Page 56 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)

Aileen

If I’d let myself, I would’ve grabbed Ragnor’s face right there and then and just kissed the hell out of him.

I would’ve stripped him naked right in front of everyone and rode him to oblivion, feeling his warmth. Consoling myself that he was alive. That perhaps it was all a bad dream, and the final battle hadn’t happened.

But when I looked at Ragnor and saw his exhaustion, the resignation in his eyes that I’d seen before my own battle, I realized something crucial.

Ragnor had gone into the battle with Atalon knowing he wouldn’t make it.

And that meant yet another secret Ragnor had hidden from me up until the very end.

I had questions. So many fucking questions.

I wanted to kiss him and shake him at the same time so he would spill everything.

How did he know he would lose to Atalon?

Why didn’t he tell me he used to be a Malachi and that I was his Alara Morreh?

Why didn’t he confide in me, after I’d given him everything I had to give?

But those questions would have to wait.

Because the most important thing was to ensure we both survived the Hecatomb this time around.

I rose to my feet, startling both Isora and Ragnor. “I need to breathe,” I said, urgency in my voice. “Ragnor, can you take me out?”

My beautiful Ragnor frowned, confusion temporarily wiping that awful resignation I could now recognize from his face. “Why?”

“Please,” I said, holding his gaze, my body aching to jump on him, to feel him, to reassure myself that he was alive. That his heart still beat in his chest. But there was no time for that. “Just for an hour.”

Whatever Ragnor saw on my face, he nodded and stood up. “Let’s go now, then.”

I had no complaints whatsoever.

For everyone else, the present I remembered didn’t exist.

They didn’t know Ragnor had died and I was kidnapped. For them, it had only been earlier today when the Hecatomb participants fought to the death and we lost important League members because of it.

The reason I was able to deduce that much was that everyone acted the same as they had when this day played in my memories. No one seemed the wiser about the fact we were now in a completely different timeline.

Because in this timeline, I knew what was going to happen, and I would do everything to stop it.

I would not lose Ragnor Rayne again.

Ragnor and I didn’t speak as he took me out of the arena and back to the streets of Houston. It wasn’t until we hit a main road when I said, “Where is the closest pharmacy?”

He looked at me, utterly baffled. “Why do you need a pharmacy?”

“Because I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” I told him, which was actually the truth. “I know there are certain sleeping pills that work on vampires.” I’d once seen Isora take them, since she had trouble sleeping.

Reluctantly, Ragnor nodded, his look reeking of suspicion. But I didn’t care what he suspected—it would never be what I actually planned anyway.

Ragnor led me to the closest CVS, where I went to the pharmacy counter and asked for a drug called Sunnight, which I knew was the name of the pills Isora was taking. She was given those pills by Leah, the infirmary nurse. Thankfully, I didn’t need a prescription for these.

Since I had no money, Ragnor paid for the pills—an irony that was not lost on me—and we returned quickly to the arena. That’s when I told Ragnor, “I’m going to make some food. Want anything?”

“Hey.” He suddenly put his arms around me, and my body ached, wanting to lean into him to allow his warmth to envelop me. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”

I made the mistake of staring into his midnight blue eyes. I almost surrendered to the worry within them. I almost broke down crying. You died, Ragnor! I wanted to scream. You left me before you could even tell me everything about yourself!

But there was no time. I had less than twelve hours until the final battle.

“I’m just tired, Ragnor,” I said, forcing myself to leave his arms and head to the kitchenette. “It’s been a long day.”

He didn’t touch me again but kept close to me. “Let me make you something,” he offered.

“No,” I said, insistent. “I’d rather make it myself.” When he went silent, I glanced behind me to see he was looking away, folding his arms, obviously irritated. Regret filled me, along with an overwhelming amount of love I had to shove down for now. “I need to keep busy,” I lied, “so just let me.”

He nodded and sighed, raising his beautiful face to stare at me. “Let’s eat together in my room, then.”

I nodded, gave him a wobbly smile in an attempt to reassure him that all was well, and returned to work.

I wasn’t much of a cook, but I knew how to make one thing pretty well, and that was pancakes. As long as I had the ingredients, my pancakes always turned out pretty fucking tasty.

And I needed them to be as tasty as possible right now.

Looking to the sides, seeing that no one was lingering around the lounge—everyone had retired early, I remembered—I plucked out ten white Sunnight pills and ground them into thin powder. I added that powder to the batter and made five perfect pieces.

Putting some chocolate on them, I grabbed the plate and went into Ragnor’s room. He was sitting on the bed with his back to the door, his face buried in his hands. He seemed so defeated, hunched over like that.

But not for long.

“Hey,” I said, closing the door behind me and heading to him. “I got some pancakes.”

He turned to look at me with a weary look that made my weak heart want to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. “They smell really good.”

