by C. A. Worley
“I had no trouble entering, this night. I think this will be easier from here on out,” he said. He’d only had to think of her and he’d entered this night’s dream in her forest.
“Yes, so it seems.”
Her voice was flat. Marrok studied her face. She was avoiding eye contact, looking over his ear.
“I thought this would be pleasing to my mate, especially since she demanded I make it safe for her to be claimed and brought to my kingdom.”
“I am. I would rather have this than nothing at all from you,” she begrudgingly acknowledged.
Marrok frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Evelyn’s eyes flashed to his. “I dreamt of you. After I awoke, I dozed off again and returned to the dreamworld. To the night you fought the other demon.”
“Brennen.”
“Yes, Brennen.”
“Did you see me kill him? Is that what is bothering you?”
“Partly. That night, I awoke before you. I didn’t realize … I suppose I didn’t piece it all together. That you removed his heart and that it meant …” her stomach turned, remembering the image of the blackened heart outside his chest.
“That it meant he’d die? In reality.”
She nodded.
“Dreamwalking is more real than most know, Evelyn.”
“Yes, I’ve learned that. My father doesn’t definitively know what happened to the previous king. I was always too afraid to tell him what happened here. Besides, I knew Brennen was not a good male. The first time he broke through I tested his magic. It was twisted. I’d never felt anything like it. So when news arrived he’d passed away, I figured it was best to keep my mouth shut. Father tends to worry and my instincts told me to keep quiet.”
“I understand. For what it’s worth, Brennen deserved far worse than he got. He was a scourge on this world.”
“I can see how he could be.” She motioned towards the barrier. “He tried to reach into my mind so I added the extra protection.”
“Are you saying you were strong enough to keep a rogue out of your head? Even in the dreamworld this would be almost impossible,” his tone held a hint of his skepticism.
“He was rogue?”
“He was. It’s why he felt wrong to you. Evelyn, you were six years old. There’s no way that should have been possible.”
She shrugged, looking down at her feet. “Possible or not, he didn’t get past my shields. The one in my head or the one I constructed around the clearing.”
He caught her chin with his knuckle and nudged it upward, forcing her to look at him. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m saying it’s implausible. Incredible, really. Few demons were ever strong enough to resist him. Once he’d crossed boundaries no one should ever cross, he grew in power—and let’s just say he crossed an awful lot of boundaries. You were lucky he wasn’t here long.”
“Not here long? He came every night for a week, taunted me for hours on end. I ignored him as best I could. I knew he had tremendous magics and I was terrified he’d get to me eventually. The night before you arrived I prayed to the Goddess to either send him away or give me the power to make him disappear forever.”
“I’d say She heard your prayer, little mate. She gave you the ability to pull me here. Either that, or She intervened. It’s irrelevant, however.”
He cupped her face with both hands. “I came to you and now there’s no going back. You’re my mate. The saatus bond has begun.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled and she blinked to keep the tears at bay. “But you don’t want to bond with me. Not really.”
She thought back to his internal dialogue. Yes, then we’ll have our mate, the demon spirit had rejoiced. No, Marrok insisted. We’ll never take the witch.
He’d called her a witch and Evelyn questioned his ability to accept what she was. Calling an elemental a witch was the height of insult. It implied sorcery that manipulated nature against its will, when elementals had a cohesive relationship with their elements.
“Of course I want it,” he countered. “I explained why I did not come for you. Your safety is my principal concern. Where is this coming from?”
“I dreamt it.”
“You dreamt of my fight with Brennen and took it to mean I didn’t want you?”
“No. In the dream, I—I was you. Well, I was inside you, living out your actions. I could hear your thoughts, felt traces of your feelings. I even heard you argue with your inner demon.”
Marrok crossed his arms, disconcerted and a little perplexed. Perhaps his powers were meshing with hers and she was able to read his mind. It wasn’t uncommon with demons.
What was uncommon was dreaming someone else’s dream, from their point of view. Though, nothing about their pairing was what he would consider normal. He worried what exchanges she’d overheard.
“What did you hear me say?”
“That you’d never take the witch. It wasn’t just the words or the insult. I could feel your contempt. You were irate over it.”
He reached for her hands, pleased she didn’t stop him. “I apologize if the term I used insulted you. Factions outside of Gwydion do not see it as an insult. It’s only a word. I’ll not use it again if it bothers you so.”
Marrok brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “As for my ire, you are right. I was furious. Furious with Brennen for daring to come near you. Furious he’d been able to figure out who you were and try to exploit that knowledge. Furious with Fate for bringing us together in that moment. I was also furious with myself there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about claiming you. I was living in a cave with my soldiers, trying to figure out how to get to Brennen, how to stop the madness from spreading across Imperium. It was no place for you. Besides, you were a child.”
“So you weren’t upset your mate was an elemental?” Some of Evelyn’s hurt diminished.
“No. Admittedly, I wondered how the Sundari would react, but I never considered it to be the reason to leave you in Gwydion.”
“You could have spoken to my father. Arranged something for us for when I was older.”
