He followed the action by swiftly breaking her arm before she could attempt to gore him with her claws. Diana hadn’t managed to tear the other wing, but it was noticeably broken in a place where her sword had struck it, flapping uselessly. The arm that the strix had attempted to strike her with was ravaged with numerous cuts until it looked nearly butchered, just barely holding together with sinew and bone. It was gruesome, but effective, and Silvas felt an upwelling of pride.
The good feeling was interrupted as Mora attempted to snake down her head to bite him, but he reached up and grasped her jaw as he twisted his sword. With a downward yank, he heard the satisfying sound of bone breaking as her jaw shattered in his hand. Rotting ooze and saliva dripped all over his hand, and he sighed. He was definitely going to have to clean himself thoroughly before he touched his uxorem again. Pulling his sword free, he watched dispassionately as the strix dropped to the ground where it writhed pitifully. His lips peeling back in a snarl, he stabbed his sword into the body.
“Die already!” he hissed!
Mora gurgled, and he suspected it was with laughter. With the power of the sword, given time that which remained of her body would gradually knit together. Whether her wing would grow back or not was questionable. She wouldn’t have any such opportunity. One way or another she would be dead when he left there even if he had to tear her apart bit by bit.
A soft gasp drew his attention to his side and Diana looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Silvas… what does this sword of yours look like?”
His brow puckered in confusion. “It is ebony black with a black diamond set in the pommel.”
Diana’s hand snaked out toward something dark glittering among the feathers just below the strix’s breast. Her hand curling around the thick cluster of feathers, she ripped them away, revealing the glittering black jewel of Nocis.
Silvas’s eyes widened. That was why Mora was impossibly stronger, much stronger than she should’ve been even as keeper of the sword, and why he couldn’t get an imprint of where it was—she had merged it into her body. He could see the bulge where the sheath of the blade pressed outward from where she had magically fused it to herself.
“Stupid creature,” he snarled, throwing a disgusted look toward the strix.
At his words, Mora thrashed to shake him off. Even in her deranged state, she was trying to protect the source of her power. Digging his claws into greasy flesh, he ripped it apart, separating muscle from her abdominal wall. The gurgling and wheezing became louder as he tore free handfuls of flesh, shredding through feathers until the sword wiggled loosely in its bed. Gripping the hilt, he yanked it as he stood.
The sword ripped free, dumping the black and putrid inner organs of the strix all over the cave floor as they spilled out. His lips curled as he felt the familiar tendril of power stroke over his senses from the sword. It attempted to drown out his bond with Diana, but the bond surged as his mate drew closer to his side, her eyes narrowed on Nocis.
Chapter 27
Diana was not sure if she liked Nocis. Although it hadn’t felt sentient, the way it flooded over their bond had frightened her. She had no doubt in her mind that it was extremely dangerous. Watching the dark stone pulse from where it was embedded in the strix was enough to send queasiness through her belly. Silvas’s eyes were trained on her, his brow puckering with worry as he strapped the sheathed sword to his back.
Its sheath alone was larger than the sheath for his other blade and, now that he had cleaned it with the cloth from his belt, she could see that it was almost as dark as the sword itself and studded with deep red stones. Garnets maybe?
The squelch as he pulled his other sword free from where he had twisted it into the strix made Diana grimace. The mess was truly disgusting, though at least the smell couldn’t get any worse. A disappointed sigh rattled from him and she eyed the reason—the aelven-forged blade had broken off in Mora’s corpse. Silvas dropped the sword with a shake of his head.
“I’m not surprised,” he muttered. “Backed with the power of Nocis, her magic was potent enough that I fell victim to it. I am honestly amazed that it didn’t work on you as well. That her final defenses shattered the aelven blade despite all the magic forged into it ought to have been expected.”
Why had she been able to resist it? Her eyes trailed once again to Nocis. A shiver ran through her. As silly as it sounded. that sword made her twitchy.
