I pushed her back against the pillows. Crouching down over her, I closed my mouth around hers and brushed my tongue against the tip of hers. The soft moan she let out, followed by her hands pulling me closer, electrified me. Kneeling on the bed in the space between her thighs, I relished exploring her body, kissing around the outline of her bra, making my way down her abdomen, and stopping just above the line of her panties.
The desire I felt for her was burning within me. I wanted nothing more than to spend all night exploring every part of her.
But as she reached behind her to unclasp her bra, I caught them and held them in place.
I couldn’t allow her to give me this. Not when I had no idea whether I’d even see her after tonight.
I loved her too much to take this from her.
She gazed up at me, her lips and cheeks flushed with passion. A look of confusion played across her face, her dark brows frowning slightly.
I couldn’t offer her an explanation. Instead, running my hands from her ribcage down the curve of her waist, I caressed the softness of her chest with my lips before raising my head and meeting her eyes.
It killed me to think that she might be doubting herself, that she could be thinking that I didn’t want her, or that I was rejecting her for some fault of her own.
As much as every fiber of my being raged against the decision, I lay back down against the pillows next to her and spooned myself around her.
I felt her disappointment as she sighed against me.
I planted a soft kiss against the back of her head and began brushing a palm over her forehead, hoping that it would aid sleep. Her muscles relaxed against me as I continued stroking her.
It was a couple of hours before sleep finally took her, and just before it did, as she was half in, half out of consciousness, she whispered those words again.
“I love you.”
Chapter 26: Ben
As River’s steady breathing became deeper, I slipped out of bed. I picked up the shirt she’d removed from me and put it on. Then I moved noiselessly to the door that I had left slightly ajar to avoid creaking. Before heading out of the room completely, I allowed my eyes to linger on her beautiful, almost-bare form one last time.
She was curled up in a fetal position, the same position she’d been in while my body had been enveloping her. As if she never wanted to let go of me.
She would’ve come with me in a heartbeat wherever this path would lead me, and that was precisely why I couldn’t warn her I was leaving. I had allowed her to stay with me once, but this time… this time I just couldn’t.
For all I knew, in a matter of days I might not even recognize her anymore. Heck, I might not even recognize myself. I didn’t know exactly how it would happen. But even though I would try to avoid drinking more blood, I wasn’t stupid enough to think that I could do that for long. I doubted I’d be able to keep it up for more than a few days—at the very most. That was when my bloodlust usually took hold of me and turned me into a wild animal, willing to do anything and murder anyone until I got my fill.
Although River was a half-blood, for all I knew, once the oracle’s prediction came true I might become a danger even to her.
Leaving the bedroom, I swept along the corridor, trying to figure out which of the spare rooms Corrine had retreated into. I caught the witch’s scent and stopped outside one that had an orange glow emanating from the crack beneath its door.
My knuckles made contact with the wood in the softest knock. I heard footsteps, and a moment later, Corrine had eased the door open and stood before me in a nightgown.
Clearly, she hadn’t been able to sleep. I stepped into the room with her, pushing the door softly behind me.
I cleared my throat, bracing myself for her reaction. “Corrine. I need you to go back to The Shade with River. I need you to leave and not come back.”
Her mouth fell open, a mixture of anxiety and confusion in her eyes. “But Ben, River and I already told you that we’re staying with you through this.”
As a much as I appreciated Corrine’s loyalty, I wished that she would just agree and not fight me on this. After the evening with River, I felt emotionally drained.
“Things are different now,” I said. “I’ve already made up my mind.” I reached out and touched Corrine’s shoulder. “Please,” I said. “Just return with River.”
She bit down hard on her lower lip. Then she stepped away from me, clasping a palm to her forehead. “I’m so terrified for you, Benjamin,” she said, sinking down on the bed. “I just wish that there was some way I could use my magic to help you in all this.”
“Corrine.” Crouching down until my face was level with hers, I reached for her hands. I held them, giving them a small squeeze. “You couldn’t do more for me than you already have. Thank you for staying with me this far.”
She looked teary as she nodded, then drew me in for a hug, planting a kiss against the top of my head.
She stood up, drawing in a deep breath.
“Okay,” she said, her voice uneven. “I’ll take River back now. Do we have permission to leave this place?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I said. “I already made sure of that. Listen, River is sleeping in my bed. She’s in her underwear, so if you could take her dress with you so she can change once you arrive…”
“Of course.” Corrine moved toward the exit of the room, still eyeing me with uncertainty. Then just as she was about to grip the handle, she breathed out sharply and hurried back toward me, pulling me in for another hug. “Oh, Ben, what do you plan to do?”
I heaved a sigh as I stared blankly at the opposite wall over her shoulder.
“I don’t know, Corrine,” I murmured. “All I know is, this is a journey I have to make alone.”
