Catalyst (Hidden Planet Book 2)

by Anna Carven

  Putting him to shame.

  Beyond the skies of Khira, there was life. A sweet, strange creature called Esania had shown him that, and somehow, this small tribe of humans and their determination to survive made all Drakhin grievances and blood-feuds seem so petty.

  He didn’t want to destroy this world, he wanted to build it again.

  For her.

  “I have held this fucking barrier together for as long as I could, brother. I waited in the hope that you would appear to sort out your own little mess, and it seems you’ve finally come to your senses. Our mother wouldn’t stand for this chaos, Imril.”

  “No, she wouldn’t,” Imril said slowly, overcome with sadness and pride as he remembered the magnificent woman who had been his mother. Everything decent in him and Mael was because of her. Acheros had allowed Marial to raise them on the Hythra, but as they grew older, he started to separate them, playing cruel games with the twins and their mother.

  Experiments.

  Why did Imril get the feeling they were still stuck in some sort of cruel experiment? “I encountered Nykithus beyond the shadowveil,” he growled, studying Mael’s face for any sign of deceit.

  “That’s because my barrier is starting to fall apart. I saw him return. Badly wounded. Desperate. He had no choice. Your doing, obviously. I don’t understand why you didn’t kill him when you had the chance.”

  “You do not understand what happened.” Imril gritted his teeth. “How did he get out?”

  Mael’s tail flicked back and forth, the abrupt tempo a clear sign of his irritation. “There are breaches in the veil. The Naaga have been traveling in and out ever since the first hole appeared, and I am tired. I can’t hold the form anymore.”

  “That isn’t like you, brother. Has something changed?”

  “None of your fucking business, Imril. For once in your life, just listen to me, and do as I say.” The Shadowbringer shook his head in frustration. “You need to kill Nykithus. Once you cut the head off the monster, the rest will fall. They tried to take command of the Hythra. They poisoned the Ardu-Sai. They are multiplying endlessly, spreading through this world like vermin.”

  “To what end?” Imril’s anger returned in full force as he remembered Nykithus’s affinity for power; the way he’d subtly undermined Imril’s advisors and pitted the lesser lords against one another.

  “That, my brother, is the eternal question. I have my theories, but I won’t bore you with the details.”

  Imril turned, spreading his wings. “Three darklights. That’s all I need, and then we will end this once and for all.”

  “Some sort of strategy would be nice,” Mael said, a vicious smile spreading across his face. Now the bastard seemed amused, and Imril thought he detected just a hint of the old madness in the Shadowbringer’s eyes. “Can’t just go in there and torch the entire place, I suppose.”

  “Why not?” Imril waved his hand in dismissal. “You leave that to me, brother.” He knew Nykithus, that traitorous bastard. He knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his deepest desires.

  Mael laughed. “You haven’t changed, brother.”

  And no Drakhin wielded power like Imril, no matter how hard they trained. He was one of two truly monstrous beings on this planet. What the second gen lordlings had failed to understand was that none of them—not even Nykithus—had ever seen Imril at his full strength.

  They didn’t know how much vir he could really pack into his monstrous body.

  Not even Nykithus, who Imril had once thought of as the son he could never have.

  “I will return,” he said to his still-smiling brother as he spread his wings wide.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Imril launched himself into the air and soared, desperate to get back to his Esania. He was about to demand a lot of her, but she was strong enough to handle him, and when she understood what he was about to do, she would give him what he needed.

  After all, the survival of her race depended on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Imril stood on the rocky shore, watching as a small boat sliced across the glassy water like a knife. Mist rose from the surface of the lake, a diaphanous shroud that obscured the forest in the distance.

  The Vradhu stood tall on the boat, propelling it across the lake with the aid of a long paddle. His war-spear was strapped to his back, and he stared straight ahead, meeting Imril’s gaze without fear or hesitation.

  Imril remained perfectly still as the boat slid up on the gravel, coming to a halt. The Vradhu dropped his paddle, jumped out and strode up the shore, moving with the fluid grace of a natural hunter.

