I stare into his bottomless pools of jade wisdom and see no sign of treachery. Only ancient pain and loyalty. He would give his last breath for me, the soul bond avows that. I don’t fathom how or why I would ever deserve such fealty.
“Tell the humans to commence the trance ritual. I shall prepare them for the battle ahead. Their army is now yours, Omri.”
“Thank you, K’haram,” I say. I take a step closer to him and caress the side of his neck again, reveling in the velvety feel of his sable scales, smooth like a dream yet deadly like the most wicked blade if the need arises.
“After you unearth Ereshkygall, I will come join you in Wrahta. The humans will be ready to begin their journey to the continent. But I will not wait for them. My place is beside you, Omri. Always has been.”
He speaks in such a peculiar way; confusion coats my brain. But his allegiance is too precious to me, to us, for me to dwell on his oddities. There are so many aspects of this prophecy and the past that I still can’t grasp with my mind.
“How will you know when to come?” I ask.
“We are connected now, Omri. You are in my thoughts, just as I am in yours. No matter how great the distance, we shall feel each other. We will hear each other.”
I nod in understanding. “Farewell, K’haram.”
With one last look at the terrible beauty before me, I turn and address the humans.
“K’haram supports us, our cause, and vows his allegiance, and yours. He awaits you to drink your vials now. He will explain further. We will see ourselves out, as I’m afraid we have to return to Sangeries immediately.”
They silently accept my explanation with a slight bow of their heads, and I lose no time in leaving the caves, Killian hot on my heels.
“What the fuck is happening, umbra?” he asks, bewildered.
“We’re finally going to get some answers from a fucking Goddess, Killian.”
Chapter 14
Killian
Imightbemadeofdarkness, but I’m not one to be in the dark, ever.
So as I chase after Aimee up the stairs that lead away from the Temple of the Desert God, I feel a storm brewing inside me, one I hope I can contain before it decimates further the already crumbling foundation of trust between us.
She kept secrets from me.Again.
I was right to expect her to keep betraying me. As they say, fool me once…
But what if I’m exaggerating?Again?
I try to shake the nauseating thought away, because if it’s correct, then it would mean I solely fucked up everything between us. And I’m not sure I’m ready to face that.
“Aimee, stop.” I grab her upper arm, halting her hurried steps. “What is going on? You can’t expect me to chase after you without knowing what we’re doing?!”
“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing, though?” she says, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow and staring pointedly at where my fingers circle her biceps.
“Umbra…” I growl. “I don’t think you understand how dangerous these games you’re playing with me truly are. Don’t awaken the beast of prey. You will not like it.”
Her gaze narrows until I can barely discern her golden irises beneath her heavy-lidded slits, and she bares her teeth at me in an attempt at intimidation. Granted, she probably would make a lesser male piss himself. But if my throbbing dick is any indication, her anger is a potent aphrodisiac for me.
“Don’t. Tell. Me. What. To. Do.”
I lean in closer, grazing my fangs against her neck, followed by my tongue lapping up at her pulse point.
“I’m going to tell you exactly what to do, little umbra, and you’ll do it, like the good fucking girl you are for me.” I press my erection into her thigh, close to her center, letting her know just how hard I am for her.
Her narrowed eyes crinkle further for an instant, before the fire of her fury dies out, getting replaced by something darker, something depraved. A carnal hunger that plagues us both, no matter what we do, or how hard we try to stay away from each other.
There’s a sense of fucking inevitability in this stolen moment right now, and I wonder if we’re not too great a force not to clash every time.
