by Reid, Stacy
“Help each other to safety. Tend the wounded. Do not pursue the prisoners.”
Exhausted she disconnected from all the mental threads and rested against the warrior who carried her. They reached a clearing deep into the forest, and he lowered her to the ground. Several people were bent over a creek, greedily drinking water, while a few rested on the grass or trunks of the towering trees which seemed to rise to the sky itself. Her sister looked up from where she tended the wound of a man and gave her a weary smile. Shilah was shocked to see the witch, administering crushed herbs to the lips of the people they’d rescued. Shilah glanced up at Lachlan. “You rescued her.”
“I traveled with the shadows for her.”
She stepped from his side and made her way over to the small gathering. Songbirds fluttered above their heads, darting in and out of the tree canopy, calling sweetly and bringing a brief smile to few of their lips.
“We made it out, but we cannot rest here long,” Shilah said, looking from one weary but hopeful face to another. “Only a few minutes at best. For now, the battle has been won, but to escape the empire fully, you will need to continue fleeing. I…I do not believe those from Mevia can return. Surely the empire will re-hunt you.”
A few tired nods were given. A woman with wild blonde hair, blood and dirt-matting the thick strands together, and the greenest eyes Shilah had ever beheld stood. “I am forever in your debt Princess Shilah, and my house will repay.” Those untrusting eyes turned to the man behind her. “And yours Lachlan Ravenswood. I am Ivory Markham, and I am a high duchess of the house of Ellesmere from the kingdom of Caelum. I only need to travel to the waters which I can feel only a mile away, and I will escape to my realm.”
As Shilah understood it, Caelum—the kingdom of water was mostly under the vast oceans of Amagarie, with only a small portion of that kingdom above ground.
Ivory glanced at the people behind her. “Those of you who wish to escape Mevia are welcome to travel with me to my home. My holdings are vast, and there is ample space for everyone. I will try my best to offer protection to those who are weaker. Though the healing herbs from the witch helped, I am not at full strength. My kingdom also possesses the elixir of life, and with a sip, you will be restored to full health and powers if you’d possessed any. I will open my home to you for as long as needed.”
Several people stood and moved closer to the high duchess, their relief palpable. The witch stepped forward. “I will provide a cloaking spell for everyone. Returning to your family is dangerous. It is certain the empire’s warriors will be watching. But the cloaking spell will hide you from them, even if they are before you. It will only last for seven days, but it will give you the opportunity to visit your family and assure them of your safety or even convince them to flee the empire with you to another kingdom.”
Everyone surged toward the witch and the high duchess. Shilah almost wept at the profound hope shining through their auras. Amirah started her incantation, and the survivors’ aura begun vanishing under the cloaking spell. A stir came through her mind.
“You did this,” Kala said, pride evident in her tone. “You saved them.”
Shilah glanced toward the tree her sister leaned on, and then made her way over. She gathered her into her arms and hugged her. “I love you, Kala. How brave you’ve been.”
“I love you too. I saw you…kissing him.”
Shilah stilled in the cage of her sister’s arms.
“I could feel the desire you had for him through our link. I’ve never felt anything like it,” Kala whispered. “How can you feel so much for a creature like him?”
She released her sister, and stared at her, unable to explain the madness and the hunger which had seized her. Kala’s eyes were turbulent with fear and uncertainty.
“Do we travel to Caelum with everyone?”
A ripple of dark power came from Lachlan. Of course, with his enhanced senses he heard her sister. She glanced around to where he had been leaning with deceptive ease against a tree trunk. Somewhere between fearing death at his hand and escaping the dungeons, she had lost a part of herself to this monster of darkness, to this man, to this warrior, and Shilah doubted she would ever reclaim it.
The awareness was terrifying. Exhilarating.
As if he felt her stare, his eyes snapped open—dark swirling pits of possessive fury.
“No,” she whispered, knowing he would hear. “We travel to the Darkage.”
A cry tore from Kala, and before Shilah could explain, shadows and darkness coated her senses, and her breathing choked off as he moved with unparallel speed with her away from everyone. She buried her face in his neck, so she could breathe, and in the grey shadowed world, she could see the shadows taking her sister, the Queen’s blades, and the witch with them.
12
The Darkage—the kingdom of darkness and shadows
Kerberos—Castle of the deep—main stronghold of the king
The unrelenting darkness was overpowering to those Lachlan rescued. Their fear fed him, even as he moved with unparallel speed through the mountains of Mevia toward the wastelands separating the borders of the seven kingdoms. He used his shadows to create a great winged creature which the rescued people rode on. His mate clung to him, her face hidden against his throat, her heart pounding against her breastbone. A journey that would take other Amagarians days, Lachlan covered in several minutes as he headed to the Castle of the deep, the main stronghold of King Gidon. He spun with the shadows to the western keep, aware they would feel the brutal wash of his might as he drew close. He moved through closed doors as the shadows bent around them and deposited the Darkans to the healing chamber. Then with another blast of power and speed, he dropped the witch, the Queen’s blades and his mate’s sister in a room where his king paced. Lachlan did not wait, the need to care and protect his mate paramount. He took her with the shadows to the body of water underneath the mountains of the castle.
