Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set

by C. N. Crawford

  A powerful hand stroked up my spine, and the air around us began warming. I started to forget about the whole enemy thing as my pulse began racing.

  The water around us, too, began warming, ice melting. I met Ruadan’s gaze, and he looked down at me, then gripped the top of my stained dress.

  “Blood.” A simple statement of fact, but his hand was gripping my dress so hard that the fabric cut into my skin. Frost tinged the air once more, and his wings spread out behind him—thick and gleaming with silver chinks.

  I’d been right. The blood had bothered him. It reminded him of her.

  With a great deal of force, I pulled his hand from my dress. “Calm down. I’ll get it off me.”

  I had another dress stuffed into my bug-out bag. I slipped the bag off my shoulder, then I crossed to one of the walls. I hung the bag from a jagged outcrop.

  I looked down at my dress, feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious. There was something about unbuttoning the dress in front of Ruadan that felt like a sensual performance. My cheeks heated as I undid the top, exposing my bra. Normally I’d just tear the thing off and toss it away, leaving the other person to process the awkwardness of my nudity. But this felt different, the air so charged that I couldn’t meet his gaze. I couldn’t even think about touching him or I was sure he’d pick up on my desire.

  I could feel his eyes on me—Incubus Ruadan did not look away from bared skin. I wanted him to see me, all of me. At the same time, I felt like if I looked up at him, the world would combust.

  I unbuttoned it down to my navel, and a raw, sexual energy skimmed and buzzed over my chest. My breasts seemed to strain against my bra, nipples peaking. Still, I kept my eyes down, just feeling the charge of his gaze stroking over every inch of my naked skin. Goosebumps rose on my bare flesh, and I unbuttoned the dress down to my hips.

  My chest flushed, and at last, I dared to look up at him just a little, only raising my eyes as high as his torso. His body looked taught, tightly coiled. His violet magic crackled in the air, and lust pulsed across my naked skin.

  He took a step closer, and my eyes swept over his muscled chest. His magic licked at my skin, warming me in places I badly wanted to feel him, a silky touch that heated my neck, my breasts, between my legs…. Molten heat swept through my core. I was wildly turned on, and Incubus Ruadan was feeding from my desire. Fueling it, too.

  At last, I looked all the way up into his eyes, and blazing lust lit me up.

  I unbuttoned the final button. The dress fell away, and I stood before him in my black bra and knickers, my pulse racing out of control. A muscle twitched in his jaw, his eyes black as the void again.

  Violet-tinged light flickered around him, and my body ached for him. His attention was on me and me alone.

  The corner of my lip twitched in a seductive smile.

  That was all it took for him to move for me—a blur of black and violet, and he dropped all his restraint. He grasped me, pushing me against a wall, and the stone bit into my back. His powerful body pressed into me. I gasped, my legs opening wider. My neck arched, and I stared up at him. His muscled body pressed hard against me, and his eyes seared me.

  He leaned down to kiss me. After the rough start, I expected something desperate, animal. But he was holding back. His lips moved sensually over mine—surprisingly gentle, stroking mine. I swept in my tongue, deepening the kiss, and he responded to it. His hands gripped my bare waist, then moved up my ribs, the pressure from his powerful fingers leaving a trail of heat on my body.

  He pulled away from the kiss, and I nearly moaned. Then, his mouth moved over my neck, leaving a trail of searing hot kisses. My entire world right now was just his mouth, his hands, his heat. He caressed my body as he kissed me, until his thumbs traced the hollows of my hipbones, dipping under the hem of my knickers.

  I moved my hips closer to him, encouraging his touch. His thumbs slid down further, skimming my skin and teasing me until, at last, one of his thumbs swept gently between my legs, the touch so painfully light I wanted to scream. I grasped his face in my hands, kissing him urgently, demanding that he move faster, harder. Another devastatingly light sweep of his thumb, and I groaned, moving harder against him, grinding myself onto his hand. I wanted him to let go completely.

