“Yeah, we definitely need to take you to bed,” I replied bluntly and walked him toward one of the tents that had been prepared for us.
He went in first, and I looked over my shoulder to see the succubus still standing there, watching us. I quickly followed Draven inside and pulled the large fur cover over the entrance.
A lamp had been lit and set on a metal box in the middle. Layer upon layer of animal skins and soft furs formed the most comfortable floor I had ever seen. I quickly moved around Draven, despite my own mild lightheadedness, and pulled a few pillows and furs into one spot to fashion a makeshift bed.
I then took Draven by his hand and helped him lie down, as he still wasn’t very steady. He was heavier than I remembered, and I lost my grip on him. He landed with a thud and laughed, leaving me embarrassed and befuddled.
“What’s so funny?” I croaked while he took off his boots and lay on his back, his head resting against a few pillows.
“The effect that these succubi have on us. I’ve never been so close to one…to so many, for that matter, in my entire life,” he replied.
I sat down next to him and removed my own boots. Only then did I feel the tension in my muscles and realize how badly my feet hurt from the trip. I looked over to Draven. He looked relaxed. A smile was imprinted on his face, and his forearm covered the top half of his head.
“You promised you’d tell me more about the sleeping Daughter,” I gently reminded him. I realized that his current state of mind might help him answer some of my questions about her.
He shushed me, bringing a finger to his lips.
“Don’t mention her here,” he whispered. “No other creature in this area can know about her existence. She’s extremely fragile while still in her egg. We can’t risk anyone finding out.”
“But the succubi are helping us,” I replied, frowning.
“The succubi are helping themselves, and we are useful to them. Just like we are helping ourselves, and they are useful to us. Don’t be fooled, Serena. This is still war, and these are still political alliances. They can’t know about her for now. Once she awakens, it won’t matter anymore.”
“Why won’t it matter?”
“I get the feeling that the Daughters were right. She may be our secret weapon against Azazel, so we can’t reveal her existence to anyone. It’s part of the pact I made with them when she first appeared, and they brought her to me.” His voice was low.
“Where did she come from?”
“Where they all came from. The top of Mount Agrith, the tallest mountain of Eritopia. But she was found much, much later. Shortly after I was born, to be precise. Which was strange but, since we don’t know who lays these eggs, all we can do is guess.”
“The Daughters really don’t know?”
“No, they do not. Now enough with the questions, Serena. I told you it’s not safe to talk about this here,” he quietly reprimanded me.
I let out a breath and lay down next to him, my lips pursed while I stared at the ceiling. A huge, coffee-colored animal hide stretched neatly over the thick wooden skeleton of the tent. I couldn’t help but wonder what creature it came from. It was enormous.
“In the meantime, however, we need to get more out of the Oracles,” Draven said, breaking the silence that had briefly settled between us. “Their visions hold the key to stopping Azazel’s bloodbath before we bring out the sleeping nightmare...”
“I’m well aware of that,” I replied and instantly thought of Phoenix, lying in that bed in the basement back at the mansion, unconscious and helpless. I thought of Aida and Vita as well, unwilling participants in a game in which only Azazel and Draven seemed to know all the rules.
Draven must have sensed the change in my demeanor as I thought of my brother. His hand settled gently over mine, and my breath faltered.
“He’ll be okay, Serena. I assure you. The herbs we gave him have awakened others from far more dangerous states.” His voice was soothing, resonating in my chest. His fingers brushed up the length of my forearm, igniting my skin inch by inch.
I pulled my arm away and rolled over to the side, my back to him. I took deep breaths and closed my eyes, trying to regain some form of control over my senses. The rose drink still lingered in my bloodstream, making me hear and smell everything that was so fascinating about him—his heartbeat, the scent of musk—and midnight in the forest. I needed to keep a clear head with Draven still recovering from the succubi’s influence.
But I didn’t get to relax for long. He rolled over to his side shortly afterward, and spooned me into a tight embrace. His arms snaked around my waist and pulled me into him, and I felt his body heat melt into mine.
I stiffened. I opened my mouth to say something, but words didn’t want to come out.
“Just go to sleep.” He dug his face into my hair, quieting my protest.
I felt his breath on the back of my neck, a sublime reminder of the previous night, before the Destroyers. It warmed my skin and spread throughout my body, ultimately softening every muscle and every bone that I had.
Lying there in his arms, I closed my eyes. His breath continued to warm me, and my spine disintegrated one vertebra at a time.
I wanted to stay awake for longer lingering in the feeling of him, yet a deep sleep snuck up on me and robbed me of my consciousness. But it was okay, because I was in Draven’s arms.
Phoenix
[Hazel & Tejus’s son]
I need to see her.
I woke up in the basement. I sat up and looked around. I was in one of the beds. Aida and Field were asleep on the floor beneath me.
The lights were dim, barely flickering in two oil lamps on the other side of the chamber. I couldn’t feel much. No pain. Just the urge to see her. Nothing else.
My mind was devoid of any other thought.
