A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(30)

What was the plan after we defeated Azazel? We’d go back to The Shade, and I’d go on to study journalism? It all seemed so far away. I’d found more meaning in freeing the people of Eritopia, in saving my friends and destroying the evil that had corrupted a beautiful world. My whole ethos of being was gradually maturing as life revealed itself as much more complex than I’d initially believed.

“I don’t know yet, but I think we’re close to figuring this out,” Draven replied gently.

He made me smile, and I pulled his head closer so I could feel his lips on mine again.

“Either way, I’m so addicted to you that you’ll most likely be the end of me,” Draven chuckled lightly, while his hand gripped the back of my neck and pulled me upward for another delicious kiss.

This time, he kept it short and sweet, holding me close and filling me with ribbons of his golden energy.

“Do you feel this, Serena?” he asked, his lips against mine.

My heart vibrated in my chest. I gradually regained my senses and walked away from the edge where he’d taken me. I was buzzing with warmth, but I could feel something cold and sharp poking the back of my mind. I closed my eyes and tried to identify that emotion. I had sensed it before, just seconds before we’d kissed.

I breathed him in, a heady scent of musk and deep birch forests invading my nostrils and filling my lungs. It was fear that I was feeling.

“I feel a lot of things coming from you right now, Draven.”

“I’m aware,” he replied. “But I’ve yet to identify them all myself, even though they’re all aimed at you. What is it you recognize, from what you can feel?”

I took a deep breath, as he leaned his forehead into mine. His fingers caressed my face and ran through my hair.

“A bit of fear.”

“Indeed, Serena. It’s fear I’m feeling. The fear of losing you. The fear of never seeing you again…the fear of being unable to save you.”

“Don’t—”

“You can’t tell me to not feel this, Serena. I’ve tried. Believe me. It only gets worse, unless I embrace it. Which is why I’m here now, standing before you, nearly begging you to be careful and not get hurt or killed once we reach the dungeons. Do you hear me?”

I held him, nestling my head against his chest, enjoying his strong arms around me.

“I promise, I’ll do my best to not get hurt or killed,” I mumbled against his shirt.

He groaned, but before he could respond, Hansa’s voice shattered our bubble.

“Are you two okay?” She was standing merely five feet away.

Draven cleared his throat, and we stepped apart. His hand found mine and clasped it firmly.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, a little too loud and high-pitched.

“Good,” she replied. “Let’s move. We’re losing moonlight.”





Jovi





We traveled south on foot for several miles before we reached a nomad marketplace. Bijarki told me that merchants often settled in the riverbank areas in those parts, as many travelers crossed the region over the year.

“We’ll find some good horses there,” Anjani said, clutching her crossbow.

Bijarki led the group, while Anjani walked behind me. The jungle was green and lush in these parts, slightly more open, and had fewer marshes in between. We’d shot at some hungry shape-shifters along the way, but the road ahead seemed clear.

“The further south you go, the fewer shape-shifters you’ll find,” Bijarki explained. “The south is less feral, with more settlements. The wildlings fear the southern nations.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“It’s not just the incubi and succubi who carry these shifter-killing poisons. The Lamias are just as ruthless, and so are the imps, the Bajangs, and the Maras. They have very little patience for such perils in their woods, so they have decimated the shape-shifter population over the centuries, forcing them further north.”

“You’ve named some creatures there that I know nothing about,” I replied, suddenly chastising myself for not reading much during the couple days’ downtime I’d had back at the mansion. There must have been books there about these Eritopian species too.

“Don’t worry, Jovi. You’ll get to see them live once we reach the Sarang Marketplace,” Anjani said from behind.

I looked over my shoulder to find her grinning, as if she knew the ending to a good joke that she hadn’t shared with me. It made me feel uneasy wondering what creatures I’d run into at that marketplace.

“Eritopia is home to many different creatures,” Bijarki said. “The incubi and succubi are the predominant species, but there are also imps, Bajangs, Maras, and other subspecies in the far east. Then there are… Well, were the Druids, and the Lamias deriving from that species. The Dearghs are standalone, as are the Sluaghs. There were once storm hounds and gorgons, too, but Azazel killed them off.”

“Some of these names sound familiar,” I said. “But mostly the stuff of legends. Gods, monsters, heaven, hell, angels, demons.”

“From what I understand, our universes are connected, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a handful of our creatures found ways to infiltrate your world. You should tell us more about your home, Jovi, when this is all over,” Bijarki replied.