Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(51)

Viper shook his head. “It’s almost as if he just lay down and died.”

Styx muttered a curse. There was nothing more they could do.

It was time to turn the information over to someone who might be able to determine what happened.

“I think we’ve learned all we can here,” he muttered. “Let’s get out before the killer realizes we discovered the body.”

Viper led the way out of the cave. “This isn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped.”

Styx rolled his eyes. “It never is.”

Sally lay on her side with Roke spooned behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his face buried in her tangle of hair.

She felt . . . shattered.

Not just by the explosive bliss Roke had given her, although that had been enough to leave any poor woman dazed and confused.

But from the sheer intimacy of their connection.

Real or not, the mating had allowed the very essence of Roke to become embedded in her soul. She’d experienced his fierce hunger for her touch. His overwhelming delight in her simplest caress. And most terrifying of all, the unwavering devotion that fed his obsession to protect her.

No one had ever truly cared for her.

Even before her mother had discovered the truth of her tainted blood, the powerful witch had treated her as nothing more than a necessity. She was created to protect the world from an ancient vampire, nothing else.

And certainly none of her fellow disciples of the Dark Lord gave a shit about her.

She was an expendable commodity.

Was it any wonder she was floundering? She was desperately trying to squash the urge to bask in the warmth of his emotions, but it was like offering a buffet to a starving man. Impossible to resist.

Still, she wasn’t completely stupid.

This wasn’t destined to be a happily ever after and whoever said it was better “to have love and lost” was full of bullshit.

She’d endured rejection, betrayal, and actual torture, but she’d refused to be crushed by what life threw at her.

Now a voice was whispering that losing Roke might very well be her Kryptonite.

Plagued by her dark thoughts, Sally turned her attention to the first thing that caught her eye.

The box she’d left on the night table.

She frowned, studying the hieroglyphs that glowed with a silver light in the shadows.

Earlier, she’d spent hours running her fingers over the delicate carvings while she waited for her potions to brew. Her fascination had been more than just an appreciation for the beauty of the glyphs.

She was growingly convinced that she could actually understand what the box was trying to tell her.

Madness, of course. But she couldn’t entirely shake the sensation.

“You’re quiet,” Roke murmured, his lips nuzzling the side of her neck.

She shivered, startled by tingles of heat that darted through her.

It seemed obscene that such a light caress could make her melt with need.

With an effort, she fought the urge to wiggle her ass against his cock, which was already hardening in anticipation. She’d just accepted that sharing such intimacy with Roke was far too dangerous to her fragile heart. Did she want to make it worse?

Yes, yes, and double yes, a wicked voice whispered in the back of her mind.

“I’m thinking,” she forced herself to mutter.

He tensed. “Oh hell, that can’t be good.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The silver eyes shimmered with a breathtaking beauty as he swept his gaze over her face.

“I don’t want you trying to convince yourself this was a mistake.”

Keep it light, Sally.

There was no use in confessing that she was swiftly making a bad situation worse by tumbling head over heels in love with him.

“Don’t be a jackass this time and I won’t,” she said.

“Touché.” He grimaced, obviously recalling the last time he had her in bed. “Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

“This.”

Twisting out of his arms, she sat up and reached for the box.

“Not my first guess,” he muttered, reluctantly shoving himself up to lean against the headboard. “The glyphs are growing brighter.”

She kept her gaze glued to the box, knowing the sheet would have fallen down to his waist, exposing the bronzed beauty of his chest and the dragon tattoo that she’d so recently outlined with the tip of her tongue.

“Yes.” She was forced to clear her throat. “I tried to muffle them with another layer of magic earlier, but it doesn’t look like it’s working.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?”

“No.” She shook her head, her fingers tracing a glyph as the magic pulsed deep inside her. “I was studying it before I went to bed, and I could swear I—”

“What?”

“That I can decipher a few of the symbols.”

There was a startled silence as Roke stared at her in blatant confusion.

“You read ancient fey?”

“Of course not, but . . .” She struggled to find the right words. “It’s almost as if it speaks to me.”

“Shit,” he growled, his brows snapping together.

She flinched, startled by his intense reaction. “You think I’m going crazy?”