“Don’t worry,” Silvas soothed in a calm timber. “Nocis had a terrible effect on the strix, but it won’t harm you.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I am not even certain I want to touch it,” she admitted. It was unsettling enough feeling the energy of the sword touching upon their bond. She didn’t want to get any closer than that.
“There won’t be any need. Unlike my armor and weapons, the sword is made so that it becomes a part of me when I shift.”
Diana balked. “Wait, isn’t that dangerous? You saw what it did to Mora.”
He shook his head and gave her a small smile as he steered toward the cave entrance. “This sword was crafted for me, and unlike the long-lived strix, I am an immortal being. She was vulnerable in a way that I’m not.”
“Okay,” she muttered doubtfully as she fell into step beside him.
As they stepped out onto the ledge, a cool wind swept by. Diana greedily sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air, relieved to no longer be within the confines of the strix’s nest. Although the wind had died down, night had long since fallen. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered. Silvas’s glowing eyes turned toward her.
“We won’t go far. Even by flight, it is a long journey back to the Arx. I won’t risk you falling in your exhaustion. I will carry us down to the upper foothills of the mountain. There we should find a small stretch of ground to comfortably take our rest before we continue on.”
Nodding her agreement, Diana backed up just enough to give him room as Silvas changed into an enormous griffin. Yet he looked different than he had before. Instead of the white feathers he had possessed, the tips of his feathers were now inky, and his coat was speckled. She paused to stare. To her surprise, he didn’t seem to notice the difference, he merely cocked his head at her curiously when she didn’t immediately seat herself on his back. He rumbled at her questioningly, but she didn’t voice her concerns. Even to her, it seemed like a silly thing to be hesitant over. Directing a tight, nervous smile at him, Diana hauled herself over his withers and seated herself comfortably.
Silvas turned his eagle-like head in her direction, a soft clicking purr coming from him as he stepped lightly, swaying his body briefly, making certain that her seat was steady on his back. His purr became louder with approval before he abruptly faced forward once more and leaped gracefully from the ledge, his wings spreading wide to catch the currents as they dropped.
Diana’s heart dropped into her belly. This experience was far different than the rapid rise from the ground that she had experienced before. For a heartbeat, she knew terror as they dropped until Silvas angled his wings to catch a current and beat them a few times so that they dropped at a gentler decline. The world around them was silent except for those occasional beats of his wings as he adjusted their descent, and Diana clung to him, her own breath loud in her ears. Her eyes, however, were attentively trained on the landscape of stars in the heavens around them. Those tiny glowing lights were comforting in a world darkened by nightfall.
They soared for a time, but before long they touched down on a relatively flat stretch of ground, and Silvas saw to her comfort at once. Diana was grateful since she could barely see anything outside of the shadowy outline where the moonlight illuminated the edge of a rock here and there. She noticed that, while he wasn’t inclined to bring back the illumination between his antlers, he was careful to see to her needs. Once he assured himself that Diana was settled comfortably, Silvas eased down behind her, drawing her against his warm, bare chest.
“No fire?” she mumbled.
He sho
ok his head. “It is better not to call any other attention to our presence on this mountain. We will rest for a few hours.”
She prodded at his bare chest, her finger stroking over the light fuzz of fur that covered his body. “Won’t you be cold?”
His chuckle rumbled from his chest under her ear. “No. I wear clothes because I enjoy them, not for warmth. Rest, uxorem,” he whispered.
Diana nodded and leaned back against him to leech some of his heat, and she drew the warmth and peace of their bond around herself. She still had some awareness, though she was fading fast into slumber, when she felt him also relax and drop down into the warm pulse of their bond along with her. She yawned and wondered if he would also sleep, or what immortals did to refresh themselves. As he settled more deeply against her, it certainly felt enough like sleep to her. She yawned again and dropped into the thick fog of slumber.
