Broken Slumber: A Darkhills Romance

by Elizabeth Greene

  Another scream and Brianna spun in a circle trying to pinpoint which direction the noise was coming from. It felt as though the sound echoed all around her, reverberating off the trees and bombarding her from all sides.

  She had no idea which direction it came from. It was distant but loud enough for her to hear so whatever made the sound wasn’t far. The next cry was low, long and haunting. Brianna whimpered and decided to make a break for it. She’d rather be a moving target for whatever was out there than be a sitting duck.

  She tore off through the trees, low branches whipping in her face and pulling at her clothes and hair. She didn’t care, she just needed to get away, fast.

  Was this what she was running from before?

  The same fear gripped her, and she was back to running for what she felt like was her life. Fallen branches and twigs snapped loudly under her feet as she forced her legs to keep going, even as her muscles ached and demanded she stopped to rest. She stumbled often but managed to keep herself upright by bracing herself on the trees as she passed.

  That was until she ran out of trees.

  Her feet kicked against a thick and unsteady branch as she fell and went tumbling down the steep slope of dirt and rocks.

  Brianna cried out in shock and pain as she finally skidded to a stop, her body in a heap at the bottom of a deep ditch. She was covered in dirt and spat out the loose earth and mulch that she had gotten in her mouth. She raised her filthy hands to inspect them, they were grazed but nothing too bad, her head hurt but as far as she could make out, she hadn’t cut it. Her hair was most definitely a mess but that was not what she should’ve been concerned about. She pushed herself up and instantly cried out in pain as her leg gave way beneath her.

  She crumpled back down and propped herself up against the other edge of the ditch. Her ankle was busted. She reached down to examine it, squeezing the tender spot lightly. She winced and sucked in a sharp breath. She wasn’t sure if it was a sprain or just a twisted ankle, it didn’t cause her so much agony that she might consider it broken. Perhaps she should rest for a short while and try again.

  Brianna glanced around her and saw that the ditch was long and had high sides for as far as she could see in the dense fog, which admittedly wasn’t far. She appeared to be alone though. She grabbed at some nearby branches and piles of twigs and leaves, hoping to build herself a nest or shelter of some kind. Brianna hoped that she wouldn’t need to stay there all night, just long enough for her ankle to be able to bear her weight again.

  She was no girl scout and for all she knew, she was covering herself in poison ivy, but she did what she could to cover her body. Anything was better than nothing to try to keep the cold at bay.

  Resigning herself to a short rest, Brianna leaned her head back against the bank of dirt and stones to her back and tried to focus on listening in to the sounds of the forest. She couldn’t see much in the fog and darkness, but she could listen for any signs of danger.

  As if playing on her fears, the terrifying scream pierced the quiet once more.

  Brianna held her breath, her heart in her throat.

  She couldn’t run anymore. She wouldn’t get far, and she would make so much noise, alerting whatever was stalking her to exactly where she was. Her only choice was to stay as perfectly still as she could and hope that she could hide.

  She slowly drew the leaves and branches further up her body and held onto them with tightly clenched fists. It felt good to have some kind of shield between her and whatever was out there. Even if it wouldn’t do much good in protecting her.

  Brianna screwed her eyes shut as she heard the ragged and screeching noise again. She had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from whimpering. She had no idea what she had done to end up in this Hellish situation, but she desperately just wanted to go home.

  Brianna wasn’t a religious person, but she prayed with everything she had that somehow, she would make it through the night.

  Chapter Three

  Etienne

  Etienne’s eyes snapped open, and he glared around his cave searching for intruders. There were none. He snorted out a huff of smoke that hung in the air before curling upward. He lowered his lids once more but continued to watch his surroundings through narrow slits. To the untrained eye, he looked deeply asleep, but his dragon was very much aware of his surroundings and was ready to strike if necessary.

  Something had caused him to wake. His dragon was fine-tuned to detect potential threats and danger. Right now, he was on high alert. There was something amiss in his territory. Etienne threw out his mental senses and scanned the mountain for trespassers.

  Nothing.

  He huffed out a bigger plume of smoke, his annoyance growing.

  He didn't expect to find anything on his mountain, but the prospect of being woken unnecessarily grated on his nerves. The mountain remained barren and void of much life. Not much could survive up there, those few animals capable of carving out an existence in the difficult terrain, tended to give the area a wide berth considering the presence of an apex predator. There was an old and disused trail that led up the edge of the mountain, but it had long been abandoned. The path was treacherous with loose stones and unstable rocky overhangs that made traversing the mountain too risky. Even the most intrepid of explorers didn’t bother attempting it. Other hills and mountains within the range were more suitable for hiking.

  Etienne, drew in a deep breath through his snout, scenting the air around him. It was cool and fresh, apart from the smell of the deer skins hanging in the corner, there was nothing else of note.

  His dragon still wouldn’t settle however, his instincts telling him he needed to prepare to react.

  With a sigh of frustration, Etienne stretched and slowly crawled out of the cave, his great lumbering body beginning to tingle with the prospect of an altercation. He had piled on all that muscle for some reason, he might as well put it to good use. He lifted his head as soon as he were out on the rocky ledge and he craned his neck to the side to scent the air again.

