Darkness Rising: A Shadow Realm novel (Reclaiming the Shadow Realm Book 2)

by Candy Crum

  It made her smile, but the thought of making everyone proud made her smile grow.

  The elements trembled, and something coiled in her stomach. It was a warning, and she knew exactly what to do when she felt that. Don’t fight it.

  Without hesitation, she forced the energy outward, and it seemed to blast from every inch of her skin. She lifted her head opened her eyes just in time to see Aeric grab her. He was smiling from ear to ear.

  She looked around them and saw a translucent, wavy blue cloud surrounding them. She had put up a barrier, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep him out. His skin smoked, and the ends of his hair were burned, but he was still inside with her. She wasn’t sure if she waited too long to release the energy or if she simply hadn’t been strong enough to make it effective.

  “Close, but not close enough. Had I actually attacked you, you’d be dead,” Aeric stated.

  “You’re counting this as a fail?” she asked with a disappointed look.

  Her disappointment didn’t even have anything to do with losing a bet or divulging anything embarrassing. At some point, making him and the others proud of her and excited for what she’d accomplished drove her to do something she didn’t know she was capable of yet. She knew the opinions of others didn’t matter, but it still stung.

  “Yes. I told you I wouldn’t go easy on you. If your goal was to create a barrier, you passed with flying colors. That was a goal for you today, and you did incredible. But my ultimate goal is to have you create a barrier that I can’t get through. It was an honest try, and you did amazing, but you weren’t able to keep me out. It stung me when I touched it, but I was able to move through it with no problem.” His tone was calm and polite. He reminded her of her driver’s ed teacher just then.

  She sighed, knowing what a fail probably meant. “So, what does this mean?”

  He smiled. “What was this dream about?” he asked as he inspected the area on her arms where he grabbed her. His concern never ceased to amaze her.

  “I can’t believe you’re going to make me tell you this,” she protested. “I might not have passed with flying colors, but it was still a solid B.”

  “Mmm… I’m thinking D plus.” He laughed.

  “Still passing!” she said.

  He shook his head. “Not if you’re in college, school girl. Anything less than a C is failing. That was the deal.”

  Her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply and then sighed. “Fine. You mentioned it earlier, so I assume you remember that ridiculous vision I had last night.”

  “Oh, yes. I remember that well.” His smug expressions were already grating on her nerves.

  She rolled her eyes. “I had a few dreams about you, which is no big deal at all, by the way. It’s not abnormal for that to happen since you were the last person I saw before going to bed. There’s really no need for you to make such a big deal about it. The same thing would have happened with Chris Hemsworth if Thor had been on the TV in my room when I fell asleep.”

  “Wait, did you say dreams? As in more than one?”

  She groaned. She never should have chosen those words, accurate as they may have been. “That was a mistake. It was only one.” She hoped he would leave it alone, but she didn’t think she’d get that lucky.

  “Oh, no. I heard the flutter of that timid little heart of yours.” He took a step closer, towering over her as he looked down into her eyes. “Now, you have to spill. That was the deal.”

  “Nope. The deal was for one,” she replied.

  “True… We’ll have to see if we can change that,” he replied. “Now, tell me the one you found the least naughty because, we both know that’s what you were planning to do this whole time.”

  She couldn’t fault him for his interest. If she’d found out he or Sam had been having sexy dreams about her, she’d do whatever she could to find out what they were.

  Being embarrassed only made the situation worse for her, so she stepped forward and took control. She smiled as she placed her hand on his bare chest. His eyes widened momentarily with obvious shock.

  When she spoke, her voice was low and almost seductive. “You snuck into my room while I was sleeping. Though I was still asleep, I awoke in the dream. You were lying on top of me, kissing my face and neck. I wanted to ask what you were doing, but I didn’t want you to stop. You were giving me exactly what I wanted right then. When you smiled, I saw your fangs, but I wasn’t scared. In fact, it was quite the opposite.”

  She was pressed against him now, his hands on her sides. His breaths had increased, and there was a slight flush to his cheeks. She could feel the change in his energy as she spoke, and she felt very much in control. He’d been messing with her all day, so she decided to repay the favor.

  She stepped back far enough he could no longer touch her, instantly dropping the seductive act as she waved a dismissive hand. “Then you bit me, and I woke up. The end. Nothing that interesting.”

  His expression was heated, but still controlled. He was obviously much better at controlling himself than she was. “Hmm, and you didn’t find that the least bit interesting?”

  “Not really,” she lied.

  The truth was that it did far more than she would have liked, and the dream had been much more detailed and erotic, though she wasn’t about to tell him that.

  His eyes narrowed, and an evil grin formed. “Your heart just skipped a beat. You’re lying.”

  Damn him, she thought.

  “So, if you are, in fact, lying—and you are—just how interesting to you was it?”

  “That’s none of your business,” she replied flatly. She turned and started to walk away, but he didn’t plan to let her go so easily.

  He once again lowered his mouth to her ear. Her body immediately reacted as he proved just who was better at the game she’d so badly wanted to win. Though she stiffened, she tried not to squirm. Even though he was a good guy, facts were facts. Under all the looks and kindness was a confident, calculated predator, and he enjoyed this.

