A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(65)

There was so much pain in his voice that it hurt me to hear it. He had suffered enough, helpless on the other side of the wall. I responded to his embrace and sighed with all the air that my lungs could gather and moaned softly against his broad chest.

I had missed him. I had missed his strength, his hardness, his soft voice.

He pulled back to look at me, his eyes blinking black, his gray irises glimmering with a mixture of pain and happiness and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. His gaze softened, and his lips crashed down on mine. He kissed my mouth hard, then my cheeks, my forehead, the tip of my nose. He dropped a hundred kisses all over my face, settling over my lips again for a deeper experience.

I opened myself up to him and took it all in.

“I’m so sorry, Serena,” he whispered between kisses. “I was foolish to think I could live without feeling you in my arms, against my skin, on my lips… Please, forgive me.”

I burst into tears. I was so weak; my knees gave out as he held me up. Thirst, hunger, and a million other feelings all crashed down on me at once. I gripped his shirt and cried into his chest, letting it all out—all the pain, the anguish I had felt in his absence, the grief I’d experienced in front of imminent death, all of it. I breathed it all out, sob after sob.

“Don’t leave me again, Draven,” I whimpered. “Don’t push me away like that again.”

He groaned and scooped me up in his arms. I felt so light and limp.

I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes.

I was finally free.





Serena





I passed out as soon as Draven picked me up in his arms. They shook me back to consciousness, enough for me to eat a few pieces of bread and drink some water. I fell asleep after that.

I peeled my eyes open a few hours later. I was lying in a makeshift bed of animal furs with soft leaves underneath, a fire burning close to me. Bijarki had set up camp inside one of the caves that the Dearghs had offered us for shelter.

I saw him sitting by the fire next to Anjani and Draven.

I tried to move, but I was too drowsy, so I decided to keep still and listen. My body was weakened to the point where not even food or water could help. I’d have to syphon off someone soon to regain my strength.

Draven was looking through the book, amber flames throwing a playful light against the shadows beneath his cheeks. I felt warmth flowing through my body at the sight of him, my heart blossoming and expanding like a star, burning everything in its path.

“From what I can tell,” he mused while flipping the pages, “the spells are incomplete. I get the feeling that the three books that the swamp witches made work together or don’t work at all.”

“So, they’re useless if taken separately,” Hansa concluded, chewing on a piece of dried meat.

“Indeed. The witches were the brightest of Eritopia for a long time before Azazel found a way to wipe them out,” Draven replied.

“In that case, we need to go back to my tribe and get the second book.”

“We need to get there fast, though,” Bijarki interjected. “It’s a long walk from here.”

“The Dearghs can give us some of their horses. They run wild all around the mountain,” Hansa replied.

Draven glanced over to me and saw me awake. His expression softened, and he set the book aside and came over to check on me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low.

I gave him a weak smile, and he lay down in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wondered what Hansa and Bijarki were thinking at the sight of us. Draven held me tight, and I relaxed against his body, feeling his heartbeat against the palms of my hands.

“I’m not letting go of you again, just so we are clear,” he whispered and dropped a hot kiss on my forehead.

“I feel weak,” I mumbled.

He looked down at me, concern drawing a frown on his beautiful face.

“You can feed off me, Serena. I need you at full strength.”

Our eyes met, and I felt my soul open up before him. I cupped his face in my hands, giving in to the sentry hunger, and drew all the energy that he offered. Ribbons of gold flowed into me, replenishing my body better than any slice of bread. I felt all of Draven pouring into me. Warmth and affection filled my chest. I closed my eyes.

I tasted bliss as I drifted off to sleep.





Serena





I woke up fully refreshed and feeling ready to take on the whole world. Draven’s seemingly endless supply of heady and sunny energy had brought me back to life and had even given me an extra kick, like a cup of deliciously hot coffee.

We galloped through the jungle, riding the gorgeous mustangs that the Dearghs had summoned for us. They were graceful creatures with incredible strength and stamina, and they seemed to fly across the many miles between Mount Inon and the Red Tribe.

It took us a few hours, but as the sun settled at the highest point in the sky, we saw the limestone wall about a hundred yards away, that little bit of swamp witch magic that kept the succubi camp hidden from the rest of the world.

My horse raced graciously alongside Draven’s, and we occasionally glanced at each other, exchanging a thousand unspoken words along the way. Whatever I was feeling for him, it would only get stronger. His energy was addictive. His touch sent me spiraling toward ecstasy each time. I craved the feeling of his lips on mine, and I relished each gaze he directed at me. I swooned over the man he was, his strength, his insecurity, his knowledge, and his power. I adored how we delighted and annoyed each other, how the smallest of moments could draw us even closer to one another.