  It was another cold and damp night; the clouds having chosen to close in around the mountains and forest below. The air clung to his scales and tried to penetrate below his armour. His body was impenetrable for the most part, bar a few softer spots on his underside, but if anything got close enough to target him there, they wouldn’t survive for long.

  He snorted again.

  The vampire had been lucky to escape just a week ago. He didn’t like having a vampire in his territory, but the fiend had staked a claim over his estate before Etienne had come to the mountain, so he tolerated the creature. For the most part, Lucian kept to himself and there was little evidence to suspect he was acting in an incriminating manner. The female whose company he kept had willingly returned to his side and indeed had foolishly tried to intervene during their fight.

  But it didn’t mean Etienne would let his guard down when it came to the vampire. He had battled many in his long existence and it was only in the last century that they had shown any sign of tempering their bloodthirsty habits. Old habits die hard, and he wouldn’t abide by any violence towards humans in his territory. Even if he didn’t particularly agree with the uncontrolled expansion of humankind, he would protect them against attack from the ravenous hunger that some other paranormal creatures possessed.

  Etienne unfurled his wings, spreading them wide, the pull on his muscles felt good as he sunk back on his hind legs and propelled himself upwards into the sky.

  He climbed higher until he caught a good wind and then, leisurely glided high above the forest below. His dragon was still on edge, so he threw out his senses once more and mentally searched the area for anything that might pose a threat.

  Steady heartbeats of the animals that resided and hunted in amongst the trees echoed quietly in his mind, he flicked his tongue out and tasted the air. There was the usual flavour of exertion from the predators and the trickle of anxiety from those that would be the prey, but nothing else particularly
remarkable.

  He was about to dip wing and return to his cave when a sudden and intense scent of fear struck him. It was human, and it felt as though it wrapped itself around his gut and yanked hard.

  Etienne dived, he needed to get closer to the source to investigate further.

  He skimmed over the tops of the tallest trees and followed the scent that demanded he act. As he got closer, the human’s fear intensified and permeated the close fog with a bitter and sharp aroma. A slight tickle of sweetness mingled with the fear and Etienne’s dragon let out a roar.

  The human was female, and she was petrified. He hadn’t sensed such extreme fear from another creature for decades.

  His dragon’s keen eyes pierced through the mist to search for any sign of the female. She was nowhere to be seen, but her scent grew stronger, and a protectiveness swelled in his chest to the point of pain. The female needed him, and he’d be damned if he would fail her.

  He pulled a fast turn and doubled back over a long trench that scarred the forest floor like a scratch upon mother nature herself. The sense of fear and dread was cloyingly thick here, the female had to be in the area.

  Suddenly he saw a mountain lion as it broke cover from the tree line and darted towards the trench, its focus on a quivering mound of leaves and branches. Etienne didn’t even think, in a blink of an eye his dragon folded in its wings and instantly plummeted with breakneck speed.

  He narrowed his eyes, quickly calculating the distance to the ground and with a swift beat of his huge wings, he skimmed the surface of the forest floor and swept over the head of the big cat, making it startle and crouch low to the ground.

  Etienne cursed as the density of the trees meant he couldn’t twist and turn as he would’ve liked, to swoop down once again. Instead, he folded his wings and landed further along the trench with a booming thud.

  Not his most elegant of landings but he was more concerned with charging the mountain lion who had lifted its head and was considering pouncing on its hidden prey.

  The female let out a muffled cry and fresh terror poured out of the haphazard pile of twigs and leaves. His dragon roared in response and his heavy frame thundered along the ground, his head bent low ready to ram the lion, only to have it back up and high tail it out of the trench, scrambling up the rocky walls and sprinting deep into the cover of the trees.

  Etienne dug in his talons and ground to an abrupt halt, his dragon infuriated by the animal’s retreat. Deep rumbling growls shook through his body and smoke poured out of his snout.

  He wouldn’t unleash his flames; the result could be devastating to the forest and would mean more work for him to put out the fire. Not to mention the human who was cowering somewhere behind where Etienne stood.

  The scent of salty tears greeted his nose and he cursed. The female was crying. He shifted his body and slowly paced over to where the woman was huddled. He tried to keep his footfalls light, but it was no mean feat for a creature of his size and mass. With every step forward he took, the human whimpered and tried to curl further into herself.

  She truly was terrified.

  As gently as he could he began peeling away layers of branches with a single front leg, taking extra care to keep his talons away from the woman.

  She took a shuddering breath and muttered something that sounded like, ‘wake up,’.

  Etienne cocked his head to one side and examined the strange human again.

  Did she really believe she was dreaming?

  With a huff of warm air, Etienne blew away the rest of the leaves and twigs that covered her. The woman shook and kept her eyes screwed shut. Her breaths were deliberately shallow, and she still refused to move from her hiding spot.

  It occurred to Etienne that the female had replaced her fear of the mountain lion with fear of him. Despite him having rescued her. He always thought it was widely accepted that actions spoke louder than words. Looking at the distressed female in front of him, he had to assume otherwise.

