Three Deadly Trials (Battle for The Dark King Book 1)

by VS Winters

  Fuck, I'm overdoing it. Trying to draw my power back in, I knew it was too late. The spell broke free with a BOOM and started to shatter everything around me, including the rock that held my escape tool. I scrambled to the rope, trying to grab hold of it before it slid over the edge. It was already gone, descending as the hook remained on platform number two. I didn't have time to mourn the loss as the next quake shook me violently, making it difficult to keep my footing. I felt my heart drop as a crumbling vibration started behind me.

  Shifting to look, I released a single curse as the stone cracked and gave way. Accelerating down the slanted rock on my back, my body flipped over, landing me on my stomach. Scraping my fingernails against the hard stone to try and find some type of purchase, I simultaneously pushing my boots against it, failing to grab hold of anything before my body was sent tumbling through barren air. I watched pieces of the cave falling from each side of me as I descended further and further until I finally crashed onto the ground, and the world glittered with a blue hue before going dark.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Awakening, I felt a stabbing pain on the back of my head. Warmth trickled down my face. As I blinked the blood away and sat up, my muscles screeched at me to rest. I tried to disregard the agony riddling my body and looked around, identifying where I was and what had just happened. With sudden awareness, I shifted my sights in every direction quick enough to give myself whiplash, waiting for the dragon that would surely be above me at any second. A roar sent a chill deep into my bones. Just then, I spotted what I had been looking for. The Dragon appeared to be wounded, with blood pooling at its feet. I regarded the animal in horror as it tore at its eyes with claws larger than my body, attempting to protect them from the daylight that was now pouring into the cave. I knew I wouldn't have much time before those blazing-yellow eyes settled on me to seek revenge.

  Stumbling to my feet, I forced my body forward and toward the pile of gold that the dragon's tail was thrashing around in. The best that I could do was hobble at it and pray that the tail didn't lash out in my direction, knowing I wouldn't have the strength to dodge it. The dragon caught sight of me just as I stretched my arm out to pluck a gold piece from its resting place. Our eyes met and my adrenaline kicked into overdrive. Stuffing the coin into my pocket, I flipped around and limped as fast as I could manage away from the creature that was now very aware of my presence.

  A ticking noise from deep within the throat of the creature sounded through the cave, prompting me to shoot a glance over my shoulder. Seeing the overgrown lizard stepping closer to me, I watched as acidic flames started to mix with the blood dribbling from its snout. I snapped my head back around and searched desperately for some sort of exit. There.

  Bolting to the left, I managed to squeeze myself into a tall split in the cave wall just as the flames discharged from the muzzle of the monstrosity. The heat from the dragon's blaze forced me to turn my head away for fear of my face melting off. My right arm got the worst of it and I felt every blister as they formed on my fingers and over half my chest. Pain wasn't present, most likely because of the shock flowing through me. The sleeve of my shirt caught fire, but I didn't stop to put it out, my focus was getting to the opening on the opposite side.

  The rough stone dug into my chest and back as I pushed myself through. Once on the other side, my knees gave out. All I could remember was falling onto my face and then darkness again.

  "Eden!" The voice of an angel called to me, forcing my eyes open. Pimea had her hands under my armpits as she dragged me from the cave. My tongue was too thick, too coated in hot blood, to speak. Moving my hand up to my neck, a fleeting thought told me to remember to thank Scott for the protection amulet once we returned. My hand came up empty, I must have lost the necklace in the fall. Pimea's terrified eyes started to sharpen in my blurry vision.

  "How the hell did you become so wounded?" She hissed. I could feel her anger as it fell from her lips. The frustration wasn't directed at me. "There are protection spells in place for a reason! You could have…" Her voice went quiet for a moment.

  "Never mind that we need to return you to the castle. Lord Blaive has the best healers in the realm at his disposal. Just hold on, okay?"

  I nodded at her as best as I could, not even sure if my head was moving at all. Closing my eyes, I couldn't stop the dark fog from entering my vision and pulling me down.

  When I opened them again, I could hear hushed voices all around me. They sounded urgent. One was deep and angry. He was yelling about something. The world began to spin and I felt my body respond by trying to expel the contents of my stomach.

