by Stacy Reid
“Her spirit does not respond to the call of the incantation,” Acheron said with impatience. “Is there anything else?”
“My lord, it would be best if I summon Eowenna as you are not a full…” She trailed off, belatedly realizing her mistake.
Contempt leaked from Acheron, causing her to flinch. She had been about to suggest that as a half-breed, not a full witch, he could not hold Tehdra’s spirit.
“That is all, my lords,” she all but whispered. “It is too late to administer our herbs.”
“Get the human,” Ajali ordered.
Many times, she had worked miracles alongside his healers to save lives. Her skills were impressive.
“I will retrieve her,” Cadmus said, and flashed from the chamber to reappear mere seconds with the healer looking harried and anxious.
The king of Nuria has never summoned me before.
Her thoughts filtered to Acheron on a wave of panic. As a human, she had only a few shields in place to protect her thoughts. He was a true mongrel part witch, part Serangite mongrel, yet his loyalty belonged to the king of Nuria, a thing his people on both sides resented heartily.
Her panic caressed his mind, and admiration stirred, for she appeared composed and confident.
Steady gray eyes focused on Ajali. “My king?” Then a soft gasp escaped her lips as she hurried to the bed.
So much blood.
Acheron picked through her thoughts, assessing her intentions. Rumor of Tehdra's serene beauty and of Ajali's fascination with her had even reached her ears. Fear rushed through the woman that she might not be able to save the king’s favorite concubine.
The healer’s name was Kismet.
“What did this?” Without waiting for an explanation, she crouched over Tehdra and started baring her wounds.
“Oh my God!” She breathed at the extent of the damage. She hastily checked and found no pulse. “My tools,” she demanded hoarsely and blinked when they were immediately placed in her hands.
“There is no pulse.”
Her mind was a churning mess of anxiety and determination. Acheron shifted through the mire of her thoughts so he could respond to any needs she would have before she voiced them. The world she now lived in did not have the medical equipment she’d known on Earth. No paddles to recharge her heart, no blood transfusions. Yet, they were an advanced species over her race.
Acheron moved closer to her. “We have administered the elixir, and her body does not respond.”
She lifted her face to his briefly.
He is so stunning.
Acheron rocked back on his heels at her assessment of him.
“The healing waters of Boreas and Caelum?”
“Yes,” Ajali said.
She nodded. “How much was she given?”
“We gave her more than the required amount, and the accelerated healing is missing.”
“There is no pulse,” she said with a frown. “I have heard a rumor that says if the body is dead the elixir is rendered useless.”
“Not the body, the spirit. Her spirit’s low hum is present, albeit buried deep.”
Her gaze slashed to Acheron only to swiftly look away.
A smile tugged at his lips. The healer did not want to know why he could feel the hari’s spirit. Kismet already had a hard time processing their speed and elements…and his eyes were beautiful to her.
She straightened from her examination. “Her organs are shredded, and there is a black scorch pattern on the edges of her wounds. She also possesses six deep wounds, and a blade is still embedded in the underside of her thigh.”
Ajali and Gavyn flashed closer, and she twitched as they crowded her space.
“Blade wounds?” Ajali asked, crouching to examine the stabs.
Acheron glided to the other side of the bed, and sat on the mattress, peering at the gaping wounds. “These could not have been from the assassins that brought her down. He did it with one blow.”
Gavyn frowned. “I thought she hid? She engaged an enemy elsewhere?”
“What enemies?” Ajali asked softly. “All ten remained in my sight at all times. We killed six and four fled.”
They studied the pattern of the wounds carefully.
Acheron leaned in and examined her body. “They were thrown from a distance at least ten feet away. Look at the angle of impact and the depth, the patterns of wounds on her lower back and thighs. They struck while she moved, unbalancing the blades which are why they are not embedded like the one that lodged itself in her lower thigh.” He pulled one of the weapons free.
“I have never seen such a blade,” Gavyn mused. “Look at the design, the width, and depth. These are made for close quarter killings.”
