Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Merrill closed his eyes and dared to live in that perfect moment. The weight of Katla’s head upon his shoulder was satisfying. Calming , even. Weakness hadn’t put her head there. The dawning of trust had.
And it profoundly affected him.
He was surprised but pleased at the new development. Merrill felt the weight of her shame and guilt. The fear she had for herself and her magic. It was why he had pushed her before. There was strength within Katla , but she had to find it again. The truth had set her free of Villette and the valley but trapped her in new, destructive ways. And if they were to go up against Villette , then Katla had to find that strength again.
As broken and damaged as he was, she thought him trustworthy. He had made some questionable judgments and shut himself off from his family. There was no guarantee anything he did would help him face the horrors of his past. His brethren might very well have to hunt him down and kill him if things went as badly as he feared. But until then, he would protect and watch over Katla . His lids lifted, and he stared past the fire to the cave’s opening.
And destroy anyone or anything that dared to harm her.
Something was out there. What did it want? More importantly, which of them was it after? The Kings had plenty of enemies on Zora . Unless someone had seen him shift at Stonemore —and that was doubtful—no one should know what he was. Merrill turned his head incrementally and lowered his gaze. As for Katla , no mortal should know about her.
He listened to her even breathing as she slept. If someone was after her, they would have to go through him first. And nothing was getting past him. Not even the invisible enemy. Merrill looked at her hand resting upon her leg. He recalled how good it had felt to hold it earlier, how right. The urge to reach for her again was compelling. He could gently brush her fingers. It was a small touch. She would never know.
He cut off those thoughts before he did something foolish. The dark emotions he had let fester within him for too long tempted, cajoled. But he held firm. Barely . They roared through him like an uncontrolled blaze, demanding and directing.
Somehow , Merrill withstood it. Because if he gave in, if he dared even one solitary touch, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop. He would take all of her. And never let go.
He was drawn to her. Had been from the first time he’d spotted her. The sight had stopped him in his tracks. He had walked away then, never imagining he would see her again, but he had. There had been no stopping him from finding her after that. It would be worse if he let his desire take him now.
It wasn’t wise to be around her as he fought not just the past but also the growing darkness within that had already taken him once. She stirred his lust and hunger, but she also kept his rage contained. He knew what would happen if his wrath were unleashed. He couldn’t say for certain that anything would be different if he let loose his desires. Right now, it was enough that he was with her.
Merrill tilted his head and rested his cheek upon her head. When was the last time he had spent time with a woman like this? Just sitting. Being . Desire raged like a savage beast, but he wouldn’t taint Katla . She was different. Exceptional . And she didn’t even realize it. He had told her things he’d barely acknowledged to himself, but the words had flowed effortlessly past his lips. Something about being with her quieted his violence and quelled his ire.
The smell of the meat caught his attention. He raised his hand and turned his fingers, his magic lifting the rabbit—no, the ritbit—and flipping it to finish cooking. It would be done soon, but he wouldn’t wake Katla . He would keep it warm until she roused.
Dusk had settled over the land while he was deep in his musings. Those who craved the night were about to stir to live, hunt, and thrive beneath the moon. He should be out there scouring the land for whatever tracked them, but he was loath to leave this small slice of bliss bestowed upon him.
Merrill tried to rest but kept thinking about what was out there. He wasn’t keen on looking over his shoulder. He would rather face whatever it was head-on. Katla would demand to stand with him if he told her what he planned. But he had no idea what he might face, and he couldn’t stand the thought of her being harmed. Besides , if it was something he couldn’t handle, she could get word to the Kings .
He was about to move Katla when she sighed in her sleep and slipped her arm through his. Merrill froze. He should remain and enjoy the moment—it might never come again. The last time he had lingered in such indecision, it had nearly resulted in Villette killing the Kings . His heart may long to remain, but his mind knew he had to leave.
“ I’ll be back,” he whispered, gently laying Katla down.
Merrill climbed to his feet but hesitated as he stared at her. Then he walked out of the cave. Trees and the mountain were still distinguishable in the twilight. He looked skyward at the vibrant orange and red colors that melded. Stars were becoming visible. It was a special occurrence that bridged day and night. His mum had always called it the magic time.
He scanned the mountain’s slope below before checking to either side and finally behind him. There was nothing there to see. He had sensed it before, but he felt it now. The presence was heavy, aggressive. Instead of assaulting him, it vanished. Which only confused Merrill . What was this thing? It had trailed them, which meant it was sentient enough to know what it was doing.
