A Bond of Venom and Magic (The Goddess and the Guardians Book 1)

by Karen Tomlinson

  The undergrowth crashed around her, teeming with monstrous creatures. Growling and snapping, their eyes glowed with blood lust. In shock, she could only stare stupidly as they came to destroy her.

  Hugo rolled to his feet with fluid grace, the remains of the dark arrow sticking out from his shoulder. Blood streamed from the puncture wound, reducing his skin to a pale mask as it drained down his chest. Sapphire eyes searched the undergrowth, turning obsidian as he found her. Roaring with rage, the Queen’s guard became a powerhouse of wrath, as dark and unforgiving as any of the creatures surrounding them.

  Drawing a dagger from his waist, he sliced off the end of the arrow before throwing himself into a shoulder roll to reach his sword on the ground. In less time than it took Diamond to take a shuddering breath, he had sheathed his dagger and pulled his second sword off his back. He began cleaving his enemy with stunning speed and viciousness. A mist of shadow swirled around those silver blades, doing his bidding, aiding its master by forming spears that pierced where he willed.

  Diamond forced herself to get up and managed one step towards Hugo before a hard, muscled arm encircled her throat and began squeezing. Panic had her clawing at the arm as her throat was crushed.

  Battle Imps could not speak, but this one bellowed a roar loud enough to get Hugo’s attention. Hugo slashed open the gut of a Dust Devil with one sword. He fluidly changed his stance and took its hideous head off with a graceful slash of the other before turning to face the Battle Imp. He said nothing but his eyes flashed a warning just as he dropped one sword and loosed a dagger from his hip. A whip of shadow appeared from Hugo’s body, grasped the moving blade and propelled it forwards with unimaginable speed. With a thud it embedded in the forehead of her attacker. Diamond fell to her knees, gasping for breath as the blue monster toppled backwards away from her.

  “Get up!” bellowed Hugo, scooping his fallen sword from the ground and sprinting over. Grabbing the back of her clothes, he hoisted her to her feet. She swayed unsteadily, staring in horror at the wound in his shoulder. He lithely leaned past her and yanked the blade from the Battle Imp’s forehead.

  “Pull yourself together,” he barked, throwing her up against a tree and shaking her shoulders hard. His eyes were black orbs of magic and swirling shadow, no trace of sapphire blue. This, she realised, was his warrior’s face. He quickly assessed her, his face becoming tight. Diamond stared at him in awe and wondered if he saw energy like she did.

  “What can I do?” she whispered, her voice shaking.

  “Fight or die, Diamond,” he uttered harshly.

  Fear made her bowels watery as her hand closed around the smooth metal hilt of her dagger. She jerkily pulled it from the sheath Zane had given her. Finding courage, she nodded and set her lips in a tight line. His eyes cleared and she peering into sapphire and silver pools, then the colour was gone, becoming darkness once more.

  “Fight until your last breath. Do not give up or they will take your soul,” he warned grimly. Spinning away from her, he cleaved through his enemy. Vicious snarling and the stench of rotting flesh and blood filled the air. Running feet thudded toward them. Hugo spun on his heel, hacking down Wolfmen and Dust Devils until they fell like leaves at his feet. They were appearing from all directions, too many for him to handle alone, no matter how fast he moved.

  Minutes passed as Diamond cowered against the tree, her heart banging with fear. Hugo was going to die and it was her fault; she’d weighed him down—and now she was useless.

  A Dust Devil ran at her, his sword raised, rotting bits of skin hanging in mangled ribbons from his face. Diamond thrust the dagger into his chest but it did not stop him. He barrelled into her, sending her staggering against Hugo’s back.

  Without faltering, the Queen’s guard threw out his front leg to take their weight, then turned, throwing her off him. Blade angled up, he swung and cut off the Dust Devil’s head in one brutal movement. It exploded into a cloud of black dust that covered them both. Hugo roared with pain. A Wolfman jumped out of Hugo’s reach, clutching a rusty iron blade dripping with blood. The attack drove Hugo to one knee but it did not stop him. A second later he was back up, his face icy calm. Snakes of shadow thrust out from Hugo’s bare wrists, lashing the Wolfman to the spot, and Hugo quickly pivoted, gutting his assailant in one swift move.

