Page 13 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 13

ERINA

The cliff’s edge bit into Kavelyn’s palm as she struggled to find purchase among the crumbling rock. The drop below her was a darkened, yawning mouth, hungry for souls morsels that dared venture too close. She was swinging precariously, her arm burning and tiring, her shoulder protesting.

The glow of the green crystal (ask Syndras about this versus gem!) clenched in her other hand cast the cave in an eerie light. She realized her predicament as her heart thundered so hard it hurt.

“Give it up, Kavelyn,” came the deep voice from above. Jeb’s face appeared, handsome and severe. “Toss up the crystal, and I’ll pull you up.”

Never, Kavelyn thought.

“I’d rather drop it,” she told him. She grinned up at him even as her fingers began to slide. “Then what would you do? There goes your millions of vrons, plummeting into darkness.” (Should I use vrons or another currency?)

His lips pressed. It hurt to look at him sometimes. How foolish she’d been to believe he’d ever loved her.

“You don’t understand,” Jeb said bit out. “I’m trying to help you!”

“You were only ever thinking about yourself,” Kavelyn breathed, meeting his eyes.

Her heart felt like ice as her fingers slipped she let go of the cliff. She heard a quick draw of his breath, his hand flashing out for her.

But she was already plummeting into the darkness below, the glow of the crystal lighting her way.

I grinned, inspiration pulsing like a vein within me. Kavelyn would discover the portal at the bottom of the cave. She would fall through it and wake on the sorceress’s wild island, on the far reaches of Noxily, which could, usually, only be accessed by charter boat.

I reread the scribbled scene, my messy notes lining the margins. I’d need to write a clean draft later.

The back of my neck prickled, and I looked up, my pencil freezing over my opened notebook, perched on my drawn-up knees. There was a sensation that I was being watched, but I didn’t see anyone.

That is, until he made himself known.

Kaldur appeared, ducking beneath the long tendrils of the tree vines that made my own shaded little grove of privacy. I’d missed this place on my perusal of the gardens yesterday, but the moment I’d spied the little path to the grove, I’d known that I would spend long hours—days, weeks—perched against this very tree. It was beautiful—with a thick trunk the color of moss and long vines for branches that swayed with the gentle breeze, creating a curtain all around me.

I didn’t know how he found me, but I reasoned he must have tracked me down by my scent. Maybe he could find me anywhere, now that he knew the taste of my blood.

Excitement blotted out any of the lingering inspiration I felt for writing the last part of the scene, which would lead to Kavelyn’s final adventure with the feared sorceress Argamin. Next, I’d planned to begin my illustration of Kavelyn falling into the pit of darkness in the mysterious cave, her hand clenched around the crystal, the flash of horror on Jeb’s face that would twist my heart as I tried to capture it. Despite what Kavelyn believed, he did really love her.

“ Kyzaire, ” I greeted, smiling. I’d been in a downcast mood before I’d started writing, remnants of my fight with Velle. But putting my mind toward something meaningful, toward something that always lifted my spirits certainly helped.

I had a dream of binding these stories one day. There was a shop in Vyaan which sold a variety of books and bound leaflets of art. The owner had machines in the back of his workshop, ones capable of printing my stories and illustrations. I’d dreamed of seeing Kavelyn’s adventures displayed in his shop window since I’d been a child at Wrezaan’s. Since I’d first learned to read and write. It was, perhaps, the next thing I wanted most beyond reuniting with Luc.

Kaldur’s gaze dropped to the notebook in my lap. I was sitting against the tree, my knees drawn up, a plethora of different pencils on the cool ground beside me.

“I thought I might not see you until tonight,” I confessed. Even though the wound was healed, I swore I felt my neck heat, the memory of his bite, of the pleasure, like a touch.

“I find myself needing to be distracted, and you, my wild dallia , I find very distracting,” he said, those mirror eyes returning to me. I’d seen one of the sketches I’d made of him as I’d been flipping to a new page in my notebook and realized that they could never do him justice.

I flushed.

“You enjoy the gardens?” he asked, sliding into the bench opposite me beneath the vines. I’d opted for the tree, however. It made me feel more…connected to the stories I created. It was easier to imagine myself in the wilds of Noxily when I was surrounded by nature.

I nodded. “Very much so. Did you design them?”

Kaldur took his time answering, but he finally said, “My mother did. In her own way.”

“How so?”

“These,” he said, gesturing behind me and all around us, “were the designs she’d made for my family’s keep in Laras. But after she died, well…Azur cares not for flowers and trees. The existing gardens suited the keep just fine, he said. So I stole the plans from our vault and had them built here in Vyaan.”

A laugh of disbelief emerged from my lips. “You stole them?”

“When you grow up with as many brothers and a clever little sister as I did,” he began, “you learn to take what you want instead of asking for permission. Because someone will always have something to say about it. But I don’t have to tell you that.”

I jolted but tried to hide it. “Why do you say that?”

“I hear that you grew up in an orphanage. Near the farmlands. Who was the overseer again? Rizan?”

My tongue felt heavy. “His name was Wrezaan.”

“That’s right,” Kaldur said.

“You…you asked about me?”

“All of the keepers are vetted when they come to work in my House,” Kaldur said, spearing me with a curious look, as if eager to see how I’d respond to the knowledge that he’d been poking into my past. “Maudoric merely delivered your file to me. I read it before I extended the contract to you.”