Marrok stepped forward, crowding her. He’d already addressed this concern once and he didn’t like repeating himself. “I would never have arranged a betrothal without knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt the rogue infestation had been ended and you would be safe. As I’ve told you before, that is the reason we were not together once you were of age.”
He purposefully left out the fact he hadn’t wanted to find his saatus, not after losing Melena. It seemed unduly cruel to declare his desire to maintain his sanity, along with the fear of upsetting the Goddess, were part of what pushed him to pursue the bond.
Evelyn’s lips curved upward. Like a moth to the flame, he couldn’t resist leaning down and brushing his mouth across her plush flesh. Her sweet exhalation fanned across his mouth.
His little mate pressed closer, her arms reaching up and clasping behind his neck. She tried to deepen the kiss and Marrok slowed it down.
“Touch me again,” she pleaded.
Marrok grinned. “Not tonight, moj draga.”
It took a second for his refusal to register with Evelyn. She pulled her face back enough to look at him. “You don’t want to?”
“Does this feel like I don’t want to touch you?” Marrok grabbed her hand and placed it upon the front of his trousers. She gently squeezed the evidence of his arousal. His demon teemed with glee and it was oh-so-tempting to allow her to explore.
She didn’t withdraw so he pulled her hand away, entwining their fingers. Any longer and she might learn how easily she could manipulate his body.
“Why did you stop me?”
“We will wait a little longer. Tonight, I want some time with my mate. I want to know you, Evelyn, and for you to know me.”
“You want to wait? For how long?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to sound so petulant.
“Slow is better. Trust me on this.”
He chuckled again at the look on her f
ace. Marrok brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly. “Let’s walk.”
Evelyn groaned. “Always with the walking. Look around, there’s no place to go.”
“You could lift the barrier.”
“It’s not the barrier holding me in the clearing. I’ve never been able to get past the tree line, even before I’d erected it.”
“Maybe things are different now. Try it.”
Evelyn looked past him, to the nearly invisible wall of power. It couldn’t hurt to try, she thought. She lowered the shield and took a step beyond its previous boundary. This was as far as she’d ever gotten.
Marrok squeezed her hand. “Go on. I’m right beside you.”
“Pick a path,” she suggested.
“You pick. This is your home, not mine.”
Evelyn led him to her favorite trail, waiting for the dreamworld to poof her back to the clearing. It didn’t. She took another step. Then another.
She laughed nervously. “It worked. I can’t believe I can get through now.”
Keeping stride with his mate, Marrok pulled her closer to his side, enjoying her warmth as they strolled the winding path. “I think you’ll come to find having a mate does have its benefits.”
Yes, it does, Marrok’s demon agreed. Soon, we’ll know them all.
Chapter 9
As they walked, Marrok explained how there had always been a handful of rogues in Sundari. Some grew ill because of their age and lack of a mate to stabilize them, not because they were corrupted by their appetite for power.
The corrupted demons were his main concern. They fed off of others’ minds, often until their prey lost so much of themselves they couldn’t even maintain a heartbeat.
“Brennen’s leadership created the perfect breeding ground for demons to do as they pleased. In fact, he encouraged his army to follow in his footsteps, thinking the added power would better protect him. Many commoners took this as reinforcement they could do the same.”
“Weren’t you a part of his guard?”
“Sadly, yes, but the majority of us were appalled with Brennen’s actions. We didn’t stick around for long. Technically, we were exiled for daring to question the King.”
“So you packed your things and left?”
“Yes. I couldn’t stand by and watch the kingdom fall apart. Power-hungry demons are the worst sort of beings. Sometimes, they incite violence to encourage severe mental distress. Something about the brainwaves when in such a state is extra powerful. They feed off of their victim’s negative energies. Unfortunately, the preferred targets are typically females who can be physically subdued.”
Evelyn found it utterly disgusting. At least she understood a little better why Marrok was so hesitant to bring her into his kingdom.
“The only thing that seems to prevent the madness is the saatus bond,” he continued. “With the growing number of rogues, all of whom have to be confined, the odds of males finding their mates have been drastically reduced. It’s taken a huge toll on everyone.”
After his exile, he and the soldiers who couldn’t stomach Brennen’s ways spent years secretly fighting rogues and planning to remove Brennen from the throne. Marrok had been dealing with this catastrophe for decades now. The amount of rogues had risen steadily and he felt he’d hardly put a dent in the numbers.
The previous king had tainted everything he touched. Marrok even refused to live in the royal palace, which was situated in the town of Piatra, near the border to Sanctus Femina.
Instead, he took up residence in Terenuskit Fortress and used it as his base of operations while piecing the kingdom back together.
Evelyn could feel the sorrow rolling off of Marrok as he spoke of his people. He was a good male who only wanted to do right by them.
“With this new campaign,” he told her, “we intend to end the rogues. Once and for all.”
“Your going to kill them?” Evelyn couldn’t hide her dismay at the thought of killing so many. He said there were now well over three thousand rogues.
