Page 107 of Eldritch (The Eating Woods #2)

“The priestess believes I am Vasmora.”

“Death vessel,” he said tonelessly.

“Yes. Chosen by the goddess because, at some point in my life, my fate changed.” Lips flat, I tipped my head and stared back at him, but he remained as stoic as ever. “They believe I’ve come to restore their bloodline.”

His brows pinched together. “How?”

“By mating with their best warrior.” I folded the dress back onto the pile, imagining the look on his face right then. “Which I have no intention of doing.”

“Good. I’d have hated to spoil their Winter somnial by killing him.”

Sighing, I turned back around to face him.

“But to prove that isn’t meant to be my fate, I agreed to be cast into the vein this evening.

Should I emerge unscathed, she’ll take my words as truth.

” I pressed my finger into his chest. “Which is why I need you to stay away tonight. If they detect that you have anything to do with the black flame, they will doubt me and force me to lay with one of their warriors.”

“And if I kill them all? What then?”

“My father and sister won’t have a safe place.”

“We’ll leave tonight. I’ll track down where they keep the vivicantem and gather enough to make it for a while.”

I blinked and shook my head. “Stay in Mortasia? And what of Cadavros? What if he hunts you down? At least in Aethyria he can’t touch you.”

“I’ve not seen him since the night I fell into Caligorya. Perhaps he’s given up on me.”

“Or he’s waiting for you to find the vein and regain your strength.”

He shook his head, a slight smile tugging his lips. “You are far too smart for your own good.”

“I think you like to lessen my worries by avoiding the obvious.” Curling my fingers around the fabric of his tunic, I matched his stare with unyielding determination.

“Let me do this. I’ll prove to them that they can defy the fates that have been written, and they will respect me.

Perhaps even let my father and Aleysia stay with them. And then …”

“Then what?”

I loosened my grip on his shirt. “I can return with you to Aethyria.”

Those pensive eyes studied me, undoubtedly searching for the slightest hint of uncertainty in my words. “Is that what you want? Your family is here.”

“You would’ve given up your family to stay with me. The only difference is, going with you instead means saving the world from a plague.”

“It doesn’t spare this world, though.”

A thought I’d contemplated since the moment we’d pulled Aleysia from that pantry.

Those creatures would remain ever present in this world, but there were dangers on both sides of the Umbravale.

“No, it doesn’t spare them. But at least they’re equipped to fight them.

It’s as you said, imagine those creatures with blood magic.

If they cross to Aethyria, somehow, or Aethyrians cross here and become infected, they won’t stand a chance. ”

His jaw tightened as he seemed to digest my point with grudging contemplation. “The vein is dead, yeah?”

“It is. You see? So long as you stay away from it, from me , it’s a fairly simple task to ensure the safety of my father and sister.”

He let out a sharp exhale and lowered his blade onto the bed beside us. “Fine. I’ll keep my distance. But if any of them attempt to harm you, know that I will kill them. All of them.”

“I believe the priestess is my aunt. I don’t think she means me any harm.”

“My warning stands, regardless.” He leaned forward to kiss me, but I placed a hand on his chest, eyeing something on his face.

“Is that vyrmish guts on your face?”

He reached up to scrape a small fleck of what looked to be bits of meat off his jaw. “Likely from when they exploded, yes.”

“Well, allow me to wash it off you first.”

He offered the first smile I’d seen in a while. “I hear it’s a delicacy.”

“By whom? The dead?” I sauntered over to the basin, not realizing he’d followed after me until I glanced to the side, noticing he was standing at my back. As I reached for the cloth beside the basin, he grabbed it first.

His arm came around, his hand hovering over the basin, until steam rose up from the water. He then dipped the cloth into the bowl and one-handedly squeezed it out, before dragging it across my throat.

The heat sank into my skin, and I closed my eyes, stifling the urge to moan, as he stood at my back and dragged it over my collarbone, shoving the dress off my shoulder along the way. “A bath would’ve been nice, but this will certainly do,” I said with a smile in my voice.

Brushing my hair aside, he kissed my shoulder where he’d washed me and planted a trail all the way to the crook of my neck, where he buried his face, wrapping his arms around me, and held me close for a moment.

“I thought I lost you back at that church. When I couldn’t see you through the rubble, I prayed those stones were heavy enough to crush the life out of me. ”

“I’m glad the gods don’t seem to favor you.

” I felt him smile against my skin, and turning to face him, I took the cloth and dipped it into the hot water, before dragging it over his mouth and cheek, careful to avoid the cuts that crossed over the black veins.

My attention lingered on them a moment longer.

“Aleysia was infected. The priestess detected it in her and cured her.” I dipped the cloth again and washed his neck and jawline, where tiny vyrmish bits clung to his skin.

“How?”

“My blood. Her blood. She mixed into some sort of elixir. According to her, Aleysia died for a minute, or so. When she woke, the infection was gone.”

Hooking his finger beneath the hem of his tattered tunic, he peeled it off, and I ran my palm over the hard planes of his chest.

“Zevander…it’s possible that you might be infected, too. The scar on your face. It resembles Aleysia’s.”

“Is this your way of telling me you want to kill me?”

“No.” My smile faded. “Erithanya said that Morsana chose to return Aleysia. I’m not certain that she would return you, and the thought of that terrifies me.

