Chapter 28
The Ancients searched until they found artisans of great skill.
First, they bade a lapidary find a perfect piece of amber, which was set into a gold ring.
Second, they hired a silversmith to fashion an elaborately decorated cup.
Finally, they commissioned the crafting of a lute made of the finest rosewood.
—OLD ONES, ANCIENTS, AND THE FOLK
She loves you,” Thea said, her throat thick with emotion at the thought of what Azra had sacrificed to be near her son. She lived in isolation in a dreary world where discovery would mean her death.
“Yes.” Damon’s lips twisted. “She didn’t deserve any of what happened to her.
The worst part is, because she once loved Erebus, she cannot leave this realm without his permission.
He doesn’t know she’s here, but Prospect would be alerted.
And either way, the curse is still upon her.
She would sicken if she left. My mother found that out when she tried to escape once. ” He let out a long, slow breath.
“Some of your shadows guard her island?” Thea asked.
He nodded. “I leave the strongest and most loyal ones there. They even help to catch fish for her, and to gather firewood. I bring her fabric and she sews.” He looked at Thea as if worried she’d accuse him of selfishness. “Not for my sake. That was her trade before my father… She’s talented.”
“Incredibly so. Both as a healer and tailor,” Thea said, drawing a proud nod from Damon. “But because of that prophecy, you think you’ll have to sacrifice her, your own mother, to defeat your father?”
Damon turned back to the fire. “I have never cared about anyone else. Well…” He turned to look her in the eye. “Until I met you.”
Thea’s breath caught in her chest, a lightness filling her as warmth spread to her hands.
Could he truly feel so much for her in such a short time?
They barely knew each other, after all. But she’d felt a connection to him from the moment they’d met.
She reached out and placed her palm on his cheek, another burst of warmth coursing through her as his eyes fluttered closed.
“I wish we had more time,” he said, his eyes opening to stare deeply into hers.
“So do I.” Her mind turned over their situation quickly, trying to find a solution. If she couldn’t tell people about the shadow realm, surely Damon could. And if not, well, they could at least enlist some allies in this fight.
“Come with me to Thirstwood. We’ll get word to my sister and ask for access to the library in Welkincaster. I’ll explain on the way.”
“Prospect can tell whenever someone uses a root to enter or leave this realm,” Damon said. “He’ll know where we’re going and he’ll follow. At this point he’ll have orders to bring me to my father for punishment. And he’ll bring you back, too.”
Thea cursed roundly. Another obstacle. Another problem she didn’t know how to solve. She was drowning in a terrible sense that they were running out of time. She had never felt so much protective anger without any outlet. Normally, she’d love a good fight, but suddenly she felt exhausted.
“You need rest,” Damon said, his eyes sharpening with concern as he noticed her expression. “Take my bed for a few hours.”
Thea wanted to refuse, but she was falling asleep on her feet. “Maybe for an hour or two. But only if you rest, too.”
He didn’t argue, but smiled fondly at her frown. “I’ll sleep by the fire.”
Thea looked around. There was no other furniture but a wooden chair and an animal hide on the floor. She took his hand, enjoying the slightly rough texture of his skin, its warmth and strength. “Your bed is so large, I wouldn’t even know you were in it. Share it with me, Damon.”
He moved close, and the spice of his scent filled her mind.
She wanted to taste him. His lips touched hers, moving lightly, tenderly.
He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close.
As she pressed against him, touching her tongue to his lips, his hands moved to her waist, then her back, clutching her closer.
Yes. This was what she wanted. His unbridled intensity. His need. His truth.
Their kiss was deep and long, tasting each other until Thea pulled away for air. As he pressed his hands tighter to her back, her ribs ached and she winced.
He immediately pulled away, shaking his head as if clearing it. “I’m sorry.” Taking her hand firmly, he tugged her toward the bed. “Enough, Thea. You’re in pain.”
“There’s more than one way to deal with pain,” she said with a wicked grin. “Trust me, I’ve tried quite a few of them.”
He lifted a brow at her, an uncertain look entering his eyes. “I suppose this is what jealousy feels like. I dislike it.”
The prince of shades who has charmed so many, jealous? She placed her hands on his cheeks. “No need. My eyes are only for you right now.”
“If I had my way…” he said, looking away from her, his expression one of longing.
She waited, nearly holding her breath out of curiosity. What did he want from her? What were his hopes?
He cleared his throat. “Best not to talk about the future.”
Disappointment mixed with relief. She had no idea what he might have said, but perhaps it was best if she didn’t know.
“I agree.” She put her arms around him, and his lips returned to hers. He took steps backward, pulling her with him. She broke the kiss as he sat on the bed. He pulled her into his lap.
“If you wanted me in bed, you only had to say so.”
“You will be in the bed,” he said firmly, his rapid pulse beating in his neck. “And I will be on the floor.”
“Don’t turn heroic now, Shadow Stranger.
What good is that?” She met his overly serious gaze with a wider grin.
“Is that really what you want?” She angled her head and hovered her lips near his neck, enjoying the satiny skin over corded strength.
She pressed a kiss there, smiling as he sucked in a breath.
When she pressed another kiss to the spot where his neck met his shoulder, he groaned.
His shadows had started moving around her, like cats who wanted to be stroked. Thea wondered if Damon noticed.
