Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel

by Alisha Ashton

  “Nah, I’ll save those for another time. Can’t go giving away all me best material right from the start, can I?” He teased. “Now, remember what I told ya about clearing your head and trusting your instincts,” he reminded in an instructional tone.

  All joking was quickly put aside. He wanted this session to benefit her in ways beyond stress relief.

  “This is how we hunt, love,” he continued. There was an animalistic quality to his voice suddenly that sent goose bumps across her flesh. “I want ya to chase me no matter where I go, ya got tha? Your goal is to follow me, to do as I do. Think of nothing else and just let yourself react accordingly. Ready?”

  Skye considered those instructions for a moment before nodding her agreement and waiting for his signal.

  “Go!” He said, turning and bolting with her in hot pursuit.

  She locked onto her target. She allowed her eyes to see nothing but him as he tried to get away. The change in her was immediately apparent. She had his scent. She could feel his heartbeat, like a drum hammering in her ears and urging her on.

  As the first test to see whether she would follow his instructions, Ciaran scaled the massive fountain to its highest point and bounded off of it to the ground below. He smiled proudly as he listened to her doing the same behind him.

  “Whoa! Did you know she could do that?” Miko asked.

  “Nah so soon,” Taran breathed as he took a step forward. “Though, in all fairness, she’s doing a great deal she should nah be able to for many years.”

  In a similar move to the one he had pulled when Miko had crossed his path, Ciaran leapt over a parked SUV in the drive, clearing it effortlessly. Skye was hot on his trail, though she found that she needed to bound off the top of the vehicle for added momentum. The way Ciaran moved was amazing. It seemed as if the laws of gravity did not apply to him. She did not let it dissuade her efforts to keep up. She was desperately trying not to think about what she was doing, though it was difficult not to be shocked by her suddenly supernatural abilities.

  Ciaran made a break for the castle entrance next, grinning when he saw the looks of surprise pass over the faces of the men.

  “Aw hell, clear a path!” Drostan yelled.

  All of them jumped out of the way as Ciaran raced for the door.

  “What have ya done now, brother?” Taran called.

  “Can’t talk! Busy fleeing from your ‘bonnie lass’, if ya hadn’t noticed!” Ciaran shouted back. Stealing a glance over his shoulder, he grinned at how close behind she was.

  He charged into the castle, but instead of using the stairs to the upper level, he scaled the wall. When he reached the landing, he spun back expectantly to watch. He laughed and clapped victoriously when Skye followed his path. He was thankful that he had gone with his gut about what she was capable of. It would have taken the others centuries to teach her these things.

  “Oh my freaking God,” Miko breathed, gripping Taran’s shoulder for support. He found it distressing that the ancient looked every bit as astounded by his wall-scaling girlfriend.

  It’s too soon, Taran worried, she’s not ready for this yet. His chest tightened painfully with concern for her. She was going too far, too fast. Other faoil prepared for such abilities for centuries before they possessed them. She was not being given the chance to earn age and wisdom before power.

  Skye did not realize what she was doing until she had climbed to the same height as the upper landing. Thankfully, at that point, her now-taloned fingers were sunken too deeply into the wood for her to lose her grip unintentionally.

  Her frightened gasp echoed through the entry hall as she peered down.

  Taran stepped forward quickly, preparing to catch her in case her fear became too great. He cast a worried look up at Ciaran, who had rushed back to the edge of the landing and was now watching her sympathetically. They both knew this was the most difficult part, to let go of the laws which had governed your entire mortal life.

  Instinctual fear of the injuries that she would sustain by falling such a great distance made it difficult to move. She swallowed hard and tried to focus on what she was doing instead of how she was doing it.

  Her fearful eyes sought Ciaran out.

  He nodded reassuringly and waved for her to keep going.

  Her breathing and thundering heart were the only sounds that she could hear.

  Slowly at first, and only one hand at a time, she resumed her trek across the wall toward him.

  “Tha’s it, a stóirín,” Ciaran was mouthing to her. “Almost there.”

  Despite the fact that the human in her was insisting that she would fall at any moment, she steeled herself against the fear. She had gotten this far, damn it. She could reach that landing if she just tried.

  With renewed resolve, she took a deep breath and forced herself to charge ahead.

  “She’s nah... She’s only... She can nah already be...” Maon stuttered as he pointed up at her.

  “Aye. And yet she is,” Drostan declared.

  Every faol watched in wide eyed astonishment as she raced across the wall and dropped down onto the landing above. Ciaran flashed her a proud grin before turning and bolting again. The two of them disappeared down the hall as everyone turned to face Taran.

  “For those of ya old enough to know, do nah say it. Do nah say a thing,” Taran warned. “But yes, I’d say tha pretty much settles the question,” he conceded before starting the slow trek up the stairs with Drostan.

  28: Consent

  It was several moments of running before Ciaran dared to turn and check to see how close she was. His question was answered as she plowed into him, gripped him by the shoulders, and slammed him against the wall.

  “Owww! Nah hard enough to break anything, remember?” He whined. “So? Did ya have fun then?”

  “That was amazing!” She laughed. “I can’t believe I did that!”