But if you changed into one of those things …

” The rims of my eyes tingled with the threat of tears, perhaps a result of all the pent-up emotions from what happened back at the church and thinking Aleysia had died.

I hadn’t had a moment to process, or absorb everything that’d happened, and throwing the possibility that he was infected on top of it all felt too heavy.

Too much at once. I turned toward the basin beside us so he wouldn’t see the emotion that consumed me right then.

A finger hooked my chin, guiding my attention back to him. “I’ve had this scar for centuries. I don’t see why I’d turn into one of them now.”

“I hope not.” I quickly blinked away the mist of tears in my eyes. “It’d be strange kissing a spider.”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Are you telling me you’d stay with me, even if I became one of those grotesque things?”

“I’d have to. We’re mated, aren’t we?” The humor in my voice died. “I couldn’t bring myself to kill you, knowing you were still there somewhere inside.”

“You remember what I told you? Don’t think. Act on your instincts. That includes me.”

“Let’s not talk about this right now,” I said, pushing away those somber thoughts.

“There’s still plenty of vyrmish bits to clean.

” I lifted a clay pitcher from beside the basin, poured fresh, warm water over the washcloth, and dragged it across his chest. The scent of lavender calmed my rattled nerves, and I paused to kiss where I cleaned.

Hands fumbled around at my back, and seconds later, the neckline of my dress slipped down, held only by my arms still caught in its sleeves. I slipped them out and let it fall to the floor, standing bare in front of him.

He rinsed the cloth in fresh water, as I had moments ago, and ran it over my shoulders and down across my breasts, where he paused to massage them through the heated cloth.

Eyes shuttered, I tipped my head back, and he bowed forward, taking one of my nipples into his mouth.

He growled against my flesh, the vibrations tugging an ache between my thighs.

Switching to the other breast, he gave one, long, painfully delicious suck, and I gripped his biceps, arching into him.

A soft moan escaped me as he flicked his tongue and ran his teeth over it.

Strong arms cradled my neck and back as he lavished both breasts with equal attention.

He dipped the cloth into the water once again, and eyes on me, he slowly lowered to his knees before me, his head conveniently level with my chest. The cloth glided down over my stomach, and he kissed my navel, before sweeping it over my hips to my thighs, where he pressed a kiss to the inner, fleshy part of my leg.

After tossing the cloth aside, he lifted another from the clean stack and wet it from the pitcher.

Eyes on mine, he hiked my leg over his shoulder and gently dragged the fresh cloth over my throbbing flesh in slow, lazy strokes.

Rinsing it in the water again brought fresh heat, and I clutched the edge of the table to steady myself as a wave of dizziness swept over me.

He lowered his face and dragged his tongue up that wet slit with the greed of a man who’d stolen the world’s last ripened fruit.

I fisted his hair and let out a moan, my toes curled into his back as he held my leg over his shoulder.

Hands gripped my bottom, the cloth pressing against my cheek as he urged me to his face, devouring me like a man who hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days.

I mindlessly circled my hips against his face, while he sucked and licked my flesh.

Two fingers pushed up inside of me, the slickness of my arousal making for a wet glide.

My thighs trembled as I fought to keep them from buckling beneath me.

Moans slipped out of me, and I bit my bottom lip, a knot of tension winding tight inside of me.

Tighter. So tight, my whole body shook, muscles rigid.

One long drag of his tongue across that bud of nerves, and I tipped my head back, my body unraveling, splitting open with a burst of pleasure.

A sound of ecstasy and agony ripped from my throat, as Zevander masterfully flicked his tongue, pressing me hard against his face as he sucked the juices he’d roused.

Ragged breaths sawed in and out of me, my flesh pulsing and throbbing as it fought to settle.

A knock at the door sent a jolt of panic to my muscles, and my breath hitched.

“Maeve!” Aleysia called from the other side of it. “Are you in there?”

“I’m…washing! Please don’t come in!”

“I just wanted to show you this dress! I look like you!” She chuckled, and I slapped a hand over my eyes, still trying to calm my shaken nerves.

Zevander dragged his tongue up my flesh again, and my hips bucked forward as I let out a grunt.

“I’ll be out soon!” My voice cracked, and I lowered my leg from his shoulder. “Let me …. Let me finish washing!”

“Okay! I’ll come back later!”

Zevander rose to his full height, his face glistening as he shoved his fingers into his mouth and sucked them clean. “The only one coming later will be you.”

Pressing my lips to fight a smile, I tapped him with the back of my hand. “You’re shameless, you know that?”

“Shamelessly obsessed with your cu?—”

I slapped my hand over his mouth and pointed toward the door, where a shadow beneath told me Aleysia was still standing there. “Did you need something more, Aleysia!”

“Oh…no! I …. I was just…going back to check on Father! Later, then!”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Nosey, isn’t she?”

“I suppose both of us have had our nosey moments.” I tugged the cloth from his hand and rinsed it in the water that had already cooled. “You might want to warm this again. I don’t want you to freeze when I wash you this time.”

Zevander placed his hand over mine and gently pried the cloth out of my grasp. “Go eat something. I’ll wash.”

“I’d hoped to reciprocate your generosity.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss my neck. “Tonight. I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

Lips curving, I turned to his ear and whispered, “I look forward to it.”

His arms closed around me, pressing me tight against him, and he squeezed my backside as he kissed the crook of my neck. When he released me, his tongue swept over his lips as he raked his gaze down my body. “As do I.”