by Hannah West
‘Will you shut up?’ I whisper-hiss.
Zephyr’s amused gaze meets mine, burning bright violet in the darkened room. My heart beats a little faster. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how beautiful he is, or the fact he’s mine. His scent perfumes the air around us and I inhale a deep breath. My gums tingle and I wince, licking across my front teeth where the pain is most intense.
‘I just don’t understand it,’ he says, drawing my attention back to him. ‘Why would you want to watch something that isn’t real?’
I sigh and pause the film. We’re in the front room of the cottage, snuggled together on the sofa, trying to watch a movie. Except, Zephyr doesn’t understand the concept, so we haven’t made it past the first fifteen minutes. I can’t decide if I want to strangle him or just turn the film off and go see Katherine. This week’s Date Night isn’t going well. We get one night a week (Realm of Man Time) to spend in the cottage away from the politics of running two fae kingdoms. We’re not gone long in fae terms because time passes so quickly here compared to there, so it works out.
‘It’s like reading a story,’ I tell Zephyr. ‘Except, instead of reading a book, you watch the events play out on screen.’
‘And what’s this story about?’ Zephyr asks.
‘You’re supposed to watch it and find out,’ I answer.
‘But how do you know you want to watch it if you have no idea of the genre?’
‘It’s a romance,’ I snap, temper flaring. ‘One I’ve been dying to see and you’re ruining.’
Zephyr chuckles at my anger and his desire mists around us. I roll my eyes and start the movie playing again, mystified at why he finds my outbursts so sexy. I frown when my gums twinge with pain again, wondering if there’s a fae version of the dentist.
‘Now I’m more confused,’ Zephyr says.
I huff and pause the film, slapping the remote onto the arm of the sofa, before turning my attention to him. ‘Why?’
‘I can’t understand why you’d rather watch a pretend romance, when we’re alone and able to act out our own.’
My frustration turns to lava-hot need, and my eyes tingle in a way that tells me they’re completely black. Zephyr growls in appreciation, but I grow distracted by the pain in my gums. Worry pushes the desire from Zephyr’s gaze and he sits up, alert.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s-’ I hiss as pain radiates through my jaw and I grit my teeth.
‘Primrose!’ Zephyr shouts and is suddenly bent over me, cradling my face between his palms. ‘My Starlight,’ he breathes, panic drenching his tone.
I’m in agony for what feels like hours but must only be minutes. The coppery taste of blood fills my mouth, coating my tongue. Then the agony fades to a bearable ache and I suck in a few breaths.
‘I’m okay,’ I pant, rubbing my hand against Zephyr’s arm to soothe the raw panic swirling around us.
Onyx filigree creeps over Zephyr’s hands and up over his wrists, like it’s holding him to me. It leeches some of his panic and the hard lines of worry ease from his face.
‘Stop that,’ he chastises when he realises what I’m doing.
‘No.’
He smirks at my sass and I smirk back. My panting fades and my heart returns to a steady rhythm. My gums are a little sore but the ache has gone, and I swipe my tongue over my teeth to reassure myself they’re still intact.
‘Holy crap,’ I hiss when I reach the first incisor on my top row of teeth.
‘What?’ Zephyr demands panic roaring back. ‘What is it?’
I ignore him, exploring the elongated razor edge of my incisor with my tongue. I move along to its twin on my upper teeth, before poking at the two, shorter but equally sharp incisors along my bottom teeth. I stare at Zephyr in disbelief then close my eyes and teleport upstairs to the bathroom. I hear his shout of annoyance but I’m too busy staring into the bathroom mirror. My incisors have grown longer and sharper, becoming more fae-like and giving me the feral appearance I associate with fae. Blood stains my lips, adding to the effect.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ I growl, wondering how the hell I’m going to hide this from Katherine and David.
Maybe if I don’t grin ever again-
Zephyr pops into the bathroom behind a flash of purple light. ‘Primrose, what in the runes is-’ He stops speaking when he sees my grimacing reflection.
Zephyr grabs my shoulder and spins me to face him. He bends to bring his face level with mine, and stares avidly at my teeth. His breathing grows heavy and his eyes burn an electric shade of purple. I squeak when he grabs me and crushes his lips to mine. Our teeth clash and I wince at the dull ache still present in my gums. Zephyr’s fingers weave into my hair, holding me in place while he devours my mouth.
