Black Moon Draw(90)

Her face glowed, even in sleep. Naia was curled up on her side, clutching a pillow, her dark hair spilling over the pillow.

He did not deserve to touch her, not last night, not now. A victor deserved a queen.

A coward deserved death.

If he was not able to find another way to do the impossible and save the woman who held his heart, then he would die trying.

Placing the boar’s head over his own, he turned away and strode to the door, determined to find the Desert Knight of Brown Sun Lake among the changing maze of the castle.





Chapter Twenty Two





Totally. Worth. It. I had no idea sex could be so consuming and offer so much pleasure, both physically and mentally. Atreyu was more than I expected, almost too much to handle at points, reminding me in honeyed growls to trust him and submit, no matter what he asked me to do or what position he put my body in. He takes the word obedience to a whole new level.

I have absolutely no regrets. The moment my eyes open in the morning, I crave him with inhuman yearning.

Stretching luxuriously, my utter contentment is interrupted only by soreness in muscles I didn’t know existed before last night. It’s light outside, and a cold breeze sweeps into the bedchamber. With a delicious shiver, I pat the bed beside me, expecting to feel the warm skin coating his ripped body. I’m ready for another round of his voracious appetite to warm me up.

He’s not there.

I sit up, happiness turning to alarm. It’s the last day of this world. Reality returns and my chest grows tight.

He’s not anywhere, and the boar head is gone, along with his weapons. I can think of one reason for that – that he found a new battle to fight – but don’t have any idea what he might be planning to do after his utter desolation last night.

If I know men, it’s probably something really stupid. What happens if I don’t see him again before this is over? If we end up wandering lost through the mazes of the castle up until sunset?

Uncontrollable fear smashes into me. I scramble out of bed, dress clumsily, and quickly summon the outhouse. My inner thighs tremble too much for me to keep my thighs together and newly discovered muscles in my pelvis and abs making me yowl aloud at one point.

I won’t get far without stretching and take a few precious minutes to do a simple, ten-minute yoga routine, scowling and whimpering all the way. It’s like getting fat. It feels so good doing it, but man does it hurt when you’re trying to do things differently. Thank god I’m flexible or I’d have torn something last night.

I’d do it again every day for the rest of my life. My breath sticks in my throat. It’s not just my core that aches for him; it’s my heart, too. My stomach is twisting with fear and dread, the butterflies that have plagued me since we met are frenzied this time, terrified I met my true love, only for me never to see him again.

Spurred by such thoughts, I hurry to the door and open it, stopping in the doorway. It’s light outside with the sun ball in the middle of the sky, visible through the center window in the bank of seven along the far wall.

The hallways, however, remain dark, cold, foggy.

Dangerous.

I shudder and creep back into the room. “Anyone wanna turn on the lights for a lowly battle-witch?” I call softly into the scary hall.

Torches spring to life to my right. I frown. It’s not like I gave them directions on where to take me. Does that mean . . . what? I’m about to be dropped into a maze? Wandering blind? Trusting the curse – the one about to kill everyone – to guide me, since Atreyu made it clear he isn’t in charge of the magic that brought me to him?

“I don’t have a choice,” I whisper. “I need to find him. Don’t let it end like this, LF.”

Nothing changes. I instinctively check my hand only to find my palm blank.

’Tis because no woman has ever touched my heart the way you have.

I groan as I recall the fiercely whispered words. I’m panicking for a different reason – one tied to the idea I may have somehow lost him already. It’s a nauseating thought, one that spurs me to blast full force into becoming the woman I need to be.

No doubt, no hesitation, no holding back. Fiction or reality – this is my life, and I want him in it.

I sprint. “Take me to him!” I cry, not caring who or what is in charge of the maze at this point. I run through the hallways, one step behind the next torch that lights up. They lead me up and down stairs, through hallways with no doors and hallways with doors that reach the forty-foot ceilings, past windows I don’t stop to look out of and on and on.

Too soon, it’s difficult for me to breathe and even harder to lift my heavy legs.

I swear to god – after this adventure, I’m taking up some cardio. This is ridiculous. I was never meant to be in a land with no elevators or cars.

Assuming there is an after. At this point, I don’t need a happily-ever-after. I’ll settle for the sun rising tomorrow, no matter what kind of mess I have to clean up, so long as he’s alive.

Shit. I’m forced to slow, unable to breathe fast enough. Pausing in a hallway, I watch torches down the hall flare to life and rest my hand against the wall. I suck down deep breaths until I’m ready enough, and then take off again, chasing the torches, driven by the thought that the one man in any world who makes me want to live is in danger.