  An oncoming volley of arrows whined through the air. Hugo shoved his body up against Diamond, protecting her. A couple pinged harmlessly off his armoured wings, while the rest of the volley shot past. She gaped wide-eyed up at him. He had just protected her with his body—with his life. He stared down at her, looking just as shocked. Her nostrils flared as she scented his blood. Instantly she dropped to one knee. Blood pumped down his thigh. His breathing was ragged and fast, but he did not stop scanning the shadows for more attacks.

  “Hugo!” Diamond cried, stuffing her dagger back in its sheath. Icy fear wrapped around her heart as she desperately tried to staunch the bleeding.

  “No! No! No!” she sobbed, her eyes wide as she looked up into his sweating face.

  His eyes looked like pieces of black glass against his ashen skin. He blinked, lightly brushing his blood-caked fingers over her cheek and, for a moment, sorrow flashed in his face. No, she would not let him die here. This is my fault! This would not be happening if he hadn’t been forced to protect her useless hide. Blood oozed from his wound, dripping between her fingers and running down her wrists and arms in ruby rivulets.

  Without questioning her instincts, she closed her eyes and spiralled down inside herself. Fear and an urgent desperation to save Hugo morphed into a wild furnace of heat. She opened her soul and spurred that ember of magic to burn, to grow, until it pulsed through her veins. Feeling the warmth of Hugo’s blood against her fingers fuelled that power. It raged so fiercely she struggled to contain it. Letting the pressure drop from his wound, her hands and clothes plastered with his blood, she stepped out from behind the tree. Hugo looked at her askance, his face bone white from blood loss. He tried to grab her, swaying as he missed.

  “Diamond! Get back here! Now!!” he yelled, reaching for her with serpents of shadow and silver. She smiled, trying to reassure him this was the right thing to do. Irritation, anger and something akin to fear flashed in his eyes as she easily brushed away his magic.

  “Cover yourself with your wings,” she commanded, her voice gravelly with suppressed power. Hugo took one look at her opaque eyes and wrapped his beautifully etched and armoured wings around his body, kneeling down within their protection. Burning waves of magic racked her flesh and bones, but the pain was tempered with a deep sense of release, a freedom she had never experienced before. As before, her mind soared free of her body, searching through the shadowy sentinels of the trees.

  Hugo roared as if he felt her release. Shadow and silvery tethers of light reached for her. But such freedom made her giddy. She wanted to fly free of restraint, away from those tethers, until she saw the cave. Jack and the warriors fought valiantly. Gunnald’s bow was still glowing, his quiver replenished with a never-ending supply of arrows. Tom fought bravely, Zane by his side shouting insults and encouragement. This time the lure of Eternity did not triumph. Her friends needed her.

  Forcing her unconstrained soul earthwards, she slammed back into the familiar feel of flesh and bone. And screamed. Gritting her teeth she fought to control the omnipotent, white hot power pulsing through her body. The burning hot energy clawing at her insides was agony; it wanted freedom. Light and heat consumed her in painful waves. Hugo could not help her this time; she could feel his magic trying to reach her but her own roared in defiance. It did not want to be protected, it wanted to protect.

  Another huge Wolfman lumbered towards Hugo, claws out and arms raised. Enraged, her power unleashed itself in a blast from her hands and body. That wave of magic tore through Ragor’s soldiers, instantly turning their flesh and bones to ash. Trees were ripped up by their roots and the sheltering Queen’s guard was flung facedown on the g
round, his wings glowing as his body sucked her power into his own.

  Diamond sensed the death of the Wolfmen and Battle Imps. She felt their energy transform into something insubstantial that blew away like mist on the wind. Her mind registered that the immediate danger to Hugo was gone, but she could not stop. Her heart raced painfully fast. A familiar feeling of panic and helplessness consumed her. Revelling in her fright, her magic seized control of everything but her consciousness and her soul. Rooted to the spot, Diamond’s body became as rigid as a plank of wood.

