by Nicki Ruth
“Good, you’re awake.”
Davina turned to see Alexios sitting on a boulder, watching her cautiously. She struggled to stand and swayed on her feet. Her skirt was torn, but—to her relief and dismay—her breasts were still covered by the bejeweled patches. She shivered.
“I don’t know where we are,” Alexios said frostily. “And I’m not sure why your friend, Sandar, sent us to this place.”
Alexios was angry, rightfully so. She hadn’t intended to keep secrets from him, not when they had recently agreed to be open with each other. Shame flooded her. She desperately hoped Sandar wasn't responsible for the scene in the ballroom.
Wind roared outside the cavern as she walked toward the entrance. Outside was a hazy, sand-filled desert. Large, jagged rock formations rose from the dunes, reaching into an orange sky as far as she could see. Tree trunks, twisted and mangled, stood silhouetted in the distance, dwarfed by the towering rocks. The wind whipped up, churning so much sand that it was difficult to see the horizon. It was daylight here, but the sand-filled haze darkened the sky.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“Like I said, I don’t know. What I do know is that we are very, very far from Damurios,” he said frostily, turning his attention to whittling a stick with his dagger.
“Oh,” was all Davina managed to say after a few moments. “Alexios, I’m sorry. I should have told you about Sandar. He was the one who told me about Lexi, but he didn’t want to have our meeting known.” She went over, careful not to slip on the damp rocks underfoot, and stood before him. “I’m sorry,” she said again, her voice quivering.
“Sorry?” he thundered. “That you’ve been meeting secretly with a vampire who may have been responsible for killing so many today? Sorry, that he may have had a hand in Marius’ disappearance? Sorry, that he's most likely working with my sire and has cast us through a portal to some desert wasteland with no means of returning?”
Davina stared wordlessly at him. She had thought Sandar a friend. If she had known otherwise, she never would have let him anywhere near her.
“No, Alexios!” she pleaded. “He said he wanted to help me. I had no idea he may not be who he said he was.”
“I wanted to help you!” Alexios shouted, face red with rage. “I was doing everything I could to help. Marius, too! But you . . . you lied to me, and now, because I wasn’t prepared for the mystic to be involved in all this, we’re stuck here while my sire is most likely slaughtering everyone I hold dear on Damurios. Do you understand the severity of the situation?”
She gasped and stepped back as electrical currents crackled around him. She said nothing, standing rooted to the spot. She could only stare at Alexios, who seethed at her. What about Marius? What about Lexi, who was still recovering? How could she have been so naive?
There must be a reason Sandar sent them here. Was it just to get them out of the way? Then why not just kill them? Surely that was what Alexios’ sire intended. Her head throbbed in earnest now, and she sank to the hard ground at the foot of the boulder where Alexios was perched. The enormity of the day’s events weighed on her shoulders.
“Please,” her voice trembling. “I will do all in my power to fix this. I swear it.” She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
Alexios regarded her coolly then scoffed, returning to whittling. They sat as they were, in silence, as the wind raged outside.
∞∞∞
Alexios tugged at the bonds connecting him to his sirelings. They were there, faint and far away. At least they were alive. He couldn't feel Marius, though, and that worried him. But he hadn’t suffered crippling pain like he had when his third son, Vincente, had died, and that gave him hope. Marius was alive, somewhere.
But Sandar and Amelagar working together posed a serious challenge. With the ancient mystic’s power aiding his sire, there was no telling the destruction that could be waged. Amelagar talked about obtaining power to ascend as a god. What kind of power would enable him to do that?
Time was of the essence; he needed to get off this planet. He only had his dagger and his timepiece, which also served as a compass and communicating device. But the magnetic fields generated by the planet’s rock formations had rendered it useless.
He gazed at Davina’s sleeping form. She had been asleep for a while. It stung that she had lied to him. They'd agreed to be completely honest with each other, but she had still kept her secrets. How could he help her when he couldn’t trust her?
