Chapter 20 #2
He paused, letting me adjust to the size of him, but I couldn’t take this fire burning inside of me. I needed him to move. Grabbing his hand, I placed it around my throat. “Kieran, fuck me,” I demanded.
There was a pause in Kieran, as if his brain had short-circuited, and the air turned thick and electric. Those crimson eyes became dark and sinful. Static charged around us, snapping in the air. “Godsdamn,” Kieran groaned, his hips thrusting forward, losing all control.
I gasped at the roughness in his movements, pleasure skirting up my body when his hand tightened around my throat.
I could still breathe, though it felt more constricted, intensifying every move he made.
My walls fluttered around him, and I felt him thickening until I yelled out, my pleasure thundering through me, taking Kieran along with it.
The lanterns along the walls glowed, casting harsh shadows that flickered against the walls.
I slid through the darkness, sniffing in the air for my prey.
He wasn’t in his room like he was supposed to be, nor was he in Ambrose’s office.
I scoured almost every inch of the palace looking for him.
Snarling, I turned down the last hallway, my frustration building, my mind reeling.
There was only so much bloodlust I could handle before it became too much.
Stepping past a closed door, I stopped when the sound of a female giggling caught my attention. Sniffing the air, my lips rose in a vicious smile.
There he is.
He wasn’t alone, but that didn’t matter. I was a phantom made from the veil of the darkest night. His guest would only see what I allowed her to.
Slipping past the door, Lord Bramwell towered over the smiling female leaning against a table, a soft blush coloring her face while she played with the ends of her pale hair.
Bramwell’s finger slid down the side of her face as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
When the female nodded, her smile growing wider, Bramwell’s hand slipped slowly down her arm until he wrapped his filthy hand around hers.
Pulling her from the table, Bramwell turned toward the door. Tilting my head, I watched him as if he was moving in slow motion, pondering if I should make my attack here or wait and use this opportunity to stalk my prey.
I ran my tongue along my sharpened teeth, the thought of stalking Bramwell sending jolts of excitement through my veins. While my pent-up energy begged me to get it over with, to revel in his blood now, my skin tingled with anticipation for the hunt.
I let him leave the room. I allowed Bramwell to lead the female through the halls while I followed, obscured by the darkness of the night around us.
Rounding a corner, we passed soldiers guarding the entrance to the royal wing, where each of the lords was staying.
Door after door, it would be all too easy to end each of them tonight, but where would be the fun in that?
I wanted them scared. I wanted them to look over their shoulders, searching for the shadows that aren’t there.
Coming up to his room, Bramwell led the female in, kicking the door shut once she stood in the middle of his room.
I slipped in through the crack of the door, watching as he stalked to his drink cart, pouring a brown liquid into two cups.
The female looked around the room while Bramwell poured a powder into one of the drinks.
My brow rose, and I stifled my laugh. The piece of shit was going to drug her.
I moved beside him, watching him stir her drink, the powder disappearing into nothing, when he opened a drawer on the cart and pulled out a dagger. My lips thinned, anger making it harder to stay hidden within the veil.
When Bramwell turned to face the female, I pounced, letting my shadows burst from me in a cloud, blocking her from what I was about to do with this piece of shit.
I stood in front of Bramwell, his eyes widening.
The female screamed, calling out his name while she stumbled in the darkness.
His body trembled as he took me in, fear drawing the color from his face.
Dropping the glasses to the floor, he took a step back, breathing out a no.
Tilting my head, I smiled, feeling my claws lengthen by my side.
“No, please,” Bramwell begged, falling to his knees. “Please spare me.”
I laughed, the sound so cruel, and stepped to him, crouching down until we were eye to eye.
I brought my hand to his face, my fingers swiping across his cheek, my claws cutting deep into his skin as they went.
Bramwell whimpered from the pain, from the blood pouring down his face.
Bringing my hand before me, I pressed my fingers together, eyeing the crimson coating them, feeling the slick heat of his blood.
My tongue darted out, licking up the metallic liquid coating them, the taste awakening the darker part of my soul.
My eyes cut to Bramwell, his throat bobbing. The smell of urine filled the air before I lunged.
I screamed, struggling against the limbs that held me down.
My heart thrashed wildly in my chest, and each breath I took felt razor sharp.
I heard my name, the deep voices frantically begging me to calm down, but I fought against their hold.
Forcing myself to the edge of the bed, I vomited on the floor, my skin feeling cold and sticky.
The dream happened again, the smell of blood still filling my nose.
I heaved again, and hands gathered the hair from my face while rubbing calming circles on my back. Sitting back on the bed, I let my vision clear, then turned to face Kieran and Samian, their faces pale.
Samian had joined us sometime during the night, slipping under the blanket, pulling me to him while he pushed Kieran away. Kieran grumbled, but he moved closer, wrapping his arm around my waist. Now, Kieran was sitting on his heels, unsure of what was happening, though Samian’s chest rose rapidly.
“What was that?” Samian rasped, his voice hoarse, but I couldn’t answer him.
My eyes burned, fear tightening my throat, my panic quickly rising.
Samian crawled to me, pulling me to his chest to hold me tight as I fought against the tremors wracking my body.
Kieran moved closer, his body wrapping around us, his deep voice muttering calming words.
We stayed like that until my breathing evened out and my body stopped shaking.
Eventually, Kieran and Samian untangled themselves from me, their faces set in a grim resolve.
Closing my eyes, I swallowed down the nausea that rose.
I knew I was eventually going to come clean about the dreams and my conversation with Queen Cassia.
I even told Ivara that I would tell them, though the past few days hadn’t given me the chance to.
But it seemed today my hesitancy would have to come to an end.
“Sybil,” Samian breathed. “Tell us. Please tell us. What was that? It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real, like we were there.”
“I-I don’t think it was a dream,” I stammered. “This is the second time it’s happened.”
“The second time, what has happened?” Kieran asked carefully, glancing between Samian and me.
“A dream of me killing someone,” I whispered, swallowing back the bile that rose.
“The first time was in Thanlyl, wasn’t it?” Samian asked, his brows furrowing. “That was the fear I felt from you that night. You said it was a nightmare, but the nightmare was of you killing Lord Lowell.”
“It was,” I said, nodding my head. I breathed in a shaky breath, my hands rigidly gripping the hem of my shirt.
“I don’t understand,” Kieran said. “You were here with us the whole night. You couldn’t have killed any—”
Kieran paused when movement flickered in the corner of the room, and Salem sat, cleaning his face with his paw.
“It’s the shadow creature,” Samian swallowed, his eyes glued to Salem. “Your connection to the creature is allowing you to see its actions.” Samian turned back toward me, his eyes hard. “What are you keeping from us?”
I released a tight breath, my gaze bouncing between them. “The rest of the conversation I had with Queen Cassia.”