by Kiersten Fay
All his training had been for this. All of his suffering. Designed to prepare him to protect his mate. That’s what he was meant for, and that’s what he would do.
Pooling his strength, he cocked his fist and smashed it into the barrier. It splintered further, yet it still would not break. Just a few more blows, he reasoned, but he was swiftly losing power, his vision blurring. He coughed hard and tried to pull himself to his feet. Kyra’s screaming assaulted him, lashing him like a whip.
Must get to her!
His lungs spasmed painfully, but something drew his attention to Kyra. Her skin had begun to lighten, until a glow stretched out over her flesh.
Somewhere deep in his muddled subconscious he remembered what that meant.
The light emanating from her grew so bright that he had to shift his gaze. The Kayadon were bewildered. One of them hurried to inject her with something, but when the needle came close to her skin, it quickly disintegrated. The Kayadon pulled back in alarm, but he couldn’t escape. First the skin of his hand peeled away, revealing bone. Then the rest of his skin followed, till a sickly skeleton stood in his place. Then that too withered into dust.
Suddenly, the walls of Cale’s cell shattered. A blast of hot air threw him back as the building crumbled. His harsh landing knocked him senseless.
He must have blacked out for a moment. When he came to, he heaved a pile of rubble off his chest. The sun touched his skin as fresh, cool air rushed over him. All that remained of the building was a ruined outline and a pattern of debris fanning out.
In the middle of the destruction, Kyra lay on the ground, breathing, but unconscious. The relief that washed over him nearly brought him to tears. He moved to gather her in his arms and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Feeling her heartbeat staved off the last of his rage.
A groan sounded and a fallen piece of wall shifted. The movement caught his eye, and Cale gently set her aside to investigate. Fragments of the Edge returned as Cale stepped forward to tower over the one remaining Kayadon.
Kyra awoke feeling trapped. Was she still in that chair?
Sounds of the forest brought more confusion. The only strap she felt was the one across her waist. It held her tight, but not as uncomfortably as before.
Cale’s scent washed over her then, and she relaxed, realizing what she felt was his arm draped around her. They lay huddled together under the alcove of arching roots, hidden by a blanket fashioned from leaves and vines.
She sighed and let his heat seep into her. His breath on her neck came out shallow as he slept.
She recalled having used her gift, but not much else afterward. She hoped she’d killed them all, but was sure that if she hadn’t, Cale would have.
He would have relished it.
That was one thing that burned into her memory. In the midst of everything, her magic had recognized a kindred spirit. A beast, bloodthirsty and raging…desperate. Her magic had curled around him like an impenetrable typhoon of protection.
But then her magic had sensed something else…
Cale’s grasp tightened, nearly crushing her ribcage, but it also felt good. She wanted to hold him just as close. She wanted to know she’d never have to let him go.
A light kiss grazed her shoulder. The feeling was bliss.
“Are you awake?” he whispered.
“Mmm,” she replied.
He leaned over her. She rolled onto her back to look up at him. He was beautiful to behold, with his clear blue eyes and spiky blond hair. Her gaze luxuriated in his bare chest.
“How are you feeling?” he said in an unintentionally sexy voice. He could have said, “I ate clowns for breakfast,” and she would have thought it sounded sexy.
“Really good at the moment,” she answered, letting her fingers trail the planes of his torso. She breathed him in.
His eyes grew dark with hunger. He cupped the back of her neck and drew her in for a tender kiss. Her heart warmed as she kissed him back, making it clear just how well she felt by sliding her nails through his hair. Soon they turned desperate, and he pulled back to trail the tender edge of her jaw, making his way to that spot he knew so well. She didn’t restrain her pleasure when he found it, allowing a needy sound escape. He clamped her to him with one thick arm around her waist.
He lifted his head and captured her gaze. She momentarily lost her breath at the emotion behind his eyes. “Kyra, I… If anything had happened to you…I…” He paused. “It’s okay if you don’t love me, but I want you to know that I do. Not me, I mean…I love you. I love you so much.”
Her jaw dropped open, but she was rendered speechless at his words, his uncertainty. In the next moment, she was unable to contain a bellow of laughter. Her body shook hard and her eyes watered. She was sure she sounded hysterical. Even when he frowned and his expression turned quizzical she couldn’t stop.
Finally, when she was able to gather enough air, she yelled, “Of course I love you, you jackass!”
He grinned, his confidence back tenfold. “Do you now?”
She couldn’t have imagined that after such a horrific experience she could be so happy. “You love me?” she said, still unbelieving, though she couldn’t keep from smiling. “Even though I’m not your mate?”
He frowned. “You are my mate. I mean, you should have been.”
Her head cocked to the side. He proceeded to tell her about the memory discovered through Nadua. About his mother’s callous scheme and Velicia’s involvement.
“Cale, I’m so sorry,” she said when he finished. She didn’t know what else to say. How could his mother be so heartless?
“I should be sorry. Not you. I tried to punish you when my feelings for you grew stronger than they ever were for her. I was confused, because of the pain and because I thought I knew what love was.” He shook his head. “But now…”—their eyes locked—“now I know what it really feels like.”