“Look at this.” Kismet’s whisper drew their attention to Tehdra’s shoulder.
“What is it?” Gavyn asked.
“The area inside her shoulder is pinker.” She peered closer into the cut. “It is healing but slowly.”
“Are you sure?”
A soft smile curled her lips, and relief glowed in her eyes. “I am sure. Look now, the wound has closed some more, she is mending, but it is very gradual healing, contrary to what the elixir is reputed to do.”
Acheron froze as an unidentifiable emotion swept through Ajali, the heat that had flared to life deep within him receding. Interesting. What was it about her that roused his king?
“Thank you, Healer Kismet; you will be amply rewarded for your consideration. Dismissed,” Ajali said.
She inclined her head gracefully and departed.
The door opened, and the other King blades sauntered in.
“I will summon servants to change the bedding and her Caftan,” Bastien said as he exited the room, leaving Ajali with his blades.
“What happened?” Solomon asked.
Enemies they had not seen wielded close quarter blades? While Acheron tried to unravel the strategy behind their attack, Gavyn filled in the remaining blades on what had transpired.
“I do not understand, is she not the enemy?” Quinn demanded. “Aria has no record, no description of such a daughter belonging to the house of Thorne; she is in our kingdom under pretenses."
"There is no doubt it is pretenses,” Gavyn answered. “However, we have to consider that her aim is not to harm. What she did today was to protect our king at the risk of her own life.”
“I thank you, Gavyn, Acheron, and Cadmus for your aid in saving her life. It could not have been easy with thoughts that she is the enemy prodding you,” Ajali said.
They all noted he still stood by her bedside and seemed like he had no intention of moving.
“For the service she did for our kingdom today, we will protect her life as long as she remains in Nuria, my liege,” Acheron answered.
Never taking his eyes off the still form of Tehdra, Ajali inclined his head. “Leave us.”
11
Hours passed since his blades flashed from the chamber, granting Ajali the privacy he desired. He sat in the high chair closest to the bed watching the slow rise of her chest. She lives. Fear, acridly ripe had filled his mouth when her body had failed to respond to the elixir. She had taken a long time to heal and only with the slow sinking of the sun did she seem to revitalize. It bothered him that he felt such sentiments for a hari. He respected all the haris in his kingdom, even cared for them, but the feeling Tehdra evoked was unwanted. They lived in brutal times where the whispers of war echoed in his court daily. The death of one in battle should not have caused such fear and distress.
His gaze devoured the lines of her face, softening in her unconsciousness state. The palest skin he had ever seen looked wan, devoid of life. He painstakingly watched her insides mend, her skin flushed, and her breathing became stronger. Why had the elixir taken so long to repair her injuries? Was it because she had been at death’s door?
She stirred a soft moan slipping from her lips.
Satisfaction rolled through Ajali like torrents of fire, burning away all fear, leaving
intense relief in its wake. He had no time to analyze the rush of primal joy that filled him when her wounds closed and her incredibly her pale skin appeared flushed. He rubbed his jaw; his skin was rough and stubbly. He slowly became aware that he had stayed at her bedside for the past few hours, ignoring everything inside his kingdom while he willed her to health.
Need, raw in its demand, flared through Ajali. He wanted to taste the hot vitality of life from her mouth, her passionate cries, her flesh clinging to his, from her sweat and her scent. He pushed it away and tried to focus on all that had happened, not the desire to reaffirm she lived.
She saved him at the risk of her own life. He had felt her presence when she appeared to take the thrust meant for his heart. It was a foolhardy thing had done. The enemy would not have taken him, and he desperately wanted to know what had motivated her to place his life above hers. He chuckled without mirth. He was desperate. That was not a feeling Ajali associated with himself. He had not felt desperation since the loss of his mother and father, and to even feel a semblance of it for a hari below his stature was unwelcomed by him. Tribute would have to be paid to her. Wherever she came from, she would never want again. Riches would be bestowed upon her for her actions, far more than what she would have received for being in his harem.
