“Hold on, Ismini,” he says. “It will be over soon.”
Fucking liar. I’m dying.
Suddenly, the agony ends as fast as it began.
“It’s the mark. I’m sorry.”
The what?
My chest tightens with dread when I see Vedlyl’s eyes focused on my neck.
His irises are a single color—blue. He isn’t “scanning” me.
I shoot off the bed before he can stop me and rush to the first mirror I find.
It’s a mark, all right. An intricate design—almost like a silver and blue filigree—is covering my skin, from the middle of my neck to the base.
Silver and blue.
I meet Vedlyl’s eyes in the mirror, trembling. “What . . . why is it there?” The answer is so bloody obvious but I’m praying it’s not what I think it is.
“In a normal mating, that’s where your mate would drink from you. And it’s the same spot where he would have a mark for you to drink from if he were mated to you.”
My nostrils flare slightly. “Vampires? You’re fucking telling me you guys are like vampires?”
Vedlyl laughs, seeming unable to stop himself. “Well, those are out there, in many different variations of the species. As for us? We can crave and drink blood, yes. Usually, however, when we crave someone’s blood, it’s because we want to mate with them.”
My eyes widen. That first night in the alley, Dyletri had seemed to sprout fangs when he’d stared at me, hunger written all over his gorgeous face.
“Only then?” It’s stupid to hope. So stupid.
“Yes.” Vedlyl meets my eyes in the reflection of the mirror, his expression questioning.
It isn’t possible. There’s no way in hell Dyletri wants to make me his mate. But then the memory of his hungry face flashes over and over again in my mind’s eye.
It takes everything in me to shake off that image and focus on the beautiful but damning evidence of what’s happening to me.
“Ismini . . . is there something wrong?”
“How do I hide it?”
“You concentrate on keeping it hidden. Same as you do with all your other symptoms. For now, that’ll be enough.”
Until this illness becomes too powerful to contain, he means.
It takes me a few tries, but I succeed. The mark slowly fades back into my skin.
“Thank you, Vedlyl.”
“You are quite welcome, Ismini.”
The look Vedlyl gives me is pure sympathy. I swallow back resentment. He means well—of course he does—and as new friends go, I love him for all he’s doing for me.
That doesn’t mean I have to like the pity in his eyes.
“I . . . I need sometime alone.”
Vedlyl all but bows to me. “Of course. If you need anything . . .”
Gods. The man is enough to melt any woman, and it isn’t just his boyish, angelic face or the rock hard lines on his massive body. “Thank you so much. I can never say it enough.”
He straightens and nods. “It is my purpose. And no one deserves what you’re going through. Please, don’t hesitate to search me out.”
I watch Vedlyl walk out, eyes watering. Furious with my weakness, I blink back the tears and sit on the bed.
Next time I see Dyletri, I’m going to have to somehow keep calm and focused. The last thing I want him to see is the mark. If I ever see the pity in Vedlyl’s eyes within Dyletri’s, I just might lose my fucking mind and hurt someone. I have to find a way to keep that mark hidden at all costs.
I walk down one of the statue-lined hallways, my thoughts as messed up as they were the day before. I’m even more confused after seeing Dyletri earlier.
He’s been acting weird since our encounter the day that Evesse arrived. He nearly killed me then, without even knowing it, and just disappeared.
The worst part? Dyletri’s command haunted me, echoing in my ear and demanding that I make myself come for him.
And I did. The gods help me, I did.
A part of me wants Dyletri to find out that I obeyed his demand. But what type of person does that make me? He loves someone else.
Someone I never met, yet I’ve somehow come to care about, as messed up as that might be.
But I guess that’s what happens when you spend your whole life learning about the person you’re meant to die for.
Nylicia showed me everything through my dreams. Dimithinia’s entire life.
An abandoned girl.
A teenager sold.
An abused queen with absolutely nothing to hold onto.
The monster she became.
Dimithinia was handed over to the ruler of her lands the moment she turned sixteen. It was the beginning of what would be a tragic end. Beaten and raped on her wedding night, the older man she’d married had taken out on Dimithinia something that wasn’t her fault.
The emperor Maleksoraniel had never been able to inspire any passion in Dimithinia, and she had been unable to give him an heir. He’d blamed her lack of desire for him as the cause.
She had believed the same.
He’d also had her watched like a criminal. The idea of sharing her beauty with any man enraged him. Dimithinia couldn’t even go out and have an affair to get pregnant, and with every month that passed and she continued to bleed, the abuse got worse.
Desperate, Dimithinia resorted to the only thing a woman in her situation could do back then. She called down Salicyar, the God of Lust.
Maybe offering her body to him would help his powers fill her with the lust she needed to please her husband.
So Dyletri went to Dimithinia, and though he was merely doing his duty, he was one of the only men to show her any kindness. When she failed to become pregnant after sleeping with him, he decided to return and try again. He returned to her a total of three times over a period of four months.
Each time, he failed. Dimithinia could not feel anything for her husband and she couldn’t get pregnant by him either.
As Nylicia said: It hadn’t been Dimithinia’s destiny to bear Maleksoraniel a child.