  He didn’t recognize this Vradhu. The warrior sported fierce swirling ankhata—those striking black pigmentation marks—on both cheeks, and his hair was braided in the usual Vradhu Hunter fashion. He was youthful, this one, probably no older than twenty revolutions or so. Vradhu lives were short. They usually lived to see about a hundred revolutions, compared with the Drakhin, who didn’t seem to age and were usually killed through war or feuding.

  For a moment, they just stared at each other, Vradhu and Drakhin, once allies, once mortal enemies, and now…

  Something stirred in Imril’s blood. Like it or not, his destiny was tied to the violet-skinned ones.

  They shared blood, after all.

  “Where’s your offsider?” Imril narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Vradhu. Hunters always moved in pairs. Why was this one on his own?

  “I volunteered to come alone.” The warrior crossed his powerful arms, smiling. “We hunt in pairs because of the kratok… but you are no kratok, Imril Makura.”

  Makura? That was a Vradhu word he definitely didn’t understand.

  “No, I am not,” Imril returned his smile, baring his sharp teeth. “Two of you would not be enough to take me down.”

  “So you understand why it would be pointless to send another.”

  “If you fail, it’s a suicide mission.”

  “I’m not afraid of death, Drakhin.”

  “Don’t be so flippant, Vradhu. Your lives are short, and you are still young. Try telling me the same thing when your ankhata have turned silver with age.”

  “You think you know us so well, Lightbringer?” The warrior tensed and bared his teeth, a battle-ready stance if Imril had ever seen one.

  “Better than you realize, brat.” A long time ago, I shared meat with your ancestors. “Has your Clan Lord come to his senses, then?”

  “That depends.”

  “Oh?”

  “Take me to the humans.”

  Imril inclined his head. “Predictably, you want to see if I have kept my word. Is my name held in such little regard in this age?”

  “You betrayed us in the past. Trust is not to be taken for granted, Overlord.”

  “I didn’t start that war,” Imril said quietly, deeply regretting his part in it. As with most of these things, the war had been over females, and it had quickly spiraled out of control.

  “But you did your part. How many Vradhu did you kill?”

  “It was a Vradhu hunting party that attacked my eyrie.” Imril said softly, remembering how the fierce, wily Vradhu had taken him by surprise. Back then, the Vradhu knew how to tame the wild flying Kratok and ride them. A pack of warriors had flown in from the skies, straddling the Kratok, their piercing war-cries echoing through the cold morning air.

  They dropped right into the heart of Imril’s eyrie.

  It was a suicide mission. They knew it, but they were so enraged at what had happened to their clanswoman that they would happily die as long as they took down a few Drakhin with them.

  That fool, Brodhiel. Reckless. Arrogant. Stupid. Imril had warned him, but he’d gone too far.

  “They killed my servants, my Weapons Master, my House Guard…” Imril’s voice grew cold as he remembered standing over the lifeless bodies of his men, each with a wound from a Vradhu’s deadly poison barb in the center of the chest.

  Duhil and Zafikel had be
en training on the upper landing yard when the Vradhu attacked, taking them by surprise. Furious, Imril had killed the Vradhu warriors that dared to invade his domain. Then he’d taken to the skies and razed the Vradhu settlement, ending the war once and for all.

  Driving the Vradhu deep into hiding.

  Brodhiel had killed his Source—a Vradhu female—and in doing so, set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to the downfall of the Drakhin race.

  “Lord Maki says you killed Kanahe’s murderer. Is that true?”

  Kanahe. That had been her name, a Vradhu female promised to Brodhiel in exchange for Drakhin protection and riches. Brodhiel had fed too much, too often.

  Imril stared at the young Vradhu, the power coursing through his veins. “What is your name, Vradhu?”

  “I am Vanu.”

  “Vanu. For someone who is at a distinct disadvantage, you presume too much.”