  "Get her on her side, you fools, she's about to vomit." The voice belonged to Rowan. "If she dies, I will have all of your fucking heads on stakes."

  I opened my mouth and heaved until my belly was empty. Soft hands touched me, cutting the fabric that had become fused with my skin free as they worked on healing my broken body. I was in and out for most of the process, only catching bits and pieces of conversations between the sleep cycles.

  "I want you to find out how the fuck this happened Azrael, you know what is at stake if word of this gets out. These women are under the crown's protection during the Trials." Rowan's voice sounded tight and pissed off. "Figure it out. Do it now."

  "Yes, sire," Rumbled the deepest voice I'd ever heard. It must have belonged to the one he was calling Azrael. With that, I heard footsteps as the second person left. A gentle, cool hand pressed against my throbbing forehead as I lay there, trying to force my eyes to open.

  "Hold still if it hurts," Rowan purred at me. Able to lift my lids just enough to see him, I gave a sheepish smile and pushed my hands against the soft surface below me, attempting to raise into a sitting position. I winced and fell back against the pillow. I didn't hurt as I had before the healing, it was more like the feeling you get when you first start intense exercising. Sore muscles, a headache, and the constant need to throw up. "Damn it, woman, I said to lay still."

  "I don't take orders from you, Rowan." I croaked, watching his lips twitch into a grin. I was able to pull my eyes open the rest of the way in just enough time to realize that I was completely naked, lying on his bed. My hands flew to the blanket, tugging it up around my shoulders while Rowan chuckled in the chair sitting beside me, blotting the remainder of dried blood from my face.

  "Calm yourself, princess, all the important parts were covered by my healers."

  "Thank goodness for that," I muttered and groaned as a sharp pain pierced my lungs. "How long was I out?"

  "You've been asleep, on and off, since you were returned to the castle yesterday evening."

  I slept for a full night and then some...in Rowan's bed. I tried not to think about how long he had been in there with me. Naked. And covered in blood.

  "What happened? I'm not supposed to die here, right?"

  Rowan sighed and shook his head, causing his dark curls to dance around his chin. His pale eyes had grown dark and were focused on the bed, avoiding my stare. The sight of his rugged hair and beautiful face was getting me a little too excited. I was used to seeing him all prettied up. This was a different side of him, one that was less tame. And damn sexy.

  "We don't know yet. You should have been protected from the fall-"

  "How did you know I fell?" I asked.

  "Your friend, the Siren, saw it happen just as she was going for the gold as well. She said she doesn't know how you made it out, and frankly, neither do my healers. You should have died, Eden." His voice was kind but firm, his eyes flicked to mine. "She also said she needed to speak with you. Alone. I assured her that she could wait until you were feeling up to it."

  "Maybe I inherited some of my mother's healing powers." I shrugged, sending another ripple of pain over my body. I'd deal with whatever Pimea needed when I was able to walk on my own. "Ouch."

  "Perhaps. We can figure that out at a later time. For now, are you all right? The healers did what they could without killing themselves by e
xerting too much energy."

  "Feeling peachy, thanks," I said with a lopsided grin. Rowan rose from the chair, shifting to the edge of the bed so that he could tug one of my hands away from the blanket under my chin. I let him move it, not that I had the energy to fight him, and watched as he softly trailed his fingers up and down my forearm.

  "I'm glad," Rowan said, audibly swallowing. "That you survived, that is."

  "You and me both, buddy." I let out a sigh and relaxed into his touch. I didn't want him to stop. Closing my eyes, I could feel sleep tugging at me, beckoning me to fall back into dreamland. I almost did, too, until Rowan softly pressed his lips against mine. A flurry of feelings hit my abdomen as I moved my lips with his in a perfectly sweet tempo. I lifted my other hand to cup his chiseled jaw, feeling it tighten with each stroke of his tongue against mine.