Lachlan’s mate’s body felt warm and soft and so giving against his. He lowered her into the heated pools deep underground his king’s castle, basking in her sigh of pleasure. The caves were quite large and wide, with several caverns, and he took her to the deepest underground one where veins of silver and gold carpeted the floor of the pool creating a shimmering effect on the surface of the water. There were several other pockets of small water pools scattered about with layers of rocks around them. Large crystalline formations jutted from the walls and from the high ceilings and rose from the floor.
Her eyes darted around. “Where is my sister?”
“Your sister and the others are being taken care of. They are in the dining area with my king and company. Princess Saieke should now be reuniting with her Queen’s blades, and your sister and the witch will be offered all hospitality.”
“And your people?”
“I delivered them to the healer in King’s palace.”
He felt her unease rise then dissipate. He suddenly felt relief and humor over their lei, and the tension stole from her body. “You speak with your sister?”
“Yes. I never thought of Darkans as hospitable. It is a refreshing notion,” she said as her gaze roamed around before settling on the walls of the caves which had several fierce depictions of man and beasts struggling for dominion. A massive sculpture of a three-headed monster was mounted above the steps. Below it, a mass of writhing snakes, their mouths open with swords jutting out from an eight-headed serpent, a black ridged back dragon spewing black flames, and a massive chimera—a fierce creature with the head and body of a Lyon, the wings of a dragon and the tail of a serpent.
“What is it?”
“The Cerberus is the sigil of our king, and the other beasts are those of his enforcers. The Leviathan with its army of snakes represent my house, this fierce winged creature is a Dracan and represent my friend and fellow enforcer Drac El Kyn’s house, and the chimera, represent another friend and enforcer Talon Merinus’s house.”
“It’s macabre but compellingly
beautiful.” Those shockingly beautiful eyes leveled on him. “You made a promise, Lachlan Ravenswood, of fulfilling whatever desire beats in my heart. I want warriors to return with me to my kingdom. They will return as soon as I’ve established order.”
“It shall be done.”
“I would not expect such aid to my realm without recompense. I will offer a fair trade for the warriors you’ll gift me.”
“I shall expect none. You are mine to protect.”
He heard the stutter of her heart and scented the uncertainty that flavored the air.
The rigid tension which had held her while he flowed with the shadows to his kingdom now completely melted away. Her stomach gave an alarming rumble, and he stepped into the shadows moving with speed to the main kitchen of the castle and reappeared within a second with a plate of fruits and roasted meat.
“You can eat first mate or clean your body.”
His princess glanced at the platter of food, then peered up at him. “I would prefer to remove the dirt and blood from my body.”
She paused staring at him as if waiting for something he obviously should be aware of.
“What is it, mate?”
“Do you not intend to turn away?”
“I am already familiar with every curve of your body, mate, there is no need to be shy.” Still sensing her hesitation, he projected the images of her naked before him in the emperor’s room and how she appeared to him as he’d kissed and pleased her with his fingers.
A blush washed over her body, and she sank lower into the depth of the water and pulled the tattered sari from her body and threw it onto the stone floor. Then she sank deep, swimming like a water nymph to the bottom before resurfacing. A few minutes passed in silence as she lathered her face with a rose scented fragrance, before dipping deep into the heated pool once again. This time when she surfaced, she met his gaze.
“I get the sense that when you refer to me as your mate, you do not mean for a night of…bedding.” Her voice was low, trembling, and his heart turned over in his chest.
Hunger clawed at him, creating an urgent, intense wave of lust. “I do not.”
Carefully avoiding his eyes, she reached for the scented oil on the rocks and lathered her skin and hair. Her skin looked rose-petal soft and inviting. “Where are we? At your home?”
He lowered himself to his haunches, watching her. She studiously avoided his gaze and the frantic pulse at the base of her throat tripped even faster. Yet he felt no fear and satisfaction rushed through his veins. At last, she was beginning to understand what she meant to him. “We are at Castle Kerberos. Home of Gidon Al Shra, King, and Ricarkri of the Darkage.”
“I see.”
As an Archduke for the realm, and friend to his king, Lachlan had a standing invitation to castle Kerberos along with his own personal chambers. He could only imagine the uproar he had left behind, but his first duty was the care of his woman.
“Do you live here?”
“No.”
Her lips smiled briefly, and it was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long time. It made him feel warm.
She huffed out a small irritated breath. “Are you always this succinct?”
“No.”
She waited, and he just watched.
“Then where do you live?”
“I am an Archduke of the Darkage.”
“What does that mean?”
He really liked her curiosity about him and his way of life. The pleasure that rippled inside his chest was unfamiliar but welcoming. “Our kingdom is divided into four provinces, and at each helm is an Archduke. I govern the east, Drac El Kyn sits on the seat of the North, and Talon Merinus at the south and Gidon Al Shar sits on the throne of the West, but he is also king of all. In my province, there are three million citizens. I must govern them by the laws of the Darkage and train the warriors of the east to be ready when they are called to arms to defend our kingdom.”
