Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
I’m getting sick and tired of this fucking wild goose chase. Scratch that, I crave the chase—the hunt. However, it’s the idiot who won’t stop yapping that’s making this whole task unbearable.
“I haven’t been outside the camp in nearly a decade.
” Camp? He’s acting like it’s somewhere we all sit around a fire and sing songs about the fates.
“It’s crazy how kingdoms look so different from each other, but they all still work.
It’s like we’re traveling to completely different realms, but it’s all the same.
” He drones on, acting like some fucking grove nymph who gets hard at the sight of tree bark.
“Not even just the scenery, the changes in the weather—”
“The sun didn’t set that long ago. We can still cover a decent amount of ground.” Even as I say it, it sounds ridiculous. Surely there should be an easier way to travel.
“Seems unfair the prisoner has a dragon at her disposal. She could be across the realm by now, for all we know,” I state, trying to nonchalantly think out loud.
“Lucky bitch. I would kill to be off my feet.” He’s apparently forgetting I had to carry his ass for five miles.
“Can you pick up the pace? Or do you have any other suggestions that would help us get where we need to go faster?” I’m hoping to appeal to his weak side, disoriented enough that he might just slip up.
“Of course,” he says, like I’m an idiot. “The most obvious answer would be portals, but we’re not cleared to do that. And on the rare off-chance that someone has w—” He catches himself, stopping mid-sentence, and halts his next step.
But I hang on every single word.
Portals. I internally berate myself for not thinking of that, remembering that. A sharp pain, more brutal than all the ones before, takes purchase against my temple. “Fuck,” I spit out, falling to my knees.
The portal forms silently behind her as she stands in the street of my town. Ripped clothes, hair skewed, and completely unbothered by crusty blood covering her skin. Despite all of it, she’s still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
“Where am I staying?” she asks, the events of the day finally taking their toll. I’m shocked she didn’t assume it would be with me, and quite frankly, it’s hilarious she thinks there’s any other option.
“With me.” My tone is definite, which should leave no room for discussion. But it’s never that simple—not when it comes to her.
“I don’t think so.” The quirk of her eyebrow causes annoyance to bubble in my stomach. “I’d rather take my chances with Benny and Donni.”
Anger pulses beneath my skin, traveling through my veins at a blazing rate.
The sudden change in mood makes it a little more difficult to keep the inky tendrils from licking up the distance between us.
“That won’t be happening.” I can see her wheels turning, hear the profanities she wishes to hurl my way.
Just when I think that’s the end of it—how naive of me to think this would be anything less than excruciating—she folds her arms across her chest.
“I’m not staying with you.”
Fists clenching at my sides, I attempt to keep my cool, especially with the growing crowd around us. I keep my voice low, narrowing my eyes at her as I grit out, “Yes, you are.” Oh the way she pushes me—challenges me. Unfortunately for her, I’m not one to back down.
The portal grows a bit bigger, wind swirling until it’s just big enough. I ignore the zap that sparks as my fingers press on her shoulder, and I relish in the look of shock painted on her face as I push her through to the other side.
Lazily, I follow close behind, stepping over her stunned form and keep moving deeper into the house. The portal closes instantly, snapping shut and seamlessly disappearing like it was never there. Only then does the weight of the unwanted stares and too loud whispers finally alleviate.
My eyes dart around the house with each step, ensuring nothing is out of place. It was hard giving up my life, but the decision was easy. It didn’t matter what it was. I would’ve done anything to keep that raven-haired, green-eyed princess safe.
Speaking of, I can hear her rustling around the living room, and I know it’s only a matter of time before she wanders this way. Rushing down the hall, I check to make sure the nearest door is secure.
Even now, there are still secrets better left buried.
Satisfied that she won’t be able to access the room, I silently speed through the shadows until I’m standing directly behind her, trying to see what beauty she sees through her emeralds.
“This is your home?” She sounds unconvinced.
I lean down, my lips just a hair away as my breath skates across her nape. “Obviously.” Goosebumps scatter at my voice.
“So about that shower…” I love being inside her mind, still in tune to all the thoughts she refuses to let free.
She follows me down the hallway and immediately becomes mesmerized by the wall of glass—just as I knew she would.
She deserves to admire beauty, be sucked in by the place that was always meant to be her home.
And oddly enough, I hate to tear her away from it, but there’s something even better waiting for her in the bedroom.
Foolish of me to think that’s where we would stop next, but it’s unsurprising that she would be interested in the one room off limits, but I’ll use any excuse I can to get her wrapped up in my shadows—which is exactly what I have the pleasure of doing, because she’s stubborn, and it’s the only way I’ll be able to pry her away.
Not that I’m complaining.
Kallie, on the other hand, won’t stop thrashing, screaming, yelling as I pull her the rest of the very short distance.
Not that I expected anything less.
Reaching the door, I only take a moment and allow her to walk in first. She hesitates, which I anticipated—always so cautious—but after she walks over the threshold, I knew her reaction to the crystal-clear panes on the ceiling was going to be memorable.
And just like that, the memory fades. The pain in my temple dwindles down to an almost nonexistent ache. Eyes wide, I pitch forward, landing on the heels of my palms, grappling, searching for more, shuffling through the hazy files in my mind to continue the story—or even begin a new one.