  I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer, and his kiss grew wilder with uncontrolled need. Then, his restraint seemed to snap. With a low snarl, he drew a long, silvery claw through the center of my bra, ripping it open. The tip of his nail grazed my skin, and the black lace fell away, revealing my breasts.

  He kissed me again, claws just barely piercing my skin until I felt their sharp points retract. I writhed against him. As he kissed me—hard, this time—I moaned into his mouth, my body pure fire. I needed more from him, and the hot ache between my legs was driving me mad. My bare skin brushed against his, smooth and hot. I thrust my hips closer to him, nipples brushing his chest. I felt like I’d never get enough of him, and I needed him inside me now.

  His hand slid down my back, firm pressure and hot skin, until it dipped into the back of my silky knickers. His touch singed me. I gasped, breath coming faster. I ached for him. Liquid fire flowed through me as he slid down my panties, and the tunnel air whispered over my naked skin.

  For just a moment, I pushed him away. I wanted him to look at me—really look at me.

  His slow, predatory gaze swept up and down my body—moving down past my breasts, my belly, lingering between my legs, the intent gaze of a hunter…. This time, I didn’t lower my eyes. His magic lashed the air around him, and the power of his eyes on me ignited me. Dark wings swept behind him. A god of darkness, laser-focused on me.

  Then, I reached for him, grabbing him by the waist of his trousers. I pulled them down, and within moments, he was lifting me up against the wall, hands gripping my bum. I wrapped my legs around him and thrust my fingers into his hair.

  He whispered my name, his breath warming the side of my face. He was bringing out the wild beast in me, and I raked my fingertips down the front of his chest. He released a low growl. When he claimed my mouth, his kiss had grown savage. Both of us had lost all sense of restraint. He slid between my thighs, filling me. I felt my teeth on his neck, tasted the salt on his skin, and I groaned.

  With my legs still wrapped around Ruadan, I leaned into him, and the scent of pine enveloped me. I breathed deeply.

  It took me a moment to realize that his wings had disappeared completely.

  I cupped my hand against the side of his face. Now, the air felt warm—humid, almost. “The incubus is gone.”

  This was the real Ruadan. Unfortunately, this was also the Ruadan who wanted to kill me.

  All at once, the horror of that thought slammed into my skull. I disentangled my body from his, sliding down his naked skin into the cold water once more. I didn’t look him in the eye as I reached for my bug-out bag.

  I tuned out the fact that Ruadan was saying my name, and I kept my gaze down. I pulled out my spare knickers and a simple black dress.

  “Arianna,” he said again.

  That’s not my name. My name is Liora.

  Who would win in a fight between us? My father—the Angel of Death—hadn’t been able to kill him. I had to think tactically, here, if I didn’t want to die.

  I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice as I asked, “How can Baleros kill you if you’re immortal? You said almost no one knows how to kill demigods.” I turned my back to him as I slipped on the new pair of knickers, like we were strangers again.

  “There are two ways to kill a demigod,” he said, his velvety voice rumbling over my skin. “One involves an Angelic spell—”

  “Stop.” I whirled and moved for him, covering his mouth with my hand. “I don’t want to know.”

  The survivor in me was doing a shitty job right now. Maybe it was because I still wanted to feel Ruadan holding me close to his body, his heart beating against me.

  “I’ve heard you speak Angelic,” he murmured. �
��I’m not worried.”

  He had a point. My language abilities were nearly nonexistent, even if Angelic was my father’s native language.

  He kissed my cheek, so softly that I ached for him anew. “Are you worried you might lose your temper and slaughter me some day?”

  Basically, yes. That was exactly what I was worried about.

  I took a deep breath, not meeting his eyes. I pulled away from him, my body suddenly cold in his absence. “Look, what we just did was obviously a mistake. You said no lovers at the Institute, and that’s a good idea. We’re supposed to be working together, right? Let’s not let it happen again, okay?”

  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, ice frosted the air again.

  I dared to look at him, and for just a brief, horrible moment I caught a glimmer of a wounded look. Then, his gaze shuttered again, and he fell silent. Ice skimmed over the river.