The room lights with amethyst and I find myself naked on my bed, looking up at Zephyr’s hungry gaze. It’s another thing I’m learning about fae. Wings are sexy and apparently so are fangs. It’s a standard of beauty I’m yet to appreciate. When I think about it less, and let the wild entity inside me take control, I can see the appeal in the feral aspects of the fae. But I was raised with human ideals and it’s difficult to let my fae side out.
‘You like me with sharp teeth,’ I murmur.
Zephyr grins, displaying an impressive set of incisors both top and bottom. His teeth have lengthened and grown sharper, something I’ve seen happen when he’s angry and must be a form of defence. But he’s not angry now, and I think back to the time he bit me during the first time we were intimate. My gaze drops to where his shoulder meets his neck and I swallow against the strong urge to bite him back. I meet his gaze and his grin tips higher, like he knows my thoughts. His grin is wolfish, and the wild thing in my centre snarls in satisfaction. I stroke my fingers through the silky mass of his dark hair. Zephyr turns his face into my wrist and inhales the scent at my pulse point, a growl sounding in his throat.
‘I love your sharper teeth,’ he murmurs then kisses my lips.
I frown, insecurities flaring. ‘Do you like me better, now I look more fae?’
He matches my frown. ‘You’re beautiful, Primrose.’
I look away. ‘Not as beautiful as you,’ I say. ‘Even with sharp teeth, I’ll never look like if I’d been born a full-blooded fae,’ I tell him admitting one of my main hang-ups about our relationship. ‘I’ll always be shorter with a few more curves, and I haven’t got pointy ears. I can’t say I even want them. They suit fae, with their elongated, noble features. But I look more like my mother than my father, so they’d probably just look stupid on me.’
Zephyr cups my cheek and guides my face back to his. ‘Do you find me less attractive because my ears are pointed?’ he asks.
‘I just told you you’re beautiful,’ I scoff.
‘Then why would you think such a thing of me?’ he counters. He presses a tender kiss to my lips. ‘I love your smile,’ he whispers then kisses my neck. I moan, goose bumps breaking out over my skin. ‘I love the sound of your laugh and your explosive temper,’ he breathes, moving lower, trailing kisses down my body. ‘I adore the curves of your body. He traces the curve of my hip with a fingertip and I light up from the inside. ‘Yes, you’re smaller than most fae females, but we fit together, do we not?’
He fits himself against me, punctuating his point by joining us together. My toes curl at the sensation and I grip the bedspread.
‘You make a good point,’ I moan.
Delicious heat shivers over my skin, while midnight flames lick at Zephyr. They curl around him, caressing the lines of his body and drawing him close. His bronze skin glitters with amethyst light, contrasting to the dark lines I’ve wrapped around him. The light pulses with the rhythm he sets and a delectable ache starts building in my centre.
Zephyr chuckles and gazes at me with an intensity that makes my heart squeeze. ‘I’ll never stop being dazzled by your dark starlight.’ He cups my face. ‘My Anya.’
‘You make me believe in soul mates,’ I whisp
er.
His eyes blaze brighter. ‘You finally accept you’re my soul mate?’
I curl my leg around his hip, forcing him closer still. ‘Sorry it took me so long.’
I love the way we can talk this way, when making love. I’ve never felt more comfortable with anyone in my life, and if that doesn’t scream ‘soul mate’ then I don’t know what does. Forget the fact we need each other to balance. Zephyr makes me feel like a better person. He makes me feel whole.
‘You are slow when it comes to this kind of thing,’ he tells me.
‘Hey!’ I grumble and dodge his next kiss, turning my face to stare at the wall.
‘We’ve plenty of time for me to educate you on such things,’ he says, amusement drenching his tone.
‘Because you’re the expert on love?’ I mutter.
‘I know I love you,’ he answers, ‘what else is there?’