  Pulling back, my lips remained parted for his as I gazed into his intense stare from beneath my lashes. His thumb caressed my cheek, and he breathed out heavily like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. I could feel the sexual tension flickering in a threat to leave me completely as I let my head fall back against the soft pillow. My body ached in more ways than one. Falling from several hundred feet would do that to a person. So would not getting laid when you really wanted to.

  "I'd kill for a hot bath right now," I murmured. Rowan's eyes lit up, and that familiar smirk spread across his face. It made me feel like a giddy teenager. The cute boy from fourth period was looking at me, and I didn't know what to do other than blush.

  "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

  With that, he was off of the bed and making his way to a door that I hadn't noticed the first time I had been in his room. Probably because he had been on top of me for the majority of it. Pausing to turn around, he watched as I struggled against the pain in my rib cage and right leg to sit up. Making sure I had the blanket covering all of my most intimates, I wasn't surprised when he returned to help me.

  "Drop the blanket, I'm not looking if you don't want me to." He said firmly. I trusted that he was telling the truth, it was written all over his face. It wasn't that I didn't want him to look, I did. I just wanted to be a little less dirty when he did. "I would never do anything that you disagreed with. I promise you that."

  "What if I do want it?" The words had slipped from my thoughts and formed on my tongue before I could stop them. My head bowed as the prickling heat of a flush spread across my cheeks. Rowan took my chin in between his thumb and forefinger, pulling it up so that I was looking into those magnificent eyes of green.

  "Anything you desire shall be yours. But maybe when you are less... covered in filth." His voice was like silk in my ears, making it hard to tell if that was a compliment or an insult. Either way, I was melting in his grasp, becoming nothing more than a puddle of longing. I chuckled nervously as he released my chin and moved his arms underneath me gently, letting the blanket fall away as he lifted me from the bed and took me into his bathing room. Allowing my head to rest against his chest, I could feel his warmth soaking into me and reveled in it. His heart strummed in his chest to a steady, strong rhythm.

  Once we had entered the bathing room, he set me down on a deep blue, velvet-cushioned bench. The walls were white and made of a stone that I didn't recognize. Stained glass windows illuminated the room with bright daylight in hints of teal and aqua. I shifted with a grunt to get a better look at the enormous bathtub.

  It looked like a giant bowl, one that was made of pure marble. There was no faucet or other sources of water leading into it, which I quickly discovered the reasoning for. Rowan held his open palms over the tub, whispering something under his breath. Watching in awe, I couldn't help but be impressed as clean water began to fill the tub. And, even better, it was steaming with warmth. Not needing his hands over it for the spell to continue, Rowan moved to several decanters full of luxurious soaps and poured two honey-colored bottles into the tub.

  Inhaling, I breathed in the smell of sweet oats and fresh berries that came to me, wafting through the steam. Rowan moved back, holding a hand out to help me. I let him pull me up and stopped before setting a foot into it.

  "Join me?" I breathed.

  "Eden, if I get into this tub with you, I won't be able to hold myself back. I'd break you, more than you already are. Let me wash you, and we will see how you feel afterward, alright?"

  Disappointed, I nodded and proceeded to enter the sinfully soothing water. Rowan took both of my hands and lowered me until my butt hit the bottom. Laying against the side, most of my body was submerged beneath a heap of bubbles. I let myself relax and enjoyed every sensation as the hot water absorbed into my bruised muscles.

  "How does it feel?" He questioned while pouring more soap into his hands and working it into a thick lather. I moaned a little as he began to rub it into my shoulders and upper back, moving down my arms.

  "It feels like heaven," I whispered as my eyes rolled back. His breath hitched as he moved his hands up my arms, and his knuckles grazed the side of my breast that was slick with soapy water. Moving on from it swiftly, he washed my hair and moved onto my feet which were a little worse for wear at that point. He didn't seem to mind scrubbing them until the grime had all been removed. When he had finished, he grabbed a fluffy towel from its perch and held it open in front of himself.