Chapter 27: Derek
To everyone’s angst—especially Ibrahim’s—Corrine still hadn’t returned. Ibrahim became convinced that she must have ventured out to The Oasis, and that she was now stuck there along with Ben. I returned with him to the desert to try to get Ben’s attention—although my son believed himself to be trapped there, at least he could have the jinn free Corrine. But nobody came. We could only assume that Ben couldn’t hear us and we had no choice but to return to The Shade.
Our belief about what had happened to Corrine only fueled my determination to crack The Oasis.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the bond my son had formed with the jinn. I just couldn’t accept that there was no way out for him. Perhaps it was all the obstacles and seemingly undefeatable supernaturals that we’d had to deal with in the past, or perhaps it was just my stubbornness, but I was incapable of accepting the situation.
I had no idea where to start, but our island was filled with supernatural creatures from all places and backgrounds. I found it hard to believe that not a single one of them would be able to shed any light on these jinn. So I called for anyone in The Shade who had even the slightest bit of knowledge to step forward and visit me in our penthouse.
It turned out that all of our witches, including Mona, were clueless—never having encountered a jinni in their lives—and so were our vampires, werewolves, and of course our humans, many of whom had spent their whole lives in The Shade and couldn’t be expected to know anything else outside of it.
I even tried asking the ogres, who—perhaps predictably—just shrugged and looked at me like I was talking French.
My answer came from an unexpected source—from one of the dragons, Jeriad himself. I was relieved when in the late hour of the evening, he came knocking at the door of my and Sofia’s penthouse. He caught me alone, since Sofia was at Vivienne’s place—Vivienne was due to give birth any day now.
I opened the door and laid eyes on the imposing dragon shifter standing on the doorstep.
“Jeriad.”
“You seek information about jinn.”
At first I was surprised that Jeriad had come to see me only now. Then I realized that none of the dragons had examined Ben or River before
we left for The Oasis. If they had seen their marks before we took off, they might have been able to guess that it was jinn we were up against.
“Yes,” I said eagerly. “Come in.”
He stepped inside, his eyes traveling around the living room, before looking back at me. It occurred to me that this was the first time he had ever stepped inside our treehouse. I offered him a seat on the sofa, but he remained standing.
“Back in The Hearthlands, we had some experience with jinn. There was a time when we even made allies out of some.”
“What can you tell me about them?”
“For one thing, they are not easy to bargain with,” he said. “The jinn inhabiting The Oasis—we have no experience with that particular tribe. But we have had ties with others. We also know where their realm is and how to reach it.”
I felt a blow of disappointment. “But not knowing anything about this particular tribe… how could this help my son? He is bound to the jinn of The Oasis, and not to the species as a whole, as he explained it.”
The dragon paused, and wet his lower lip thoughtfully.
“That is true,” he replied. “But jinn as a species… they are usually quite interconnected. Many have ties with each other, whether they like it or not.”
“What do you mean by ties?”
“It’s rather complicated,” he said, “and there’s not much point me going into detail now when I don’t know for sure that what I have in mind would work… but what I’m suggesting is that we pay a visit to their realm with you. Due to the relations we dragons have had with them in the past—at least, our tribe of dragons—the jinn hold some respect for us. There’s a certain family of jinn who live there whom I would like to meet with.”
I didn’t understand exactly how meeting jinn who lived in a different realm could help my son who was trapped on earth in The Oasis. But I trusted Jeriad, and we had nothing else on the table, so I wasn’t going to start questioning him.
“So you would take us there?”
Jeriad nodded. “Of course,” he continued, “we cannot guarantee your safety. Jinn are subtle, tricky creatures, and even our might is not much good against them. It has been a long time since we’ve had contact with those creatures, and I’m not sure that they would still welcome us into their midst as they once did. So you must be aware that there is an element of danger involved in the excursion.”
I nodded, clenching my jaw.
“Also,” he added, after another moment’s pause, “I suggest that every single dragon here in The Shade go along.”
“Why’s that?” I said, feeling uneasy at the idea of such a huge chunk of the island’s security taking off at once.
“As I said, I don’t know exactly what the jinn’s reaction will be to our visit. The minds of jinn are fickle and ever-changing. They can quickly develop dislikes toward others, often for no good reason. It’s hard to predict what their temperament might be toward dragons when we arrive. Hence, I suggest we travel in force… and also that no witches travel with us.”
“No witches?” Although I was happy for them to remain here on the island to protect our people, I also felt uneasy about embarking on this excursion without even a single wielder of magic. Out of all of our missions in the past, I couldn’t recall a single one where we hadn’t had at least one witch present.
“Jinn and witches are born enemies. If a witch entered the realm of jinn, it’s unlikely that they would ever make it out again, even with our help.”
“I see.” I looked the dragon in the eye. “I appreciate you stepping forward.”
“Although I’m unable to make any promises that we can free your son, I feel we owe you our help. I’m grateful for the hospitality you have extended us, and the happiness many of us have found here with the island’s maidens.”