The decision he had made to place her under Acheron’s care had been halted indefinitely. Maybe her purpose was not to bring harm to his kingdom, but for something else. Which nation would send an untrained spy into his realm?
Another soft exhalation from her had Ajali sitting forward, watching her face with an intensity that unnerved him. He clenched his jaw. The elixir had healed her injuries, and he needed to comprehend the meaning of the attack, not lust after the woman who was in his kingdom under false pretenses.
Self-preservation kicked in, and Ajali launched from the chair and strode to the door, needing space to clear his thoughts, fighting the temptation to return to her side.
Tehdra’s beast’s chakra permeated her veins. Her bones strengthened, and flesh hardened, healing the last vestiges of her wounds. Rage pulsed and a familiar kind of cruelty bled into her mind, rousing her most effectively. She inhaled deeply, and the scent of her mate reached her, filling her with relief. The scent was free of pain, but she tasted the worry that flavored his chakra. Worry for her?
With a burst of speed, she sat on the edge of the bed to see him leaving the room.
“Ajali?”
He hesitated before flashing closer. “How do you feel?”
Tehdra pushed herself off the bed and stood before him searching his closed expression. Her gaze ran swiftly over his body, checking for any sign of injury. “I am well, how do you fare, my king?”
His eyes darkened. “Your concern is not needed, Tehdra. I am well because of your actions. I will have servants attend to you immediately then we will speak.”
A dark, heady scent reached her nose as the perfume of his arousal flavored the air. Decadent greed took root in her blood, and she went wet between her thighs. “Do not go.”
A flicker of expression passed over his face, but it was gone so fast she couldn't read it.
“I can taste your hunger. Take me.”
Ajali steeled himself against the primal invitation in her eyes. An appeal for something lay within her gaze, its intensity pulling at him, drowning him in the bottomless pool of her obsidian stare. “You were severely injured.”
“I am healed now.”
“You need rest and food.”
The sultry spice of her unique fragrance wrapped around him.
“I need you.”
They stared at each other, need pulsing in the air around them. He knew the power of the elixir, yet he hesitated, remembering the brutality of her wounds. Lust twisted at his gut, eating at him, and the same desire was reflected in her gaze.
Tehdra gasped as Ajali took two steps and swept her into his arms. Without speaking he exited the chamber, moving with speed along the massive corridors to his private bedchamber. They reached it in seconds, but the silent journey seemed endless to Tehdra. Anticipation sizzled along her spine, and she relaxed in his arms, need softening her core. He did not speak, not once. She inhaled deeply, trying to feel his emotions. There was no negativity to ferret, but her heightened senses tasted the lust pouring off him.
He lowered her to her feet so that every inch of her glided down his muscular frame. His firm erection prodded at her stomach, testifying to the strength of his arousal.
“Ajali?” she questioned softly. Flames licked at the irises of his eyes. “Your eyes, they are beautiful,” she breathed in awe at the fire that coated his gaze. She trembled as he dropped on his haunches. Holding her gaze he drew her caftan up, revealing her shins. He paused, and she waited an eternity for what he would do. The soft kiss pressed on the inside of her leg made her tremble.
Ours.
The sibilant claim of her beast gently rolled through her. The sun had not fully sunk, darkness barely edged in, only giving her a taste of her essence’s need. She moaned as the caftan traveled up, revealing her knees, her thighs. So slowly. He pressed a soft, wet intimate kiss on each part of her skin he bared, creating a buildup of heated sensations that wreaked havoc on Tehdra’s control. Need far too long denied roared to the surface
“Ajali,” she gasped in hoarse arousal as he licked at her core. His lips covered her clitoris, his tongue stroked it, she screamed.
The room shifted, and he splayed her wide on his bed. Fire leaped, the cavernous fireplace lighted by Ajali. The light allowed her to see the stark desire stamped on his face. Not that she needed it. She had perfect vision in the dark, but she loved how the embers heightened the gold of his skin and the soft flames that burned in his eyes. He was so raw, so beautiful. Perched on the edge of his bed, her eyes viewed the sinking sun through the stained windows with dread and joy. The red wash in the sky lingered, giving her mere moments with him without the bloodthirstiness of her beast.