Warm, honeyed emotion wraps around me from Zephyr, and I turn my face back to his. His love seeps through my flesh and collides with the increasing ache in my centre. I sink my teeth into his shoulder and intense pleasure slams into me, his blood painting my tongue, as his rhythm grows erratic. It tastes like hot joy and I groan in fresh ecstasy. Zephyr’s pleasure at my bite is bright and intoxicating. It coils around my insides and drenches me in bliss.
Instinct grips me as I come back from a realm of bliss, and lick at the wound on his shoulder, sealing it. A small part of my brain tells me I should feel sick over what I just did, but the beast in my middle is purring with delight. Each day I learn something new about my fae self, and it either creeps me out or fills me with wonder.
‘Mine,’ I whisper as I stare at the bite.
‘Finally,’ Zephyr whispers back.
The end of book 1.
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Archaic Races Book 2
Prologue
My head breaks the surface, exposing me to air, and the next wave beaches me. It takes a moment to remember how to breathe this way, as I cough ocean from my lungs. Saltwater streams from my mouth and nose, body purging it with each inhale. Each breath is dizzying; the sensation of inhaling something so light unnerving.
I claw my way up the beach, not stopping until I reach dry sand. Grains scratch at my skin, feeling itchy and uncomfortable. I flop onto my back to stare up at the sky, sand moulding to my body like a lover. The moon is a skinny slice of white, allowing the stars to show their glory. They add to the dizzying sense of freedom.
Freedom.
My insides clench and I close my eyes, breathing briny air, as I summon the shift. Pain slices my insides so intense my spine arches from the sand. I suck in a breath and curl up on my side. It’s been so long I forgot how agonising shifting is. I slump onto the sand when it’s over, panting hard. Breathing air is getting easier, even though my body feels wrong now. I open my eyes and blink up at the stars. Nothing about this place feels right. If I was visiting it would be an adventure, but this isn’t an excursion.
It’s escape.
I sit up and look down at my legs. They’re long and toned, the skin smooth and pale in the starlight. I wriggle my toes and cringe at the feel of sand between them. It coats my skin, sticking to my hair and the raw skin around my wrists. I prod at the mangled flesh, wondering if it will scar.
No more cuffs.
No more torture.
Freedom.
Coughing snaps my attention to the ocean and my heart skips a beat. Noami drags herself from the surf, shifting as she goes. She pushes to her feet, seeming unaffected by the shift, white hair sticking in wet ribbons to her caramel skin. She stumbles in my direction then looks down at the sand with distain, before fixing her turquoise gaze on me.
I push to my feet, legs unsteady. ‘Why are you here?’
‘To bring you home,’ Noami answers.
‘Then you’ve wasted a journey. I’m not going back.’
‘Orcas demands your return,’ she says and beckons me to her. ‘Come, I will escort you.’
I finger the raised pattern on my nape at the mention of Orcas, my body forever marred by his obsession. Images of his torture play on repeat in my nightmares, and fear uncoils in my stomach.
I’m not going back.
I can’t.
‘I don’t answer to Orcas,’ I tell her, proud fear doesn’t leak into my voice.
Somewhere during the endless abuse I became a coward, and I hate myself for it. Years of wearing a façade have paid off, though. I’ve become an expert at hiding pain and fear from those around me.
‘You must return with me to safety,’ Noami insists.
I snort, the sound a reminder of Navi and everything I’ll miss. ‘I’m safer amid rock and sun than I’ll ever be with Orcas.’
‘Your mind is sick,’ Noami argues. ‘You’ve imagined Orcas cruel in place of his devotion. But he can fix you, Anima. Return with me,’ she orders.
I bare my teeth at the lie, fangs descending. Neon freckles shiver over my skin in a warning display and I snarl at Noami. She dares to issue orders to me, her lack of respect astounding, even if she buys into Orcas’ lies.
‘You risk addressing a Harbinger so informally? Disrespecting a Vessel invites the wrath of the Goddess,’ I warn.
‘You’re sick-’
‘I’m not sick, and won’t return with you,’ I snarl.
Noami’s gaze hardens. ‘Then I’ll take you by force.’
I smirk to hide the panic at her threat, and pull a dagger from the harness banding my torso. Noami is a Meridian Warrior and a formidable force, but desperation infuses my anger. Death is more attractive than returning home to Orcas.
My eyes sting as they bleed from navy to silver. ‘I will kill you, Noami.’