  “Oh, but I beg to differ. In that dream, it was my body that you were using to pleasure yourself. That definitely makes it my business.” His voice was dark, seductive; and she could sense something off about him. It only turned her on more.

  What the hell is wrong with me? she asked herself.

  It seemed she couldn’t control herself again, but in a completely different way. She either wanted to kill him or rip his clothes off. There rarely seemed to be much of a middle ground.

  Her breath caught as his words had a very powerful effect on her. She’d never wanted to run so fast from a person while simultaneously wanting to turn and grab them. His arms wrapped around her from behind, and her hands instinctively reached up to grab them.

  The instant her fingers touched his skin, electricity passed through them, but it wasn’t painful—it only seemed to make things worse. Her breathing increased as she pressed her backside against him, a low groan escaping her.

  Stop this, she told herself. Not him. It can’t be him. Walk away.

  Taking a deep breath, and regretting it before it even happened, she stepped away from him again. He didn’t try to stop her, though she could see various muscles in his chest and arms tightening and releasing as he fought the urge to touch her again.

  “You asked your question, and I answered. If you want another answer—” she looked back over her shoulder and into his eyes “—that requires another challenge.”

  “Not going to make this easy for me, are you?” he asked.

  His eyes were darker, and so was his energy. She could feel the hunger radiating from him as he fought the darkness rising inside him. She just couldn’t tell if he was hungry for blood… or something else.

  “Not a chance.” She smiled.

  She wouldn’t let him win again. She took a few more steps away from him and felt another change in the atmosphere. It was almost instant. He didn’t even bother to wait, and his stronger energy was far more threatening this time.
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br />   The coiling feeling in her chest came back with more intensity, and she didn’t wait. Energy exploded around her, and she felt a hard collision. She turned to check on Aeric, but there was a light blue cloud separating them.

  She’d done it. He was even stronger right then because he was having a hard time controlling himself, and she’d done it anyway. Had she let go sooner the first time, she definitely would have won.

  But then they wouldn’t have had that moment.

  “Congratulations, Kailah. Success is yours. So, I’ll ask you the same thing you asked me. What does this mean?”

  She dropped the barrier between them, which took far less concentration. “Well, you lost. So, I want to see the real you. That was the deal. Only really seen your Vampire side while in battle or when I was severely pissed off. I want to see you right now, while everything is calm.”

  “I have a question for you first.” He smiled playfully as his dark eyes narrowed. “Do you want to know if I look the same as I did in the dream?” He took a step closer. His left hand rested on her hip as he gently gripped a handful of her hair with his right. He guided her head to the side, lowering his mouth to the hollow of her throat. “Or do you want to know if I feel the same as I did in your dream?”

  Her heart skipped again, and she didn’t need him to tell her that it did. How was she supposed to respond to that? It was becoming painfully obvious to her she did want to know, but she couldn’t say that…

  Can I?

  “I—” she started, not knowing what to say. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m not sure that I know how to answer that.”

  He laughed, the sound deep and dark. “Well, let’s just say that if you told me no, that you didn’t want to feel the pleasure of my bite, I would know you were lying.”

  “Don’t act like I’m the only one,” she chastised. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want to know what I taste like.” She couldn’t believe that came out of her mouth, but it did.

  He backed away from her throat and touched his nose to hers. “I can think of many places on your body that I would love to taste.”

  Her stomach took a giant leap into her throat, it took all she had to keep from pressing forward and kissing him. “You wouldn’t though, would you?”

  It had been quite a while since he’d fed, and she knew that was why he was acting so predatory. Wendy told her Vampires had it much worse when it came to their sex drives. Kailah imagined hunger and desire went hand in hand. She’d stirred up one and naturally brought on the other. He was absentmindedly “hunting” her. The realization of it was terrifying, but she wasn’t scared in the least. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

  “Bite you?” he asked quietly. She nodded against him and swallowed hard. Every time he mentioned it, she got chills. “Tasting blood is one thing, but I don’t think that I could bite you. I’m not sure, but I really don’t know that I could.”

  “Why not?” She felt a little offended.

  “I’m very different from most. I was taught the sensuality of being a Vampire. Biting is like sex to me, and I always treat it as such. When I had my mouth to your throat just then, I was teasing you. Trying to get some kind of reaction out of you, though I didn’t expect the one that I received. Your response affected me just as much, if not more. You smell incredible. Vampires love the scent of Immortals, but they know not to get close. You’re like a beautiful poisonous flower—to be admired from afar but never touched.

  “You and I aren’t enemies, though. So, I can touch you, and I could smell the change in your scent—your desire for me to bite you. I don’t think you could possibly understand, especially when I haven’t had blood in so long, just how badly I wanted to. Drinking blood is incredibly pleasurable for both my donor and me, but the bite is incredibly intense and intimate.