  “Well I can,” he announced as they each tried to catch their breath. “I had a feeling... if ya just blocked everything out... then you’d see what ya were really capable of. Tha’s the way I learned,” he explained between labored breaths.

  With an overly dramatic sigh, as if she had thoroughly worn him out, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Skye watched his peaceful expression for a moment until he started snoring lightly. Her laughter echoed through the hall as she swatted him in the chest for faking.

  He grinned down at her and quirked a brow. “Skye?”

  “Hmm?” She said, peering up at him with an honest smile.

  “Ya do know you’re still pinning me here, yeah?” He laughed.

  “Oh!” She breathed in realization. “Sorry!”

  Several seconds later, Ciaran’s grin reached epic proportions. “Skye?”

  “Yeah?” She answered, eyeing his grin curiously.

  He leaned closer, whispering in a low, intimate tone that set her hairs on end, “Ya’ve nah let me go yet, a stóirín.”

  Skye’s lips parted as her body responded to his voice. There was so much desire in his gaze now, she wondered how he had ever kept it hidden from her. His eyes were shining brightly with something other than mischief, she noted. Golden flecks were prevalent amidst the crystal blue as his wolf fought for control. His scent attested to the fact that she was not the only one finding their current position intriguing.

  Her eyes wandered to his mouth. Her back arched involuntarily as she pressed her body harder against his. For the second time in the past few moments, a low growl of approval rumbled from his throat in response. At the sound of it, her breathing quickened. The contact was sending a current of pleasure rippling through every inch of her. It set her senses on fire, gave her that same feeling of connection.

  She laid her hand on his chest, sensing something that her eyes were failing to perceive. Energy resided there. She knew it. It filled him up – like a light in the darkness. She could feel it. Something was seated deep within him, a power that flowed between them both.


  Tentatively, she reached out and traced her fingertips across his cheekbone.

  His eyes instantly rolled closed as a soft moan fell from his lips.

  They were alone... a cave... it was winter...

  He was afraid of this feeling between them...

  She kissed him sweetly, reassured him that it was right...

  These fragmented images were filling both of their minds.

  “My dark one,” she whispered in wonder as she marveled, how does he do this to me? Put these images in my mind? Make me feel these things?

  Yet he was wondering the very same thing of her in that moment.

  He could not place the things he was seeing, or the sensation that he was already hopelessly in love with her. It was as she had described her visions to him earlier – like memories that had not yet happened.

  She ran her hand along the side of his face and watched with bated breath as he eagerly leaned into her touch.

  He nuzzled against her hand, drinking in the sensation of it before kissing her palm.

  His handprints on her bare flesh... blue paint...

  Her fingertips left streaks of it across his face...

  His eyes were practically smoldering when he looked at her again. He was drunk off of her scent, off of the longing in her gaze.

  She wanted to touch him, wanted to know his touch. She pushed his jacket off over his shoulders, sought out the feeling of his soft skin. As it fell to the floor, she ran her hands slowly over the pale perfection of his arms.

  She pushed the furs over his shoulders...

  He pulled her body flush with his...

  Her bare breasts were against his chest...

  He leaned down to her slowly to kiss her lips...

  He pressed his thumb to her lips and smiled as he watched her kiss it. They were meant to meet. Meant to be together. This was right.

  “A Sgitheanach...”

  Skye’s brow furrowed as the woman’s whisper echoed through her mind, calling to her with that strange pronunciation of her name that Taran always used. She recognized the woman’s voice from her visions and dreams.

  “Feumaidh sibh nasgadh ri chéile.

  Iomlanaich do Thrianaid...”

  The translation of those words was completely lost on Skye, but the meaning behind them was inescapably clear. This magnificent, beautiful man – the one whose soft, full lips she was tracing with her fingertips, the one staring so hungrily into her eyes – belonged to her.

  Both of them were breathing raggedly now with the effort it took to resist. His body trembled with desire for her. She knew that all she needed to do was lean forward and claim his lips with her own... make him hers...

  As soon as she began inching closer, his pulse raced in panic.

  His bond to Taran served nearly as effectively as a cold shower to sober him from the sensations coursing through his body. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, willing himself to stay in control.

  “Ooohhkay, now ya really need to let go,” he warned as he reached up to her wrists.

  After urging her to remove her hands from his arms, he somehow managed to guide her to take a step back.

  Skye shook her head and blinked, trying to fight off the overwhelming arousal as she moved further away from him.

  “Right. Sorry,” she offered in embarrassment. “I don’t know what... I just... Yeah, I’m really sorry.”

  “Nah a problem,” he squeaked unconvincingly in a voice strained by need. For her sake, he laughed and waved his hand as if it was no big deal, even though his heart was still hammering inside his chest and pants seemed to have inexplicably shrunken a few sizes. “Ya just need to be careful with tha. You’re ‘hungry like the wolf’ now, love. She’s bound to go putting all sorts of thoughts in your head.”

  Skye frowned at him, thinking that unless her wolf was making appearances as the creepy woods-woman humming lullabies in her dreams, someone else was playing cheerleader for these urges.

  Ciaran’s eyes flicked up to the end of the hall as Taran and Drostan turned the corner.

