steep. I sprinted up them, Tarron right behind me. At the top, a huge slab of rock blocked my way. A tiny sliver of space allowed fresh air and light through, but the white rock itself was enormous.
I pressed my shoulder against it, heaving with all my strength. The Dragon Blood that flowed through my veins gave me extra strength. The rock budged. Tarron joined me, shoving his huge body against the stone and pushing. My muscles burned as I kept up the pressure, hoping our combined strength could do it.
As the earth shook around us, we managed to shove the rock away enough that we could scramble out. Tarron pushed me out first, heaving me up with two strong hands against my butt. I scrambled out into the sunlight and into chaos.
We were at the edge of the temple, in an area surrounded by the charred soil of the field of fire. Only a few yards from us, the ruins of the temple gleamed white in the sun. One of the columns had fallen into the field of fire, blocking the tunnel exit.
A battle raged ahead, magic and blades flying through the ruins of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. I hurled myself behind the cover provided by an enormous, fallen marble column and curled up. Tarron joined me a half second later. We were surrounded by huge pieces of fallen marble.
I blinked, trying to clear my vision and use the gift that the satyr had given me. The ruins did not turn themselves into a fully formed temple.
“I think she’s destroyed the place,” I said.
“He has.” Tarron pointed to the same enormous Fae that had hit me with a blast of debilitating energy magic yesterday.
He threw blasts of energy at the remaining parts of the goddesses’ temple. Enormous pillars crashed to the ground, shaking the earth.
“He could collapse the tunnel on the fluffy murder mice,” I said.
He moved into a crouch, ready to leap up. “I’ll take care of him. We should stick together.”
“Sure.” I so wasn’t going to do that. I knew he wanted to protect me, but I had to find my mother before she got the information she’d come for.
Tarron charged forward, wings spreading majestically from his back as he conjured a sword and shield. Now that he had the giant in his sights and wouldn’t be caught unawares like last time, I knew he’d be fine.
I conjured my own shield and followed him. When he’d passed through a stone arch, I deviated and went left, slipping between two pillars that still stood upright. The sound of screams drew me forward through the rubble. My mother’s scent—putrid night lilies and brimstone—made me gag. The fallen pillars and giant blocks of marble made the temple into an obstacle course, and I climbed over and ducked under huge white stones.
A flash of movement to my right caught my eye, and I whirled. From behind a pillar, a tall Fae lunged at me. His dark hair and pale skin gleamed under the dawn sun, and he raised a slender obsidian blade.
His eyes glinted with malice as he threw it, and the black glass sparkled in the sunlight. I raised my shield and ducked behind. The glass shattered against the metal, and I dropped my sword, drawing my own dagger from the ether. I went for steel, willing to pull no punches when I was so close to my mother.
I peeked out from behind my shield and threw my blade. The Fae darted right, so fast he managed to nearly avoid my dagger entirely. It stabbed him in the shoulder, and he howled, clutching at it.
Quickly, I grabbed my sword and charged, leaping over a pile of rubble and taking to the air with my wings. I flew fast and low. The Fae’s eyes widened, and he called on his own wings, rising up into the air as he grabbed another dagger from a holster at his thigh.
I was faster than I had been, the practice clearly having paid off. We collided five feet above the ground. He swiped out with his dagger, but I darted right. The blade sliced shallowly at my arm, burning like hell but not debilitating. I stabbed him through the middle with my sword, and he shrieked.
Roughly, I jerked the blade free and kicked him away. He fell and slammed to the stones below. I turned and flew back to the ground, spotting Tarron in the distance.
He was fighting the huge Fae who sent the deadly blasts. Tarron’s sheer power and speed were incredible, and he landed a kick to the Fae’s face that sent him spinning. More Fae surged toward him, raising weapons.
As much as I wanted to keep watching or fly over to help, I didn’t want to stay too high in the
air where I could be seen. The cover provided by the ruined temple was too good to pass up, and I still needed to find my mother.
Tarron could take care of himself. And while he distracted most of the Fae with his huge, loud fight, I’d take out the queen.
Quietly, I crept through the ruins, keeping low as I moved closer to my mother’s dark magic. It took everything I had not to race forward—but if I did, I’d have to lower my shield. I couldn't afford to get hit by one of her mind-controlling potion bombs. Not when I was so close to her.
I found two more Unseelie along the way, managing to narrowly avoid death both times. As I got closer to my mother, the skill of her guards increased.
Smart.
But then, it probably ran in the family.
I reached a clearing in the middle of the temple. Here, the pillars were far enough away that my mother had found some space to work. Her magic was so strong that she had to be within only a few yards of me. I crouched behind a huge block of marble and peered out.
The sight before me dropped my stomach to my knees.
I could see the backs of the four goddesses, each of whom knelt on the ground in front of my mother. All four goddesses were surrounded by an individual bolt of white, electric energy. It extended from a two-foot tall crystal shard that had been plunged into the ground in front of them, somehow holding them tethered. My mother stood in front of the crystal, grinning malevolently.
“I’ll know what you know soon enough,” she murmured.
The goddesses fought, jerking against their lightning chains, but they could barely move.
I could hear Fae attackers all around, ransacking the temple or fighting Tarron. But there were none around my mother. She was confident in her ability here.
She probably didn’t even sense me yet, so enraptured was she with her victory over the goddesses. But she hadn’t gotten the information yet.
I had time.
I drew my bow and arrow from the ether and raised it, getting my mother in my sights. I pulled back on the string, then released.