Whispers in the Dark [A Raven Saga Book 3]

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  "Thank you, Seth,” she whispered. Seth saw tears in her eyes. He reached out and wiped them away with his thumb. Her skin was hot now, almost if she had a fever, but he knew it was the blood working in her system. The remedy Robyn had given Jayd had failed. She was a full vampire now. He could do nothing to change her back.

  "Oh, Jayd, you don't have to thank me.” His voice fell to a heady whisper.

  He wound his fingers through her curly locks. They were silky against his palm. The individual strands tickled his flesh. Seth wanted to feel them against his mouth. He drew her into him and met her lips. The tang of his blood made him deepen the kiss. It took a moment for Jayd to respond. She was rigid and then began to melt from the heat sparking between them. He heard the crackling of static electricity. The pull between them was ten times stronger than it had been. His hand barely touched Jayd's flesh and the prickling of their auras made him shudder. Her mouth was velvety soft. Seth let the tip of his tongue trace the opening of her lips. The hardness of her fangs pressed against his tongue. Seth wanted to feel them in his flesh, too. Jayd was shaking. Her body was taut with passion. He ran his free hand along the line of her jaw, down her neck, and over her T-shirt before cupping the curve of her breast. She was so ripe and waiting for him to take her. Nothing had to be said between them. Seth let his lips slip along her cheek to the other side of her neck. Nipping her flesh gently, he dared a small passion bite. It drew the reaction that he hoped it would.

  A sigh escaped Jayd lips. Her back arched. It encouraged him. Seth applied a little more pressure on her breast, feeling the nipple harden through the cloth against his palm. The Raven Warrior drew his fingers down over her shirt until he came to the end of it. He licked her neck lightly before pulling away, savoring the vanilla flavor of her flesh. Then Seth forced himself to pull away from Jayd and meet her eyes. Her pupils were wide. In them reflected acceptance. Seth felt Jayd's yearning. Without wasting another moment, he pulled off his black shirt and waited to see what Jayd would do. He was not going to push her. For a brief second, she stared at him. The silence spread between them. It was covering them in a blanket enough that they could hear a pin drop. Then Jayd tentatively reached out her hand. It was trembling. She brushed her fingers across Seth's pecs. Seth held in a shiver when her she tickled her way down his chest and over his abs. Her nails left burning scratches along his skin that healed over quickly. Already, he could feel himself getting hard. The anticipation was killing him. It'd been so long since he'd been with anyone. He didn't know if he missed the act more or the feeling of closeness of being with another person and not having to worry about turning back into a bird. His soul was alive now that he had found his heartmate. Jayd leaned in and kissed the little hollow below his Adam's apple feeling the brush of wings against his throat. He kept his hands at his side balled in fists when her tongue traced his chest muscles and went around his nipple. It hardened at her light touch. A bolt of pleasurable agony hit him hard. His back arched. A groan flew from his lips.

  Jayd's teeth bit down a little. The curve of her fang caught the edge of his flesh. A stab of pain made him jump. Her tongue lapped at the blood. Seth couldn't hold himself in any longer. He wrapped an arm around her, molding her body to his. His power reached out, entwining them. It was strange in a way. The pull he felt to Jayd was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, but there was also an alienness around her. She was removed from life. Yet, here she was before him. Seth couldn't stand it anymore. His free hand drew her lips back up to his. They met, and Seth knew Jayd would be everything he ever desired. Everything about her was hungry for him. Her lips were incessant when they pressed against his, mashing together. Their tongues met and danced. Jayd's arms wrapped around Seth's neck, and she pulled him closer to her, almost if she wanted their bodies to meld. Her lips left his and began to move down his neck again. Seth slipped his hand under Jayd's shirt. There, he used his ability to manipulate energy and ran the line of her back. His heartmate groaned and bit down with her regular teeth on his neck. Seth drew in a breath and dug his nails into her flesh. It was taking all of his concentration not to throw her down on the bed and magick her clothes away so he could slide against her naked flesh. Jayd bit him harder.

  "Jayd, don't stop,” Seth breathed.

  Jayd put a hand on his chest at that moment. Seth looked at her, puzzled.