  He didn’t like to force his way into the mind of another being but considering the circumstances, Etienne spoke as softly as his dragon could muster, into her thoughts.

  “Hello, female,”

  Her eyes snapped open, and her dark gaze bored into his, her eyes so deep a colour that he could see himself reflected in their depths. Encouraged that she had finally engaged with him, he continued,

  “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you,” he purred softly through her mind.

  Her eyes widened even further and fresh fear along with adrenaline flooded her system, right before she let out a skull-shaking scream.

  Etienne cursed and bowed his head as the sound pierced both his ears and his mind.

  Damn, she had a set of lungs on her.

  The next thing he knew she was on her feet and trying to run from him, he watched curiously as she winced and stumbled in the clumsiest of fashions along the trench, zig-zagging in all directions but not getting far. Her clothes were filthy, she had all manner of twigs and foliage stuck in her thick, dark hair and she clung to a satchel as if it were as precious as a babe. She was quite an odd little thing.

  It was almost endearing.

  Etienne let her carry on a little further as he stretched out his wings and prepared to take to the air. She couldn’t remain out in the forest as she was, he doubted she would survive until dawn and his dragon demanded he covet and guard her. She was a fragile, vulnerable thing after all. It was his moral duty to protect her from any further harm.

  With a spring of his hind legs and a beat of his wings, he was airborne, and he climbed high enough into the air to be able to watch the woman as she continued her zig-zagging path. It had become a predictable pattern and with one beat of his wings, he propelled himself forward ready to intercept her.

  He extended his talons and she practically fell straight into his outstretched claw.

  Another scream ripped through the air as he lifted her effortlessly and began to climb higher into the mist-filled night sky. His hold on her was firm but careful enough not to crush her soft little body. No matter how much the female pounded and tugged at his claws he wouldn’t loosen his grip.

  She’d fall to her death if he did. Surely, she knew that?

  “Enough little one, I do not intend on letting you go. Calm yourself.” Etienne commanded into her mind.

  She drew in a deep breath and he prepared himself for another painful screech, only for her to suddenly become still, her weight relaxing in his grip.

  He reached out once more with his mind to connect with hers only to find blankness. The female had passed out.

  Etienne snorted his displeasure and gave a mental eye roll.

  Humans; such sensitive creatures.

  He beat his wings hard and climbed higher in the sky, carving a swift path through the fog until he reached his mountain. He hovered in place and considered the delicate human in his talons.

  Etienne lowered his hind legs down until he was a few feet above his rocky ledge. In a flash of violet light, he shifted into his human form and landed soundly on the hard ground, the soft female now nestled in his arms.

  Now in his human skin, he could feel just how cold she was. Wasting no time, he strode through the cave and past the furs that concealed the entrance to his home. He shifted her in his arms so that her head rested more firmly against his chest, the tunnel was narrow, and he didn’t want to accidentally bump her head. Etienne held her tightly against him. She really was a fragile little thing.

  He passed through into his home, letting the hanging furs fall back into place behind him as he carried the female to his bed. His home was warm, but he needed it warmer if the woman were to avoid becoming ill from the cold she had been exposed to for so long.

  Gently, he laid her down amongst the pile of furs that was his bed. Her head lolled back, and he carefully re-arranged some furs to support her neck. Although he would’ve preferred for her to be conscious, Etienne couldn’t help but appreciate the relaxed and
peaceful expression that graced her features. She had been so afraid, at least for now she was calm. Thick long lashes fanned over her rounded cheeks and he frowned at the dirt that marred her otherwise soft and inviting complexion. So smooth, rich and warm. He raised his hand to trace his fingers over her cheek but paused, checking himself before he overstepped the mark.

  He was sure she wouldn’t appreciate being touched without her permission, even if his intentions were good.

  He smiled at the dishevelled beauty, and she was indeed beautiful, even with all the foliage embedded in her hair. Etienne supposed she wouldn’t mind if he helped her out just a little.

  Careful not to wake her, he gently removed the largest twigs and leaves from her wild mane of hair, taking the time to de-tangle it where he could without tugging harshly on the curls. It was soft against his fingers and he enjoyed the way it sprung back when he lightly pulled on a coil between his finger and thumb.

  Such a beautiful thing, a real treasure.

  Forcing himself away from her side, Etienne pulled the furs up over her body, tucking them under her chin. She was still wearing all her filthy clothes, including her shoes and although she would warm up quicker if she were naked against the thick animal hides, he knew that the female would not appreciate being undressed by a stranger.

  He looked down at his own body.

  Especially a stranger who was also naked.

  He turned and walked to the fire pit, the embers were still glowing lightly, and he placed more kindling and wood on the fire. He crouched to arrange them in the pit and pulled over the bathing stones. Etienne imagined the woman would wish to bathe once she awoke. He closed his eyes and summoned his dragon’s fire to gently blow out a stream of warm orange flames onto the wood. It caught immediately and the sound of the pop and crackle of the fire licking at the kindling filled the room.