Dark, p.9
Dark, page 9
I must have hesitated a moment too long because Kazimir brought the finger to his lips, nostrils flaring as he inhaled and sucked the icing from his finger, emerald orbs trained on me. “I still remember how you taste.” His voice grew husky, and I nearly dropped my cinnamon roll as he ensnared me with his words. “The most divine wine I’d ever tasted. I could drink from you for hours.”
My core heated under his unrelenting gaze. “Kazimir, I–”
He shook his head, interrupting me. “Eat. I have things to say.”
Warily, I brought the treat to my lips, taking a smaller bite as I waited for his next words.
He braced his forearms on the table, flexing his fingers before exhaling and shaking his head as if to clear it. “When Ruslan tore you from my arms, I felt like an absolute failure. I’d broken my promise to you, to always keep you safe. My father told me with his dying breath to go to you, my mate. I went out of my mind that night, pushing Fek to his absolute limit as we raced through the woods surrounding Vaenor seeking you. I’d have given my life to see that you were never chained again, and I worried for you every day, because I knew being bound again would end in your death. I vowed to myself, to my father, that I’d save you again. I was too thick-headed to see that we were mates before that night, and I’d give anything to travel back in time and accept our bond before you were kidnapped again.” His throat worked, and he looked at his folded hands before returning his intense gaze to me.
The roll turned to ash in my mouth, and I barely managed to swallow it down around the guilt lodged there. “Kazimir, there’s something you need to know.”
His dark brows pinched together. “What is it?”
“Have you heard the Goddess’s Prophecy?” I reached for a napkin to wipe my fingers, freeing them of frosting.
“I have. The Goddess spoke to us on the day of the funerals at Este Castle.” Kazimir leaned forward, his attention wholly focused on me, and the air dropped a dozen degrees around us.
“The original language of the prophecy called for two mates.”
The words were like a fallen glass between us, shattering the tentative peace we’d formed.
Kazimir growled, a sound so low it was barely audible, but it sent goosebumps across my skin all the same. His fingers dug into the table so hard the wood splintered, and onyx flashed across his eyes. “I will not share you with that motherfucker.”
I shook my head, leaning back to free myself of Kazimir’s space and throwing up an invisible mental shield to block out the rage he emanated. “I must choose one.”
If my first words were like shattered glass, those four were like an explosion. Kazimir shoved to his feet, knocking his chair and the table behind him over with the force of his fury. His fists landed on the table in front of me with a thud that made the tray jump, and he towered over me, mere inches from my face. “Then you will choose me.”
My body tensed as I prepared to fight for my life. I was a survivor, and more than that, I was an insidious bloom, and my thorns were well hidden. I reached out a tentative hand, placing it atop Kazimir’s and siphoning away his anger, so subtly he did not notice. The natural progression of his breathing indicated it was working, until he shook his head then backed away and straightened the mess he’d made. “I’m so sorry, Izidora. I don’t know what came over me. You know I would never hurt you.”
But he had, in fact, hurt me the previous night.
Was it intentional? Or was he so crazed from our separation that he no longer had a grip over his actions? Or was it something else, something connected to this new, sinister oiliness that had arrived with him?
It was time for my questions to be answered.
“I have some things to say of my own,” I pronounced, sitting taller in my seat and puffing out my chest. Kazimir resettled in his chair, lifting a cinnamon roll to his mouth and taking a bite.
“I think you manipulated me to get what you wanted. You planted the idea of taking the throne in my head, telling me that King Zalan would marry me off the second we arrived at Este Castle. You used my feelings for you to get what you wanted, and that is not okay.”
Kazimir only chewed, not denying my accusation. I ground my teeth and continued. “I told you I did not want children, and yet you did not provide me with contraception, or even tell me that was a possibility. Why?”
His eyes widened a fraction before he schooled his face again. I reached a tendril of my magic toward his mind, sneaking through the ropey cage, and was met with a flash of his desire to impregnate me. I recoiled, bile rising in my throat, and fisted my cloak in my hands.
