CHAPTER 11
Killian
Last night’s encounter with Aimee was another reverberant fiasco.
I’m trying my damnedest to break through to her, get her to take a second to listen to what I have to say, and maybe realize I am—we are—not as bad as she thinks.
But the insufferable Fae female is as strong-headed as a mule, and her tongue is sharp and wicked in such ways that it makes me want to bash my head against the wall, repeatedly, but it also makes my dick stand to attention painfully.
My attraction to her is not only physical, although she possesses that kind of athletic, yet sinfully curvaceous body that simply cannot go unnoticed.
And I noticed it from the get-go, especially in those bejeweled skimpy clothes she was wearing.
Her wide, lush hips begging to be grabbed…
Those strong, long legs I am already imagining clinging to my waist as I thrust inside of her …
The full, plump breasts that seem to want to escape any piece of clothing she cages them in…
No, my attraction goes beyond that sacrilegious body, or even that utterly beautiful face.
Every time she opens her mouth only to curse the very ground I walk on, my cold blood sizzles in my veins.
All I can think about is both worshipping and punishing her at the same time.
Her fierceness and bravery hit me deep in my gut, and I want to lower her guard, not only to uncover her sister’s hiding place, but to ravish her completely.
I’m baffled by the intensity of this maelstrom of yearning that hit me from no-fucking-where.
I’m not one to obsess over a female so easily, yet here I am, plagued by thoughts of her.
My shadows want her just as much, and I feel they’re calling even now, how they desire to wrap themselves around her silky skin, caressing, tormenting, pleasuring her.
I frown, remembering how she tried to punch me in her bedroom, and how outright terrified she was when I held her down on the bed. It was a knee-jerk reaction on my part, only meant to immobilize her long enough that she calmed down. Her utterly petrified response gutted me.
Something must have happened to her in the past, something debilitating enough that it would trigger such a reaction.
If I find out who scarred her in such a way, I will make it my sole purpose to make them wish they were never born.
I very well may be the vengeful villain that the Faes paint me to be since the dawn of time.
I pace my bedroom, waiting to hear from Nella.
She went earlier to bear another message to my latest fixation.
I’m yet again inviting her to dine with me, and this time there is no chance in hell I will accept another refusal.
I do not want to barge into her chamber again and have another confrontation that would frustrate me and my raging erection further, but if I have to, I will.
Time is not on my side. It never feels like it is, as of late. My kingdom’s fate hangs in the balance, and every day that passes without a proper plan to retrieve Aurora and convince her to aid us is another day closer to facing utter destruction.
Last night when Aimee intruded on us during feeding, we had just gotten back from hindering an attack on Dithrau. It took us several days to defend the city against the enemy, and we lost countless vampires, either killed in battle, or captured and dragged back far North.
Victory tastes sour in my mouth, knowing that each day, and with each vampire loss we endure, our adversaries only consolidate their power.
This time we were able to hold our ground in Dithrau and push the hordes away, but what will happen next time?
Because there will be a next time, and it might happen sooner than we are prepared for.
I feel caught in this endless cycle of defense, retreat, scheme, defend again, without actually making any lasting impact. Meanwhile, the enemy’s foothold in Wrahta only deepens, and without the Foretold One we’re all just racing against the impending doom.
I clench my teeth for what seems to be the millionth time today, my gums screaming in protest. If they overpower us in Dithrau, if they cross the mountains and reach the capital…
I shudder at that thought. No! I would rather die on the battlefield, taking all of them with me, than allow that sickness to spread to the rest of my kingdom, and further into the world.
A sharp knock resounds from the door, and Blaise strolls inside without waiting for my answer.
I roll my eyes at his actions. He’s not one to care about etiquette, or even common decency, most of the time.
Blaise is the type of vampire who does what he damn well pleases, when he damn well pleases, and he will laugh in your face if you point out his lack of decorum.
He abides only by his own set of rules, but he is too great of a warrior, and my most loyal brother, for me to truly care about his lack of remorse on such menial matters.
“I see you’re wearing your fancy black shirt. Any occasion in particular?”
Blaise takes a seat in the armchair perched by the open windows, cocking a brow my way. The frigid night air is blowing in the room, but it doesn’t bother us vampires in the least. It’s one perk of being what we are.
“All my shirts are black, Blaise. Don’t fuck around and tell me what you want!” I growl in response. I don’t have the patience right now for his shenanigans.