I felt something cold under my hand. I picked it up. It was the stone knife that the Daughters had given me, the twine around its handle smudged with dried blood. I thought I’d dropped it in the swamp during my tackle with the shape-shifters.
I remembered everything. Sparring with Jovi. Hearing the shrills. Seeing two succubi get torn to shreds by shape-shifters in the jungle beyond the protective shield. Their blood like mercury sprayed against the trees as the monsters killed them. A third succubi running out and falling into the swamp. Jovi rushing to help her. Me jumping in to distract the shape-shifters while Jovi tried to get her out of there.
My feet getting knocked off the ground. The knife leaving my hand in the fall.
Then the darkness.
My dream of her. Of us.
I looked at the knife again.
The Daughters must have returned it to me. I had a job to do.
I need to see her.
I got off the bed, careful not to wake Aida or Field. I walked toward the stairs, my steps silent on the cold floor. My body moved faster than my thoughts. I went outside.
My mind was a blur.
I looked up to find the indigo sky speckled with a myriad of stars. My feet took me into the garden, to the magnolia tree.
Her tree.
I need to see her. I need to help her.
Vita
[Grace and Lawrence’s daughter]
I had spent most of the afternoon practicing my newly-awakened fae abilities. There had been so much joy and energy flowing through me that I felt it would have been a pity to let that go to waste. I had to harness what I’d brought to the surface. I needed my fae strength for what waited ahead for me, for us.
Being an Oracle felt like a horrible fate if I couldn’t do anything to stop the horrific future that I had seen in my first visions. Developing my fae power had given me a newfound sense of strength. The self-confidence that flowed through me made it easier for me to manipulate the candle flames.
I was so entranced by what I could do, I’d forgotten to take any breaks.
I must have dozed off at some point. I woke up under the magnolia tree to the midnight breeze rustling thro
ugh the grass. The sky above was a dark, almost black blue, speckled with stars. The temperature had dropped significantly, sending shivers down my spine.
It was quiet around me, except for the cicadas chirping in the distance. I sat up and rubbed my hands over my face. I was shaking from the cold, and my skin was like ice. I rose to my feet and stretched my arms out, ready to continue my sleep in my bed upstairs under a dozen blankets.
I turned to walk toward the house and stopped as Phoenix walked out.
My eyes grew wide, and my chest inflated with the pure delight of seeing him up and about.
“Phoenix! You’re awake!” I exclaimed and took a few steps forward. I intended to hug him, but something was off, and I stilled. He kept walking toward me, and I noticed something in his hand.
“Phoenix, are you okay?”
He didn’t answer. His face was devoid of any expression, his eyes half-closed.
He stopped in front of the magnolia tree, just a few yards away from me. I looked at him, but he completely ignored me, staring blankly ahead.
His hand came forward, and I got a better look at what he was holding—a strange-looking knife with a long blade made of stone. My heart stopped.
“Phoenix, what are you doing?”
He didn’t answer.
Panic surged through me. This wasn’t right.
Phoenix drove the knife into his chest. It happened so quickly that I barely registered the movement.
I froze. It went all the way in. Blood spurted from the wound, trickling down his shirt and into the ground.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t react. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Phoenix’s expression was blank, as if he didn’t feel anything.
Blood poured and seeped into the dirt at his feet.
Maybe a minute passed.
Then the ground cracked open beneath Phoenix. Thick roots shot up, swirling frantically. They tangled around his body like hungry snakes, crackling as they tightened their hold on him and pulled him into the ground.
The earth swallowed him whole and closed itself up like nothing had happened. He just vanished into the grass. Gone without a trace. A layer of grass spread quietly above.
And then I screamed.
It was as if time had resumed its flow. I regained control over my body and my senses. I screamed from the bottom of my lungs. I screamed after Phoenix, I screamed at the sight of him stabbing himself in the chest, I screamed at his unnatural disappearance.
My shrieks pierced the night.
Aida
[Victoria & Bastien’s daughter]
The floor felt cold beneath me. I woke up, realizing that I’d fallen asleep on the floor in the basement. Field and I had been sitting there all afternoon, our backs against the bed frame, talking.
I rolled over on my back and yawned, then looked to my right. Field slept next to me.
A dim light danced in the darkness, just enough for me to take in his every feature. I was dangerously close to him, his face barely an inch away from mine. It was one of those rare opportunities when I could look at him completely undisturbed.
He looked so peaceful in his sleep. His features were smooth with a few rebellious strands of black hair falling over his face. My mouth turned into a smile. A deep sigh rolled from my chest. His beauty overwhelmed me.
Field opened his eyes to look right into mine.
I froze, staring into two turquoise gems, shadowed by long, black eyelashes.
My words jammed in my throat, my heart thumped against my ribs, and I had no control over my body. The way he looked at me was different, darker and more intense than anything I had ever seen coming from him.
We stayed like that for several moments. I didn’t know what to do, so I just lay there, worried that I’d ruin it somehow. I’d grown so accustomed to being the little half-wolf girl that he barely paid attention to that I didn’t know what to make of him now when he saw me for myself.
