by G. K. DeRosa
“Kaige, please. Everything’s going to be fine. You promised. You said you wouldn’t hurt me—that you’d help me get home.” I had to get through to him.
He glanced up at me, his eyes twin pools of darkness. “I don’t know if I can.”
Well, crap. I’d survived a plane crash and an attack by starving vampires. There was no way I was giving up now. I stood tall and shot him my steeliest glare. “Prince Kaige Stramonox, you get your butt off that floor. We’re going into the Shadow Lands to find that plane and discover exactly what was in those crates. Then you’re going to let me go home. We’ll never see each other again, and no one will ever have to know.”
I was pretty sure I’d butchered his last name, but I seemed to have gotten his attention.
He narrowed his eyes as he regarded me for a long minute. “You are crazy, aren’t you?”
“No, but you are if you don’t do as I say.”
“You’re forgetting the plane and everything inside must be burnt to a crisp by now.”
“Not exactly.” I chewed on my lower lip. “All AirComm planes are equipped with a fire repellant foam. It should’ve been released when the fire started.”
His smoky eyes widened, and a twinge of hope ignited in my chest. It wasn’t mine. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“I had to make sure you had a reason to keep me alive.”
He shook his head, and a ghost of a smile pulled at his lips. “Unbelievable.”
I reached out my hand and to my surprise he took it. I hauled him to his feet as he stared down at me sheepishly.
“I take it your leg is better?”
I leaned all my weight on it, and it held. I barely winced. “I won’t be doing any dancing any time soon, but I’m pretty sure I can hike far enough to find my plane.”
His mouth went slack. “You really are something, little human.” He stared at me like I was a complete enigma. “And by the way, there’s no need for much hiking. I have a car.” A sexy grin crossed his lips, and my traitorous heart did a little dance.
Chapter 13
Kaige
Solaris’s scent filled the entire car, honey and jasmine flooding my senses. Her savory blood lingered beneath, teasing me. I was going to have to drink a vat of synth and take a bath in Abscondam before returning to Castle De La Divin.
My fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I pressed harder on the gas pedal. This was my last hope, my last chance to discover what secrets those boxes held. If someone was after my family or the crown, I had to stop them. If humans were stealing from us, they had to be stopped. Even if my father was involved, I needed to know.
I should be furious with Solaris from keeping this vital piece of information. Had I known the plane could have survived, I wouldn’t have committed treason. I wouldn’t have saved her.
But that was the reason she did it. I understood. She was afraid I wouldn’t keep her around if I didn’t need her.
Perhaps it was partly my fault too. I should have been smart enough to check the wreckage instead of being so fixated on Solaris.
The little human was too distracting. When she was gone, memories of her would haunt me for the rest of my life.
My gaze flickered toward her. Her body was tense as her hands gripped the edge of the leather seat. “Are you scared, little human?” The corners of my lips twitched.
She scoffed. “Of course not.” Her voice was higher than normal. She swallowed hard, watching more trees whip by. “I just don’t know how you haven’t hit anything yet. We’re in the middle of a forest, and you’re driving a hundred miles an hour.”
“I’m a nocturne,” I reminded her. “I have better sight and reflexes. We’re not going to hit a thing. Trust me.”
“Whatever you say,” she mumbled under her breath.
“I’m not the one who crashed a plane.”
Her mouth dropped. “That was only because of the Draconis border and its invisible force field. It had nothing to do with my abilities as a pilot. My skills are spot on.”
I chuckled and watched fire ignite her green irises. My fingers flinched as I had the strangest urge to reach over and wrap my hand around hers.
I shook the traitorous thought off and turned my attention back to the woods. An electrical charge zipped over my skin as we crossed into the Shadow Lands. It was late in the afternoon, and the sky turned a deep, murky gray instead of midnight black.
The lake came into view; I could just make out the piece of metal framing that had broken off during the crash, and it was now almost completely submerged under water. Fallen debris littered the ground and the tip of a steal wing poked through a pile of rubble. If the gods didn’t truly hate me, maybe something remained of the boxes.
A gasp exited Solaris, and she jumped out before I even had the car in park.
“Solaris, wait!” I darted into the wreckage after her, beating her to the plane and pulling her to a stop. “Do you not understand the definition of ‘wait’?” I growled.
Her lips thinned into a tight line. “What part of these last few days made you think I was a patient person?”
“I had a moment of amnesia. Forgive me.” She was the opposite of patient. She was reckless, rash, and quite stupid sometimes. My arms went around her and hauled her away from the door, which was barely hanging on by a screw. “I’m not going to let you get yourself killed after I already risked everything to save you—something I won’t be doing again.”
She let out a huff and finally relaxed in my arms. “Is bossiness a requirement to be a prince or is that just you?”
I shot her a narrowed glare and set her on her feet. “You just bring out the best in me, little human.”
“Stop calling me that, annoying nocturne,” she snapped, pushing me off. Her green eyes rested on the plane, some of her fire dulling. A rush of hopelessness shot through the bond. “I really thought the Cessna wouldn’t be a total loss.” Her hand ran over the charred steel side.