“What does it feel like?” she breathed.
He lifted his hand to cup the side of her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. His lips brushed hers before giving her a teasing smile. “There are no words.”
She snorted out a laugh at hearing her own sentiments repeated. A warm tear escaped the corner of her eye. He rubbed it away. Then something he had said caught up with her. “But, what do you mean pain?”
He hesitated. “Even though I was being a dolt, something in me recognized you from the start. When I’m with you my body attempts to produce the chemicals for the claiming. And because we only store enough for a single time…”
“It hurts you to be with me? Even now?”
He nodded, taking note of her reaction. “I should not have told you.”
“Of course you should have. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“If being with you caused me to suffer the pain of a thousand deaths, I would bare it.” When she opened her mouth to argue, he added, “Happily.”
“Is there nothing that can be done?”
“If there is some way for me to regain the ability to claim you, we’ll find it…if that is your wish,” he added.
“Of course it is. We’ll figure it out, and then you’ll be all mine.”
“I’m already all yours.” His gaze turned hungry, and she knew what was coming next. “I am going to have you now.”
It was she who moved first, pushing her body closer and kissing him as if she were starving for him. He made short work of their clothing and when she was in nothing but her panties, he slowed, drinking her in. She too looked him over. His sculpted abs and chest were a testament to masculinity. Unable to resist, she trailed her hands over each ridged muscle. He groaned when she drew them lower and the wicked look in his eyes made her shiver with desire.
He wedged himself between her legs and bent to take her lips, caressing her tongue with his and nipping at her bottom lip. “Have I told you how good you taste?” he said in a husky tone. Automatically, she shook her head, though she knew he’d meant it rhetorically.
Str
ong hands moved across the soft skin of her outer thighs, over the swells of her backside, and around her hips. He dug his fingers in and jerked her toward him, causing her to fall back against the soft bed of leaves.
Leaning down, he claimed the tender flesh of her nipple with his mouth and ran a calloused thumb over the other. His actions were so masterful he could make her come from this alone. She could already feel the beginnings of ecstasy thrumming in her veins.
As he continued to tease her breast, his strong palm caressed its way down her side, over her hip, coming to rest in the juncture of her thighs. He let out a rumbling groan of approval to find her slick and ready for him. His fingers skimmed her clitoris, mingling and dancing until a spike of pleasure forced a harsh sound through her lungs.
His mouth slid lower, to the underside of her breast, her ribcage, her belly, all the while kissing and licking and nipping. Her body writhed from the attention. Then his tongue took the place of his fingers, and she cried out.
He explored her sex thoroughly. Her head thrashed from the onslaught and all she could do was gasp and moan. All she could feel was the pleasure he offered. Her back arched from the sharp jolt of her orgasm, and she lost herself completely.
“I love you,” she said on a breath as her body buzzed from aftershocks.
He caressed his way up her body, and his shaft met her center. “And I you.” He pushed into her, and her head flew back with a moan. At the same time, he groaned before finding a steady rhythm. She rocked her hips, meeting his every thrust. The masculine sounds that reverberated through his chest seemed to feed her lust.
He paused for only a moment to pull her torso off the ground so she straddled his bent legs and kissed her with bruising force. His palms found her ass, and he held tight as their frenzy turned animalistic. She grasped his shoulders for leverage while he pounded into her hot flesh.
They both cried out with the strength of their release, and his arms wrapped around her, crushing her to his chest. She did the same with her legs around his waist and buried her head in the crook of his neck.
Long moments drifted by as they caught their breaths and drowned in the other’s eyes. She nuzzled his neck, not wanting to let go, but they couldn’t stay here forever.
Reluctantly, they released each other and set to dressing. Cale’s clothing looked scorched, and she was reminded of what she’d done.
She inhaled sharply. “It didn’t shatter!”
Cale gave her a sidelong glance, and she noticed it then, there behind his eyes, the pain he was trying to hide.
She frowned. “Are you hurting?”
He stilled, averting his gaze and shaking his head. “I should not have told you.”
She wasn’t about to go back to that argument, so instead, she returned to her revelation. “I used my gift, and the planet didn’t shatter.”
He smiled. “Aye. I noticed that as well.”
After redressing, he took her hand and led her out from behind the roots, drawing her into the forest. She got the feeling he had a destination in mind and was about to ask where they were going when she caught sight of something through the mess of trees.
She approached with her expression frozen in shock. Ginn returned her look with one of annoyance.
Chapter 32
Ginn sat on the ground with his upper body and legs wrapped in a layer of thick vines. A second set of vines around his stomach held him against the base of a tall root connected to an oringa tree.
“You’re alive,” Kyra chocked out, not meaning to make it sound like she was informing him of something he didn’t already know.
“It would seem so,” Ginn replied starchily.
“How’s that possible?” She looked to Cale, but he only shrugged. “He lived through my magic and you didn’t kill him?”