“Are you going to say anything?” I snapped.
He placed his roll on a plate, then wiped his hands before speaking. “My love for you is why I encouraged you to take the throne. Why is that such a bad thing?”
“Because you made me think it was my idea! I couldn’t read, and my only contact with Fae outside of my guards and keepers was you and the Nighthounds. I trusted what you told me, but as it turns out, I shouldn’t have trusted a word you said. Now answer my other question.” How could he not understand what a massive betrayal all of that was? I was ignorant, naive, and relied on everyone to tell me about the world. In fact, my entire world had been them once they rescued me. How was I supposed to know what I didn’t know?
Kazimir ran a hand over his face, releasing a heavy breath. “This is not how I wanted our date to go.”
“Well, this is how it is going. I can’t move forward with my choice until I get some answers,” I hissed.
“You are mine, Izidora. You always have been, and you always will be. From the time you were born, you’ve been mine. I scoured this continent for you. I fought for you. I lost friends for you. You are my mate.” His voice broke on the last word, and he captured my arm, dragging out my hand from beneath the table and holding it. “I love you, Izidora. Is that not enough for you?”
The plea in his words softened the wall I’d thrown up between us. “It’s not enough when the fate of the world rests upon my choice,” I whispered, the weight of that decision settling across my shoulders like the heaviest of fur cloaks.
“What can I do to show you that I’m the right choice?” Kazimir was nearly begging, his desperation evident through our physical connection, and that tug that pulled me to him vibrated with anxiety.
“I don’t know,” I breathed, my eyes pricking. It was the truth, for something had changed within him, throwing everything I thought I knew about which male was the dark and which male was the light into question. It was apparent that something dark had risen in Kazimir, too, during our separation, just as the Goddess’s Prophecy had described my mate doing. Both Ruslan and Kazimir now held threads of dark as much as they held threads of light. In truth, both of them were shades of gray, which only made interpreting the prophecy that much more difficult.
“I want to follow the light, whatever that means. But there is something sinister swirling around you, Kazimir, and I do not like it,” I finally said.
That darkness flashed across his eyes again, and a muscle feathered in his jaw as if he was clamping down on something trying to crawl up his throat. A moment later, it vanished, and the male who’d rescued me from the cave returned. He blew out a long breath. “I will show you, Izidora. Give me time to show you, please.”
I closed my eyes, blocking out the pain written across his face. “I will make my choice in the next few days,” I announced. “So far, I don’t see how I can choose you. Do whatever you think you must to prove to me that you are the light.”
He leaped to his feet and crossed the table, embracing me without warning. I stiffened under his touch and did not relax until he’d stepped away. “I have no doubt that I will.”
I skirted around him and walked to the front door. “We should get back for the archery competition.”
He did not protest, following me like a wraith as we pushed through the crowded streets and returned to Mistik and Fek. As we retraced our path through the city, the clopping of the horses’ hooves did nothing to drown out the screaming thoughts in my head.
Was there a chance that Kazimir could change for the better? Or was he already so far down this oily path that it would be impossible to climb back up? His words and his actions were antithetical to one another, something that, as I had learned during my time in the cave, screamed untrustworthiness. It set my teeth on edge, and my shoulders climbed higher toward my ears at the perceived threat.
The realization that his actions reminded me of the males who had abused me stole the breath from my lungs.
But what if I doomed us all by choosing Ruslan? The course of history rested upon this choice of light and dark, and who was I to affect the outcome of millions of lives? Lives I’d barely considered up until this point, and only because Ruslan had become king of the Iron Realm and the weight of his responsibility had been thrown in my face. Never before had I seen what that responsibility entailed, and in only a few days it had become abundantly clear that there was more to it than greeting his people and the nobles of the other realms.