I put the plate on an empty chair. “Usually, I would say let’s eat them while they’re hot,” I said, sitting down on him, startling him into wrapping his arms around me, his look surprised. “But I’d rather have you first.”

Ragnor’s eyes widened, and finally, finally , I let myself succumb to my wishes and planted my lips on him.

My entire body trembled when I felt his tongue dancing with mine.

I wanted to cry in pure relief when his hands cupped my breasts through my shirt.

When I released his cock from the binds of his pants, I was already so wet, needing him inside me.

Needing to feel him as close and as intimately as humanly, vampirically, possible.

Shoving my pants and panties away, I took him inside in one swift movement that caused us both to moan in beautiful pain and pleasure.

“Fuck, Aileen,” he growled, grabbing my ass in a bruising hold, pulling me up and shoving me down so fiercely, I could feel his dick rubbing my womb.

This was heaven. There was no other word for it. Ragnor, inside me, all over me, his lips on my throat, his hands forcing me up and down his length, my hands in his silky, disheveled hair ... Pure heaven.

Heaven I had lost.

Heaven I planned to never, ever lose again.

No matter the cost.

Ragnor and I lay naked in his bed, cuddling together, his hand caressing my arm almost absentmindedly.

We’d spent the last few hours fucking each other ferociously, and both of us were spent. If I didn’t know what was going to happen, I would’ve fallen asleep like I did this very same night, before I’d turned back time.

But this time, things were different.

“Let’s eat,” I declared after some time, sitting up and wincing, seeing as how I was sore all over.

As if it was an accomplice in my plans, Ragnor’s stomach growled. “Yeah,” he murmured, wearily sitting up. “Should we heat it up?”

“Nah, it’s still tasty,” I said, grabbing the cold pancakes and handing them to him.

He frowned. “Don’t you want some? You said you were hungry.”

I forced a grin on my face to hide my rising nervousness. “After eating you up, I feel quite full.”

He barked out a surprised laugh, eyes twinkling a bit before they dimmed back to their previous, resigned expression I couldn’t wait to wipe off.

To my utter relief, Ragnor practically inhaled the pancakes, unsuspecting that I might’ve added something to them. It warmed my heart that he trusted me at least that much. Ironically, that would also be his undoing.

When the plate was empty, Ragnor licked his lips. “That was fucking good,” he said, and pulled me into his hug, lying back on the bed after putting the plate away. “Thank you, Aileen.”

I buried my face in his chest, hugging him tightly. I’m sorry, I thought grimly. I’m sorry, Ragnor.

Slowly, I heard his breaths becoming even, his chest rising and falling at a monotonous pace. I counted the breaths, heard his heart calming down but beating, alive, in his chest.

Minutes later, Ragnor was asleep.

Gently, I pushed his arms away and sat up, watching him sleep.

He seemed so serene and peaceful, as if he had no cares in the world.

As if he hadn’t hidden anything important from me.

As if he hadn’t died and left me all alone, almost tearing my soul away and leaving me to a brutal fate, similar to Jada’s.

As much as I loved Ragnor, and as much as I was exhilarated that he was alive again, that I’d succeeded in turning back the clock to make things right this time, I couldn’t help but feel resentment.

Just why did you never tell me anything?

I sat on the bed and watched Ragnor as the minutes turned into hours. I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t afford to. I had to keep an eye on him until the very last minute to ensure he wouldn’t wake up before he needed to.

Being in an almost trancelike state, staring at Ragnor’s sleeping face, I jumped when the bedroom door suddenly opened, revealing a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a while.

Eliza looked at me, her right eye wide with the same shock that I felt at this moment. “Aileen? What ...”

Her gaze went to sleeping Ragnor, and I could tell a million thoughts went through her head; about just as many passed through mine. “What are you doing here, Eliza?” I asked, quickly pulling on my shirt and jeans from before, so as not to talk to her stark naked.

“I ...” she started, then paused, frowning, before turning to look at me. “You know.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Know what?”

Eliza walked toward me. “About the Tears of Euphorrey.”

Tears of Euphorrey? For some reason, that term sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told her frankly, deciding on a whim against dancing around the truth, feeling as though we had the same agenda.

“But I do know Ragnor will die tomorrow if I let him fight.”

She sat down on the chair. “Yes, he will,” she said, grimacing. “But he must. There is no other way.”

“But there is,” I told her, watching her closely as she whipped her head up to stare at me, her good eye unblinking. “You know about the rules of the Hecatomb?” I asked, and when she reluctantly nodded, I smiled. “The rule is that the final battle will be between two Sacreds .”

Her eye widened just then. “Aileen,” she said slowly, “you can’t possibly think—”

“I’m going against Atalon,” I told her, smiling wider. “So please, in case it’s related to that, do tell me about these Tears of Euphorrey.”