  “Bit of advice?” He said softly. “There’s one beautiful word ya must keep in mind any time ya feel like ya do right now.”

  “What’s that?” She asked in a tone that was several octaves too high.

  “Consent,” he whispered, arching a brow and catching her gaze purposefully for a second before starting off. “Brothers! Glad to see ya finally came to me rescue!” He called.

  Skye remained frozen in place, watching him over her shoulder as he left.

  Taran narrowed his gaze on Ciaran when he stopped in front of him. He sniffed the air, asking the obvious question without saying a word. He could sense their joint arousal and wanted to know if they had acted upon it.

  Ciaran shook his head that nothing had happened between them.

  Taran nodded in relief, knowing his brother would not lie about such a thing, even to spare his feelings.

  Drostan eyed the two of them curiously. He put an arm around Ciaran’s shoulders and smirked when he pieced it together. “Well, I’d say tha you’ve caused enough trouble for one afternoon. Come, let us leave these two to their privacy,” he said, knowing without a doubt what conversation needed to take place between the mated pair.

  Skye was still staring at the retreating form of Ciaran when Taran circled her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

  “Tha was a rather impressive display, my love,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. He drew her to lean back against his chest while kissing the nape of her neck.

  “I didn’t know I could do any of that,” she breathed, closing her eyes at the welcomed sensation of his mouth on her skin.

  “Nor did I,” Taran laughed. “Though tha’s nah the display to which I was referring. Actually, I was speaking of the show ya and Ciaran put on. Pretending to fight like ya did.”

  He smiled when she immediately spun in his arms to face him.

  “You knew?” She asked in surprise.

  He reached out to stroke her cheek adoringly.

  “I’ve a good eye for things,” he told her with a wink, directing her hesitant gaze back to where Ciaran was walking down the hall. “There’s nah a chance he’d have fallen on his face as he did when ya shoved him. I’ve known him far too long to believe tha. But do ya know what else I see?” He asked softly.

  Skye swallowed hard, dreading what she knew was coming.

  “How about we just leave that alone, okay?” She tried.

  Taran shook his head firmly as he put a hand under her chin.

  “We most definitely will nah. I’ve already explained my position on the matter. So, I’ll ask ya this, and understand tha your honest answer is all I wish to hear. It would wound me deeply were ya to lie for the sake of some foolish notion tha the truth would cause me grief, understand?” He asked, tilting his head to the side and gazing down at her intensely.

  Her stomach was already tying itself in knots and he had not even asked the dreaded question yet.

  Talk about a warped sense of what should and should never be said to your mate, she thought glumly. She was having serious difficulty overcoming the urge to deny what he was going to ask.

  Finally, she forced herself to nod that she would tell the truth.

  He stepped behind her again, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder as they both watched the man in question.

  “Do ya want him, my love?” Taran asked in a rumbling tone in her ear.

  Her knees instantly tried to give out from beneath her. He smiled knowingly and tightened his hold on her.

  “Do ya wish to lay with him? The truth now,” he urged as he traced his fingers over her throat and kissed her earlobe.

  Was it messed up that it was actually turning her on to hear him asking this? Her eyes rolled closed for a moment, her mind painting graphic and wickedly delicious scenes. When she realized how aroused she was becoming at the prospect, she arched a defiant brow and spun to face him
once more. The pleading look she gave only earned a smile and shake of his head. He had no intention of avoiding this. She needed to understand that he would not be insulted by her instincts.

  Skye frowned deeply. She knew that he could hear her heart racing, smell her arousal, and see the way the color was guiltily draining from her face. She wished these telltale signs could have been answer enough, but his silence demanded a response. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and prayed for the best.

  “Yes, Taran. I do,” she confessed in barely more than a whisper.

  No blow came. No screaming. No snarling. No outraged stream of accented obscenities.

  After a moment, she cautiously opened an eye and looked up at him.

  He was actually... smiling.

  She wondered at first whether he had lost his mind so completely that he was beyond anger.

  “Tha’s good, my love!” He said happily and cradled her face in his hands. “Nah only have ya told me the truth, but ya’ve chosen one I approve of. I’ll speak with him, let him know the terms of my consent. It pleases me tha, despite your worry, ya still decided to trust me.”

  Skye stared at him as if he had just sprouted a second head.

  “You’re really okay with this?” She asked incredulously.

  “Well, I do recall mentioning tha I’d expect and encourage ya to take lovers,” he reminded. “Did ya think I was lying? What you’re feeling for him is nah a matter to be insulted by. It’s simply a part of ya. Considering what the wolf in ya had to say aboot him, I’m relieved ya did nah let your worries prevent this from coming to pass. Ciaran’s to play a significant role at your side in battles ahead. Ya heard the words just as I did.”

  “And if my wolf is wrong?” Skye posed before crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. “What if she isn’t able to see the future and just made it up? What if she just wants to sound more powerful than she really is? What if I’m just an average, every day, run-of-the-mill faol and this whole thing is some twisted prank to get you guys all up in arms?”

  Oh, that was a pleasant thought. She wished she could have bought into it, wished she could force herself to believe that her little visions were just a hoax, too.