A howl sounded in the distance. Great. The planet was not uninhabited as he had hoped. Hopefully, they were not hungry carnivores. He nudged Davina with his foot. “Wake up!” he snapped, still irritated.
She woke and blinked sleepily up at him.
“We need to secure the cave for the night,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll set out and find a way off this planet.”
He gathered the branches he’d found and sharpened into spikes and began wedging them between sand and rock at the entrance of the cave. Hopefully, they would dissuade any curious animals from wandering in. Davina joined him, following his movements, setting the sharpened points outwards.
As they worked, she said, “Alexios, there! I see light in the distance.”
She pointed to the horizon. He had to squint to see what she was looking at. Sure enough, there was a tiny speck of light. Hopefully, it was a settlement or someone’s fire. Once daylight broke, they would set off toward it. He told her as much and continued to place the branch spears along the entrance of the cave.
After they had finished and were seated again in the back of the cave, the temperature dropped rapidly. Davina shivered but didn’t mention her discomfort. Wordlessly, he went to her and gathered her in his arms so that they shared body heat while he kindled the fire. Her scantily-clad body felt soft and smooth against him, but he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her. She shifted into him, and he felt his pulse quickened.
He grunted, not in the mood for thoughts of passion, but his body disagreed. She looked up at him. Her eyes held so much emotion: sadness, fear, desire. He stared at her, his finger running gently up and down her cheek. No words were exchanged between them, but he sensed she needed to drink. He offered his neck to her.
She pierced him, pulling large gulps. He caressed her absently, running his hand up and down her back, soothing her. He leaned back against the rocky cavern wall as he let her drink. He thought of how she had been back in Zhar, happy and unburdened. He wanted that for her again.
He sighed. It was frustrating that he couldn't trust her. What else was she keeping from him? And how would he keep her safe on this strange planet? Well, she did have considerable bloodgifts, maybe she would be keeping him safe. He chuckled at that.
She released the hold on his neck and looked at him curiously. “You should also drink,” she said softly.
He looked into her golden eyes, and his resentment ebbed away. Before he knew it, his lips claimed hers in a steamy kiss. He plundered her mouth. She moaned loudly into their kiss. She nicked her tongue on one of his fangs, and soon his mouth was flooded with her blood.
Pleasure threatened to overwhelm him, and the exotic tang of her blood dizzied his mind. He craved more, and soon he was at her throat, kissing and licking her flesh before he bit into her shoulder.
Davina whimpered and moaned, molding herself to his body. His cock hardened in response and thrust upward. The heat of her blood erupted through his body, renewed that energizing him as steam to a turbine. Then, with wonder, he felt the threads of their fledgling bond snap into place.
He pulled back, panting, as the effects of her blood began to take hold. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain he knew was to come. A throbbing pulse grew within his head, but to Alexios’ relief, it was not as painful as it had been in the past. Images flickered through his mind, this time of the past—Davina as a little girl in Zhar, looking up at her mother, Queen Tiamat, who smiled lovingly at her.
“Daughter, one day y
ou will learn to control all your gifts and become a great queen to your people. You are destined for a great fate. You are our legend, our inheritance.”
That was replaced by another of Davina’s memories. She was hiding, spying on her mother from some obscure location. The queen was speaking to him and Damjan. Alexios remembered that day. It was the day they had arrived in Zhar. He and Damjan left, and the queen smiled. “Thank the fates, I’ve found him.” Young Davina giggled, revealing her hiding place and earning a rebuke from her mother.
The memory faded.
Alexios opened his eyes to see Davina peering at him. “Are you all right?”
He didn’t respond, only licked the remnants of the blood on his lips and pulled her against his chest. The memories reminded him of his oath to the queen, to protect her family. It was an oath he intended to keep. He sighed heavily, wondering how he was going to get them out of this predicament. He tugged at the bonds again, reassuring himself his sirelings were still there before sleep claimed him.
