Unquiet Slumber

by Paulette Miller

  He moved in and gently licked the blood so that it lay on the tip of his tongue. She opened her lips and took his tongue into her mouth and sucked the blood off. As she kissed him, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Their hearts were now beating as one.

  When she was able to break the kiss, she leaned back, gazing into his eyes. Her eyes now matched the desire in his. They both felt a burning sensation on their chests, formally bonding them together.

  Given Kia’s shirt was open so Tianna could see his changed mark. She caressed the outline of the bonding ring.

  “I must have you, Kitten. Let’s make our mating complete so no one can ever take you away from me again.”

  She gave him a smoldering smile that said “Yes” without having to say a word.

  Kai began to quickly undo the ties on her dress while Tianna ripped at his shirt, desperate to get him naked. She swayed as distant voices started to call her name in her mind.

  Kai could feel her being pulled from him and sighed. “Interrupted again,” he said disappointed. “They call you back, mate.”

  “No! I won’t go!” she yelled as she stood and took Kai’s hand in an attempt to drag him toward his bedroom. After taking a couple of steps toward her destination, her dizziness overwhelmed her and she stumbled. Kai caught her to prevent her from falling.

  The voices became more urgent and a corner of her mind began to listen.

  Kai gently sat her back on the bench and kissed her Black Dragon mark. “You’re not yet strong enough to fight their call. Be patient. I’ve waited hundreds of years to find you, we can wait a little longer until the time is right. Our bond will grow stronger every day and soon you’ll be able to resist the influence of those other Draaks.” Seeing the disappointment in her midnight eyes, he added, “I promise I’ll see you again and when I do, we’ll pick up where we left off. We’re meant to be together as our bonding proves. Until then, I’ll just keep a part of you close by.” He pulled out a long braid of silver hair that was tucked in the back of his pants.

  Tianna gave Kai a shocked stare. “Is that my hair? How did you get that?”

  Kai breathed in the scent of the braid. “It was given to me as a peace offering from the warriors of Coldrenn. Although very precious to me, it was too little and far too late. There was nothing they could’ve offered me to save themselves from my wrath.”

  Tianna played with the end of the braid, a confused look lit across her face. “They cut off all of my hair. There should be more than this.”

  Kai carefully tucked the braid back into the waist of his pants. “Your hair has more magical properties than I originally thought. I used some of it to enhance my own power. I meant only to destroy the warrior leaders that hurt you. I wanted to use them as an example within the village. Between your added strength and my rage, I completely destroyed all within the village. Now their destruction can be a message to all of my followers. So, in a way, you helped get your revenge.”

  Tianna’s mind and vision started to blur as the intensity of the voices in her mind grew. As she started to drift away, she grabbed onto Kai pleading, “Don’t let me go!”

  *~*~*~*

  Tianna opened her eyes to see her protectors hovering above her, a look of relief flooding their faces. Gabriel smiled down at her and said, “We’ll always be here for you and will never let you go.” They knew she had dreamed of Kai and was helpless to stop it.

  She fought back the tears that were starting to burn her eyes. Her heart ached but not for the reasons they were thinking. She wanted Kai with every cell in her body and he was just ripped from her hands.

  She laid quietly, thankful that she was still covered by the blankets. She didn’t want anyone to see the latest addition to her mark. As her head started to clear, she realized what she had been about to do. She was frightened and sick to her stomach. She was so physically weak that she had lost complete control of the Black Dragon within her. She couldn’t understand how she could feel the way she did about a Draak she hated, one she knew was pure evil.

  She said, barely above a whisper and her voice shook with panic, “Kai…” She tried to talk, but was too weak to finish her thought.

  Gabriel felt completely ineffective. He was the most feared warrior in all of Haven but as Tianna’s protector, he was as helpless as a child. His skills did nothing to prevent her attacks. If he could face his enemy, he had a chance. Bu Kai, like a coward, slinked in the shadows of her dreams where Gabriel couldn’t protect her.

  Gabriel looked around and, needing to do something, he commanded, “We must prepare in case Kai is near.” He motioned Seth and Marcus to get ready for battle. Given Nathaniel was too weak to fight, he told Nathaniel to come over. Gabriel glared deep into his eyes, knowing Nathaniel was a much more effective warrior than he was in this particular battle. He said, “Your job, brother, is to keep her safe. Absolutely nothing else matters. You must keep your mental connection to her strong. Do you understand me?”

  Nathaniel nodded with a look of pure determination. This was his chance to step-up as her protector and he wouldn’t fail her again.

  While his brothers guarded their camp, Nathaniel crawled under the covers. Once next to Tianna, he took the position he had loved to sleep in while he held her at night. Tianna had no choice but to comply. He called on his fire, which gave Tianna enough energy to call on hers.

  As Nathaniel held her tight, he whispered into her ear, “Thank you for my life.” He kissed the back of her head. “I know I can’t make up for the pain I’ve caused you but at least let me do this for you. Let me hold you and keep you safe while you sleep.”