  "What's the matter, Jayd?"

  Her flesh was flushed. Her breathing was heavy. She shook her head. When she opened her eyes, he saw that her pupils were wider and black as Betha's throne. “I can't do this, Seth. I want to, but it ... it's too much right now. Everything is whirling inside of me. You smell too good. And the aroma of your desire and whatever it is you're doing to me. It makes me hunger. I can't. I...” She hung her head and pulled herself back to the other side of the bed.

  Seth's heart fell into his stomach. His hands ached to run over her smooth skin. The Raven Warrior resisted the urge when his heart broke from seeing her so torn up with fighting her hunger. “What can I do?” Seth asked.

  Jayd laughed, which turned into a hiccup. Her eyes had returned to normal. “Nothing. Everything. God, you must hate me for leading you on. I'm sorry!"

  Seth slid across the bed and pulled her reluctantly into his embrace. Jayd didn't try to fight him, but he could sense her unwillingness to be close to him. Her muscles were hard, but she was letting him manipulate her. After a few heartbeats passed, she relaxed and settled against his naked chest. He held her close so he could guard her from whatever monsters she had to deal with. He wished to protect her from her own inner demons, but she had to find the strength to do that. Seth knew that Jayd had that strength. She had overcome some horrible events in the past and now she was stronger for it.

  "I don't hate you, Jayd. On the contrary, I love you more than I can even fathom. I've been waiting such a long time for you. You don't know how much my soul has needed you. You are my universe. My curse has held me captive for so long that I never thought I'd have a chance at happiness. Then the others started finding their heartmates, and I realized that one day, I would, too. I never thought it would be you. Not from the first moment I saw you arrive at your aunt's house. You weren't magickal. All of my brothers’ mates have been human in some way. Darius's mate is a werewolf and an empath. None of us ever conceived he would fall in love. He treated women so badly over the years, but even he, the most hardheaded of us all, found love."

  Seth hugged her to him. Her mind was open, but he did not look inside of it to find the answers he so desperately sought. He would not violate her when she had not given herself to him yet. Not until their bond was stronger. Not until she trusted him. Seth took in a breath and was calmed by Jayd's presence. He rested his head on top of hers. Not to feeling her heart beating under his hands was strange, but he did not complain. The pulsation of her aura against his made up for it.

  "What are you really, Seth? I've wondered about things. Seen things, been told things by the Angel of Death, but I want to hear it from your lips. What are you really?” Jayd asked.

  Seth drew in a breath. He was not supposed to say what he was. It was part of the curse. However, he didn't care anymore. Jayd had a right to know what he was. “I used to be an ordinary human. However, I was tricked, and instead of being elevated to an Elder Priest of Ra, I was sacrificed to the goddess Nephthys so the slaughtering of the other priests in our sect would be stopped. I was welcomed into her flock to guard and protect those charges who were magickally inclined or supernatural in a way. There are or were thirteen of us. Thirteen condemned souls who are given raven wings for twenty-eight days of the month and human form on the three days of the full moon and the high pagan holidays. I've been a Raven for twenty-five hundred years. It's been a long time to be without someone."

  Jayd looked up at him. “What do you mean?"

  Seth felt her fingertips absently sliding over his hand. He swallowed hard because it took a lot of his self-control not to kiss her again. She was
teasing him, flaunting herself in front of him, but he knew that she wasn't doing it on purpose.

  "Every time I'd try to be intimate with a woman, I'd start to sprout feathers. When I became aroused, my back would bow and my body would begin to shrink, so I would turn back into a Raven. It was part of our curse."

  "So that's why you never wanted to work on women at the shop. For the longest time I thought you were gay. So why aren't you turning into a bird with me?"

  Seth laughed. He thought her statement was ridiculous. There was no way he was attracted to men. He didn't think any of the Warriors were. “No, I'm not gay, Jayd. The only reason I can be human with you, and with anyone now I think, is that you are my other half, my heartmate. Humans call us soul mates. I know you feel it too. Don't you sense the pull between us? Can't you feel the heat and see the sparks?” Seth turned her in his arms so he could see her face. He needed to know if she felt the same way about him. I know she's attracted to me. I felt it the first time I kissed her. It's inside her soul, but she just has to realize that.