Merrill made his way down the incline until he reached the bottom. If he couldn’t see this thing with his eyes, perhaps another of his senses could detect its location. He opened his hearing to pick up minute sounds, but there was no breathing or movement to distinguish. He breathed deeply and, for a second, caught a whiff of something. But it was gone too quickly for him to determine what it was.
He walked to the woods and strolled among the trees. It wasn’t for peace or solace but to find a better position. He stopped and faced the mountain, looking between two large pines to see the cave’s entrance. He remained there, watching. Waiting .
For something to come at him.
Or for Katla .
The minutes slowly ticked by, eventually turning into an hour. Then two. No matter how many times Merrill reached out with his senses, he detected nothing out of the ordinary. His instincts about something not being right had never been wrong before. And they weren’t wrong now, despite everything pointing to the contrary. Merrill had lived too many lifetimes not to know the difference.
“ I know you’re out there,” he said. “ What are you waiting for?”
He didn’t expect an answer, but there was a subtle shift in the forest’s energy to hostility. It was so slight, he might not have noticed if he hadn’t been searching for it. Once it registered, he knew his words had reached whatever was observing him.
Anger simmered in his veins. It wanted to unsettle him, irritate him. But it didn’t realize that it had woken the darkness within him. The more Merrill contemplated being followed by this unknown adversary, the more incensed he became.
“ Show yourself,” Merrill taunted.
He turned in a circle, searching the night. Suddenly , the insects went silent. Then he caught an odor. He drew it in deeply, letting the aroma linger. He detected a hint of almonds. Then , the aroma of dried wood. The last time he had smelled the combination was when some wine had turned bitter. Now that he had the scent, he could find the being. Without a doubt, this was the invisible foe.
Merrill turned to the left, where the smell was the strongest, and stared. “ Maybe you’re too scared to face me.”
The brutality and ferocity that blasted into him was all the warning he got before something collided with him. Merrill flew backward and crashed into a tree, his spine snapping as the impact bent him in half. Agony shot through him, even as he began to heal, before landing in a heap at the base of the trunk.
Merrill jumped to his feet and turned toward the stench. He gathered his magic but was pummeled again before he could release it. He staggered back with each strike, letting the entity get close enough to sense its location. Merrill absorbed the pain, allowing it to mix with the blinding rage rising inside him. Then he latched onto the entity.
He might not be able to see it, but the descriptions he had gotten gave him an idea of where to grab. And he had the fucker. If he thought it had been malevolent before, it was nothing compared to the belligerence that swarmed him now. It suffused his nose, his mouth, and his ears until he was choking with it, his head ringing. But he wouldn’t let go. Merrill hung on, shoving his fingers into it and giving back as good as he got.
It would take more than he had to end the entity, though. He opened the mental link to call out to Varek when something pierced his spine. He shouted in pain, his nerve endings on fire. He waited for his body to heal, but the agony never stopped.
Merrill bellowed Varek’s name but couldn’t feel the mental link. He tried to shout Rhi’s name aloud, but his vocal cords wouldn’t work either. Though the entity didn’t have a face, Merrill could’ve sworn it smiled. A trap had been set, and he had walked straight into it.
It was becoming harder to hang on to the entity. The pain was excruciating. It spread outward to his extremities, weakening him. He fought to hang on. He couldn’t let the foe go. He might never get another chance like this.
Merrill tried the mental link once more. Something prevented him from reaching out to the Kings . But he didn’t give up. Not when he was so close. All he had to do was reach out to his friends.
“ Varek !”
No sooner had he managed to shout to his friend than he felt another sharp prick in his back. Then two more in quick succession. His knees gave out. Merrill dropped to the ground, his fingers beginning to lose their grip. The more blood that flowed out of him, the weaker he became. He was no longer regenerating.
Something pierced his left side.
One hand slipped off. He clenched his teeth and dug his fingers in deeper, calling to the anger—even greeting the darkness within—to stay in the fight. But it was too late.
He grunted as something impaled his right side, sliding between his ribs and into his lung. It filled immediately. He coughed up blood as he fought to breathe.
As his hand tumbled from the entity, Merrill heard Varek shouting his name in his mind. He tried to answer, but the entity barreled into him.
And the world went black.