It hadn’t felt like she slept long, and was in fact still dark, when she was awakened by a snuffling, growling sound at the edge of their camp. She knew that Silvas had also awakened from the coiled tension in the arms wrapped around her. A low vibration like a voiceless growl came off him, his glowing eyes stark white slashes in the dark.
Three large icy blue orbs—much larger than a typical eye—stared back, their position shifting as if each one belonged to a separate creature. Diana was aware of Silvas bristling, the growl starting to ripple from him as they drew nearer.
“What is it?” Diana whispered as she attempted to keep her eyes on all three.
“We have been hunted,” Silvas replied bluntly, his voice just barely audible. “It seems that the mountain trolls are more desperate than I had believed for them to have tracked us for such a distance.”
Although his body coiled tightly, and his vocal attempts to warn them off, there was no true worry coming from him. The territorial aggression, on the other hand, there was plenty of. Despite that, he was attempting to scare them off rather than outright attacking.
Normally she had found such control to be admirable—when three enormous trolls weren’t eyeing her as if she were the last cookie in the jar. Swallowing, she stared up at the three eyes floating at a considerable height above her. An arctic chill ran through her blood.
Two split off and advanced with loud, lumbering steps. She wagered that those two were the males. Their snuffling grew louder as they sniffed the air, drawing in deep gulping breaths. A low growl, like two boulders being ground together, filled the air. Diana winced as the resonating sound pierced her skull, making it throb.
“Give,” one brute demanded. “Give sweet morsel to us.”
There was no mistake in Diana’s mind just who he was talking to and who the sweet morsel was. She hated the whole damsel in distress shit, but she felt no shame as she dug her fingers into Silvas’s bare thighs. She felt the movement of air as he shook his antlers in answer, the adornments rattling softly.
“No. No give. Mine,” Silvas hissed back, replying in a way that she was certain that the creatures had to understand.
Their reaction was instantaneous.
Angry snarls greeted his refusal, and something large slammed against the ground. She wasn’t sure if it was a rock or a club. Whatever it was, it was huge and made the ground vibrate beneath her. The one on the left suddenly moved forward in two rapid strides, a vicious growl rumbling up from its chest leaving no doubt as to its intention. Diana felt a scream of terror bubble up her throat, her fingers fumbling for her sword when, just that quick, Silvas deposited her on the ground and surged to his feet.
His sword hissed as it slid free from the scabbard, a pulse of violet light like that of a black light that kids had enjoyed when she was younger, appearing around the blade. The sword arced through the air, and the beast bellowed as something heavy hit the ground and a hot liquid splashed against her cheek. The metallic scent of blood filled her nose and Diana gagged. As her stomach roiled, the troll’s screams of pain echoed through her head.
As she heard the troll stumble back, the other male charged, and the sword raised at a whistling speed. This time it did not make contact as the male skidded to a stop at what she assumed was a safe distance from where the glowing tip of the blade pointed in the air. She could hear the loud, furious gusts of his labored breath as he growled and snorted. The female, lurking a short distance away, let out a panicked cry as she drew back farther. Both males turned their heads toward her, their eyes disappearing from sight in the path of their movement. They rumbled uncertainly to each other, and Diana could feel the hot pulse of excitement that suddenly ran through Silvas. It was low level, insidiously creeping through him as his mind was focused with watchful stillness on the trolls.
Fear crawled through her as the darkness swelled, covering more and more of his bright presence in their bond. To her relief, the males strode away with angry growls, the one still intermittently crying out with pain as they followed the track of their mate. As their footsteps gradually dragged away, Diana let out the breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. Her lungs burned with relief as it expelled from her and she stood on shaky legs, making her way toward the pulsing violet light that outlined the sharp edge of Nocis. Her fingers trembling, she reached out and felt for his shoulder.
Silvas jerked in surprise at her touch and he swung around viciously, the violet hue coloring the edge of his eyes as they fixed on her. She felt his hand come up and grip the side of her cheek roughly.
“Mine,” he growled, his eyes glinting dangerously—possessively.