∞∞∞
At daybreak the next day, they set off from the cave. Alexios was grateful that nothing had bothered them during the night. Even so he had barely slept, but Davina had slept soundly through the night. He felt her more firmly through their bond, more delicate strands roping together, connecting them. It was stronger now that they had shared blood again, and he felt a constant undercurrent churning within her. He wasn’t sure of the reason for it; maybe it was the guilt he saw in her eyes. She hadn’t tried to speak to him much, and he was glad for it.
He was still angry over her lie, but he needed to focus on getting them safely to the light they had spied the night before. The wind picked up again, and it became difficult to see more than a few feet ahead through the orange, sandy haze. The terrain was rocky and jagged, but he tried to seek out the easiest path for them. They had gone several miles without speaking, and he cast a glance to Davina to see how she fared. She hadn’t complained, not once, and he was secretly proud.
A low growl came from behind them. They spun around to see a snarling beast crouched a few paces back, its yellow eyes trained on them. Its mouth was full of two-inch long, razor-sharp teeth, and its hide was covered in reptilian skin full of scales and spikes.
Alexios stepped in front of Davina, readying his dagger. The creature leapt. Davina shrieked. Alexios grabbed onto the creature, and they rolled into the sand. He battled with it, swiping with his dagger and claws, neither of which seemed to faze it. Suddenly, the creature froze, and Alexios scrambled out from beneath it. Davina’s hands were outstretched.
Alexios dusted himself off, wounds already healing. “How long can you hold it?” he asked.
“Not long. There are components in its blood that I have no control over. I’m going to try to squeeze its heart.” She grimaced as she said it, one palm clenching into a fist.
The creature spasmed, its tongue hanging out, gurgling. After a few moments, it stopped moving.
“I’ve incapacitated it, but it has two hearts. We’ll need to kill it now that it’s stunned.”
Davina moved toward the creature, but Alexios held her back. “Let me,” he said.
He struck his claws into the creature’s neck. Scales and flesh ripped and tore, tendons stretched and pulled as Alexios decapitated the animal. He casually flicked the blood and pieces of flesh from his hands. “Let’s go. We don’t want to find out if it has friends.”
They continued on, hoping to find another place to shelter for the night. They found a smooth rock surface with an overhanging roof that looked like it was chiseled by machinery. In fact, the exposed rocks that towered over them were probably the remains of an ancient civilization. If Alexios could figure out which one, he would have a better sense of where they were. They huddled together, Alexios bracing his back against the cold wind to shield Davina.
“I’m truly sorry,” she said. “I should have told you about Sandar. He said he knew my mother and . . . I wanted it to be true, a real connection to my past. I was fooled, and I won’t allow it to happen again.” Her eyes glowed in the darkness. She whispered so softly against the wind he almost didn’t hear her, “Please, say you forgive me. I’ll do anything to make things right between us.”
He gazed down at her and smoothed blown-out curls from her face. He couldn’t remain angry at her for long, not when his waking thoughts were consumed by her. He was the one, after all, who longed to make her smile, to restore what she had lost. He looked up into the night sky, at the stars that dotted the dark canvas above.
“Alexios?” Davina squeezed his arm, gaining his attention.
He turned back to her and sighed heavily. “There can be no more secrets between us, Davina,” he said softly. “I cannot help you if you keep secrets from me. Do you promise me? Will you trust me?”
“I promise Alexios. I do.” She smiled, palpable relief on her face, then snuggled against him. He felt more of their bond snap into place, the strands coiling around each other, knitting together.
Davina perked up. “Did you feel that?” She looked around as if the source of what she felt was outward. But Alexios knew they had both felt a connection solidifying, one that would tie them together for as long as they wished to remain so. It was a different type of bond from his sirelings, but it was just as strong and tangible.
“Yes I did,” he whispered into her hair. “It was you finally letting down some of your walls and letting me in, allowing us to be tied together.”