  Jayd's brow creased when she thought about it. Seth didn't like the look on her face. She pondered it too much. Her world had been thrown out of whack, but he was not going to lead her to any conclusions. And if he had to wait for her, then so be it.

  "Seth, I know you like me. And I feel the attraction between us. Not that it wasn't obvious a few minutes ago. Honestly, I've had a crush on you since the first time you walked into the shop. I've fantasized about the many things I've wanted to do to you, but you never made a move until yesterday. I understand now why you didn't because you thought you'd get all feathery again, but I can't just fall in love over night. Patrick said something to me before he bit me. He said I was his soul mate, but I didn't really believe it. He only had me under a spell. I know that now. But now that he is gone, I feel empty without him and..."

  "How do you know he's gone?” He didn't want to think there were any more connections between her and the vampire he had slain, but there was.

  She shrugged. “I don't know. I can feel him and the others in my mind. But where he's supposed to be, there is an empty space. It's vacant."

  "Do you know how many more there are in the coven?” Seth asked.

  Jayd got a blank expression on her face and stared at the wall. Seth sensed she was following the links in her mind. “There are twelve of them. And the leader. And...” Jayd's body contorted in pain. A shrill scream escaped her lips that reminded him of a banshee's. He held her to him.

  "What's the matter, Jayd? What are they doing to you?"

  "She's asking me about Patrick. She thinks I killed him. She doesn't believe me. She's summoning me. I have to go. Let me go, Seth! Let me go!” Jayd begged him, but he wasn't letting her go.

  He didn't know what would happen if she left him. He figured the Coven Queen would train Jayd to be a cold-blooded killer similar to the rest of them. He might lose her forever. If he ever did find her, what would be left of the woman that he loved? She would always be the other half of his soul, and he couldn't fathom losing her. Seth grabbed Jayd's head and forced her to look at him. When he did, he called upon all his power and enfolded it around Jayd.

  Hear only my voice, Jayd. They do not have a hold on you. You are safe with me. No one is going to hurt you. She does not rule you. You are not part of the coven. You are my life. Feel my heart beat and let it warm you. Share my life, Jayd. I can't give you back your humanity, but I can share some of mine with you.

  Jayd's panic enveloped him when he heard the summons of the Coven Queen, something similar to the call of Betha beckoning him to her side. Seth felt the echo of it burning through Jayd's veins and eating away at her. He gritted his teeth against it when he yanked his heartmate's attention away from the coven and back to him. He pulled his aura around himself and settled all of it over his chest where his heart beat. Then, he envisioned a link between himself and Jayd at the heart. It wasn't that hard to do anyway because he worshipped the ground she walked on. Jayd's fear began to lessen as did the pain and the calling from the coven. He had never done anything like this before. The longer he concentrated on their link, the more the coldness of her being entered his heart, sucking the warmth from his body. Their energies were merging. He was melding their souls.

  Color returned to Jayd's cheeks. Only a hint of a blush. Her skin grew warm again and he heard her heat beating slowly. Inside of him, her hunger was born. A consuming beast settled in his soul. It would not consume him. He fought it with all his might. It reared its head and filled him with ice. He had been touched by death, but the hunger was losing strength because he was not undead and it could not live in a human body. That and his curse battled against it because the goddess was not going to lose him easily. Seth's jaw hardened and shifted. Teeth burst from his gums and cut into his lip. He closed his mouth, but cried out when the hunger raged inside of him. Without thinking, he brushed back her hair and plunged his fangs deep inside her veins. She moaned. The blood that hit the back of his throat resembled the taste of earth. He had never experienced anything so primal. The hunger was its own entity. He drank a swallow, and then Jayd struggled in his arms. Seth came back to himself, no longer frenzied by the beast inside of him. When he regained control, he realized what he had done. Horror filled him. Seth had assaulted Jayd. She broke the hold of his arms and shot across the room.

  Through the bond he had forged, he sensed her disgust. Whatever he had done, the joining of his energy to hers was holding and she wasn't so much a vampire anymore. Her hunger was no longer a beast. Her hand flew to her throat.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

  Seth stood up. “Jayd, it was an accident. I swear. I don't know what happened. Please, it was a mistake!"