There was no softness or softer emotion in his face. This was different than the magic that coerced him in the cave. Although the source was the same, the dark energy of the blade spinning its influence upon Silvas, in the cave, at least, he had looked upon the strix who had assumed Diana’s form with a measure of affection.
There was nothing of that in the male who stared down at her.
It was as if he was consumed by the power, leaving nothing of him but the raw destructive strength that was at the heart of his nature. She had felt that steel core of him, but the power of the blade amplified it until nothing else was surfacing.
And that was only after one little skirmish.
What would happen to Silvas if he continued to use the blade? If he went after Cacus with it? How much would be left of him when she looked at him as she fought by his side?
Diana’s eyes widened and a tremor of unease made her draw back against his grip. She was unable to break his hold, but he must have seen something in her eyes because he frowned in puzzlement, his face leaning forward as his nostrils flared. He scented her cheek and through her hair. She could barely feel him along their bond and had an idea that his sense of her was likewise obscured.
He jerked her forward, his thick erection pressing against her belly urgently as he caught her lips with his, his tongue sweeping dominantly into her mouth, stroking in an aggressive invasion. It frightened her, but just as his savagery excited her when they first met, she felt her belly heat with desire. She opened to him and accepted his darkness. Her hands caught in his hair and she tugged sharply at the length, drawing him closer.
Gradually his mouth softened, and Diana felt the darkness draw back from around their bond as he resurfaced, a golden presence in their bond once more. His mouth drew away, caressing her lips worshipfully until he pulled away, his pearly eyes staring down at her in wonder. And regret.
His hands caressed the sides of her face before he lowered his head to capture her lips again. He broke free long enough to rid himself of the sheath strapped around his chest before drawing her sharply against him once more. His hands made quick work divesting her of her armor and clothes as he sought to touch and taste every exposed inch of her. When he drew her to the ground, he lay upon their cloaks and tugged her over him, her legs parting around his hips. Her cunt rubbed against his cock as his dragged her down for another kiss, their bodies slipping against each other as he rocked his hips, inciting her need until she squirme
d upon him, eager to be filled.
Gripping her hips, he surged up into her, drawing her sharply against him. A moan escaped her as the bumps on his cock stroked through her. The bite of his claws against her hips was erotic as they rocked together, her body pitching as he lifted her and slammed her down with every upward grind of his pelvis. Their coupling was violent as she surged against him, her own frenzy climbing. Digging her fingers into his pectorals, she drove down, her pussy gripping and squeezing around him with desperation.
Somewhere amid her upwelling of need, Diana became aware of his tail sliding around her waist. It tightened, holding her locked in place as the furred tip grazed her clit. The flexible tip beneath the fur tweaked the sensitive bud as he canted his hips and pounded in a ceaseless rut up against her. Diana ground back against him, but that was all the movement she could manage, and all she had the presence of mind to do as her orgasm ripped up from her core and splashed through her in a hot wave of ecstasy.
Silvas snarled, thrusting up into her repeatedly until a roar of completion burst out from deep in his chest as his hot cum splashed through her channel. She could feel it seeping from around them as he continued to grind against her, sending her into new waves of pleasure until they finally collapsed, locked together, on the hard ground.
As they lay there, Silvas tucked her head beneath his chin. As he held her, neither of them spoke. Her silence was partly because she was afraid to break their contentment with her concerns about the power of the blade—especially after he pointedly told her not to worry about it.
She did worry. She thought of little else until sleep finally claimed her.
Chapter 28
Although it was not efficient for situations where they may need to fight, Silvas enjoyed carrying his mate in his shifted form. As before, Diana’s warm body clung to him as they descended from their camp in the upper foothills of the mountains and began their trek to the Eternal Forest. His mate’s excited exclamations at the view of the mountains from the air over the sparkling expanse of white stone warmed his heart and gave him a new sense of joy in flight that he hadn’t felt in centuries.
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