  Emptiness yawned between my ribs, and I gritted my teeth, eager to change the subject. I stepped over a jagged bit of rubble. “Any idea where we’re going?”

  He sniffed the air. “Wyverns.”

  Chapter 81

  “What, now?” I said. “Wyverns?”

  “I smell them. We need to move in their direction. They’re used as guards.”

  I breathed in deeply, scenting the air. A musky scent hit my nose, tinged with cedar embers. I’d never seen one of the reptilian creatures. I only knew they were enormous and muscular, and they breathed fire. “So that’s what a wyvern smells like. Always wondered.” I tried to keep my voice steady and light, forcing myself to ignore the dark truth that followed behind us like a stalker—that Ruadan and I were fated to be enemies.

  Still, my voice came out sounding unnatural. I had no doubt that Ruadan had noticed. He noticed everything—my heart beating faster, my cheeks reddening. A man who saw everything and betrayed nothing.

  “You think they’re guarding Queen Macha?” I asked. And there was that unsteady tone in my voice again.

  “Yes. Once we find her, we can use a portal to get out of there.”

  Unfortunately, we couldn’t use a portal to get in without knowing where, exactly, she was.

  Silence fell, broken only by the sound of our legs sloshing through the icy water. Our passionate moment had been just a temporary thaw, but as soon as I’d told him it was a mistake, we were back to wintry temperatures.

  Still, I’d done the right thing by putting a stop to it, hadn’t I? I was too much of a survivor to rush headfirst into something that would kill me.

  Now, the silence felt worse than before—sharp and dangerous. I let out a long, slow breath.

  Where was my life headed, exactly? I couldn’t stick around the Institute forever—not while I was on Ruadan’s kill list. But I couldn’t quite bring myself to leave, either. Not yet. Bizarrely, the Institute was starting to feel like my home.

  I had to say something to Ruadan, to smooth things over and to warm the place up again. Something that would probably start with, About what just happened….

  But instead, I cleared my throat, my blood roaring. “Wyverns smell like musk. Bit like an old man’s cologne.”

  Nope. That was not what I’d been going for.

  “I, um….” I tried again. “The thing is…. Did you know that palm trees are actually a type of grass?”

  Shit. Turned out, I was terrible at relationship talks.

  Ruadan’s eyes stayed straight ahead, his mouth closed in a firm line.

  “How are we going to fight the wyverns, anyway?” I went on.

  “Stab them through their eyes, pierce their brains.”

  I nodded at his sword. “We only have one of those, I notice.”

  He handed it to me, and I gripped the hilt tightly. It was a relief to have a proper weapon in my hand. Now, I could think about killing instead of the deeply uncomfortable topic of emotions.

  As we reached a fork in the tunnels, the scent of musk grew overpowering. A low growl reverberated through the stony passages. I held my breath as we turned a corner.

  The tunnel opened up into an enormous cave of turquoise water, its surface glimmering under Ruadan’s silver light.

  “How long can you hold your breath?” asked Ruadan.

  “I guess we’ll find out.” I frowned. “You think your mother is being held below the water?”

  “I can smell the wyverns all over the walls here.” His gaze flicked upward at the enclosed ceiling. “And there’s no other way out.”

  “And your mother can breathe underwater?”

  “No. There must be a watertight chamber down there. We just have to get to it.”

  Ruadan dove under the surface, and his silver orb plunged into the water after him. I took a minute to suck in a long breath, filling my lungs. Then, I went in after him, kicking my legs hard to catch up. As I swam, the sword felt heavy in my hand, slowing me down a little.

  Ruadan’s sphere cast a dull, pearly light in the water. My lungs felt heavier the deeper we went, and after about thirty seconds, I started fantasizing about air. Sweet, sweet air in my lungs. It seemed to be endless turquoise water down here, tinged with the silver streaks of light.

  Air.

  Gods below, please don’t make me endure the humiliation of having to give in and swim up for air.