“Believe me, I wanted to. But I thought I should speak with you about it first.” By his expression, she understood how difficult that must have been for him.
“Thank you, Cale.” Then she realized Ginn had been only a handful of feet away while they’d made love. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she repeatedly slapped Cale on the chest. “You dirty, rotten…How could you let me be so loud?”
He gave her an unrepentant grin as he fended off her attack. “Because I was winning.”
“Well, next time I’ll be sure that you don’t.”
He caught her wrist mid-air. “I would love to see you try.”
Ginn rolled his eyes, which were now a mucky grey color and laced with more veins than before. He looked haggard and was probably close to death. Studying him brought back a fuzzy memory of her magic’s wrath. At one point during the melee it had reached into Ginn and found something worth saving.
Cale followed her studying gaze and asked, “What is it?”
“I think my magic protected him.”
“Why?” Cale didn’t sound happy.
“Not sure.” She needed time to think. “How long was I out this time?”
“About a day and a half.”
Not as long as usual, she thought. Evlon must have helped her to bounce back. “Do you think the dragons have arrived yet?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know where we are. And with the Serakian’s cloaking spell on the ship, it might be impossible to find our way back.”
Ginn interjected, “You should move on quickly. The destruction of the lab will not go unnoticed. In fact, there are probably troops on the way now. They have ways of tracking Faieara.”
Kyra tried to tamp down her alarm. “If we can get to a high point, we can try to spot the palace. Then we’d be able to—”
Cale shook his head. “I tried that. It’s mountains and trees for miles.”
Her shoulders hunched.
“I know the way to the palace,” Ginn offered.
She and Cale went silent, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. Should they trust him? What choice did they have? She glanced at Cale, who stood rigid with his arms crossed over his chest. He said nothing, but aggravation rolled off him.
“My magic must have saved him for a reason,” she told him.
“So he could betray us later?”
Ginn gestured with his head. “It’s that way. A good day’s walk at least. Leave me. What do I care? I’m ready for my life to end. I’m just glad it won’t be in a lab.”
Kyra scraped a hand down her face and paced in a small circle. “Alright, untie him from the tree but keep him bound for now.”
Cale did as she asked, removing the vines around Ginn’s legs as well. Ginn made no protest to being restrained around his torso and arms as they headed off in the direction he’d indicated.
Their progress was slow with no clear path, and Ginn lacking the use of his arms, but eventually half the day had passed. When they reached a stream, they paused for a break. As Cale bent to splash his face, she plucked a large leaf and folded it into a bowl to capture water. The stream water was fresh and crisp and soothed her throat.
Ginn slumped on a boulder, visibly exhausted. It was obvious that the trek had taken its toll on him. She scooped up more water in her makeshift cup and offered it to him. He hesitated, a little surprised, and then nodded. Tilting the leaf, she let the liquid spill into his mouth.
“Thank you, little Faieara, you have a kind heart.”
“You’re welcome.” She gave him another drink before discarding the leaf and perching against a wide tree trunk.
“After getting to know some of your people, I have a theory,” Ginn proclaimed. “Had we merely asked for assistance, it would have been given freely.”
“Probably,” Kyra agreed. Then she mumbled, “Woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
“What language is that?” he asked.
“The language of regret.”
“Ah,” Ginn said and then let out a breath. “We attempted it with the demons, you know. We promised them technology in exchange for test subjects.”
Cale took a menacing step forward. “Do not talk about my people! I wil
l rip your head off!”
She pushed out of her seat, making herself a barrier between the two. “Let’s not fight, boys.”
“Shh,” Cale replied, putting his palm to her mouth. She bristled.
He did not just shush me!
She was about to rip away from him when she heard a sound in the distance.
“Do you hear that?” Cale whispered.
The sounds were heavy and muted by distance, as if the gods were engaged in an epic game of billiards.
Cale cursed. “Sounds like the war has begun.”
Her stomach dropped and a sudden wave of devastation made her crumbled to the ground. “We should be there.”
Cale knelt beside her and pulled her into his embrace, but did not comment.
A loud splash called them to attention, followed by a grating, “Oh, dammit!”
Portia lumbered out of the stream, shaking water from her boots. Beside her, two strangers appeared from thin air, coming into being with a brief distortion of the surrounding air. The unknown males moved to flank Portia. They were taller than she was and could be brothers with their similar blond hair, pointy noses, and dark eyes.
“For the love of the gods!” Portia chastised, looking exacerbated. “Where have you been?”
Kyra shot to her feet. “What’s going on? Has the fighting started?”
“Big time,” Portia replied. “The dragons came, but we were unable to cloak them all, then an army of mercenaries, pirates, and whoever else got the message showed up. Chaos ensued. Kayadon are coming from everywhere.” Portia looked at Ginn, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“He’s with us,” Kyra rushed out. “No harm is to come to him.” The only response she received was a pack of surprised faces. Kyra gestured to the two men. “Who are they?”
“Serakian guards. I called on my people for help as well, and they sent a small brigade. But there’s no time for introductions. They need you.”