His eyes drilled hot holes into my soul, his face so close to mine that I could feel myself burning up from the proximity.
I’d spent so much time fantasizing about a moment like this and yet had no idea how to react to it in real life. This was real life. Field drew his face closer to mine, enough for me to feel his breath brush over my lips, igniting fires deep in my core. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.
I parted my lips instinctively. A singular thought nibbled at the back of my mind: What if he comes closer?
His gaze dropped to my mouth. His tongue flicked over his lower lip. Shadows passed over his eyes, like millions of thoughts colliding as his lips came dangerously close to mine. Barely an inch was left between us when his eyes searched and found mine again.
His eyebrows sank into a subtle frown, his teeth sinking into his lip.
My pulse reverberated in my ears, my mind begging him to close the distance.
A sharp scream pierced the silence.
The moment between us dissipated. Vita’s strident wail reverberated from outside. We both shot to our feet, staring at each other with wide eyes.
Another scream echoed into the basement, and my blood froze.
Serena
[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]
I dreamed about Draven that night. We were sitting by the bonfire with dozens of succubi surrounding us asking him to join them in their tents. Destroyers sat atop winged horses, flying overhead, circling above the camp. They couldn’t get in. My subconscious had mixed some facts together, between the swamp witches’ illusion spell and the mansion’s protective shield. All I could think of was getting Draven out of there, unsure of what I feared more: the succubi or the Destroyers.
I opened my eyes, enveloped in blissful warmth and my face mere inches from Draven’s as I lay in his embrace beneath a beige animal fur. It felt so good, so right. Morning light peeked through the tent’s loose seams, coming down in thin white beams.
His hair was tousled over his forehead, and his breathing was even. His frame made me feel tiny in his arms. I took in every feature of his, every edge, and every line that made him who he was. I clasped my hands to my chest, unable to move in the absence of space between us. My body molded against his, my soft figure melting into him like butter in a hot pan.
I turned my palms and flattened them on his broad chest, my fingers splayed across the linen shirt. I could feel the rune marks beneath my fingertips. His wounds were still healing after our difficult meeting with the Daughters of Eritopia.
The world around us was quiet and distant as I listened to his breathing. I could stay there forever. How had he managed to sneak into my soul like this?
“How did you become so important to me?” I whispered, feeling the need to let those words out while he slept.
He didn’t move.
I sighed and gently brushed my fingers against his chin, careful not to wake him up. His skin was as soft as I remembered it. Even asleep, he sent waves of buzzing energy through my entire body and heated up my core.
“I wish I could look straight into your soul and understand what goes on in your head.” My voice was so low it was barely audible. “Wish I knew how you felt…”
His lips stretched into a lazy smile, and I froze. My cheeks flamed. He’d heard.
Panic locked into my muscles. You and your big damn mouth, Serena!
He let out a deep breath and tightened his hold on me, somehow pulling me even closer to him. Another inch and our bodies would fuse into each other. The air left my lungs and, as I drew more in, I felt my chest rise and push into his.
Draven's smile faded, and a muscle tensed in his jaw. His fingers spread out on my back, trailing along my spine. I felt them move up, reaching the area between my shoulder blades. His touch sent shivers through my entire being, heedless of my shirt’s fabric.
His lips transfixed me as they parted slowly. His heart drummed against me, echoing into my ribcage. His breathing accelerated, he
ating me up with each exhalation of hot air over my face.
My instinct took over, and I abandoned myself in his arms, relaxing completely. My every curve rested against his rock hard body, while his hands continued tracing imaginary lines on my back. The bottom of my shirt lifted slowly, and his fingers found my skin beneath.
We both stopped breathing and stilled for a second. Then, his mouth came over mine and locked me in an ardent kiss. His lips pressed against mine while his fingers slipped upward underneath my shirt, exploring further, leaving traces of fire wherever he touched me.
I burned in his arms as he deepened the kiss. His tongue melted with mine. I felt him open up inside my head, coaxing my inner-sentry to dive into his very soul. I allowed myself to expand my mind into his, and, much to my surprise, he let me in.
My eyes closed as our kiss grew hungrier and our mouths devoured each other. His fingers gently dug into my skin. He let me in, and a river of images washed over me. I held his face and drew him even deeper.
I saw him running after Elissa, laughing and tumbling in the gardens outside. I saw his father coming home from a journey as Draven ran into his arms. I saw him roaming around the house on his own in loneliness and despair. I saw Elissa ending her own life as he watched her through the fire. The pain pierced me, and I felt what he’d felt at that moment.
I wanted to cry out, tears stinging my eyes, but Draven didn’t let go of me. He allowed me to go deeper, his mouth consuming mine. I forgot to breathe.
I saw myself through his eyes back at the mansion, shouting at him furiously, then in his arms, tight against his chest as he rescued me from the shape-shifters. I saw myself crying as I watched him go blind, as darkness covered everything. My heart expanded as a golden light glazed me in something so intense I felt like I was going to explode. And I welcomed everything.