His hands came to her upper arms, holding her away. “Thea. What if it’s my magic making you feel this way?”
She pulled back, meeting his eyes. “I thought you said you weren’t using it.”
“I’m not,” he agreed, his brows pulled together. “Firmly holding it in check as far as I know. But what if I’m not always aware of it? What if I want you so badly the magic is out of my control?”
She knew for certain that wasn’t why she wanted him. She had learned to sense his magic. Meeting his father had made her even more aware of the charm and how it felt when it was being used on her.
No, it was Damon that was making her feel this way. “The magic isn’t out of your control. Think, Damon. Does longing usually make you lose control of your powers?”
“No,” he said, relaxing a fraction. “The only thing that makes me lose control of my power is…” His eyes shifted to hers, assessing.
She waited, wondering if he would trust her enough to tell her.
“Being trapped,” he said in a low voice. “The fear that goes with being trapped, feeling as if I’m being buried alive. When I was in the cave, I lost control. I was a gibbering mess by the time Prospect came to pull me out.”
Nausea turned her stomach at the thought of what he must have endured, feeding the blaze of her anger toward his father. “What are the consequences of you losing control like that?”
He stared at the middle distance. “The trees outside the cave started to wither. For a week or so afterward, my charm seemed to come out in waves without me realizing it. I went above a few days later, and even the creatures of the forest were enchanted. A fox followed me for a while before I realized it was charmed, too.” He frowned, one of his dark brows lifting. “You’re laughing at me.”
“You’re comparing me to a lovesick fox. I can’t help finding it funny. Don’t you have a way to know when a woman has succumbed to your magic? Some way to test the hold you have over her before you ask her the crucial question about whether she wants to return home?”
His expression turned serious, his lip curling as if he found the idea distasteful. “I have never… tested to see if anyone was thoroughly enthralled.”
“I mean, when they were willing to…” She nodded her chin to indicate the bed.
Damon pushed her away from him, only an inch or so but enough to make her pull in a breath as it jostled her aching ribs.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, his eyes showing regret as he cradled her closer again. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. But…” He cleared his throat. “You think I took them to bed.”
She gave him a questioning look. “Well… it’s logical to wonder.”
“Never,” he said, looking disappointed in her. “How could I? They were not acting of their own free will.”
Relief coursed through her that he’d never crossed that line. Still, he couldn’t be absolved of everything. “But after the ninth night, you presented them to your father, who turned them into silver trees.”
“Yes.” He took a deep breath, a faraway look in his eyes. “I know.”
It reassured her that he didn’t defend nor try to excuse his actions.
His lips were drawn tight, his eyes downcast. Thea felt his tension and guilt.
And though he needed to feel those things, she didn’t like to see him lost in them.
She put her hand inside the collar of his shirt, watching his eyes dilate.
“There is something about you that draws me, even if I despise the things you’ve done. ”
He closed his eyes.
“I also have a father who is…” She hesitated.
She still didn’t feel right condemning her father to an outsider.
“Harsh and unbending. I know what it’s like to try to live up to someone with greater power than yourself.
I’ve nearly killed myself more times than I can count doing things to impress my father.
” She blinked, surprised she had said that.
A strange doubt had come over her lately, a suspicion that some of her beliefs were not as unshakable as she had thought.
She wondered if some of her bedrocks were made of sand.
“You admire him,” Damon observed.
“I used to want to be exactly like him.” She shrugged. “Maybe I started questioning that need to please him when I first came here. I don’t know. But I don’t want to be as much like him as I once did. As you don’t wish to be like yours.”
“If I let that go, I let go of any hope of making this realm bearable. Any hope of saving people from falling into it. Any hope of saving myself.” He wrapped his finger around a lock of her hair, tugging gently. “Any hope of happiness.”
“Not necessarily.” She put a hand to his cheek. “You have his shadow powers. I have strength, determination, and I can enlist my sisters. Not to mention my father’s forest magic if we can convince him to face your father instead of running. He seems almost… scared.”
“No one has ever challenged my father here. Not even Noctua, not even when he has broken vows. There is some pact that protects him. Maybe that’s why he almost never leaves this realm.”
“What if he hadn’t come for my mother?” Thea asked. “Could she have avoided him?”
“She would have sickened and eventually died. If what my father says is true—though I am starting to question his claims—her spirit would have ended up here rather than going to the Netherwhere. But Thea, you have to rest. Please. Get some sleep.”
Seeing his implacable determination, she sighed and moved from his lap, crawling on hands and knees to the head of the bed where fluffy pillows beckoned. A groan from Damon made her smile. He must have turned his head to watch her, seeing her body through the filmy fabric.
“I will sleep on one condition.” She turned the covers back, a black quilt edged with fur. She patted the space next to her. “You have to sleep in the bed with me. Not on the floor. You’re no good to me if you’re exhausted tomorrow.”
He rubbed his face. “You are determined to torment me.” Sighing, he dropped his hands to his lap and looked at her with his starry night eyes. “Fine. I will sleep in the bed. Sleep, Thea. I do not take advantage of young women in my realm. Not even the one I want above all others.”
She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. Her Sylvan senses told her he was indeed being truthful with her about wanting her above all others. And the rest of it, too. He wanted her. Badly. That was good. Because she didn’t know how long she could go without having him.