A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(29)

Zur and Inon nodded.

“We heard the Destroyers as they returned from the northern mountains. They were quick to boast about how they had wiped out the entire Red Tribe,” Zur said to Hansa. “Little did they know then that the Red Tribe survived, for here you are, standing before us.”

She looked up at the stone giant and grinned.

“It’ll take more than a handful of snakes and worms to kill this succubus, Deargh. Don’t you forget that!”



Half an hour later, the invisibility spell was ready. Hansa was checking our supplies and weapons, stocking up on poisoned arrows by dipping their tips in the purple toxin she’d brought from the mansion. I was filling up the water bladders for the road while Draven was busy sharpening his knives, when he looked up, his gaze finding mine. He stood up, took my hand and pulled me away from the center of the grassy plateau, leading me to the edge.

We were slightly obscured by darkness, as the camp fire’s light faded with the distance. Before I could open my mouth to ask what this was about, Draven wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him, his expression firm.

I felt his heart thudding in his chest as he tightened his grip on my body.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” was his reply.

“Then why did we stop?”

“Because I might not get to tell you what I want to tell you later.” His voice was low and raspy in my ear.

My breathing accelerated as I felt his lips on my neck. His mouth moved upward along my jawline, until it found my lips and ravished me with a hungry and unapologetic kiss. I lost myself in the moment, grateful for a few minutes in his arms. Draven’s hands gripped my hips and pulled me closer, beckoning me to feel every hard line of his body.

“I need you to be careful, Serena,” he said hoarsely, breaking the kiss for a moment. “I simply can’t fathom the thought of you getting hurt on this mission, and I need you. I desperately need you to make sure you come out of this alive and unharmed. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you, Draven,” I whispered, my breath ragged, and my lips tingling for more.

I raised my hands to his face, cupping it firmly. His words plucked invisible strings in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, our bodies melting in a long embrace. I realized I’d started having a hard time picturing my life without him in it. The thought was frightening, because I’d never been so close to someone before. But, at the same time, my whole being was exhilarated by him.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to keep myself away from you, and I can feel you going through the same thing. Your body and your soul talk to me in ways I’d never thought possible, and I…” He drew in a breath. “I want to hear the whole story,” he whispered. His lips moved down my neck until they reached my collarbone.

“I’m still trying to figure out the whole story, Draven,” I replied.

My heart pounded, and I wanted to tell him everything that was weighing on me in that moment, especially the idea of never seeing him again. He belonged in Eritopia. He was fighting Azazel so he could free his home, restore order, and lead it back to prosperity.

Where did I fit in? What would happen if we defeated Azazel? Did we mean enough to each other for one of us to follow the other into a foreign world, or would it end here? And if the answer to whether we meant enough to each other was yes, which of us would be the one to leave their world for the other? These questions had started to eat away at me since Mount Inon.

“Tell me,” his voice trickled into my ear, his breathing heavy.

“I don’t belong here in Eritopia. I’m from a different world,” I sighed. “But, at the same time, every time I see you, everything makes sense, and I don’t feel like a stranger anymore, like there could be something here for me other than death and cruelty.”

I was telling the truth. My body and my heart were pulling me closer to him. I loved our debates and even our arguments, and I looked forward to peeling back another layer of who he truly was on a daily basis. I enjoyed the discovery, and he surprised me every time.

Each time he looked at me, and I lost myself in his gray eyes, it all disappeared, leaving just the two of us standing in front of each other. There was an invisible line connecting us, ribbons of our souls intertwined and tugging, yearning for more. All the contradictions went away, leaving only Draven and me together.

He took me in his arms and held me tight, breathing against my neck. I could feel his heart beating frantically, resonating with what was going on inside my own chest.

I was beginning to consider the idea of a different life from what I’d been accustomed to. Even a different home. In another world. Draven had changed me in ways I’d never thought possible, and I was starting to think that what I felt for him was too deep to relinquish when this war was done.

“What are we doing here, Draven? What am I doing here, with you?”

As giddy as I’d been at the concept of nobody seeing us so close to one another, I disliked being unable to see the look in his eyes. All I had to go on was his labored breathing, the thudding in his chest, and whatever I sensed in him with my sentry abilities. It all spoke of something similar, if not identical, to what I was feeling.

And it all pointed to a four-letter word I was afraid to pronounce. I’d only read about it in books and seen it in my parents. I’d never considered feeling it myself. I’d had other ambitions to focus on—a career in journalism being my priority. Still, Draven had managed to stomp into my life and change my perception entirely, to the point where all my previous plans seemed superficial.