  Sensing Tianna’s pain, Nathaniel’s hand instinctively moved to her mark. He quickly found and outlined her newest addition with the tip of his blue flamed fingertip. Although she knew he couldn’t have seen it, somehow he knew.

  She was about to move his hand away fearing his reaction, when he whispered, “It’s okay. I know what it’s like to give in to feelings you can’t seem to control. We need to discuss this with my brothers, but not tonight. I can’t take it away but, for now, rest in my arms and let me ease your pain.”

  She intertwined her fingers with his and held on tight as his fire calmed her mind and body. He knew just what she needed. He didn’t ask her any questions or show any reactions. He just remained quiet and held her tight. She wondered how his touch could feel so right if it wasn’t meant to be.

  She pushed all thoughts away and concentrated on the feel of his healing touch. Her body gave in to exhaustion. Soon there was a glow coming from the bed and they fell fast asleep holding and healing each other’s naked bodies.

  Chapter 28 - Hidden Pain

  They let Tianna and Nathaniel sleep throughout the following day. Just before the sun set, they both started to stir. As Nathaniel crawled out of bed, she noticed that most of his cuts and bruises were gone, leaving only the worst of the injuries visible. He also moved with more energy than she had seen in over a week.

  Her dreams were so real that she was having a hard time separating them from reality. She knew that Gabriel and Marcus had watched her sleep so if she had physically disappeared they would’ve mentioned it. However, if it was only a dream, how could Kai continue to mark her? Why could she still taste him in her mouth?

  She debated on how she was going to tell her friends that her craving for Kai’s touch had dramatically increased. She had taken his blood into her body and was now bonded to him. She not only was about to let him take her to his bed, she was going to beg him to do it as he had predicted. If Nathaniel was not meant to be, then she feared her destiny was to be in Kai’s arms.

  She finally peeked down at her Black Dragon mark. It now held a bonding ring. Once filled in with color, they would be fully mated.

  She pulled her blanket up to cover the mark so no one would see.

  In the dream, Kai told her that he had destroyed the villagers of Coldrenn. She needed to go see if this was true. She stood, wrapped herself in
her blanket, and started walking toward where the village had stood the night before. Gabriel tried to stop her but it was Nathaniel that convinced them that she needed to take another look.

  They surrounded her and escorted her to the edge of the trees. In a grassy area where the shrouded village should’ve been, stood a foreboding village of stone. An eerie, complete silence mixed with the bitter smell of intense heat sent chills down their spines. They didn’t hear a single voice or sound of any kind, not even bird song or wind. The village offered no signs of life.

  Seth looked astonished. “What happened here?”

  Tianna knew the answer. Her eyes turned black and a smile briefly flashed on her face. “Kai got angry.” As much as Tianna wanted to hate Kai, the Black Dragon within was very grateful and secretly pleased that he defended her honor.

  Gabriel led their way into the village in full battle stance. The buildings of the village looked to be intact but everything living, plant or people, were nowhere to be found. The air was thick with some kind of gray powder that hung in the air like wispy fog. It was so thick, they had to cover their mouths so they could breathe without coughing.

  As they walked through the deserted streets, Tianna asked, “What did Kai do? He said he destroyed the members of the village but I don’t see any sign of them.”

  Nathaniel picked-up some of the gray power that sat in blown piles on the ground like piles of dirty snow. While rubbing the powder between his fingers he asked, “And, what’s this stuff laying all over the ground? It appears to everywhere.”

  Seth picked up some of the powder, sniffed it, and then put the tiniest amount on the tip of his tongue. As soon as his taste buds registered, he knew exactly what it was. He spit on the ground repeatedly and started to shake. As he backed up toward the direction of the gate, he said, “It’s all that’s left of the living creatures of this village. Kai burned everyone and everything into ashes.”

  They all gasped, quickly covering their mouths tightly. Tianna gagged, spun on her heels and ran for the gate. Once outside of the village in the clean air, they stared at each other, the color of their clothes muted by the gray powder. Tianna started to frantically brush at herself trying to remove the ash from her blanket and hair, everyone else following her lead. Seth threw up.

  Once they returned to the camp, Tianna secured it. She examined herself, brushing off more ashes and shivered with the thought of what now covered her body and the extent of the evil she was now bonded to. She asked Seth, “I desperately need to wash up. Is there a river or something nearby?”

  Seth consulted his map and said, “Other than going back into Coldrenn and using their wells, the closest water is a bit of a ride.”

  No one, including Tianna, was going back into Coldrenn. The sun was already down so the bath would have to wait until they could ride out in the morning. Tianna gathered as much extra water that they had and tried to clean up as best she could. Although she wasn’t hiding behind blankets any more, she was still trying to hide her revised mark.

  Tianna remained silent throughout the evening. After their meal was over, Tianna rose to go to bed early. Marcus stopped her and asked her to remain by the fire, nodding for everyone else to join them. As they gathered together, Tianna’s stomach turned.

  Marcus hated to confront Tianna after what she had been through, but he had no choice. They needed to work as one in order to reach Haven safely. He cleared his throat and said, “Tianna, I think it’s time to talk about what happened. I know that you don’t want to tell us, but we can’t keep secrets from each other. Evil is getting closer to you every day and we need to understand exactly what we’re up against. First, please tell me what happened outside of Coldrenn, when your powers spiked.”