“In my world, your title would be that of a prince. When I first crossed through my portal to Amagarie, I thought to approach King Gidon for the aid I seek. The rumors and history of the dark ones were offputting, they spoke of a kingdom that was awash in constant bloodletting and war. So, I went to the Mevian emperor. How odd that the first moment I feel a sense of safety since I left my world is at this place?”
“And what aid did you seek?”
She considered him for several seconds. “I wanted an army.”
Something dark stirred inside him. “Why?”
There was a slight hesitation, then she said, “My brother, his wife, and children were slain.”
Profound pain darted through her, and the taste of it was repulsive to him.
“We…my advisors, and I did not know who committed the foul deed. An investigation was launched, but we found no one. The ebb and flow of life continued, and a few months later, on the day of my coronation…” Her throat worked, and she visibly composed herself. “On that day, as the High Priestess of Dxyriah was about to place the crown on my head, my home was attacked. I barely escaped with my life. And the man who’d attacked my home and assassinated my family now sits on my throne.”
“And you want vengeance?”
“I want justice.”
“False morality serves as the only distinction between the two.”
His princess glanced sideways at him and then quickly averted her eyes, her long lashes hiding her expression.
“Tell me more, my mate.”
A flush worked its way up her neck and to her face. “I would like to discuss something else.”
“I will indulge it.”
Something fiery sparkled in her diamond eyes before amusement curved her lips. “You are arrogant Lachlan Ravenswood.”
His princess shifted, gliding the oils over her face, throat, and down her body below the water. “Why am I your mate?” Her face was averted, the curtain of silver-white hair concealing her expression from him.
A pulse of anxiety came from her but no fear.
“Fate has decreed it so.”
Her firm, elegant jaw tightened visibly. “But what does it mean?”
“By the laws of the Darkage, you are forever mine, by the primal call of the beast I am eternally enslaved, and if I should will it, so are you.”
He felt it then, the slow spiral of terror before she subdued the emotion. She made no response, and he was content to watch her as she dipped into the well of the water washing away the battle of the day. Several minutes passed in silence, and he watched and waited.
She faced him then, her skin flushed pink, her wet hair clinging to her body with heart jerking loveliness. Water droplets beaded on her shoulders. A small rivulet coursed across her collarbone.
“How are you so certain I am your mate? Could…could there be another?”
How hopeful she sounded that such a possibility existed.
“There is a fire in my soul to have you by my side always. I want to know what makes you happy and provide it to you. I am a captive to the sensation and needs you rouse in me. My darkness is pleased by your light and your scent. With every beat of your heart, I want to sink my fangs in you and consume your essence and make it a part of me. Your scent is that of peace, of solace, of promise and belonging to something other than darkness. Only a mate has such a power over one such as me, and there can only be one.”
She looked dazed, staring back at him, the scent of her pussy, heated and female, drew him, making his mouth water for her taste. His princess waded from the water and made her way up the stone steps and made her way over to him. He loved the way she moved, the sway of her hips, her purposeful yet sensual strides. She was so beautiful she took his breath away. Her high rounded breasts, gently dipping stomach, and flaring hips formed the most breath-taking body he’d ever seen. She drew a deep, shuddering breath as she halted before him. “You are a fierce and formidable warrior. Despite your savagery and even though I do not understand you…” She touched the tattoo on his chest, tracing th
e outline of a massive claw.
He closed his eyes and savored the exquisite feel of her touch.
She stared at him with a mixture of longing and apprehension. “I want you too, Lachlan Ravenswood. But I will belong to no man.”
Her soft sensual notes slid inside of him, teasing and tempting him to devour her. He pushed the long fall of silken hair from her face and back over her shoulder, not wanting any of her body hidden from him. “Your eyes appear as if the stars are forever in their depths.”
“You are trying to seduce me,” she murmured huskily.
He touched her hair, rubbing the wet silky strands between his fingers. “I only spoke the truth.”
“If I were to give in to the temptation beating in my blood I can sense I would lose myself to you. I do not have the power of foresight like my sister, Kala. But I sense it with every fiber of my being Lachlan Ravenswood. I cannot afford such an attachment, and I will be no man’s slave. Not even for this hunger burning in my soul for you,” she whispered. “I cannot stay in the Darkage. I must return to my world. I cannot fail my people.”
Her eyes were pools of denial and pain, pleading for understanding. And that anguish hit him like a mighty blow.
“By the laws of your realm, must I accept your claim?”
Fury swept through him. Ugly. Dangerous. Ashes and darkness swirled at the edge of his thoughts. She sensed it, but she did not flinch from him, meeting his regard steadily. The idea of letting her go lanced pain somewhere in his tattered soul. He had never thought he would feel that for a woman. At the sight of her looking small and fragile and apprehensive, every protective instinct he had stirred. A fierce need to protect her welled up in him, even from the darkness prowling in him to dominate her, to bend her to his will. It was so strong it shook him. He dragged her close, pulled her into the shelter of his body, needing to be close to her.