  Seth watched when Jayd shook her head. Confusion peppered her thoughts. He could see the black cloud hanging over her head. She held out her hand to ward him off. “Stay back, Seth. I thought you swore to protect me. Whatever you are, cursed or not, you're just as bad as Patrick. You want me for your own whims. I'll take my chances with the coven if they come calling again!” Jayd cried out.

  Seth felt the energy spike in the room. It was coming from Jayd. Darkness wrapped around her. Her power had a tinge of green to it. One second she was there and the next the space was empty between them. Seth hung his head in his hands knowing he had screwed up. Pain and the echo of the hunger that she felt stabbed at his heart. He tried to calm his emotions. When he was a priest, he had been taught to go inward. However something had changed about him. Whatever bond he now shared with Jayd had transformed the makeup of his soul. He had taken some of her curse inside of him, some of the hunger, and had given Jayd a part of himself, a part of his soul. Seth shook his head and tried to follow the link that bound the two of them together, but even though it was stronger now, Jayd was blocking him. Frustration ripped through Seth. When he went to try again, he heard the calling of the flock. The Raven Warriors needed him. They were now before the council, and Nephthys was there too. Seth sighed. He had to go. Jayd would have to wait. He waved his hand and was dressed again with his sword belted at his side. Without another thought, he let the shadows capture him and bring him back to Council Chambers.

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  Chapter Fifteen

  Jayd reappeared in her house. She didn't know how she got there, except she was there. One minute, she had been thinking about going home, and the next, she was. However, getting there had left her weary. She slumped down on the couch and realized that she felt different. She had ever since Seth had bitten her. Her hand flew to her throat. The wound was healed, but she expected to come away with blood anyway. There was none. Deep down, she didn't feel hungry, and when she listened, she heard a faint thumping sound. It took her a moment to realize that her heart was beating. Her skin wasn't any longer. Seth had done something to her. His power had ripped through her mind and severed the call of the Coven Queen. The leader hadn't believed that she didn't kill P
atrick. That was when the pain started, when the other vampire scourged her mind with fire. After Seth had surrounded her with his power, Jayd only heard his voice in her mind.

  "My, my, what a surprise? Running home is always the first instinct when newborns feel threatened."

  Jayd heard a voice in the shadows. It was the same female voice she'd heard summoning her to the coven. Fear wound its way into her heart. Her eyes scoured the darkness clinging to her furniture and every conceivable nook and cranny in the living room. The moon was a backlight that couldn't even penetrate the darkness that had spread in the room. “Who are you? Where are you?"

  There was laughter in the darkness. “I'm your master now that Patrick is dead. You were supposed to be his mate, but you killed him. For that you have to pay. It is against the Nightbreed's laws to kill your master, Jayd."

  "But I didn't kill him. There was someone else with me.” Pain erupted all around her. Her limbs were on fire. She heard rustling in the shadows.

  "Why would another vampire kill its own kind? We refrain from doing that unless punishment is being doled out. I went to the shop and smelled another who was not of our coven. Is that the one who killed Patrick?"

  Jayd writhed on the floor. “Yes. Please. I didn't kill anyone."

  "She's telling the truth. She didn't slay Patrick.” There was a softer voice in the shadows.

  Jayd had never heard it before, but she knew it was another one of the coven. She could feel the link between them. It was not strong anymore, but she could still feel them. Whatever he had done to her, it had changed her. Hopefully the queen wasn't able to sense it. The pain ceased. Jayd breathed a sigh of relief. She got up slowly, looking around her when the shadows began to dissolve into people shapes. The only ones in the room were the Coven Queen and another man. Jayd didn't dare meet the queen's eyes, but her curiosity got the better of her. Soon, her eyes traveled the length of her beige carpet and pink sectional sofa. She saw a green broomstick skirt, a flat stomach, and a black tube top covering an ample chest. The vampire queen could have fallen over from the weight of her breasts. When Jayd got to her eyes, they were two different colors. One was silver and the other was gold. Jayd couldn't believe it. “Aubrey?"