My brows knit at her somber tone. I tentatively reached out and squeezed her shoulder. It was getting easier to touch her. Too easy. “We’ll figure out a way to get you home, Solaris. I promise.”
She nodded, silent, unable to tear her eyes from the plane. “I guess we better see what’s inside.”
My arm shot out, blocking her. “Let me go first. There could be live wires or the whole thing could collapse.”
She sighed loudly. “Fine.”
I slowly stepped inside, my gaze trailing over the busted controls. The acrid scent of smoke and chemicals still choked the air. Soot crawled up the walls, and the plush leather couches were burned, but the cabin wasn’t as demolished as I expected. A strange white foam covered most of the interior.
“It’s the fire repellant foam.”
I shot Solaris a narrowed glare over my shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you to wait outside?”
She shrugged. “Did you think I suddenly developed patience within the last few minutes?”
My teeth ground together as I shook my head. She was impossible. “Come here.” I waved her over. “Stay close to me.”
When Solaris was by my side, my fingers curled around her wrist. Her pulse fluttering against my skin was too distracting so my hand lowered, curling around hers.
Hell. It was the exact thing I didn’t want to do. Or more like shouldn’t do.
Her eyes lifted, staring into mine. The fire had returned, and a flush dusted her cheeks.
I glanced away before I did something stupid. “Be careful where you step,” I said, motioning to the blackened spots on the floor as we walked deeper into the cabin. The mechanical equipment was fried, but the wires remained cold and dead.
“There.” I jerked my free hand toward a stack of crates, the black covering melted to some of the boxes.
Her lips puckered. “I didn’t notice them before. Then again, I was kind of in a hurry.”
As we neared, I pointed out the Draconis symbol, a crescent moon, hugging a single star restin
g above a sword. “See.”
The earlier flush faded from Solaris’s cheeks. “There is no reason for that symbol to be anywhere near anything of the Collective’s.” Her hand tightened in mine, and I wasn’t even sure she realized it.
I shook my head. “No reason at all.”
“What do you think could be inside?” she asked, her gaze never leaving the symbol.
“Nothing good.” My guesses had ranged from resources we were unable to grow or mine in our own world to technology humans had invented and which my father wanted. If the king wasn’t involved, it could be something a greedy noble family wanted to use to steal the crown from us.
The possibilities were endless, but were any of them worth risking the destruction of our worlds by tempting the prophecy?
I kneeled, Solaris following. My hand reluctantly slipped from hers. “Don’t touch anything. It could be dangerous.”
She saluted me. “Sir, yes, sir.”
My brows dipped. “This is serious.”
She ignored me. “Should I have curtsied instead, your highness?”
“Your sarcasm knows no limits, does it?” I asked.
“I try not to limit myself in any way.”
I turned my attention to the crate, my mouth dry and muscles tense.
Her shoulder gently bumped mine. “I know this is serious, Kaige. It’s just a defense mechanism.”
I understood. We were about to discover a secret that could change our lives forever. It could even start a war between nocturnes or even between our races. Both of us were humming with nervous energy.
My fingers felt along the crate, finding the seam of the lid. I began prying it off. There was no turning back now.
With a groaning creak followed by a pop, the lid came free. I tossed it behind me and peered inside. A sleek metal box reflected the misshapen image of my face.
“That definitely looks like something from Imera,” Solaris said, her golden hair brushing my neck and stealing my attention for a moment.
I cleared my throat. “There’s a lock.” My fingers lifted the thick lock, examining it. It would be impossible for a human to open without a key. Fortunately, I wasn’t a fragile human.
“How are you going to—” Solaris’s sentence trailed off as I snapped the lock in two. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”
Cool air drifted over my skin as I drew the lid open. The box was insulated. I moved aside a layer of bubbled plastic, revealing the contents.
Ice slithered through my veins, and my air supply was yanked from my lungs.
“Are those bags of synthetic blood?” Solaris’s voice was close to my ear.
I picked up one of the chilled clear bags, the deep crimson liquid mesmerizing me. It was thicker than synth. And darker. I licked my lips. “No. Definitely not.”
“What are they then?”
A sinking feeling descended to the bottom of my gut and before I could stop myself my finger jabbed into the small hole designed for a tube.
The briny scent slammed into me, knocking me back. Blood spilled onto my hands, coating them with the sticky substance. My fangs tore from my gums as thirst exploded through me.
I’d smelled something similar before. In this very plane.
“It’s human blood.”
Chapter 14
Kaige
My throat was on fire, red-hot and unbearable. More crimson liquid ran down my fingers as my hands shook. The entire box was full of pint-sized bags of human blood.
So tasty. All I had to do was lift it to my mouth and drink. I could drink it all.
“Kaige. Kaige.”
Someone was calling my name.
My head lifted to find a pretty little human shaking me. The vein pulsed in her neck, and her heartbeat throbbed against my skin.
I was so damn thirsty.
“Kaige! Snap out of it,” she yelled. “It’s me, Solaris.”
Fear shot through my chest, but it wasn’t mine. It belonged to her.
Reality crashed over me, and I shook myself. My eyes widened as I stared between the blood staining my hands and Solaris.