The few moments of exposure I’d had to leadership in the Night Realm had been choreographed by Kazimir and the Nighthounds, and with the secrets and lies I’d uncovered since arriving in the Iron Realm, how could I trust them to assist me in governing, let alone in making a decision with such tremendous consequences?
Which male was the right choice?
9
Béke Day Two
“Ruslan!” Drazen called through the haze of my thoughts. Sweat poured off of me as I continued to pound into the bag of sand hanging in the barracks outside Roc Palace, the home I’d built for Izidora and myself into the side of my favorite mountain in the Iron Realm. My knuckles screamed in protest as I landed another heavy blow, the already raw skin cracking and sending ruby rivulets running down my arm.
“What do you want, Drazen?” I snarled at my half-Dragon cousin, not paying him any more attention than that as I continued to pound away the pain that cut deeper than any knife. Before I could land my next blow, the male caught my arm and swung me to face him. My chest heaved with the relentless effort I threw into beating the bag while my brain flashed images of Izidora falling back into Kazimir’s arms.
“She’s not going to leave you.” Drazen’s deep blue eyes were filled with conviction, but I shrugged off his grip.
“You don’t know that,” I growled, reaching for my discarded shirt to wipe the sweat from my face and neck. My hair dripped a steady stream down my back as I stared Drazen down.
“Savich saw them leaving and sent Kriath to follow them.” Kriath was one of the Félvér in my personal guard, and he was one of the few who could execute a full shift into his inherited form. His Eagle was beautiful and large, and because his eyesight was keen, he could fly lazy circles far above Radence, out of sight from below.
“And?”
“And Kriath said that their interaction didn’t go very well. He said Izidora seemed tense on their way back to the castle.” Drazen blew out a breath, reaching up and tugging on the messy knot of hair tied at the crown of his head.
It wasn’t until my chest loosened that I realized how tight it had been. My breath flowed easier, and I sank onto the padded ground, waves of relief washing over me. “They’re already back?”
“Yes. And the archery competition starts in an hour. You need to wash up, because you are, in fact, hosting this year’s Béke.” Drazen pinched his brow. “I see you trying to do better, Ruslan, I really do. I know this isn’t easy for you, but even if Izidora chooses him, you know I will always be here. We might not have grown up together, but I will always be loyal to you. I can’t love you like she can, but I promise I’ll never leave.”
His words were like a punch to the gut and comforting hug wrapped into one, and my throat thickened, rendering me unable to speak. Finally, I managed, “Thank you, Drazen.”
He proffered a hand to help me to my feet, and I accepted it, pulling him into a quick embrace before heading out of the barracks. “Besides, who else is going to call you out on your shit?” His grin was impish, and he elbowed me in the ribs as we entered the wintry sun.
“No one, unless they want to end up dead.” I huffed a laugh, the darkness that called to me lifting for a moment. “Are we flying back?” I asked when no horses greeted us at the adjacent stables.
“We are. The courtyard at Ryza was too packed for me to ride out,” he shrugged. “At least it’s a nice day.”
Without bothering to pull my shirt on, I loosed my black, taloned wings from my back, letting them flare wide before settling behind me. Drazen’s lapis lazuli Dragon wings flared through his enchanted armor, and we shot into the cloudless blue sky, soaring on the bitter winter wind toward Ryza. The citadel watched over Radence like a hawk, missing nothing from its seat on a hill in the center of the city. Its black spires beckoned me forward, and I aimed for the largest tower at the edge of a rough cliff, not wanting anyone to see my bruised and bloody knuckles before I had a chance to heal them.
Strength, wealth, and power. Those were the attributes I wanted on display during Béke, and showing up with a wildness that spoke to how close I was to losing my shit would not do, especially not after my fight with Kazimir the previous night. Blood dripped from my palms as I dug my nails in, remembering his insult. Rapist.
The male was disgusting, stooping so low when he knew what Izidora had experienced. If only I could get Drazen to chain him up with the others, I could torture him until he begged for mercy I would not give.
