Light of Dawn

by Angela Colsin

  “Faster, baby?”

  “Y-yes!” she nodded quickly.

  Ulric growled at her eager response, leaning down to kiss her. When Charlotte moaned into his mouth, meeting each lap of his tongue, the need to take her hard became undeniable. Won't ever get enough of her.

  With the thought, he broke the kiss and pushed an arm beneath her back, locking her in place as his hips started to piston. The bed rocked in protest as his shaft plunged in and out of her tight walls frantically, his heart seeming to hammer in time with his movements.

  Charlotte cried out in response, spurring Ulric on by digging her nails into his ass. Sweat dampened his skin, rushing toward a violent climax as he groaned loudly, “Gods, I love you … !”

  “Ulric, I—oh!”

  Her head fell back, eyes shut, and when he felt her tighten around his thrusting shaft, her hips bucking, he demanded, “Look at me! Let me see it, baby.”

  She complied, her gaze pleading with a wild heat when it locked on his again. “I c-can't ... Ulric!”

  Watching her reaction, witnessing the passion in her eyes just before her head fell back as she came again was the sexiest thing Ulric had ever experienced, pushing him over the edge. He shouted her name with the first wave of his seed spilling inside her body, then slammed home to give the rest, feeling as if he'd poured his very soul into her.

  The pleasure dragged on like it'd never stop until they both went limp with a final buck of his hips.

  Bracing himself above her, Ulric panted, marveling at the total satisfaction his gorgeous mate gave him as he pushed himself to the side and pulled her over to rest atop his body. She immediately cuddled into him, and he cradled her close, kissing her wherever he could reach.

  “I still can't believe you're real, sweetness. I'm not sure I ever will.”

  She whimpered, nuzzling his neck. Somewhere in his foggy mind, he recalled telling Isaac weeks ago that he couldn't describe the kind of completion he knew Charlotte would give him, and he hadn't lied.

  The only word that fit it was perfect.

  “Ulric,” Charlotte whispered after a moment, lifting her head to look at him. “Y-you love me?”

  She sounded stunned, like she hadn't believed it would happen. So to prove it, Ulric kissed her lips hard, savoring the feel of them against his before answering, “So much it hurts, sweetness. I couldn't live without you anymore. Everything I have and everything I am is yours, always.”

  She trembled, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears as her lips parted to respond. Yet then she paused, and for a brief moment, her countenance was troubled.

  “Ulric, I need to tell you something, but I'm—”

  A swift knock came to the door, interrupting her, and without giving either of them the time to react, Liam announced from the hall, “Ulric, Dalris knows where Lillian's hiding, and there may be a chance of confronting her tonight if we act fast, so come to the study. Isaac could use some assistance as well, if Charlotte's up for it.”

  Normally, Ulric would've been extremely annoyed, but this news was high priority. So he replied without pause, “We'll be there in a moment.”

  “I'll tell him,” Liam confirmed.

  Lifting her head, Charlotte seemed confused, and her question reminded Ulric that he'd yet to tell her the truth. “Why would you bother if you want to relocate me?”

  Sheepishly, he replied, “Because I'd already changed my mind. Isaac was right, hiding's a waste of time, but I was too tempted to see what you'd do not to play along with your seduction.”

  Charlotte looked bemused, but only for a moment before she shoved at him, exclaiming, “You butthead! I'll remember that.”

  “You enjoyed it,” he grinned.

  Smiling, she returned, “I enjoy being with you for any reason, Yules.”

  He somehow found her playful use of his nickname amusing as she then asked, “Who gave you that name anyway?”

  “One of my nephews, and it's a long story.”

  Sitting up, she nodded. “Okay, but I want to hear it later.”

  With a smile, he leaned in to give her a kiss, promising to tell her whatever she wanted to know while wishing there was more time now to just lounge around and talk between sessions of lovemaking. He also wanted ask why she'd looked so troubled a moment ago.