Around the time Dimithinia discovered Dyletri was still fulfilling his duties and sleeping with other people in her kingdom, she went mad. It happened quickly, and no one saw the signs. One day she was fine, and the next she just . . . snapped. In her insanity, she sought young women in her kingdom and murdered them as a sacrifice.
No, not only a sacrifice. A message. One that was heard loud and clear.
Dimithinia was added to the list of humans the Aviraji intended to use as an example.
A war ensued.
They wanted to kill and subject all beings below them, especially the humans.
A group of gods broke free from the Aviraji and fought against them to protect us all.
The Ryze, once the Aviraji’s allies, became their greatest enemies.
Dyletri agreed to sacrifice me right before the war began.
That’s how much he needs Dimithinia back.
It’s a good reminder that I can’t forget what’s my place in all this. It doesn’t matter what I feel for him or that I’m mated to him.
He will always belong to someone else.
As I walk towards one of the archways leading to the balcony, I wander past an ornate mirror. I stop and finger my neck, turning it back and forth, examining the skin there and thinking about how incredibly fucked I am.
Keeping the mark hidden is damn near impossible. Whenever Dyletri is within even half a mile of me, my neck burns in a way that makes the ache in my chest seem like child’s play.
I step away from the mirror, and continue walking onto the balcony that wraps around half the compound, as they call it.
To me, it seems like a gigantic mansion, or a temple even, but it’s their home. Who am I to argue?
Ianthen told me this realm was created by Zexistr. The God of Existence, they call him, and with a name like that, I’m more than a little afraid to meet him.
Technically, he’s God. As in, the God.
The one responsible for everything existing.
Not that I have to worry. Unless he chooses to visit within the next week or so, I’ll never have the chance. Even if my days weren’t numbered, Cy said that Zex spends most of his time in the mortal plane—on Earth—or in another dimension with his daughter and her “bitch of a mother”.
Those words seemed harsh, but then Cy—who happens to be Zex’s brother—explained that the mother of Zex’s daughter is the Goddess of Illusions and therefore a lying, selfish, childlike female.
She’s also part of the Aviraji.
So the leader of the Ryze had a child with one of them.
It’s all so convoluted that it makes my head hurt.
A low sound coming from my far right catches my attention, and as soon as I take two steps towards it, I know what it is.
My whole body roars to life. Common sense disappears. Before I know it, I’m walking down the length of the balcony. I make it halfway around the circumference of the compound when the moonlight illuminates a figure I’ve come to recognize so well.
Dyletri is standing in front of the stone balcony railing, staring off into the night. I know I should walk away, but something in his expression stops me.
His shoulders are slumped forward. He looks exhausted in a way that no being like him should ever be. Even taking into account the moonlight reflecting off his white hair, I can tell he’s too pale.
Worry gets the best of me, and I approach him. “Dyletri?”
His entire body goes rigid. So much that I fear for a second that he’s on the verge of jumping right off the balcony. There’s something about him that throbs with energy. He seems to tremble and refuses to acknowledge me.
I take one more cautious step forward. “Are you okay?”
He glances towards me, most of his face hidden in shadow. I try to keep my distance, I really do, but my body rebels against me in the worst way.
I walk closer to him and the closer I get, the more I see that he is, in fact, trembling. “I’m serious. What’s wrong?” I ask again, fighting the urge to reach out to him.
“Ismini . . .”
I was told that beings like him can’t get sick. But at this particular moment, I’m doubting that with every fiber of my being, and the mere thought of something happening to him makes me want to die.
I’m not being melodramatic, either. Vedlyl explained that if Dyletri does somehow die, I’m going with him, no matter what.
A mated being can’t live without their mate, plain and simple.
“Please. Please tell me what’s wrong.” I continue to advance, not even realizing how odd it is that he’s walking backwards.
That he seems to be fleeing from me.
Dyletri’s back meets the end of the balcony, where the wall is. “I need you to stay back,” he says, his tone menacing.
I can’t see his face. But I still see those tremors. I can’t force myself to walk away now even if I wanted to.
Dyletri shakes his head and steps away from me. “No. I need you to stay back. I’m serious, Ismini. Stay back!”
His energy throbs through the air around me, hypnotizing and drawing me closer.
“There’s something wrong with you. You’ve been looking sick for days. ” Please, just tell me you’re okay. I’ll force myself to leave somehow . . . just say you’re all right.
I stop in front of him. Past the point of rational thought, I raise my hand and place it on his shoulder.
The world around me blurs.
I hear air rushing by.
My front is pressed against a wall. The same wall Dyletri had just been standing in front of.
A large hand palms the back of my neck.
I gasp out into the night.
A massive body pushes into me from behind, a hard ridge sliding up and down the crack of my ass.
I jerk, small gasps leaving me repeatedly.
An animal is at my back, all snarls and rotating hips and a deliciously hard cock.
Dyletri pulls back and suddenly my pants are tugged down, baring my ass to the air.
“I-I . . . Oh God, I’m going to come.”
“Fuck yes, you are,” a demon’s voice answers behind me.
He comes close again and—
A wet, soft yet hard object slides over my ass cheek.
Another demonic sound echoes out into the night.