  She could hear the frustration in his voice. She replied, “I honestly don’t know. Since things changed with Nathaniel, I felt something was building up inside me. I should’ve told you about it. I honestly had no idea that I was capable of such power. I just opened my mind to my inner natures and it just burst out.”

  Marcus sighed. “Your powers are dramatically increasing and this is a dangerous time for all of us. You need to let us help you, but to do that you have to be totally honest with us. From here on out, we must know the moment you feel any new powers begin to surface.” He glared deep into her eyes and commanded, “I don’t ever want to be surprised like that again.”

  Tianna nodded in agreement.

  Gabriel asked, “Will you tell us what happened in Coldrenn? How did you get Nathaniel out?”

  Tianna knew there was no point to argue, so she took in a deep breath and retold the story. “Once they let me in, they took to me to a meeting room where they brought Nathaniel in and held a knife to his neck. I couldn’t fight them without risking him being killed. Their leader knew of the Faye so I tried to negotiate our release by offering my hair. He took it and was willing to let me go in exchange, but he refused to let Nathaniel go as well. He was his gift to Kai. He and his men insisted on additional payment for his release.” Seeing the looks on their faces, she added, “I would have killed everyone before I let them take me.”

  Tianna shook her head. “It sounds silly now, but at the time I actually thought I had a chance to take them out if I could just get the guard away from Nathaniel. With the knife at his neck, I knew it would be tricky. While I kept the guards next to me distracted, I willed a large thorn to grow in the vine I had conjured earlier. I had the vine snap like a whip, shoving the thorn into the side of Nathaniel’s guards head. At the same time, I had another vine grab hold of Nathaniel and pull him in the other direction so the knife wouldn’t slit his throat. It worked. Nathaniel was pulled safely out of the way and wrapped up tight so no one could get to him. With him momentarily out of the way, I called on my burst of power. I planned to blast all of the Drenn in the room into the walls, but I couldn’t control the force of my magic. I did kill a couple of the guards but I also blew out the walls.”

  Tianna looked directly at Gabriel. “I was such an idiot. I might have found a way to take out the remaining few in the room, but the explosion caused many Drenn to come running. I took a sword from one of the fallen and fought like you taught me. I was quickly outnumbered and too weak to do any magic. When they finally knocked the weapon from my hand, I was grabbed and thrown to the ground. In my struggles, one of them ripped my shirt and exposed my Black Dragon mark.”

  She caressed the mark on her chest tenderly. “My mark saved me. They thought I was Kai’s and feared his wrath. They quickly let me and Nathaniel go, begging for my forgiveness and for my silence. Nathaniel was too heavy for me to carry, so I willed all the energy I could spare to give him enough strength to help walk out of the gate. That’s when you found me.”

  Everyone had remained silent and motionless as she told her story, trying to hold back their anger at what happened to her and their inability to protect her. Although Nathaniel remained quiet, rage was building in his chest. The thought of what had happened to her because of him made his dragon roar in his mind and he was struggling to maintain control.

  Gabriel broke the silence. “When I think about what could have happened…” He couldn’t finish the sentence so he switched his thought, “Your protection is top priority to us. You must learn to trust that we can help protect you, but we’re useless when you venture out on your own. You must promise that you’ll NEVER go off on your own again.”

  Tianna could feel his hidden rage and was ashamed of herself. In a defeated voice she said, “I just wanted to prove that I was capable of fighting alongside all of you. I was so stupid! I know my actions put myself and Nathaniel in an even worse situation and could have gotten us both killed. Or, they could have delivered both of us to Kai’s waiting arms.” Given the results of her latest dream, she knew she could never be allowed anywhere near Kai or all would be lost. “I promise. It won’t happen again.”

  Gabriel couldn’t help recalling what he was like as an arrogant youth. “Believe it
or not, I do understand why you did it. You feared for Nathaniel’s life and just wanted to be part of the team to help save him. When I was a young warrior, I would have probably done something even worse if I thought I was being pushed to the side. I apologize for not trusting in your skills. I know you have the ability to fight but you’re just learning about your powers. You need more time to perfect and hone those skills.” He took Tianna’s hand in his and said, “In this short time, you’ve become very important to me. My whole life’s purpose has been to protect and shelter those I love, not let them walk blindly into a dangerous situation. It goes against the fundamental nature of who I am. Give me some more time to adjust to the idea that you’re a warrior and have the right to stand beside me in battle.”

  Tianna was touched by his words, and she nodded silently.

  To lighten the mood a little, Seth added, “You do have quite a temper.”

  Tianna couldn’t help but smile at Seth. “I guess we’re all learning that the hard way. I’m sorry for losing control. If I think back to what happened in Coldrenn, if we had worked as a team, we might have been able to not just save Nathaniel but also save the lives of many innocent people. Kai killed them all, including the children, because of the situation I put myself in.” She had to stop and take a deep breath to stop tears from falling. With her voice breaking, she added, “I’ll have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life.”