She huffs like I’m an inconvenience then runs at me. Noami dwarfs me by at least three feet and she’s twice my weight. She’s bred from warrior parents, her body flexing with muscle as she powers in my direction. I don’t flinch from her advance, but my insides clench at what I must do. She’s younger than me, and an asset to our race. She could have a magnificent future, if I wasn’t about to take it from her.
I raise my right hand, power blasting from my palm. It hits Noami in the solar plexus and sends her flying backwards. She smacks onto the sand, sending a cloud of grains into the air. She’s on her feet a second later, eyes burning turquoise with anger. Turquoise freckles flash over her skin in a display of agitation and I smirk.
‘Using elementals will only save you for so long,’ she hisses.
Her fangs have descended, another sign of her annoyance, and it pleases me to see I’m not the only one ruled by my emotions in this moment.
‘I’m giving you a chance to save yourself, Noami.’
She laughs. ‘You believe you can best me?’
‘You forget what I am,’ I remind her. ‘You cannot win.’
Everyone forgets that I’m a Harbinger because I don’t act like one. I’ve become a pretty, delicate thing they associate with Orcas, rather than a chosen Vessel of the Goddess. The lies Orcas spreads paint me as weak and I’ve done nothing to refute them. I’ve spent so long trying to hide the power I’ve been gifted, doing my best to bury it deep enough so Orcas can’t find it, that I forget it’s there.
‘This is your last warning, Noami. Leave and I’ll spare your life.’
Noami runs at me in response. I slide my dagger back into its harness and hold both hands out, palms facing Noami. Static fills the air and she slams into a wall of power, trapped in its thrall, unable to move beyond it. White hair writhes around her shoulders, caught in the static. I move forward, until I’m standing before her. Noami snarls, baring her fangs in a show of aggression. She pushes against the invisible wall then growls when she can’t move through it.
‘Release me!’ she says – another order.
‘Swear fealty to me and I will,’ I tell her.
‘You’re mind is broken,’ she snarls. ‘I’ll never swear fealty to you.’
<
br /> I sigh. ‘Then you’ve sealed your fate.’
I breathe deep and connect with the hidden well of energy in my centre. Power surges forward the moment I create a pathway for it, lighting the silver glyphs on my skin. They’re always there, spelling out the purpose bestowed upon me by the Goddess.
‘Harbinger,’ Noami whispers, eyes wide. ‘Life Blood.’
She meets my gaze and realisation creases her features. Panic flares in her turquoise eyes and she starts to struggle. I step through the wall of power, hair rising in midnight swirls around me, as I cup Noami’s face in my hands.
‘You chose this fate,’ I remind her.
‘No,’ she growls.
The snick of metal registers a second before the pain. I look down to see Noami gripping the hilt of my blade, which is sticking at an odd angle from my side. A stupid mistake on my part, but I can’t stop now.
‘You think I don’t know pain worse than this?’ I say, even as the tang of blood paints my tongue.
Noami screams, as the power I harbour blasts from me into her. I feel it filling her, seeping into the corners of her being and infusing her essence. Turquoise swirls weave over her caramel skin, sketching the pathway of her life, as my power draws it from her. Noami’s essence bleeds into mine, as life leaves her body and pours into me.
Then she’s gone, her body nothing more than shimmering foam dispersing on the coastal breeze.
The glyphs on my skin fade, as I force the power back into the safe place in my centre. It’s like cramming a whale through its own blowhole, and my insides feel stretched thin. I grip the hilt of the blade in my side and yank it free, snarling as I collapse onto the sand. Breathing gets difficult, so I shed my harness, abandoning it with the dagger. Blood gushes from my side in hot pulses, streaking my pale skin. I feel so weak in this form it scares me.
I scrub a tear from my face, disgusted with myself and push to my feet. I stagger across the sand, clutching my side, and search for shelter. Cars travel along the road that skirts the beach and I watch them pass, headlights luminous in the night. I’ve seen images of what to expect, but never imagined seeing them this close. I move to the cover of the rocks, hissing when my side starts burning, even though I know the sensation is a good thing. The burning means I’m healing, but I’m unsure how long it will take in this form.