Oh gods. This was the last thing I expected to find. In fact, the thought hadn’t even occurred to me.
Solaris was saying something, but I ignored her and ripped open another crate. Another metal box. I broke the lock, finding more human blood. I tore open another crate and another, all filled with the intoxicating elixir.
I stood inside the destruction of wood, metal, and charred machinery, breathing heavily. My control was barely hanging on by a thin thread, moments away from snapping. My jaw throbbed and hunger tore at my belly. I was as horrified as I was drunk with bloodlust.
I bolted out of the plane, sprinting over the fallen debris until my knees crashed on the shore of the lake. My lungs greedily sucked up air not polluted by so much human blood.
My head shook over and over as if I could shatter the images burned into my mind. Why were bags of human blood in crates branded by our seal? We didn’t drink human blood. It was illegal. Treason. Punishable by death.
My hands lifted. Crimson stained them. All I wanted to do was lick it off.
But if I did, I wouldn’t stop. And when I drained those bags, Solaris would be there to quench my thirst.
I dunked my hands into the cold water, scrubbing the blood off. My muscles trembled from the effort it took not to go back into that plane and suck those bags dry.
“Kaige.” Solaris’s honey and jasmine scent washed over me. “Are you all right?”
My jaw clenched, and I tried to hold my breath. “Get away from me,” I growled.
The stupid girl didn’t listen, and instead came closer. Her warmth slid over me as her hand landed on my shoulder. “Just take deep breaths.”
A humorless laugh exited my lips. Those deep breaths were filled with her. “Solaris, you need to—”
Her hand shifted, rubbing circles between my shoulder blades. A warm tingle zipped between the bond, stealing some of the tension in my body. My lids fluttered closed as I fell deeper into the calming sensations.
It felt as if ice had been tossed over the raging inferno inside me, melting across the scorching embers. The claws tearing at my chest had retracted, and the painful cuts were healing.
The bloodlust slowly slipped away, and my fangs retracted. I could breathe without fire coating my throat on every inhale.
I opened my eyes, meeting those lively green ones.
“Better?” Her voice was softer than usual, and feelings were flowing through the bond I couldn’t decipher. Or maybe I didn’t want to.
I nodded and slowly stood, letting out a long sigh.
Solaris’s expression suddenly darkened. “I thought nocturnes didn’t drink human blood.”
And there went the calm.
I began pacing along the shore. “We don’t, at least not that I know of.” I dragged my fingers through my hair. “None of this makes sense. If any nocturnes were drinking human blood, it would most likely be my family. And I would know if I’d been drinking human blood.” What if a rival noble family was the cause behind this?
“Nocturnes and humans aren’t even supposed to associate because of the prophecy.” Her gaze met mine, the air heavy between us. Neither one of us wanted to think about the prophecy.
“Do you think the Collective is selling human blood to someone in Draconis?” My father had to know about it and if he didn’t, it had to be someone very powerful to keep the secret under the radar.
Solaris grimaced. “I don’t know.” She stared at the ground, rubbing her shoe through the dirt as if the answers would magically appear. “Multiple people have to be involved to give out that much blood. They’re either donating it or…”
We both knew what it meant if it was taken by force.
I cursed myself for ever wanting to know what was in those crates. I wished I had never found them. I wanted to go back and undo the last few days. Nothing good could come of this knowledge. It would put both of
us in danger, and I had a feeling Solaris wasn’t going to let this go.
My gaze settled on her, watching her nervously gnaw on her bottom lip. A million thoughts were running through her mind, all of them perilous. Perhaps it would be best to use compulsion to make her forget finding the boxes. Maybe I should make her forget this whole thing.
As if she read my mind, a narrowed glare appeared on her face. “Don’t even think about making me forget any of this.” A jolt of pain quickly passed through the bond.
I swallowed hard, my stomach in knots. “You have to promise me you will forget about the blood. You can’t go snooping around in Imera for answers.”
“Kaige.” She crossed her arms. “This isn’t something I can just ignore.”
I was in front of her in the blink of an eye, my hands gripping her shoulders. “I mean it, Solaris. It will only get you killed.” I gently shook her. “Do you understand?” I hated the desperation in my voice.
“Okay,” she hissed.
My fingers tightened. “Promise me.”
A line formed between her brows as she scrutinized me. Whatever she saw had the hardness melting from her expression. “I promise, Kaige,” she finally said.
A sigh of relief exited my lungs. “Good.” I couldn’t go looking either. It was too risky. It could lead back to Solaris, and if anyone found out what I did to save her, we were both dead. “Now I just need to get you back to your world.”
One golden brow arched. “And how are you going to do that?”
I swallowed the unease already shooting up my throat. “I have an idea.”
Chapter 15
Kaige
My body was pressed against the cool stone of the barracks, waiting for the last of the royal guards to leave for their nightly duties. I quickly sped through the quiet halls, toward the largest atrium where the military planes were kept. The lavish royal ones for the family and other nobles were stationed on the opposite side of Castle de la Divin. Those wouldn’t do me any good without an experienced pilot.