Chapter 35
Avilyna
FORGOTTEN PEACE
The feeling creeps up on me again, pulling my eyes toward the trees, but there’s nothing there.
“You’re the rightful heir. That alone is reason enough to keep you hidden.”
I narrow my eyes, looking back at him.“What makes you so sure?” How could he know when I’ve spent my whole life questioning who I am?
Kai shrugs, that half-smile playing on his lips. “Like you said, we’ve crossed paths before. Call it intuition, Princess.”
I hum, biting back a smirk. “So you’ve known all along, huh?” His nickname’s never been just a joke. Kai meets my gaze more softly than usual, no bite, and something… almost like longing, all the confirmation I need.
“And what other reason will it be justified to hide me away?” I ask, voice low and a little challenging.
“Some people grabbed power when the valkyries disappeared. No heir, no one to stop them. And once you get a taste of power? You do whatever it takes to keep it.”
I hold his stare, “So this stays between us.”
“Yes, for now,” he confirms. “As I said, power changes people. Until we know more, this is a secret.”
I swallow hard, voice cold. “Why are you helping me? For real this time. If I’ve shared my shattered pieces, I deserve some of yours.
” I might be selfish, right now, but I refuse to be the only one exposed.
Letting my guard down has always ended up being a mistake.
Except with Vanessa, but she’s not here, and doesn’t even know how deep in shit I'm in. And I’m not even sure she’d stick around after this, if there is an after.
Kai’s eyes darken, and he looks away, jaw tight.
“It was my birthday,” he says quietly, voice distant, guarded.
“All I wanted was a moment of peace, a day to remember them. It’s only been a year since everything…
I just wanted to visit her grave, sit by his, and draw what I wished the day looked like.
To hold onto the pieces of them I still had.
” He pauses, the weight of the memory pressing down on him. “But he didn’t see it that way.”
I stay silent, careful not to break the fragile cocoon that lets him open up.
“He said it was weakness,” Kai continues, voice thick with something like anger.
“That soldiers don’t have time for sentiment.
That I was dishonouring their memory by grieving instead of getting stronger for them.
” His hand clenches involuntarily. “He took my sketchbook, tore it up and told me to stop being a child.”
My heart aches.
I reach out, resting my hand gently on his arm. Kai meets my eyes, raw and open, and it takes everything in me not to hold him.
“He said I needed to be stronger, that emotions were a luxury I don’t deserve.
” He swallows hard, voice dropping to a rasp.
“And then… he made sure I understood. Taught me a lesson I couldn’t forget.
” He lifts his hands, and for a moment, they tremble.
“That was the day I learned what it meant to be his son. And I never cried again.”
The scars on his palms are brutal. Deep, uneven gouges that cut through flesh like torn earth.
The wounds never healed right, the skin twisted and ridged.
For a lycan, healing is instinctive, effortless.
But these wounds were different. Forced to stay open, again and again, as if someone was fighting nature itself.
“Since that day, I don’t leave any sharp tools near my art supplies.” The silence that follows is heavy, thick with the unspoken understanding between us.
Kai reaches up, lifting my chin so our eyes lock. He studies me for a moment, but I don’t pull away. If anything, I want to nestle into his palm, to soak in that quiet warmth, and show him that he doesn’t have to hide, not from me.
“But the moment that smart mouth of yours fired back and put me in my place… The weight felt a little less crushing.” Kai holds my gaze, then takes a slow, steady breath.
“You feel like home. Like a forgotten peace, around you, I can finally breathe.” He leans in, resting on his left arm, while his right hand slides to my thigh.
Anchoring me here, in this moment, not lost in some forgotten whisper. “That’s why I am helping, Princess.”
At last, he finally answers my question.
“Thank you for your shattered pieces,” I say softly.
The quiet stretches between us, warm and comfortable. His hand lingers on my leg, burning gently through the fabric, branding I don’t want to fade.
“What do you think we were to each other?” I ask the question slipping out before I can stop it.
Kai shrugs. “No clue. I know you were Wyll’s little sister’s best friend, and your brother was my brother’s best mate. Looks like we ran in the same circles.” His blue gaze holds my stare warm, the pupil dilating.
“You feel like home too,” I whisper and something shifts, my words shattering any barriers.
“Fuck it,” Kai growls.
In a flash, he’s on me. His hand slides beneath my knee, pulling me firmly onto his lap.
I settle against him, straddling his hips, my heart pounding as a war drum.
Kai’s rough grip is on my ass, possessive.
The other hand is tangled in my curls, holding me tight.
A low growl rumbles from his chest as he drags my face toward his. And our mouths crash together.
No hesitation.
No softness, just raw, starving hunger.
Kai’s hold tightens; a whimper slips out of me. He doesn’t waste a second and slips his tongue inside, claiming me.
Swallowing my cries.
Moving in a fierce, tangled dance of lips and teeth, leaving me breathless, drunk on the sharp mix of mint, tobacco, citrus, and something coppery.