  At last, the silver light glowed over contours—something concrete lay before us. Rough stone, stairs…. A palace of sorts?

  My lungs burned, but I focused on the structure taking shape before me. Ruadan’s sphere of light grew brighter, another floating high above. They casting silver light over a rough, crumbling stone staircase, and an archway with a tower that rose into the dark waters above. The stern, carved face of a river god glowered from the tower, and carvings of octopus arms snaked over imposing columns. A marble man stood with his arms outstretched to the river’s surface, as if worshiping the air above…. Air. Sweet, sweet air.

  Maybe I couldn’t die, but I sure as shit could feel pain.

  What the hells was this place? I was starting to feel lightheaded, and I focused on tightening my grip on my sword’s hilt. If I dropped my weapon, it’d all be over.

  I’d been in many dangerous situations before, often with the odds stacked against me. But an underwater fight with giant reptiles was a bit beyond even my skillset. I could only hope the fight would happen once we breached the airtight chamber, and not while I was about to pass out under icy water.

  I started to grow frantic for a breath, and I kicked my legs faster, now, urging Ruadan to increase his pace with me.

  I mentally made a note that, in addition to a thermos of tea, my bug-out bag needed scuba-diving equipment.

  We swam through the archway, then followed the trail of crumbling stairs up to an open door to the temple. Ruadan pushed on the door, and it shifted over a stone floor. His pale hair floated in the water around him. He squeezed inside the door, and I went in after him into a hall.

  Statues with broken arms lined either side of us, their eyes gaping, noses missing. My throat was starting to spasm, now. What would happen if I drowned down here? Would my father bring me back to life again this time?

  And how many times could I die in front of Ruadan before he pieced it all together? That little boy had been a girl—one who’d escaped, and who’d grown into a woman with purple hair.

  A burst of fire shot out in the murky water, startling me.

  Ah. We’d reached a wyvern—and, unfortunately, I still hadn’t reached the air.

  My heart stuttered as the enormous creature swam out from behind a corner. The wyvern’s scales shone in the dull underwater light, and it opened its mouth to breathe fire. A small burst of flames shot from its mouth, dulled by the cold water. I swam closer, sword ready. Ruadan reached him first.

  Ruadan reared his fist back, then punched it hard into the creature’s eye. With his arm thrust into the wyvern’s head, he jerked it around a bit. I stared as he gripped hard onto what I could only imagine was the wyvern’s brain. The
wyvern’s scream floated through the water, and a dull flame burst out of its mouth before dying out again. The sight of Ruadan hand-lobotomizing the wyvern had been so gruesome, I nearly forgot about the oppressive pain in my lungs. Blood spilled into the water around them, snaking through the darkness.

  Good. That’s over.

  No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a hot blast seared my back, and I whirled to find another wyvern behind me. At this point, darkness was swirling in my mind, but my survival instincts began to take over.

  The thing lunged for me, jaw opened. I thrust my sword at its eye, but with the friction underwater—not to mention the oxygen deprivation— the movement was off. The wyvern snapped for my arm, sinking its sharp teeth into my skin. Blood stained the turquoise water.

  Darkness bloomed in my lungs, a sharp pain that threatened to eat me alive from the inside out. My throat spasmed. Air. Air. Air.

  The wyvern tore at my arm.

  I am the twilight shadow that creeps over long grasses....

  The death angel in me was taking over. I just couldn’t let it take over completely—couldn’t let the real Liora come out.

  I am the hunter who sneaks up behind you when you’re trying to find the right words. I stalk in your shadows as you search to fill the silence, skirting away from the dark truth.

  No—not now. My heart was a hunted animal.

  I tried to shove the death instinct deeper inside of myself. I needed Arianna to fight this battle. Not Liora.

  When you look away, I enshroud your body, creeping up from your feet to claim your life.

  I knew how it would end. Ruadan would see what I really was, and he’d come for me. The betrayal would take the fight out of me.

  Something tingled at my back, a hot rush where wings might grow.