“So testy, brother.” He sighs in mock resignation. “You need a good lay, and I know an equally sexually frustrated Fae running amok around the castle.”
“Don’t you even start!” I bark back at him, even as my dick twitches in my pants at the mere mention of her. My shadows also perk up at the thought, flowing freely from my skin and pooling at my feet.
“Fine, fine! A vampire can’t even crack a joke around here anymore.” He grumbles before sobering up. “Reports came back from my spies, confirming Vladymyr’s identity. It’s him alright! His last known location is just one hour away from Dithrau. How do you want to proceed?”
My mind spins with that information. Finally, some good news!
If we can apprehend Vladymyr and bring him back for Leilah to torture and interrogate, we stand a good chance at uncovering the enemy’s command post. We must find out where the heart of their operations is based, so we can meticulously plan an attack once we fetch Aurora Vaureghain and convince her to help us.
“Prepare your warriors for the journey. I will join you to capture him alive. We leave after I finish my dinner with the sister.”
He eyes my perfectly normal, not out of the ordinary, black shirt again as if to say, .
“Speaking of which, any news regarding Aurora Vaureghain?” I ask in annoyance, trying to ignore his inquisitive stare.
“My spies have left a trail of breadcrumbed rumors in Vroni, and at the outskirts of Ibrok, that vampires have kidnapped her twin and hold her prisoner at the Vampire King’s court.
If she’s there, or if she has people there, she will hear about it.
It’s all a matter of time before she comes barging in.
” Blaise says in response, still observing my attire.
“Good.” I groan. “This better work out. I don’t know how much longer we have until shit hits the metaphorical fan.
And I don’t expect her to warm up to our side overnight.
It’s quite clear from her twin’s attitude that they were raised to believe the worst about us.
We have to consider the time we need to convince her to fulfill the prophecy with me. ”
“I’m well aware, Killian,” Blaise says nonplussed. “What both intrigues me and worries me to some degree is that Aimee doesn’t seem fond of her sister or her family. If there is bad blood between them, your plan might not work out as you want it to.”
“I’ve noticed that too.” I say, thinking back at my little umbra’s reaction the other day.
My thoughts pause a moment at that possessive self-proclamation.
Is she mine? I know I stated as such to her in the heat of our fight that night, but do I really believe that?
I shake the idea away immediately. Now is not the time to dwindle in such trivial pursuits.
My shadows churn at my feet in rebuttal.
“However, I am still not convinced that it’s not just a clever act on her part.
Her way of protecting her sister from what she believes to be an impending doom. ”
“Mmhmm,” is all that Blaise offers in response.
A soft knock comes from the hallway, and I immediately sense that it’s Nella, seeming quite giddy.
“Yes?”
She opens the door, stopping just shy of the entrance.
A small smile adorns her pretty human face, and I exhale a long breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
Aimee must have accepted my invitation. Every other night when Nella came to relay her refusal, she was frowning and slightly shaking, especially on that first occasion when she stammered out the message the Fae had given her for me.
Something about starving herself to death and ravens picking on her skin, if memory serves me right.
“I am most delighted to inform you, Sir, that my lady has kindly accepted your invitation and will be present for dinner shortly. I must hasten back to attend to her needs before the meal.” She performs a curtsy before leaving the room in a hurry.
“Make her look extra ravishing for our boy here, will ya?” Blaise hollers after her, and I throw a paper knife his way.
He ducks his head in time to avoid it, grinning slyly. “At last, we’re moving past the slow-burn tension of the first chapters, and diving in straight to the lewdness,” he whistles. “I was about to bang my head against the headboard in boredom, I swear.”
“You read way too much smut for a hardened warrior life yourself, Blaise. It’s unbecoming,” I say. Akaoridamn, whatever filthy lover of his, got him started on that specific genre. He was deviant enough already, without the added incentive of those dirty books.
“The ladies love it, Killian. You should take notes. Who knows, this old dog might even learn a new trick or two, to woo a certain Fae kitty cat,” he chortles, wagging his eyebrows at me.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now!”
Blaise jumps from his seat and stalks towards the door.
“Can’t wait for your mood to improve significantly after you pound her ass!”
His unperturbed laugh lingers as he exits the room.
I swear on Akaori’s name and glory, sometimes I wish I had left him to die in that ransacked village house where I found him six hundred years ago.