  But finding out where Lillian was and putting an end to her plans was definitely worthwhile. Gods willing, they'd be able to stop her that very night, and if there was even the slightest possibility of it, Ulric would do all within his power to kill the vampiress, and finally free Charlotte of her threat for good.

  Just give me that chance ….

  ~*~*~*~

  Though Charlotte was in high spirits, a shadow of doubt had hovered over her.

  Ulric's confession made her feel capable of handling anything that came her way, his promise so heartfelt it left her speechless. But she'd briefly hesitated with telling him the same when she realized all it took to ruin everything was a blonde bitch of a vampiress with aspirations of permanent daywalking.

  Not that Charlotte was going to let Lillian win, but those brief moments trying to decide if the timing was really right had delayed her until Liam was interrupting. So she'd decided to admit her feelings to Ulric once they'd spoken with Dalris, and for now, focused on helping Isaac.

  She entered his room to find that the demon looked like death itself, sitting in a chair near the corner with a book in his lap which he glanced up from when she inquired, “How are you?”

  “My eyes are going bad. I can barely see the words on this page.”

  That wasn't surprising. A table lamp next to him provided light that he normally wouldn't need, and not only were his eyes dull and lifeless, but his skin was sunken in around them, discolored and peeling in several places.

  Charlotte didn't waste time, placing her hands on his shoulders to mend the damage the curse was doing with a bright, healing light seeping into his body. Still, his condition was more extensive now and took more effort.

  She gave it her all, but in the end, Isaac wasn't fully regenerated. Sighing, she pointed out, “You're providing good practice, but this is the best I can do.”

  The demon smirked, setting his book on an end table next to his chair with the words, “I'm going to start denying you anyway. The decay is coming faster and faster, and the healing only lasts for maybe a few hours if I don't move around too much.”

  “You need Chandra.”

  Isaac grumbled. Charlotte still had no idea why he was so resistant to letting the sorceress help him, and would've asked, but he beat her with a question of his own. “You said that pendant grants one wish, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Think you could use it to reverse the curse?”

  Charlotte hadn't thought about that, but maybe it would work. She had no use for the pendant anyway when almost everything she could want was already hers, and she'd rather earn what she lacked. Besides, Isaac saved her life, and wishing his curse away was the least she could do to repay the favor.

  “I know some things can't be wished for, but it's worth a try. I'll be right back.”

  She made quick time retrieving the curse box from Ulric's room, returning a few minutes later to settle it on the dresser. Charlotte tugged the pendant from inside, the stone still glowing a vibrant amber, and as she turned to face Isaac, he asked, “By the way, you have a friend staying here, right?”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “Edith, why?”

  “I heard her talking to Ulric when they passed in the hall earlier, and somehow,” he trailed, “her voice sounds vaguely familiar. Just seemed odd.”

  That was odd. She had no idea why he might recognize Edith's voice, but whatever the reason, she wasn't going to bring her in to meet Isaac when he looked like he'd died a month ago.

  So Charlotte merely shrugged. “Well, let's see if this works. If not, we're getting Chandra.”

  Holding the medallion in her hands, she parted her lips, but didn't manage t
o get the wish out when a certain sorceress' random appearance stopped her.

  Chandra seemed to materialize from the air, dressed in an elaborately designed silver gown that fit her body tightly and shimmered with a black edging. Despite the surprise visit, Charlotte was starting to wonder where the sorceress shopped because she never ceased to impress with her elaborate wardrobe.

  “Speak of the devil,” Isaac muttered. “Strange thing for me to say.”

  Chandra was about to respond, but stopped when she noticed Isaac's condition. Like clockwork, a slow smile spread across her dark red lips.

  “Well, well, Isaac,” she started, and though her visage was normally impassive, right now she looked downright amused. “I see you've met Heliger's Pendant. I suppose the twist of the item falling into a mortal's hands wasn't such a bad thing after all.”

  Isaac gave her the most pointedly kiss-my-ass expression Charlotte had ever seen.

  “How long have you been this way?” Chandra inquired.

  Getting the feeling Isaac wouldn't answer on his own, Charlotte qualified, “Two days.”

