“Nice to meet you,” she squeaked.
My skin prickled as Dommik appeared at my side. I stole a glance at him, noting the contrast between his serious gaze and soft smile. Like he couldn’t decide which mask to wear.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Talia,” I whispered. “May I have permission to touch your shoulder?”
She nodded timidly as if no one had ever asked permission to touch her before this moment.
“Hold very still,” I said softly, raising my hand to her shoulder.
“Hold still for wha?—”
Her voice evaporated as I fell into the vision. I winced as shards of disjointed memories flew past me. Fragmented scenes of Talia’s life containing shining rocks and jewels appeared, offering themselves, but I didn’t linger long. This wasn’t a normal vision, and I didn’t know quitehow I was doing it but I was muddling through and selecting memories, like I was touring a hall of portraits.
Dommik had been right. There weren’t many moments where Talia had seen a stone like the one he’d described. Colors bled in my periphery as I reached the final memory. The whirling scenery stilled as I found myself in Talia’s body sitting in someone’s lap. Her back rested against a broad, muscled chest, her knees spread wide by a pair of legs underneath her. The stranger’s fingers fumbled with Talia’s nipple underneath her tattered clothes, the pleasurable sensation upstaged by a delicious burn radiating from her neck.
Gasps escaped our mouths together as I relived the memory with her. This was…ecstasy.
The hand dipped lower, beneath the fabric, finding Talia’s wet and wanting entrance. My pounding heart synchronized with hers as fingers teased at her pulsing bud.
My physical body responded to the sensations and I had to fight to stay within the memory. The most notable being the terrifying immobility as Talia was fed on. We were entranced, paralyzed to experience the erotic sensations and pain in a confusing tapestry of sentiments.
The stone. Find the stone,I coached between the building waves of pleasure.
Talia’s eyes fell shut, but not before looking absently at a large oak desk. The surface was littered with items. Papers, quills, trinkets, coins. And a book. Just one. With a black spine. And a title that stuck with me.
The Source.
“I found it.” I moaned as I rode the memory of Talia’s orgasm.
The stranger’s grip increased, holding her tight as they pulled her life force from her neck. My mouth fell open wider, a synchronized scream escaping both of us in the small space. I couldn’t get back to my body. The vision collapsed, sending me to the unforgiving floor as I lost consciousness.
Chapter 26
Prepare Yourself
Step. Step. Step.
I kept my eyes focused on my feet beneath the oversized gray robes. The tapping of my sensible chambermaid’s shoes echoed a clanging melody in time with the chain secured around my throat. I was like a canine being taken for a walk. And my handler, none other than Commander Dommik Thorne.
He sported his full regalia. Black, custom-fitted leather armor from head to toe. Beneath our hooded robes, our two-person parade drew little attention amongst the debauchery we passed in the halls of the Northern Hive.
It was almost too easy. Moving past the small group of dwellers who erupted in a chorus of cheers and groans as a pair of dice revealed a winning—or losing—roll. Strolling by a female vampire complaining that the male fucking her against a stone wall wasn’t trying hard enough.
The activity in this Hive was constant, a perk to the sun-avoidant citizens living in an underground community versus their above-ground Southern Hive counterparts.
Dommik never looked back. Never checked on me. It would have given him away. We took a right down a corridor that was much less inhabited, walking with purpose and keeping to ourselves.
Step. Step. Step.
“Nearly there,” he threw a low whisper over his shoulder to me.
Another left followed by a quick right. Down a set of stairs and we were standing in front of Eryx’s office.
This was too easy,I thought.
Dommik made quick work of picking the lock and as he pushed the door open, I asked, “Is it strange that there isn’t a guard posted?”
He ushered me through into the dark space. “Most wouldn’t be stupid enough to break in. Mercy is a once-in-a-century practice under Eryx’s rule.”