But there isn’t a single fucking thing. Just a bunch of pieces that don’t belong together…or maybe they do. I can’t make sense of any of them, but I want more.
She was in my home, my space. Those feelings were like ones I’ve never felt. They were more than strong. It was magnetic, a force pushing us together that not even I can understand. But it was there. It was real.
“Doing alright?” 306 asks, startling me. I’d completely forgotten he was here. Standing abruptly, I brush myself off and face him. But when I do, he thrusts his hand behind his back.
“What’s that?”
He pulls it out, acting like hiding it wasn’t weird in the first place. “I just realized it’s time for your dose.” He fiddles with the bright-green syringe. “Commander gets angry when we miss them.”
“Funny, I don’t recall ever seeing you have a dose,” I point out. “Besides, there’s no way it’s time.” Tingles sprout along my shoulder blades with my growing suspicion, but I ignore it.
“I’ve had my share, believe me.” I don’t. “The longer you take it, the more frequently you need it.”
But I don’t need it.
Yes, I do.
No, I don’t.
Yes, I…
“I don’t want it.”
“You don’t have much of a choice.”
That provokes a laugh from me. “Oh, and are you going to make me?”
He takes a step forward, narrowing his gaze. “If I have to.”
A wicked smile spreads over my lips. “I’d love to see you try.”
The ground rumbles, and the surrounding trees shake as he pushes his power forward.
My shadows burst from my body, floating in wait for my next command.
The tingles on my back grow faster, more persistent, and it’s slightly pulling my focus away from the task at hand.
Inky smoke slithers through my veins, ready to be unleashed.
My senses sharpen, coming alive as I hone in on 306. I’ve missed this, the action, and not just prowling around the realm or keeping the prisoners contained. Something to finally get my hands bloody is exactly what I’ve been craving.
306’s attempts are pathetic at best. Tree branches mark my flesh punishingly but nothing compared to what I’ve already endured.
“Come on, at least act like you have a fighting chance,” I taunt.
There’s a branch that sneaks past my defenses, slow and silent.
It bends at his will, acting fluid, like one of my shadows, and wrapping around my throat.
It takes nothing to snap it between my hands, but apparently, that was only to serve as a distraction.
The main attack happens right below my feet.
The soil crackles, and the ground caves in on itself until it’s a giant gaping hole ready to swallow me.
I try to roll onto the stable surface, but he anticipates that and wields a branch to smack me straight in the face, knocking me into the crater.
“It didn’t need to be this way,” 306 states from the top. Stars dance in my eyes, the throb returning with a vengeance after hitting my head on the rock-hard ground.
The tingles on my back morph into sparklers, setting my muscles ablaze. I close my eyes, pushing my palms into the side of my skull as images flash behind my lids.
My mother. My pops. Kallie with them both in my father’s bakery.
It shifts to the Demicrogen hunting on my land, searching for Kallie.
Glass shattering, stars high in the sky.
Kallie with Voraxis—the sheer panic I felt when I took her to see the dragons the first time.
Little did I know she was meant to be there all along.
Crystal-clear waters and a breathtaking view come next, like a still photo to capture Kallie’s beauty for eternity.
Then that night. The night, the moment when we came together.
All the walls were finally demolished, nothing separating us as we became one.
The feel of her fingers gliding along my wings, knowing in that moment she had given me her heart, her soul, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
The fleeting moment, the one that didn’t last nearly as long as it should because I could’ve been immersed inside that moment for the rest of time and it never would’ve gotten old.
Because Kallie, draped in my arms as we flew amongst the stars, stared up at me and whispered, “More than all the stars in the sky.” The vision sends a pang through my chest, knowing everything I put her through, even though it was out of my control.
Raging fire erupts on my back, becoming too much, like my skin is trying to rip itself to shreds.
My onyx tendrils lash out, striking 306 as he nears the edge.
His body hits the ground, and I brace myself against the hard soil.
With a brutal scream, there’s a familiar weight hanging below my shoulders.
Heavy and sturdy, like a foreign body part just attached itself to me.
But it’s like second nature. With a mind of their own, they flutter closer to my peripheral, and everything snaps into focus. The pain in my head ceases, all of the memories I’ve lost come to the forefront, and terror settles deep.
Pushing off the ground, my wings carry me up the rest of the way, flapping like they’ve never been dormant.
Pure, blinding rage removes the clouds once covering my vision, pushing them away until the taste of revenge coats my tongue.
When I land, all that comes to mind is ending this pathetic prick’s life, feeling it drain by my hand, feeling the last beat his heart pumps.
The moon illuminates the forest floor, showcasing 306 crawling on his hands and knees now like an insect at my feet.
Chest heaving, he moves faster than I anticipated and injects me with that fucking serum.
I expect to fall, succumb to the sleep it always puts me in, but it never comes.
I begin to think I’ve beaten it, that now I’m immune to its effects.
But that’s just wishful thinking.
306 must have the same thought, because before I can move out of the way, he stabs me with another dose, and I fall forward.
As my eyelids get heavier, 306’s form becomes a blob standing above me. I can’t help but smile softly, knowing I’m going to come back, and I’ll get out of this mess and be on my way to Kallie. My little fighter.
My mate.