It’s his cock. He’s fisting it, rubbing it across my ass.
“This cock wants you so bad, little one.”
I choke on his name as I start to come.
He falls on me from behind, thrusting almost frantically against my ass. His hand pushes into my pants. His fingers slide along my wet, pulsating pussy.
I scream out his name, hips churning.
“That’s it. Perfect. Wet. This cunt is going to feel so good milking my cock. Fuck little one, you’re making me come. It’s been so long. Take this dick. Own it.”
I want to; I’ll give anything to have it.
Dyletri licks my ear and moves down to tongue my jaw. His fist slams into the wall next to my head, cracking it.
His body tenses, as if he’s fighting not to move.
His roar is so loud it almost frightens me.
His dick jerks on my ass, hot liquid splashing all over my skin.
His cum.
I start coming on his fingers all over again, my pussy so hungry for every single drop.
He removes his hand from my pussy. I hear him licking his fingers behind me, a sexy hum vibrating in his throat.
“Fucking perfect. I can’t wait to eat your pussy all up.”
Jesus . . . Fucking . . . Christ.
Dyletri leans closer, his face nuzzling my hair.
I’m barely holding on to my sanity. “Dyletri.”
He punches the wall again, making me jump. Out of the corner of my eye, I see even more cracks spreading out from where his fingers are.
And light. More than I’ve ever seen coming out of him. Every individual vein on the back of his hand is glowing.
Dyletri murmurs my name in a reverent tone. “Ismini . . .”
I hear the stone besides my head crack some more. Hear the stone railing to my left fracturing as well. “Ismini . . . stop me. Tell me to stop.”
“No,” I whisper. “I don’t want to.”
CHAPTER 12
ISMINI
I expect to be filled with embarrassment, but it never comes. The air around me grows harsh with heat, and all I hear are Dyletri’s desperate breaths. When he breaks the tense silence, the split in his voice is even more obvious, an echo that sounds more dangerous than he does.
“What did you just say?”
It’s like two people are talking to me from within one throat.
I peek at his hand. His whole arm trembles, the muscles bulging. Each vein appears enlarged and pulses with that white glow. It has to be his blood, if the way the light circulating in his veins is any indication.
I bite down on my lip, shaking and feeling a violent kind of energy overcome me. “I don’t want you to stop.”
His growl is loud, vibrant, powerful, and the sound is almost enough to make my eyes roll into the back of my head.
I lean over just enough to run my nose up the expanse of his arm. I inhale his scent, feel his blood pounding under his skin.
“Fuck,” he says, that odd echo multiplying behind his voice.
“I’m going to die anyway,” I murmur, replacing my nose with my lips.
Dyletri jerks but doesn’t pull back. “Shit. Ismini, your lips . . .”
His skin lights up even more as I brush kisses across his arm. The light is hypnotizing.
“Show me what it’s like. Just once. I want to know.” I press my lips against one of his more prominent veins. My eyes slide shut, and I moan as my tongue slithers out and tastes him. “I don’t want to die a virgin. Make me yours.”
He flips me around so fast that I’m left pouting at the loss of his skin. I’m so fucking hungry, a
nd my tongue is tingling with the energy and taste of him.
I lift my eyes to his, running my tongue across my lips. Lips he watches with the intensity of a predator. His gaze has gone white again. I know it’s from the energy coursing through him.
I lick my lips again, dying to feel him. Any part of him.
One of Dyletri’s large hands wraps around my leg and lifts me onto the tips of my toes. He slides my body up the wall to press against him. My head falls back, a moan ripping out of my throat when I feel him.
And oh God, the man is fucking huge.
“You have no idea what you are asking of me.” Dyletri is panting as he lowers his head. His nose skims my jaw, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “Fuck. The way you smell . . . it’s been killing me, girl.”
I claw at his shoulders, grabbing on to his shirt until the material is dangerously close to giving way beneath my fingers. He skims his nose across my jaw a few more times and slides his lips against it.
He stays like that, his breaths harsh and quick. I want him to taste me already. Want him to take everything. I tighten my leg around his waist and use the hold to grind my body into him. Once. Twice.
“By the gods, yes. Writhe on that cock, baby.” His body presses harder against mine. His tongue is suddenly everywhere, licking from my jaw to my ear, threatening to make me come again.
“Dyletri, pleas—” I don’t get to finish. He dematerializes us.
I gasp as we reappear in an unknown room. My legs are wrapped around his waist, and his throbbing cock is nestled right on my pussy.
Dyletri shakes with restrained power as he holds me. He sniffs my skin and licks another fiery path up my jaw. When his tongue slides into my ear, my legs become an instant vise around him.
I lower my head and bite down into almost unbreakable flesh. Power and taste explode inside my mouth again.
It’s an orgasmic mouth fuck.
I moan and suck on his neck, unaware of what I’m trying to accomplish, just running on pure instinct.
Dyletri retaliates, his teeth pulling softly at my ear. His hands clutch my ass roughly, holding me still as his hips rock into me.
I moan brokenly, my thighs shaking around him. “Dyletri.”
Ryze Series: Books 1 & 2 Page 9