The tearing of her caftan sounded like a cannon in the room. Heat trailed from her neck to her collar and down the valley between her breasts that ached relentlessly. He worshiped at the underside of her breast, never touching her nipples, never assuaging the ravenous attention they demanded. He dipped and licked at her navel, his tongue traveling to the core of her and plunging deep.
A storm raged inside her body as delight swept through her. Her cries echoed around his chambers, heating the air with sensuality. He suckled and savored her with an intensity that frightened her. So profound were the sensations, they reached into the heart of her, binding her, imprisoning her flesh to the call of desire.
He rose above her, holding her gaze as her body trembled from the aftershocks of such overwhelming bliss. Her eyes flared wide as he captured her hands and placed them above her head, effectively restraining her.
“I want to touch you, to feel you,” she moaned.
“No.”
Her body tautened as a desire like darkness licked at her veins. “Ajali…”
“No, you are untried, and I have no wish to hurt you more than necessary. My control will shatter if I feel your touch.”
Dark pleasure suffused Tehdra at his claim. The same yearning that held her also enslaved him. She gasped and arched her hips as the blunt head of his erection nudged her entrance.
Ajali flexed his hips and slowly started to slide his cock into the tightest sheath he had ever felt. Her passage, slick and wet from the pleasure he had just given her, resisted his invasion.
She hissed, and he heard the soft distress and the need for more.
His head dipped, and his mouth captured her nipples, sucking, stoking the fire of need in her. Wetness gushed from her easing his entry a little more. He rolled his hips and pushed, at the same time biting down hard on her nipples before tenderly laving the sting. Miniature tremors caressed his cock, and he groaned at the slick, fiery delight enveloping his length.
Heat in his veins, fire in his blood.
She whimpered, tugging at her imprisoned hands.
His lips captured hers, swallowing her moans as he teased her, his tongue dancing with hers. He sipped, kissed deeply, then shallowly, tormenting, and pleasuring her. He whispered explicit encouragement, and she shivered, her pussy rippling over his thickness. Ajali struggled for control and prayed he could hold out against the exquisite pleasure. “You were made for my cock,” he groaned into her lips and with a sharp twist to his hip, seated himself to the hilt, pushing through the tightest clasp of her muscles.
Shock buffered Tehdra’s senses. Sensual pain licked at her, mingling sharply with acute pleasure he inflicted. Her body responded with shivering waves of rapture and pleasure, so vicious and intense she bit his shoulder hard, and blood—spicy, hot blood—wetted her tongue.
Dark and exquisite. His blood was unlike anything she had ever consumed. It wrapped around her and seduced her into sweet madness.
Even without the raging essence of her beast permeating her, something savage unfurled inside of her at his taste. More, it hissed as voracious hunger battered at her as her demon awakened.
His hips recoiled and repeatedly plunged, stroking her with a sensual pain that had her yearning for more. Tehdra shuddered as bliss whipped through her nerve endings. Ecstasy unlike anything she could have imagined bowed her spine, forcing him to release her hands to grip her with a strength that she reveled in as his hips snapped harder, eliciting cries from her lips.
Sweat trickled down her body as the heat in the room rose. She gasped, her voice raw and fractured with pleasure as she realized that embers surrounded Ajali, slicking his skin with sweat as he shoved into her with hard strokes.
So deep…and wonderful.
The bite of pain was intoxicating, addicting. Rage and desire mixed to create violent lust. The sensations rocking through her body were intense, soul-destroying, then the excruciating pleasure peaked and broke cascading delight through her body. She clasped her hands behind his neck and fused her lips to his as she orgasmed shuddering and shaking. It picked her up and flung her into the bottomless abyss of rapture as pure, unadulterated delight consumed her. Ajali gripped her neck and slanted his mouth over hers with hunger. She groaned as his recoiling hips caused arousal to flare once more, creating the most delicious unrelenting burn inside of her.