  “I do know how to break the curse.”

  “Don't care,” Isaac muttered.

  Looking at Charlotte, the sorceress commented, “Well, that's a change. First he pesters me to take an apprentice, but when he needs a cure, he leaves me alone. I suppose I should've just cursed him two centuries ago myself.”

  Isaac rolled his eyes, and Charlotte ignored the comment to ask, “Why are you here?”

  In response, Chandra's gaze focused on the pendant as she made a query of her own. “What were you doing with that?”

  “I was about to wish Isaac's curse away. Will it work?”

  “Doubtful. Besides, I won't be wasting this opportunity to get an agreement out of him that I sorely need.” She turned her piercing gaze back to the demon and stepped in closer, promising, “So I will break this curse, and my demand is a blood oath that I'll have ample time to prepare and train my first apprentice for the Final Calling without your interference. There is no negotiating this.”

  Briefly, Charlotte wondered why training her first apprentice was so important, and certainly didn't think it was worth Isaac resisting her help over. But she noticed the demon shifting uncomfortably as if expecting such a demand.

  “Do you really—damn it!”

  He cussed when Chandra pulled a small dagger from her belt and quickly swiped the blade across the back of his hand, causing blood to well.

  “Your oath,” she demanded more pointedly.

  Despite his current state, Isaac let a growl that was as menacing in sound as Charlotte had ever heard. She thought he was about to tell her to fuck off, but instead, he replied begrudgingly, “Fine. You have my blood oath. But once you're done preparing her … ”

  Chandra sighed, returning her blade to her belt while conceding, “You'll be aware when she's ready, Demon. Now I'll have to acquire the needed components to break your curse, but the most difficult to obtain would be virgin's blood. So you'll be back to gratingly normal soon.”

  “How much virgin blood do you need, exactly?” Charlotte inquired as she put the pendant back in the box and locked it.

  “Only a few drops. Why, do you know a virgin?”

  “My friend, Edith. I don't know if she'd be willing, but only a few drops isn't so bad.”

  “In that case, I'll have to see her. But first, there's an issue of a debt owed to me.”

  “Debt?” Charlotte's brows narrowed. “Who, me?”

  “No,” Chandra replied, stepping over to place a hand on Charlotte's arm. “Ulric.”

  With those words, Charlotte felt a tingling sensation sweeping through her, knowing she was being teleported away. The room around her blurred for a brief moment before her eyes refocused on a new scene.

  They were in a large, run down cemetery, and Charlotte could sense it was a fair ways out in the countryside, nowhere near Dalris' estate.

  Suspicious, she quickly asked the sorceress, “Why are we here?”

  “Because I need to offer you as a gift in order to prevent a disaster,” Chandra stated impassively, “and Ulric wouldn't agree if asked due to a ritual involved, one in which you're to be sacrificed.”

  Chapter 35

  “Page South Cemetery is two hours away. If we leave now, we'll arrive just before dawn.”

  The rumors had proved true. A group of Kalar magistrates were currently hiding in a large cemetery in northern Georgia where Robi spotted Lillian in the flesh when she'd examined the area.

  Robi also reported seeing a few Sentinels—magically animated suits of armor that could only be taken down by killing their master. This fact made them dangerous when, without knowing who the master was, a Sentinel could go on fighting for hours on end without tiring whatsoever.

  They were guarding the cemetery's mausoleum, and their existence was evidence that not only was a mage present, but whatever the magistrates were planning was of high priority.

  They'd even gone so far as to cast a repelling spell on the area to keep others at bay.

  All of Ulric's available siblings were present for the discussion, including Garrick and Victoria, an athletically built woman with long, blue-black curls she'd braided into a bun at her nape.

  Liam stood near the door with Rozdra on his shoulder, asking, “There's six of us. How many magistrates did Robi see?”

  “Eleven, Lillian included,” Dalris answered.

  “And how many Sentinels?”

  “Two, but she said there could've been more inside the mausoleum.”

  “I think we can deal with them ourselves,” Garrick qualified. “Though, it depends on the strength of the mage just how much of a fight they'll give us.”