A wicked grin spread across my lips as we approached the wall-sized windows of my apartment, my blood heating at the thought of the surprise Drazen was helping me concoct for Izidora. Soon, I’d be ready to show her the lengths I would go for her. But until then…
I knocked against the glass that opened from the inside, startling Izidora from where she lay on our bed. Her eyes were red and puffy, and I nearly broke the glass to get to her when I saw the pain written across her face. She rushed to the window, unlatching it and pushing it open. In a carefully calculated move, I banished my wings and rolled over my shoulder onto the dark wood floor, landing safely in our bedchamber. Drazen mimicked me and then Izidora shoved the window shut, blocking out the cold air.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” she murmured, awe in her voice.
Pushing off the ground, I caught her in my arms and pulled her close. “I would have shown you sooner if you’d made the flight from the roof of Roc to the ground, sprite. Master that, and I’ll teach you this.”
She didn’t argue, burying her face into the dried sweat on my chest. Drazen cleared his throat, raising a dark brow and shooting me a look that said, ‘I told you so.’ I rolled my eyes and jerked my head, indicating that he could go.
“I’ll be back in half an hour to go over the rules for the archery competition,” Drazen threw over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him. I waited until his footsteps retreated out the main door before extracting Izidora from my embrace.
“What’s wrong, sprite?” I crouched down so we were at eye level, and the redness was more apparent with our faces a breath apart.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s just so much pressure. The fate of the world rests on my shoulders. Who am I to choose what happens next? I don’t even know what will happen! Only that if I choose wrong, I’ll plunge the world into chaos or something, whatever that means. Why can’t there just be a clear answer!” The frustration eating at her was evident in her tone and the way her fingers twisted in her tunic.
I brushed my knuckles across her cheek, leaving a smear of my blood in their wake. “There is no stronger Fae, Félvér, or Telivér in all of Északi. Each of us is given a battle we must wage, and while some get off easy with the extent of their battle, others, like us, must carry longer and heavier campaigns to reach our highest potential.”
She blew out a breath, nodding. When I pulled my hand away, she murmured, “You’re injured.” Her eyes widened, and she snatched my hand in midair and turned it over to assess my knuckles. In a flash, her white magic appeared, settling over them like a warm blanket, knitting the skin together and removing the swelling. With pride blooming in my chest, I lifted my other hand, allowing her to repeat the process before her aquamarine eyes narrowed on me. “What did you do?”
“The battle I must face is fear of you abandoning me, mate. We cope in different ways.” I spoke through gritted teeth, not wanting to delve further into the fact that the only way for me to feel better was pain. Fastening my hand around her wrist, I jerked her to me. “Come shower with me and wash away all the blood.”
Her lips parted slightly, and her heavenly arousal filled my nostrils. With the silence filling the space around us, the fluttering beat of her heart was like a drum, and I swore the hum of our bond was just underneath it.
“I wanted to enter the competition,” she breathed. “Shouldn’t I head to the arena so I am ready when it starts?”
“If I remember correctly, I am the king of the Iron Realm, and I get to decide when the competition starts, as well as who is allowed to participate. If you want to participate, then you shall.” My healed hand found Izidora’s chestnut hair, yanking it back so her throat was bared to me. I grazed my teeth along her exposed lifeline, eliciting a shudder and spreading goosebumps across her exposed skin.
“A quick shower,” she conceded, her words breathy and soft. Approval rumbled in my chest as she broke my grips and tugged me behind her to the bathroom, turning the knobs until the space filled with steam.
My cock rose to attention as she stripped off her leggings and tunic, and I wasted no time removing my pants and showing her how much I wanted her. Her gaze snagged on my hardness before I walked her backward into the waiting water. Before I could say anything, she grabbed a bar of soap and rubbed it across the hard planes of my torso, soaping away the layers of sweat that clung to my skin. They washed down the drain along with my fear as she continued to shower me with her touch, and when she dropped to her knees before me, I nearly came undone.