  The warrior stiffened, glancing warily at the tendrils of power that flickered around Imril’s fingers. The Vradhu might be cocky, but he wasn’t stupid. Good.

  “Come now, Vanu. I will show you proof that my word is good. But be warned. If you try anything stupid, anything that causes harm to the ones under my protection, I will kill you.” He was fairly certain Vanu didn’t have any ill intentions toward the humans, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Stranger things had happened.

  “I-I wouldn’t do any such thing,” Vanu blurted, appearing a little offended.

  “Good,” Imril growled. “Welcome to my domain, Vradhu.”

  It had been several lifetimes since he’d welcomed a Vradhu into his domain.

  This, he supposed, was a good place to start.

  Chapter Thirty

  Esania spun at the sound of voices.

  “What?” She did a double take, shocked to see a Vradhu standing beside Imril in the doorway.

  She recognized him. A little shorter than the others, thick, muscular build, the distinctive patterns on his face…

  “Hey, it’s Vanu.” Reclining on the bed, Sara gave him a lazy half-wave, not appearing in the least bit surprised.

  How does she do that? Appear so relaxed like that?

  Esania felt anything but relaxed.

  Vanu stared at them, an expression of shock crossing his proud features. “Tass tu?”

  Are you okay?

  “Tu,” Sara assured him. That was about the extent of their Vradhu.

  Imril and Vanu exchanged a pointed look.

  “Imril,” Esania said slowly, walking toward them, taking care to stay just outside Imril’s radius, which was about a meter, give or take. “Why is Vanu here?”

  “He came to check that I have kept my word; that you and Sara are unharmed. Vradhu don’t trust Drakhin.”

  “Clearly.”

  Imril turned to Vanu, raising his eyebrows expectantly. They exchanged words in rapid-fire Vradhu, until at last Vanu seemed satisfied.

  Imril nodded and signaled to Vanu with an imperious wave of his hand. He turned to Esania, looking decidedly… Overlordly. “The Vradhu and the humans have agreed to come to the eyrie.”

  As if to say: see? I told you so.

  Relief flooded through her, and even his Drakhin smugness wasn’t able to irritate her. “Thank you,” she sighed.

  Soon, she would see her girls again, along with the fierce mercenary women who had saved them from a terrible fate on Mars.

  Imril regarded her with a look that was full of warmth and possessiveness and hunger. She was suddenly tempted to move closer, to feel his inexorable pull, to let him draw on her energy, but she held back, acutely aware that Vanu and Sara were staring at them intently.

  Vanu and Sara even exchanged a look.

  Imril ignored them. “These Vradhu are cut off from their pack. They know they won’t last long without my help. It was only a matter of time.”

  “How did you know?”

  One corner of Imril’s mouth quirked, his expression softening. “I’ve been around long enough to get a feel for these things.” How old was he again? She didn’t care anymore. Stars, when he looked at her like that… “They were looking for you, you know. These humans are stubborn… but then again I already knew that. Vanu tells me that despite their warnings, the females were planning to actually fight me to get the two of you back, but on foot, there is only so much they can do.” He chuckled softly. “There is no need for them to fight. They know you are mine. All they need to do is accept it. All you need to do is accept it.”

  She heard a deep intake of breath from Sara.

  Vanu wore an expression of pure bemusement.

  Esania opened her mouth, a sharp rebuke on the tip of her tongue. But then she thought of what he had done.

  He’d taken care of them. He’d refrained from taking Sara’s vir. He’d helped her locate the Vradhu, and somehow, he’d convinced the proud warriors to accept his protection.

  You are mine.

  She felt it too. She didn’t want to fight him anymore.

  Imril smiled then, and it was the most glorious thing she’d ever seen. His face transformed, his golden gaze softening, his pale skin shimmering, his sensual lips parting to reveal glittering teeth.

  He was breathtaking.

  And she wanted him to kiss her again.

  Esania took a deep breath and stepped closer, entering the invisible ring that surrounded him. As she crossed over into his vortex, he let out a soft, shuddering sigh.