I nodded, still caught up on the idea of traveling without witches. “This means everyone who comes will have to travel on your backs.”
“Of course,” he said. “So… you would definitely like to go through with this? I’ll need to speak with my companions.”
I would have preferred that my wife was present so I could discuss it with her. But although I still felt uneasy about so many things about this plan—what kind of hostility we might find at our destination, leaving our witches behind, and the fact that I desperately wanted to be here for my sister when she gave birth to my new nephew or niece—I felt that I had no choice but to take the dragon up on his offer there and then, while he was feeling generous. I didn’t want to risk delaying my answer in case something caused Jeriad to have second thoughts and withdraw.
And so that night I agreed to the fire breather’s plan.
Chapter 28: Jeramiah
I stared down at the injured mermaid I’d found washed up along a beach near The Shade’s port. Bending down, I placed a finger against the side of her scaly neck, checking for a pulse. She had one, albeit weak. It was surprising considering the amount of blood she had lost. Her left arm had been ripped open, and the sand beneath her was stained with the dark liquid.
Removing my shirt, I wiped her down, then wrapped the fabric tightly around the gash to help stem the blood flow. I picked her up and hauled her over my shoulders, confident that she was too weak to do anything to harm me as I carried her.
She and a merman had gained entrance to The Shade the same way Amaya, my witch companion, and I had. We had been carried through the boundary via the submarine Benjamin had been navigating. I’d known as soon as Nuriya had revealed to me back in The Oasis that my cousin’s submarine held merfolk that they could be of great use to me. I had expected to have to catch them, however. It was a pleasant surprise to see one practically delivered to me on a silver platter. I thanked whatever creature had attacked this mermaid as I made my way back toward the temporary residence Amaya and I had created for ourselves.
I was just approaching the Port when I noticed a crowd of people gathered in the clearing in front of the jetty. I stopped in my tracks. I spotted my uncle, Derek Novak—whom I had identified during my first few days on this island when I had scoped the island out along with its residents.
Next to him stood Sofia herself. Wife of Derek Novak, she’d been the one my father had desired so deeply. And now she was my aunt.
Standing next to the redhead was Vivienne. Now a human, and heavily pregnant. She stood beside her husband—my second uncle—Xavier Vaughn.
I also spotted my cousin, Rose Novak—Benjamin’s twin. She stood next to a man whom I’d come to learn was her newlywed husband, Caleb Achilles.
And then there was Aiden Claremont. One of the first of my extended family I’d encountered on arrival. I’d been tempted to stake that vampire as he slept the night I realized who he was. But I was glad that I had refrained from temptation. Acting impulsively would have been detrimental to my plans in the long run…
Behind my family were other vampires and werewolves, most of whom I didn’t recognize—and frankly had little interest in—and what appeared to be a crowd of perhaps one hundred dragons. I’d gathered that they had taken up residence in lavish apartments especially carved out for them within the Black Heights by the witches. I wouldn’t have been surprised if every single dragon who inhabited this island had gathered there in the clearing.
They looked fiercely imposing even in their humanoid forms… I’d known from the start that these shifters were my biggest obstacle.
But as I began to pay attention to the conversation my family was having, I was delighted by what I heard.
Derek was addressing Xavier. “We’re going to try to make this as brief as possible.” His eyes fell on his sister. I’d have to be blind to not notice the adoration he held for his twin. He drew her in for an embrace and kissed her cheek. “Just hang in there, Viv. Xavier will be here, and so will the rest of the witches.”
Vivienne cast her eyes nervously toward the dragons. “Must you really take all of them?” she asked.
“It’s what Jeriad wants, and sinc
e he’s leading us there, we can’t really argue.”
Xavier wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, darling.”
She nodded, but still looked uncertain.
Then, to my alarm, her eyes shot toward where I stood on the beach. She was looking so directly at me that for a moment I feared that perhaps the invisibility spell Amaya had placed on me had worn off. But looking down, I couldn’t see my feet, and since I was making contact with the mermaid, her body was also invisible.
My aunt’s gaze lingered for a few more moments before she returned her gaze to her brother.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
She shook her head. “It’s nothing, Derek. You, Sofia and the rest… You do what you have to do. I think this pregnancy is just making me extra sensitive to… things.”
My aunt, I knew, had a gift of sight.
I had to be careful of her.
As they exchanged words of affection and bade their goodbyes, I couldn’t ignore the slight tugging deep inside of me. It felt like these people were missing pieces from my life.
And yet overshadowing everything was a burning feeling of resentment. Of frustration. Of anger.
Nuriya had revealed to me the way my father had always been treated by them. How my grandfather had gone out of his way to pit him against Derek, how his siblings had always held a bias against him—almost as though he was an outsider—and how neglected he had been by the whole lot of them.
They’d never bothered to take the time to understand why he behaved the way he did. Not his own father, and not even Vivienne—who’d certainly been more partial to him than Derek. Why would they, when it was so easy to just label him as the black sheep?
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