  “Robi said the repelling spell was powerful,” Dalris supplied. “She had to use a special talisman to stay longer than five minutes. But we should be able to withstand it.”

  As Ulric listened to the talk, he glanced at the door, growing unsettled. Charlotte was taking too long to heal Isaac, and his senses were tripping. Something's wrong.

  “Yules? You okay?”

  At Victoria's question, Ulric realized everyone was looking at him. “Just wondering where Charlotte is,” he excused, and Dalris' phone rang as he'd spoken, distracting the eldest brother.

  So Ulric decided to take the moment to go check on his mate, but the doorknob turned before he could stand. Fully expecting to see Charlotte to walk in when he looked over, he was instead greeted by a withering face.

  “Isaac?”

  The demon used the doorknob for support, winded as he spoke, “Don't give me any shit for not getting here sooner, but about ten minutes ago, Chandra came and took Charlotte for the favor you owe her.”

  “What?” Ulric demanded, standing up.

  “She didn't say where she was heading,” Isaac qualified before Ulric could ask, “but there it is.”

  He took Ulric's now vacant seat just as Dalris was saying into his phone, “Thank you, Robi. It's time for you to vacate the premises.”

  That line got everyone's immediate attention. Hanging up, Dalris relayed, “Robi just informed me that a fae entranced by a sorceress entered the mausoleum only a moment ago, so Chandra is the mage performing the ritual.”

  Already heading to the door, Ulric announced, “We're leaving, now.”

  Everyone filed out behind him while Isaac called, “It's okay, I'll just take another ten minutes getting back upstairs.”

  Normally, Ulric would've had a witty retort, but he was completely focused on the task at hand. Charlotte was in danger, could even be dying right that minute, and she couldn't teleport away because it was night.

  With the thought, he redoubled his efforts to get moving, wishing Isaac was well so he could transport at least one of them. Instead, they climbed into Dalris' car while Garrick and Victoria took her truck.

  Ulric could barely sit still as they left the estate, nearly demanding after only ten minutes for Dalris to pull over a
nd let him drive despite the fact that the needle on the speedometer couldn't go any higher.

  At this rate, it'd be close to dawn by the time they arrived, and with the way Ulric felt, two hours was more like two centuries. Wrath had already consumed him, his body as tense as a coiled spring ready to shoot through the roof. He'd told Charlotte she had everything he was, and if something happened to her, if she was killed … I'll die with her.

  “Ulric, you know Chandra better than any of us,” Dalris spoke, breaking the thick silence that had formed inside the vehicle. “Is there any reason to believe she's not against us?”

  “Several,” Ulric answered. “There's no way to tell who she's siding with for certain. She wants Heliger's Pendant, and this might be an easy way for her to get it, but at the same time, she's the one who freed me from the Kalar. That's why I owe her a favor.”

  “The Kalar?” Dalris asked, sounding surprised. “They're the ones who captured you?”

  “Yes,” Ulric confirmed, adding lowly, “and I'm sure you can figure out what they did on your own.”

  In the backseat, Liam growled. “Could these magistrates be the ones who enslaved you? Or Lillian?”

  “She admitted to having a hand in it. As for the rest, it's possible.”

  “Then she dies tonight,” he vowed, his tone lethal. “They all do.”

  Dalris remained quiet. He'd always been controlled, only releasing the wrathful side of his nature in extreme situations, but Ulric knew from the look in his eyes that he was on the edge of it now.

  “Ulric,” he started, “the decisions are yours. Charlotte is your mate, and we'll do what's necessary to save her.”

  Ulric wasn't oblivious to his brother's show of faith, but he'd comment on it later, directing, “We'll see what's what when we get there. For now, just keep the pedal on the floor.”

  Dalris did exactly that, and Victoria never lost them, following closely in her truck. On the way, they called one of the elders of Dragon's Brood to get the word out, though it was unlikely anyone from the Order would make it in time to help unless they knew someone who could teleport. So relying on their assistance was a bad idea.