Marrok scowled. “Not if I can help it. Some will have to be put down. Favin and I can read their memories, try to weed out the ones who contaminated their souls for a taste of more power. Those demons must pay for their actions. When we first started rounding them up, it was too chaotic to read them all. Concentrating like that would make us vulnerable, so we simply took everyone we could find. When we aren’t outnumbered and have only a single rogue or two to deal with, we take the time to do it.”
Evelyn pictured some of the crimes Marrok had told her were being committed. She understood his stance.
“And the others? The ones who came by their illness naturally?”
“We’re hoping to find their mates. It won’t be possible for all of them, but many have mates somewhere in the kingdom.”
“How do you plan to do that? Sundari isn’t a small place.”
“No, it’s not. It will take time. I don’t have the exact logistics worked out yet. It’s taken this long just to get the bulk of them confined.”
He was willing to line them up, one by one, to try to find the matches. He knew it could take years so he’d tasked Favin with figuring out the most expedient way to go about bringing together rogues with possible mates, close enough to feel the bond, but safe enough to prevent any harm if they weren’t fated.
“Can the saatus bond settle a demon, after he’s turned?”
“Yes.”
“So, if you went rogue, I could cure you? That’s amazing!”
His mouth quirked. “It is indeed. Lucky for me, I won’t be going rogue. We’ve already begun the process of bonding.”
“Yes, you’re one lucky demon,” she quipped, earning one of his roguish grins.
He really was the most attractive male she’d ever met. Not classically handsome, like the vampire she’d seen in her dreams that night years ago. Marrok also lacked the boyishly good looks Jasper had.
She was attracted to Marrok’s rugged appearance, how he carried himself with an intensity that screamed danger. His black hair, bronzed skin, and dark stubble made him look even more dangerous. She could easily picture him taking on a swarm of attackers and coming out unscathed.
“What will you do if you don’t find their mates?”
Marrok wiped his mouth with the hand not holding hers. “Whatever I must.”
His frame had stiffened with her question. A good leader always had a backup plan. Of course he had one. He didn’t have to say aloud what it was.
Evelyn stopped in place and tugged on his hand. He looked down where they were joined. Slowly, his eyes trailed up her arm to her face. She could feel his inner turmoil.
“I don’t like the thought of putting them down, Marrok, but I know you’ll do what you think is right. That’s all you can do. If you need me, I’m here.” She stepped closer, cupping his masculine jaw. “Whatever it is, you’ll not face it alone. Not anymore.”
Marrok closed his eyes and nuzzled her palm. His demon spirit purred as it did whenever it felt the solace of her soul. His mate was getting to him, offering him comfort on the chance he might have to perform despicable acts.
Needing to change the subject, he reached into his pocket. “There is something else we need to discuss.”
Evelyn watched him dig a white swath of material out from his jacket. He dangled the familiar lace in front of her eyes.
“Is that … where did you get those?” She reached to snag them away but he pulled them out of reach.
“Ah-ah, these are mine now.”
Butterflies danced around in her tummy. He wanted to keep her undergarments? How sordid—and yet so very riveting.
“How did you get those?” she asked again.
“I woke up with them in my hand.”
Her head tilted slightly, her thoughts buzzing around, trying to land on a logical reason he could have done such a thing.
Evelyn looked to the right, thinking. The bubbling brook was close and she thought about the day she
’d fallen off the boulder. The trinket still hung around her neck, under her clothing. She rarely removed it.
“When dreamwalking, you can transfer material objects?” she queried.
“Few can manage to enter the dreams of others, though it can happen. Obviously. We can harm one another while dreamwalking. As you’ve learned, we can also bring pleasure.” Marrok took a long inhale before tucking the lace back into his pocket. Evelyn blushed.
“However, I’ve never heard of being able to physically manipulate inanimate objects to the point they can be transferred from one place to another. I could, say, rip your clothing and when you awoke, it would be torn. But it would still be with you. Me taking anything of yours, and it being in my possession when I wake, should not be possible.”
“Apparently it is.”
“Apparently.”
Evelyn slid her hand out from his and walked to the small embankment, close to her favorite meditation spot. She lifted a hand to the boulders. “This is where I meditate sometimes.”
Marrok’s eyes flicked to the large rocks. “This is where you fell?”
“Yes. I didn’t consciously walk here, this was just my favorite walking path. I’ve wanted to show you—to tell you—something.”
“You want to show me the place where another male harmed you?” his soft voice was counter to the rage he felt. Two years had done nothing to diminish his displeasure.
“No. Something else happened that day and I think it’s important for you to know.”
Marrok’s claws sprung free, unwillingly, as his demon vaulted to the surface. Seeing Evelyn’s step backwards, he was able to get control.
“What else did he do?” he gritted out.
“Jasper? Nothing. He’s harmless. I’m not referring to him.” Evelyn reached inside her shirt and gently extracted the chain. She pulled it over her head and extended her arm towards Marrok.
“This is what I wanted to show you.”
Marrok’s already rigid muscles contracted and pulled even tighter against his frame. Air did not come easy and he had to fight to maintain his composure.