Page 16

Chapter

Fifteen

DRISK

I lie with my mates, my long ear snapping and flicking at the subtle sounds carrying in the night. Daghel and Anya are oblivious to them all, but I won’t disturb their slumber. I keep watch and keep guard. As ancient as I am, I do not require as much rest; I merely enjoy curling up with them more than anything. Besides, there will be time enough to inform them of the disturbance later, as a being of utter darkness taps with a whisper of sound before seeping through the cracks of the shuttered window. My eyes follow its passage curiously as it slowly begins to gather and condense.

This is the closest the darkness has ever been. Its touch has always been something gathering and wailing in the distance as it rushes like a descending storm, threatening to crush everything. But this time it is different, and to be a curious reaction. It glides quietly through the room, touching every surface as if exploring it as it pulses and grows, practically filling an entire corner of the bedchambers all at once. Excitement trembles within my wings, and I lift my head so that I can continue to effortlessly follow its movements.

Is it quickening in response to Anya’s presence? That is a delicious little morsel of information. Perhaps the reckoning will soon come. And if Anya is to be the catalyst of things to come, it just reaffirms that my scenting was correct in every way. Not only is she perfect for us, but she will bring forth the long night upon the Cold Mountains. I am certain now that time has been slowly winding down to this moment. I knew that it would soon come. I have known this ever since I scented Daghel and clasped him beneath my wings. Good. I waited patiently enough.

My tongue snakes out, tasting the air, and the darkness pauses, turning its head toward me slowly. I get the sense of it meeting my eyes, and a tingling sensation rushes beneath my scales like tiny fissures of raking through me and crackling with lightning as the darkness suddenly flows forward and regathers beside the bed.

A dark hand stretches, reaching across the bed to slip like a shadow falling over Anya’s slender calf. My breath catches in wonder. It is responding to her. I watch with fascination as it slides farther up her leg in a slow caress. Will she recoil in rejection of its terrible energy, as I have seen so many other females do from my distant vantage point whenever the darkness passes through the village below me?

But no. She does not. Instead, a sigh falls from her lips as she opens herself up to it and invites it as her legs fall open.

The fur shifts and the shadowy hand cups her sex for a moment before delving inside in a writhing motion that makes her moan as her back arches with pleasure from the bed. At her side, Daghel stirs, a faint furrow appearing between his brows as his expression grows strained in his sleep. His breath explodes from him in a long sigh as the darkness continues to plunge into Anya, and her hips writhe with excited little moans until her legs tremble as she climaxes with a hiss of sound that makes my cock ache.

“Enough,” I growl.

The shadow stills, and I get a sense of its regard turning toward me and an invisible brow arching imperiously.

“Enough,” I reiterate as my arm extends so that my wing fans over her. “You have seen enough and have made your point.”

Displeasure rises sharply, making the air crackle within the room with sudden violence. But I am no stranger to this battle of wills. It cocks its head, and then an electric crackle of hollow laughter fills the room.

“Very well,” it hisses, the icy chill of its voice drifting from everywhere all at once as the darkness withdraws from her. “But I will never be far. I am never far. Eventually, I will possess everything I have come for.”

I watch the heavy coil of shadows as the darkness departs, whisking back out into the night—where it belongs, beneath the watchful eye of Vepra. For now, anyway.

Grunting quietly, I lie back down and carefully gather Daghel and Anya close to me. They both appear so relaxed, and a peaceful expression has returned to Daghel’s face. Something softens within me. This is my family—I cannot forget that. And because of that, it is my responsibility to protect and care for them. Brushing my muzzle across the tops of their heads, I breathe in their delicious scents and let them settle within me. I will keep my mates close. They will sleep undisturbed under my wing.