  Her magic greedily fed from her emotions, devouring what remained of her anger until only terror remained. Terror for herself and for Hugo, who was sprawled on the ground nearby, somehow still alive. Power coursed like poison through her veins, seeping onto her skin and into the air around her. Bright and hot, it did not understand it was devouring her and, in so doing so, was killing itself. Pain gripped her racing heart, beating so fast she feared it might explode and cleave her chest apart. A scream of agony and desperation splintered the air as the enormity of what she had done registered. She had allowed her magic to take control. Without Hugo’s influence it had triumphed over her will. Now it would rage untamed and kill all those she had sought to save.

  Hugo crawled on his belly, raking his fingers into the dirt, his finger nails breaking painfully as he dragged his bulk towards Diamond. Her magic pulsed against his, savagely trying to stop him from reaching her. An entity in its own right, it wanted power—it wanted to control its host. It was too new, too young to recognise its Nexus and welcome a joining.

  Determined not to let the magic triumph, Hugo forced his body to absorb it, just like before when Diamond had fought the dragon. Its power would overwhelm her; kill her if she did not learn to dominate it. Absorbing magic was part of his gift. It only made him stronger. Quelling his terror of losing her, he relentlessly pulled himself across the ground. He would not let her die. Almost overpowered, he reached his goal. Bellowing, Hugo flung both arms around Diamond’s legs and yanked her feet from under her. With a thump she hit the ground. Her magic flickered. Hugo seized his chance and heaved his bulk on top of her, curling his fingers into her shoulders.

  “Diamond. Stop! You’ll kill everyone!” he shouted in her ear and shook her viciously. “Control it! Force it to obey you!”

  Horror filled her violet eyes as the skin on his face began to burn. Pain hit him only when his wrists and hands began blistering. Even with their Nexus, his body had reached its limit. Unable to absorb any more magic, his blood began to blaze.

  “Stop!!” he snarled at her, his face a mask of agony. Holding her arms he pinned her to the ground, but it was a useless move; magic poured out of her body, thrashing against what it believed was a threat to its existence. Diamond blinked and his stomach clenched as tears ran from her deep violet eyes. Desperation shone in their depths. Balking, he knew immediately what she was asking.

  “Kill me!” she whispered hoarsely. “Don’t. Let. Everyone. Die.”

  Hugo could not do it. He could not kill her. If it was anyone else, anyone at all, he would have slit their throat in a second. But it wasn’t. Leaving her was unthinkable, and he could not slam his fist into her already mutilated face to render her unconscious; not just because of the remorse he would feel, but if he let go of her arms, she would turn him to ash. Hugo roared with rage and frustration. With no idea how far her destruction reigned across the forest, he made his decision.

  Forcing his jaw open, he drove his second set of teeth through his gums. Needle sharp and pointed they snapped into place. Even on the precipice of burning to death, Hugo knew he would have to mark her where no one else, particularly the Queen, would ever see the wound he left.

  Hugo looked into Diamond’s frightened eyes, prayed to Lunaria for forgiveness, and ripped her dress open with his teeth to reveal the silky pale skin of her breast underneath. Lowering his head he gave a feral growl and sunk his teeth into her soft flesh, sucking hard.

  He released the venom from his poison glands, which wrenched a scream from her. Her spine arched against his grip, and her energy weakened. Good. She fought for another five beats of her heart, each one pulsed through him, loud and consuming, then mercifully she was unconscious.

  The roar of energy settled. With his teeth still embedded in her flesh, Hugo pulled Diamond into his arms. The warmth of her blood filled his mouth. It ran sweet and pure down his throat. Hugo’s world shrank to the feel of his tongue brushing against her skin and to the taste and feel of her clutched against him. He became utterly lost as her essence filled his senses. His jaw muscles convulsed as he drew more and more from her, savouring every drop of her sweetness. His heart raced, his conscious mind changing from desperation to a fog of desire. A raw, animalistic need almost overcame his instinct to protect her.

  But her ashen face told Hugo how near to death he was pushing her weakened body. Giving a feral roar of dissatisfaction, he forced his needle-sharp teeth back under the cover of his gums.