She shifted and frowned. “You mean like a bloodbond? Those are for lovers and sirelings. We are neither.”
He shrugged, hunching over as the wind battered his back. “It is there nonetheless. You’ve felt it.”
Her eyes glittered as understanding took hold. Then slowly, as if unsure, she smiled at him, eyes illuminating the darkness. He felt her tugging at the bond, feeling him on the other side of it.
“I don’t know what this means or how it came to be, but I . . . I don’t think I mind being bonded to you.” She blushed.
His eyes widened. He had never seen her blush like that before. Warmth blossomed across his chest, and he fought the urge to bite into her neck.
“I don’t mind either,” he whispered, and they settled into each other, looking up at the stars, as the wind ravaged around them.
Chapter 2
5
Davina trotted behind Alexios the next day, heedless of the miles they covered, her thoughts still lingering on the night before. She marveled at the bond between them. What truly amazed her was that she was thrilled about it. She didn’t even know how it came to be. All bonding required the exchange of blood, and a bond between mates required a desire by both to establish the connection. The mate bond rivaled the sire bond, but only as long as both parties desire it.
Davina smiled to herself. Had she a hidden desire to be so closely tied to Alexios? Of course she found him desirable, and his attempts to avoid her and thwart her sexual advances were mildly amusing, but apparently, he also harbored strong feelings for her. This pleased Davina immensely, and she soon began devising ways to finally get him naked and thrusting inside her. She giggled to herself over her brazen plotting, earning her a quizzical look from Alexios. She smiled innocently at him, and he frowned, returning his attention to weaving a path through the shin-deep sand.
Alexios stopped so abruptly that she slammed into his back, too consumed by her own thoughts to notice he had stopped. He glanced at her questioningly then pointed to the distance. Plumes of sand rose in the distance.
“Those dust clouds are moving too steadily to be natural. They may be from moving vehicles.”
Sure enough, after a few more minutes of traveling, a fleet of four-wheeled vehicles surrounded them. Davina sensed at least fifteen warm bodies and braced herself for a possible attack. With nowhere to hide on the open dunes, they could only wait and see whether these would be friends or foes.
“Stay close to me,” Alexios whispered, and she inched closer to hi
s rigid form.
After a couple of minutes of tense silence, a door opened on top of one of the vehicles. A humanoid figure climbed out and jumped down from the roof. Its face was wrapped in dark cloth, and its body was covered in pants and a long-sleeved shirt with a short cape wrapped around its shoulders. The only visible part of its body was its eyes. Davina guessed it might be human. Hands on its hips, the figure moved toward them then stopped a few feet away.
“Grak tas mo furls,” it said.
Davina didn’t know the language. Hopefully, Alexios did.
“We do not speak your language.”
Well, so much for that.
Alexios said, “Do you have a speech translator?”
The figure studied them for a few moments then, to Davina’s surprise, spoke again perfectly in their language. “What are two Damurians doing on Earth?”
∞∞∞
Alexios remained outwardly calm, but he was ready for any unexpected attack from their new company. “Earth, you say? How far to the nearest transit station?”
Earth? This was not good, not good at all. Most of the planet was desolate, ravaged by centuries of war and the depletion of natural resources. Most humans had long since moved on to other planets. The remaining inhabitants were mostly outlaws and fugitives. Although Earth was technically part of the empire, there were no governing entities on the planet—no law, no order, just a place for vagabonds, mercenaries, and criminals.
“The nearest station is a mighty way from here, vampire, not that you’ll be having any need of it.”
Alexios snickered. “What's your name?” He wasn’t in the mood for the bravado of these people. He needed to get back to Damurios to find Marius, even if it cost the blood of the fools in front him.
The man looked down and spat on the sand. “My name? I have no name. There are no names here in the desert.” He laughed as he raised his arms and gestured around them. Echoes of laughter sounded from his companions in the vehicles.