  “With you, it’s different. You aren’t some random person or a victim. I feel some kind of closeness between us, whether you choose to feel the same toward me or not. Whatever it is, friendly or otherwise; it exists and prevents me from doing that. It would change our relationship for the good or bad, and I’m not willing to risk it.”

  She suddenly felt very rejected. She knew that wasn’t his intention, but she hadn’t felt such an intense desire in a very long time, maybe ever. Even though she knew it shouldn’t happen and that it was a terrible idea, she couldn’t help but want it anyway.

  “Does that bother you?” he asked.

  When she looked up, she expected to see some kind of humored expression, but there was nothing like that. Instead, he looked thoughtful, curious.

  “Suddenly, I’m not sure I want to have this conversation.” She tried to back away.

  He stepped forward and took her hands in his “Why?”

  “I’m just a little uncomfortable. That’s all.” She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He just kept staring at her. She wasn’t sure what made her more uncomfortable, the topic or his focused gaze. She wasn’t used to being looked at like that. “How long has it been since you’ve… fed.”

  “It’s, um… been a while. A little over a week. I’ve had more important things on my mind.”

  She knew he was talking about her. Since her arrival, everything had been about her and only her. She hadn’t seen a single blood bag and wasn’t even sure if they had any. It bothered her that he’d been ignoring his own needs to make sure that she was taken care of.

  Kailah backed away from him and looked around. She found a piece of broken glass from what looked to be a busted Coke bottle. Whatever infection would have developed in a normal person would quickly be purified out of her system, so she wasn’t worried.

  After making her way back to Aeric, she lifted the glass to her wrist, but he stopped her. “No.”.

  “It’s fine. I’m really not worried about it. You’ve stopped taking proper care of yourself to make sure I’m cared for. I just want to help you.”

  “It’s not that—” he started, pupils slightly dilated “—just not the wrist.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s no place on your body that this won’t be intimate, but if you’re certain this is what you want, then there are places I would rather drink from.”

  Aeric reached for her left hand and flipped it palm up as he gently rubbed the padding of her hand just below the thumb and slightly above the wrist. She saw the blue veins showing through her tan skin.

  “It’s not much of a variation, but it’s enough for me. There aren’t as many nerves there, so it’s less likely to trigger a…” He paused as he carefully chose his next words. “The wrist is an erogenous zone, and if you respond the way I think you would… I doubt there would be any returning from that. We wouldn’t be able to stop ourselves. There are a few spots I’m weak for, and the wrist is one of them; along with the neck, inner thighs, and breasts.”

  Hearing where he liked to bite most had the opposite effect he was hoping for. She knew he was trying to stay away from anything overtly sexual, but she couldn’t seem to come down from the high she felt earlier.

  She raised her right hand and gently placed the broken glass against the place of his choosing on her left hand. He stroked a vein that was slightly thicker than the others and ran from the base of her thumb to her wrist.

  “This one,” he said.

  Kailah nodded and dug the glass into her hand. She winced at the pain, but quickly forgot about it when she thought of what was about to happen. Her heart began beating harder, and heat radiated from her chest as her body tried to heal itself.

  With everything going on, she hadn’t tested her healing abilities. She knew she could process alcohol like a champ, but she hadn’t thought about how fast she might heal. To keep the wound from closing, she concentrated on that heat and contained it in her chest.

  Blood began to run down her hand and across her wrist. Aeric’s eyes were a deep forest shade of green rather than their beautiful emerald color, and his pupils were glazed over, almost a metallic b
lack. They were shiny and beautiful. She smiled at him to let him know that everything was okay.

  He gently guided her hand to his mouth before looking her directly in the eyes and fully smiling. For the first time, she really saw him. Her dream had been incredibly accurate.

  Aeric had four tiny, perfect fangs. They were so subtle that it was no wonder why they were so easily hidden. He wasn’t frightening to look at like Jeff had been. Aeric turned his face toward her outstretched, bleeding hand.

  As his jaw opened wider, his fangs lengthened into what she had always imagined Vampire teeth to look like. They were longer and looked far more intimidating, but still nothing like a Rogue’s. His tongue pushed forward as he was about to make contact with her broken skin, and excitement washed over her, chilling her from head to toe.

  Before Kailah could see what was happening, she and Aeric were completely separated by more than twenty feet. She felt an arm around her neck and a hand around her left wrist. She was flipped around to face a beautiful woman with jet-black, spiky hair streaked with neon-pink highlights.

  The woman looked at Kailah with an expression that was nothing but compassionate, but she had never seen her before. The woman opened her mouth and ran her tongue against the wound, tracing its full length.

  “Don’t be afraid. My saliva has healing abilities,” the woman said. Her voice was lyrical and calming. She looked as though she could be a vicious killer, but her hazel eyes were full of compassion. Kailah hadn’t even sensed her coming, although that was probably a bad thing. She chalked it up to being “distracted.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Aeric asked sharply.

  The woman’s soft expression hardened as she turned toward Aeric. “You should probably watch your mouth with me. We might be the same species, but we clearly aren’t the same. I protect humans against monsters like you. You can call me Grace.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The tension could be cut with a knife, and Kailah became very worried there might be a fight between the two Vampires.