My hand tugs roughly at his hair, while my tongue trails along his neck, leaving goosebumps behind.
Hips rolling instinctively, meeting his hardness, and craving more.
“You’re gonna be the death of me, Vi,” Kai murmurs against my lips.
He lets go of my hair and grabs me with both hands, pulling me closer. Rolling his hips, sending a scorching friction through my leggings, doing nothing to slow me down. I moan, loud and unashamed, lost in the fire he’s lighting inside me.
“You’re fucking beautiful, Princess, especially when you sound like that for me.
” His lips trail down my neck, biting harshly at my jugular before marking a path to my chest. I shyly explore him, while Kai devours me, greedily, desperate for anything I’ll offer.
Without warning, he rips my shirt apart, exposing me in my lacy black bra.
“Kai!” I protest, indignantly.
“That’s right, Vi. Scream my name.” His mouth clamps down on my nipple, sucking hard through the sheer fabric.
And I obey, my protests lost in the heat.
The contrast of his warm tongue on the sheer fabric and the cool night air sends me spiralling.
Kai alternates between my breasts before pulling the material down, leaving me bare-chested under his fierce gaze.
His hips move slowly and deep, and we’re drowning in lust.
“I think I am,” I breathe, throwing my head back as Kai keeps his rhythm, thumb joining in, pushing just right over my pants. It makes me gasp as the pressure builds. The sharp sting to my nipple is quickly replaced by a grip that steals my breath.
“Be a good girl and come for me, Vi,” he growls, tightening his hold on my throat.
“Just for me.” His grip cuts through every thought, fear, doubt, and control, leaving me weightless.
Until a storm of pleasure hits me, the spark shooting down my spine.
Gasping, Kai crashes his lips onto mine, grounding me with the taste of salt and fire.
“Holy shit,” I exhale when he finally frees me.
“There’s nothing holy about what I want to do to you,” Brackwell growls, bringing his forehead to mine, lost in the sound of our breathing.
Finally, having regained a somewhat normal state, Kai pulls me up with him. I realize then that my shirt is shredded. But before I can protest, he’s already tossing his leather jacket over my shoulders.
“Thanks,” I whisper, suddenly shy.
“Let’s go, Princess.”
“But what about you? We can go to my room,” I offer, looking down at my feet, but his hand lifts my chin, forcing me to meet his sinful gaze.
“I don’t need anything. You coming undone for me, because of me, is enough.”
And just like that, I want to be on my knees for him.
“What if I want to?”
Kai’s eyes darken. A slow, predatory smile flashes, revealing his sharp canines. His strong build flexes beneath his t-shirt, the hunter, no doubt, and I’m wet again.
But then the strange chill from before seeps through my bones, leaving me shivering. I glance over my shoulder toward the trees. Nothing is amiss until I spot a tall silhouette in the shadows. And it’s growing, getting closer, larger.
Kai notices the shift in me. Following my gaze, but just before he can see what scared me, the figure vanishes. Instead, a black raven flies out of the tree. It perches itself on the hood of my Jeep.
Neither of us moves.
The bird’s piercing emerald eyes lock on us, sharp and knowing, sending a chill down my spine. This is no simple raven. As the realization settles, the air shifts, as if all the warmth got sucked out of the night.
“Don’t move,” Kai murmurs.
But the corvus doesn’t care. It swoops fast, talons aimed right for his head. Kai ducks just in time, as a rough croak cuts through the silence. The bird circles above, eyes with a deadly shine.
“Avilyna. Bike. Now.” No question, I jump on the engine, no time for helmets. Kai follows suit, leaping on it before we’re tearing through the trees. The branches scrape us as the raven’s cries from above, a warning. The forest swallows us in no time, losing sight of the corvus.
Once we’re clear, Kai slows down, and I finally let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Good thing he’s the one driving because I can’t see shit, and that’s seriously adding to my nerves
“What the hell was that?” My voice is rough, shaken. “That was no regular bird.”
Kai’s tone is all Corporal, “ A vampyr.”
I blink.
“Aren’t they supposed to turn into bats?”
“Bats, cats, panthers, ravens, anything black, anything nocturnal. Once they choose a form, it’s permanent.”
“Why?”
“Shadow powers.”
I swallow. “And sunlight burns them?”
“Exactly.”
“And they drink blood.” Kai nods again. I log all this information in as we zoom through the wooded trail toward the veil.
We pull up to the manor by a path I never knew existed. Lifting an eyebrow, the question hangs in the air.
“It’s glamoured,” Kai says, his voice dropping low.
“A back door. In case things go sideways. You never know when you’ll need to disappear.
” There’s weight in his tone, not just caution, but knowing, experienced.
Sharing this isn’t small, I know trust isn’t easily given; in this world, it’s a gamble, a weapon.
Muffled music greets us, growing louder as we slip into the backyard. There are people everywhere. I reach for my back pocket and realize my new phone’s gone.
Great.
So much for a little distraction. Thank Kvirr, I have new books waiting, because I’m not in the mood for a party.