A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(43)

We were flying.

The air rushed against my skin, getting colder as we reached a higher altitude. The wind whistled in my ears. My core ignited, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I was soft against his firm body, and I relished every sensation.

“It’s okay, Aida. I’ve got you,” he whispered in my ear.

I felt as if I were in zero gravity, floating around as he flew with me in his arms. I held him tightly, my face nestled in the warm space between his neck and shoulder, struggling to control my breathing.

“You’re safe.” His voice seeped into my soul. His hands were firm and his grip unyielding.

I slowly relaxed against him. I learned to enjoy the weightlessness and the friction of cool air against my skin. It was delightful and scary and arousing at the same time. I felt my flesh melt into his and bit into my lower lip.

“I need you to understand something,” he said as he kept flying. “Even if you lose your ability to see, I will do everything in my power to amplify every other sense you have. If you do go blind, I will help you fly. I will make you feel things that others can only dream of.”

His words entered my soul and tugged at my heart, forcing a trembling sigh out of me.

I felt his fingers grasp the blindfold and pull it off.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring into two blazing turquoise gems. His beautiful face was framed by a giant pearly moon.

“Field,” I managed to say his name.

I wanted to tell him something, to express myself. But my words had abandoned me. All I could do was look at him, his lips barely an inch from mine. He moved and flapped his wings twice as fast as we spiraled upward.

The cold began to sneak into my bones, and my muscles tensed. Before I knew it, I was shivering, but I didn’t want any of this to stop. I clutched him and abandoned my defenses in his arms. I felt my lips part, and I watched as he licked his, his gaze softening and burning into my soul.

A concerned frown threw shadows over his face.

“Your lips are getting blue,” he said slowly.

But I wasn’t really listening. I wasn’t feeling anything, other than my blood simmering in my veins. How could I be cold, when he had set me on fire?

I felt his hand travel slowly upward along my spine, his long fingers splayed and gently pressing into my muscles. The sky around us, riddled with myriads of stars, shifted as Field turned to descend. The air got warmer as we got closer to the jungle. He was all I could see.

My body glued to his, I instinctively pressed my hips forward to get even closer to him.

He tightened his grip on me, stifling a groan while his fingers dug into my flesh.

I could feel his rapid heartbeat echo in my chest.

The sound of wings flapping somewhere in the distance broke our stare. A hiss traveled through the night sky, and we both looked to our right.

We were just above the jungle trees when we spotted a flying group of Destroyers engaged in a tight turn as they headed in our direction. My heart stopped, and I held on as we dropped beneath the giant purple foliage. The obscurity of the jungle enveloped us as Field landed on one of the lower branches of a gnarly tree. Its crown was thick and dark enough to keep us hidden.

He leaned with his back against the trunk. My foot slipped. My legs were too soft for me to stand on my own. I gasped. He caught me before I fell and held me. I held my breath and closed my eyes, waiting for the dreaded sound of Destroyers flying overhead.

We were too far away for them to see us, I told myself.

My heart thumped in my chest. Field had a firm grip on my hips, while my palms rested on his rock hard chest. His lips pressed hot on my forehead. He said nothing as the Destroyers flapped their wings and hissed at each other while they passed above us.

We listened as they faded into the distance, thankful to have spotted them in time.

We looked at each other, finally able to breathe. Shadows moved around us, rustling the leaves just a few yards away.

“Destroyers are getting quite close to the mansion,” Field whispered, then looked up. “Even with that protective shield, I’m not comfortable with that idea.”

I nodded, unable to formulate a coherent thought. I’d been taken on an insane emotional rollercoaster, from the ground to the sky and back down to the jungle. I’d experienced excitement, exhilaration, desire, delight, and horror. We’d narrowly escaped a run-in with Destroyers. I was exhausted.

I leaned into Field. I rested my head against his chest and felt his arms wrap around me once more. I held on, and he flew us back to the mansion. The flap of his wings coaxing the wind to take us back to shelter soothed me.





Serena





I woke up the next morning with a mix of anger and determination fueling me. Aida and Vita were still sleeping when I slipped into the shower and let the cold water wash over me, as if removing the last traces of doubt from my mind.

I needed to speak to Draven. He’d spent the whole of yesterday deliberately avoiding me after we heard Vita’s visions of the future. I had to speak to him, to understand what we had to do next.

I put on a soft blue summer dress, a simple design with long sleeves. I wasn’t sure where I’d find him at this early hour, but my True Sight brought me in front of his study door. I took a few deep breaths and walked in without bothering to knock.

Bijarki and Anjani stood by his chair, while Draven warmed himself by the fire. It was blazing hot in there, and I began to regret my decision to wear proper clothes with sleeves. I could feel beads of sweat blooming on my forehead and down my spine.