  He looked like a creature out of some mythical Earth tale— ancient, otherworldly, perfect—and she could hardly believe he was real, but when she stepped into his radius, his hard, glittering exterior slipped, just a little.

  That was the effect she had on him.

  She didn’t know how, but she just did.

  And she didn’t know why, but somehow, this just felt right.

  “Dude,” she thought she heard Sara whisper in Earthian, “just go for it.”

  As if she had her own personal cheer squad.

  Imril didn’t give any sign that he’d heard. His was completely absorbed in her. “Satisfied?” He seemed immensely pleased with himself.

  Esania basked in his good mood, feeling triumphant that she’d secured a route to safety for her people. “For now.”

  But what made her feel even more ecstatic was the fact that he’d kept his word. He hadn’t lied to her. He’d gone to great lengths to prove his integrity to her, even though he had more pressing issues to deal with. “You know, you’re not as terrible as the legends make you out to be.”

  “No, I’m not.” Imril reached out and stroked the side of her face. For once, he wasn’t wearing his armor, and his bare fingers gently coaxed the energy out of her. “These so-called legends make me seem tame. Really, I can be much worse.”

  There was a strange sort of defiance in his confession, as if he were daring her to see the darkness inside him and accept it.

  Right now, she couldn’t care less about his past.

  A delicious shiver rippled over her as he drank her in with his touch and caressed her with his gaze.

  She could feel it. It was pleasurable. She wanted more.

  Science couldn’t explain this.

  Sara was staring.

  Vanu was staring. The poor guy looked absolutely scandalized.

  Esania didn’t care. Let them stare.

  “But for you, I’m nothing like the legends.” His voice was deep, mesmerizing, smooth as silk; hinting at a part of him that wasn’t quite of this Universe.

  Not quite mortal.

  Months ago, even weeks ago, she wouldn’t have entertained such a thought, but now she was certain of it.

  There were things in this Universe that couldn’t be explained, and Imril was one of them.

  Slowly, he broke the trance, turning to Vanu, his eyes glowing like embers. He said something to the Vradhu in harsh, clipped tones, and the warrior nodded, looking a little bit awestruck.

  Then he left without another word, disappearing down th
e long corridor.

  “I’m, uh, going to give you two some privacy.” Sara rose up off the bed and slipped out of the room.

  Esania barely noticed her go.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Before I go, I need to feed, and before I feed, I want to ask you again. Will you accept my elgida, Esania?” He stood with his back against the window, the bright afternoon sunlight streaming in, surrounding him like a halo. His dark scale-armor was gone, replaced with the black sleeveless tunic and pants. With his wings folded neatly against his back, and his cropped golden hair, he looked as sharp as a blade.

  They were alone in the tower now. Vanu had left, and Sara had disappeared downstairs, giving them an appraising look as she left.

  That Sara.

  She understood more than she let on.

  Esania paused, as if there were an imaginary line she was about to cross. “It would help if I knew exactly what an elgida was, Imril. All you’ve told me is that it’s very painful, and it’s permanent. That doesn’t exactly make it sound appealing.”

  His eyes roamed over her body, making her feel naked. “I also told you that it would allow us to consummate our bond without harming you.”

  Consummate our bond.

  This was really happening.

  “Does that not sound appealing to you, Esania?” Imril raised an eyebrow. He was in his element now; confident, cocky, as if he knew exactly what was going on in her body right now.

  Wait… that was because he did.

  Unfair.

  And clearly, he wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted.

  “It…” A flush spread through her cheeks as her body came alive once again, reacting to his closeness. It sounds amazing. Down there, between her thighs, she was definitely wet, aching to have him inside her. She knew they were compatible. Stars, that first day, when he’d abducted her, he’d been naked. She’d seen him; all of him.

  And right now, she couldn’t get the thought of his impressive cock out of her mind.

  The puritanical Primean voice inside her head was completely silent.