  Breathing raggedly he closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky, the veins on his neck engorged as her blood pumped through him. The animal inside him thrashed in ecstasy as his magic and blood mixed with hers. Taking control of himself was the hardest thing Hugo had ever done. He had never felt such primal need as he did right now for the woman in his arms. And he fought—he fought with every fibre of his being to stop that beast inside him from exploding through his flesh and bones—until, growling with discontent, it capitulated. Panting, his eyelids flickered open to focus on the deep bite wound that bled profusely. It distracted him immediately.

  Shaking badly, Hugo lifted Diamond until he could push his lips against her soft skin and force saliva against the wound. The coagulant in his saliva would staunch the bleeding and trigger the healing process. Growling in self-disgust, he had to use every ounce of self-control not to drink more of her.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear, lowering her and crushing her against his body. With burned and bloodied hands, he gripped the back of her ragged dress, her blood-stained a silken spider’s web around his bunched fists. Fleetingly he wondered what would happen to him if his Queen were to taste his blood now. She was the only other fae he knew of who had the ability to use the bite. The Queen used her venom to control the minds and bodies of her guards. Hugo grimaced. Thankfully, and for reasons Hugo did not care to think on too deeply, she had not bitten him—yet.

  Diamond would not remember what he had done to her; although the reaction of the guards he had seen bitten by the Queen every winter solstice was the only experience he had to go on. With all his heart he hoped he was right. If she had no memory of it, she would never find out what his bite meant. Utter control of her body, and even her mind, was now his if he wanted it.

  That thought terrified him. Despite his fearsome reputation, Hugo did not want that sort of control or power over another person, especially not Diamond. Such a determined spirit deserved to be free of control.

  Covering the livid puncture wounds with the remains of his tunic that Diamond still wore, he looked up to the perfect blue sky. Ash curled into the air as the forest settled. It was then he noticed the strange stillness that surrounded them, almost as if Diamond’s magic had sucked all the sound from the air. Hugo used the silence to breathe deeply and pull himself together.

  Legions of golden-winged warrior fae flew overhead, their metallic armour glinting in the midday sun. It was an impressive site. Soon enough his senses settled and sound returned.

  Swords clashed in the distance. The cave…. A deep bellow rocked the silence. The roar of a giant.

  But all Hugo could think of right now was the girl in his arms. She was as still and deathly quiet as the forest around them. Cradling her tightly against his chest, he prayed to the goddess and willed her to overcome his venom.

  Revealing what he had done to anyone, even a healer, was not an option. The Queen’s court was like a nest of viper’s waiting to strike. No one could be
trusted. If the Queen found out….

  Hugo took a deep breath to quell the terror in his heart, and he unconsciously touched the scar on his face. No, she would not find out.

  Hugo could not bear the guilt and horror as Diamond’s breathing became shallow and slow. His venom was killing her. Even with the small amount he had released, her body was too weak and frail to beat it.

  He quickly scanned her. Unbidden and unexpected, a wave of wild desire rushed his body. Her blood, her taste was still so strong in his mouth. It clouded his senses and made rational, sensible thought almost impossible. He groaned, driving his face into her hair, hating himself for such feelings when she was so vulnerable. Snarling, he fought to control himself, battering down his aching need to make her his mate.

  Yes, they shared a Nexus bond, but he could not blame that for how much he wanted her. He did not care that she was a half-blood; this stunning, spirited female was his perfect match. He shook his head in disbelief. How can this be happening to me? It was ludicrous to covet her; it was beyond dangerous for them both. He squeezed her tightly. That bite—not the venom, but the blood he had swallowed— was the first step in becoming mated. Twice. They had to swallow each other’s blood twice before they were mated. But for Diamond to survive the Queen’s attentions, Hugo had to crush any feelings he had for her.

  Hugo gently pushed the blanket down to reveal her soft skin, which was forever marked by him. His eyes followed the gentle curve of her breast, clenching his teeth so hard he nearly broke them. His fae instincts raged so strong right now he couldn’t think straight. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the wound. Bile burned his throat at the sight of the bloodied yellow fluid leaking from the inflamed skin. If Diamond didn’t get to a healer soon, she would die.