  I carefully placed my hands on the edge and lifted myself with the stealth of a ninety-year-old woman and let him wrap me in the fine towel. We shuffled back into the room where a silken emerald gown with a plunging neckline and strappy back awaited me on the side of the bed. I didn't question how it had gotten there; magic was always the answer here. Rowan didn't hesitate to grab it and helped me get dressed. Every brush of his skin against mine sent new waves of heat into my core. Unfortunately, my body was far too exhausted after the short trip to the bath. I climbed into the bed and let my eyes close. Rowan watched me the whole time, beginning to take his place in the chair once again.

  "Lay by me," I whispered with a yawn. Not having to ask twice, I felt his massive body climb into the bed behind me. Rowan drew the blankets over my shoulders and nestled his face against the nape of my neck. His warmth soaked into my blood, making me feel even more fatigued. My heart slowed as we lay there, just breathing in perfect sync. Sleep came for me, despite my fighting it.

  A hand slid over the skin of my thigh, causing me to gasp awake. The pain in my body had nearly gone completely, I regarded Rowan's eyes, which were gleaming emeralds as he looked at me hungrily while I rolled over to face him. Twilight had fallen outside of the windows, and the blaze in the hearth lit the room dimly with a soothing series of crackles and pops. I brought a hand up to caress the Elf's face and pull it against mine.

  Rowan kissed me intensely, his fingers dipping beneath the dress and up my hip. Realizing I wasn't wearing any undergarments, my heart fluttered. His lips tasted of desire, I explored the flavor with my tongue as my nipples stiffened, straining against the silk gown.

  "I need to be inside of you Eden, I can't wait any longer. Please, allow me..." He growled against my lips. I nodded in approval, my need was just as prominent as his own. Continuing to kiss and suckle at his lips, I moved my feet apart to allow him entrance. Rowan received my answer and pushed his hand between my thighs. Soaking wet downstairs, and panting like a dog, my chest heaved as he thrust a single finger deep inside of me. His breathing hitched at the feeling of my desire, which set fire to my passion. Moaning in response, I watched his eyes that blazed with the same desire.

  "You're so wet, so tight...so ready for me." He growled, becoming the predator hunting his prey once again. Driving a second finger into my folds, I gasped and let my head fall back in pleasure. He began to move them in and out slowly, expanding the need through my abdomen and thighs. With his thumb, he worked to tease my clitoris, nearly sending me over the edge.

  "Not yet, Witch." He commanded, removing his fingers from me and moving to where his head was between my thighs. I let them fall open,
fully revealing myself to him. There was a momentary lapse in his authoritative nature as he studied me. "Gods, you're perfect," he breathed.

  "I want to taste you, is that alright?"

  I bent forward without a word. Spreading my fingers through his thick curls, I took hold of his hair and guided his face exactly where I wanted it to be. He smiled up at me coyly and began to kiss my center with his soft lips. I moaned and arched my back as he flicked his tongue over my core, sucking on it lightly before replacing his fingers inside of my pussy. Waves of need washed over me as he got into a rhythm, stroking my slit and curling his fingers inside, just enough to hit the spot.

  "I want your release in my mouth," He said in a husky voice that sent another burst of moisture dripping from my sex. "Come for me, Eden."

  The sound of my name leaving his lips drove me over the edge. My body started to shake, sucking his fingers even deeper inside as I cried out in sheer ecstasy. His head dropped as he extracted his fingers from me carefully so that he could lap up every last drop of my lust. I brushed my fingers through his hair as he did so, only allowing them to fall back to the bed when he lifted himself to kiss me, the taste of my passion sweet and glossy on his lips.

  He let his body sink against mine, his kiss gentle as he took my lips between his, one at a time, sucking them softly. His firm cock pushed against my belly button making me gulp. He was huge. I wasn't sure I'd be able to take his full length. I started to reach down, to return the favor but a stab in my wrist stopped me. The familiar sensation disturbed me, this wasn't the place for a point to burn itself into my skin.

  "Wait," I said, moving out from underneath Rowan. "Something is wrong."

  Like clockwork, there was an urgent rapping on the door. I looked to Rowan in panic. He got up to answer the door while I righted my clothing. Azrael marched through the entrance that Rowan had pulled open, his eyes momentarily connecting with mine before he got down to business. I felt almost violated by his eyes, like he knew every detail of what had just happened.