I didn’t know how to feel about that. I wouldn’t hide anything from him if he asked, but this felt discomforting.

“Are you upset by that?” he wondered, quirking a brow.

“I’m not hiding anything,” I answered.

“I never suggested that you were,” he said, every word careful but clipped. Direct. Then he smirked. “Though if you were, I would be most intrigued by it.”

I didn’t want to talk about the orphanage or Wrezaan. Not that anything especially bad had happened to me there; it was just…they were just memories that were better placed in the deep folds of my mind where I didn’t have to uncover them unwillingly. There were many that I loved though. Memories of Luc, of some of the children I’d grown up with, of discovering my love for drawing and writing.

And yet…

“You don’t want to tell me, and now I will not rest until I know,” Kaldur said, his gaze sharpening. “All right, little dallia , I’ll ignore it for now. Though if you want my advice…whenever you don’t want to talk about something, act like you don’t care if you do.”

“I confess I’m not so experienced in hiding my emotions as I think you might be,” I said, the words tumbling out.

Kaldur laughed. A short, deep chuckle that told me he was surprised, and not offended, by the quick words.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have?—”

“You’re right—it’s a skill I’ve practiced since before I could even speak,” he told me. His smile faded. “Though now that you are my blood giver, Erina, you may need to practice just that. Nobles can be vicious creatures. They’ll feast if they sense weakness.”

My brow furrowed. My lips parted, but no words came out.

Kaldur snorted. “You’re terrible at it,” he commented. “Every emotion laid out on your face for me to see. It’s beautifully fascinating as much as it’s a fragility in need of strengthening.”

“I didn’t realize I’d need to be conversing with nobles to be your blood giver,” I commented. The way he was watching me made my hands tremble. It was an intense observation, one that made me feel like he could see every throb of my heart and hear every quick catch of my breath. Like he could see inside my mind and find all the things I feared and all the things I wanted.

“Oh, did I not put that in our contract?” he asked flippantly. “I’ll have to make an amendment.”

He was teasing me, I realized, and I relaxed.

“But you asked me about these gardens,” he said, straightening, his posture at ease and relaxed. All a mask, I knew. He was putting on a performance, for me, when there was no reason to. “And you have your answer. I stole the plans and gave them life here, in my mother’s design. She would be flattered to know that you appreciate the beauty of this place.”

That sentiment pleased me. I wondered what his mother had been like. She must’ve been a wondrous female for Kaldur to have gone to all the trouble to make her dream a reality. He must’ve really loved her.

I’d never truly felt the pinch of loss and grief. Only with Luc. I’d never known my parents. On Raazos, I didn’t even know if I’d been born on Krynn or brought here. And when you had never experienced a parent’s love, it was a little easier not to miss it. How could you miss something you’d never known?

But oh, had I still craved it.

My heart was fluttering. I’d never felt this warmth before, blooming. My face felt hot. I hoped I didn’t look as red as I felt. Redder than my hair. What was happening?

“What do you have there?” he asked, gesturing toward my notebook.

I closed it, trying to keep the movement slow. I thought of his advice—act like I didn’t care if he asked about something I didn’t want to talk about.

“My stories and drawings, remember?” I asked. His brow furrowed, and it made me realize he didn’t, which gave me a small stab of disappointment. “Of Noxily. I’ve been writing stories since I was young. I was just…scribbling ideas down.”

“Let me see them.”

A jolt of panic went through me, and when he saw it reflected on my face, a wide grin spread. Leaning forward, he kept those eyes pinned on me. He was curious to see how I’d wiggle out of it, as if this was a test.

“Perhaps another time,” I suggested. “My hand’s beginning to cramp, and I was going to walk to stretch my legs. Was there a reason you were looking for me?”

Kaldur stood from the bench, and suddenly the space beneath the canopy of vines felt a million times smaller. I also stood so I didn’t feel so overpowered, and I tried to discreetly tuck the notebook into my satchel as I gathered it up from the ground.

“Better,” he complimented, coming to stand directly in front of me, keeping me pressed very close to the tree. “You learn quickly, dallia . That will make this all the easier.”

I stared up at him in surprise, feeling his compliment bury deep. A small, warm little stone that lodged itself in my breast. I found myself grinning up at him and was sure I looked silly. But I didn’t have it in me to care.

One moment stretched into two, which stretched into three. I was keenly aware that he was studying me at his leisure and that he seemed infinitely comfortable to be doing so. His hand came up to touch my cheek.

“I would give anything to know what you’re thinking right now,” I confessed.

It was a moment of bravery and curiosity for me.

“Anything?” he murmured. “I’ll take that deal.”

I realized my mistake too late. Kaldur took my hand, lifting it up, inspecting the charcoal markings across it, which made his lips quirk up. He brought my wrist to his lips, and I nearly gasped at how sensitive the flesh was there when he kissed it.

My heart went fluttering all anew, coupled with a wild symphony of sensation in my belly.

Across my inner wrist, I felt the whisper of his words as he said, “I was thinking that it’s strange how suddenly this happened. How unpredictable. How thoroughly you’ve invaded my thoughts, my every waking moment, when you have been within my keep for years. I never even noticed.”

It was everything I’d ever wanted to hear from him, wasn’t it?

“You never saw me. Not truly,” I said quietly.

“Ah, but tell me, my dallia . Did you see me?” he asked, quirking his brow.

“Of course. Always,” I whispered, feeling caught in his web as the vulnerable admission tumbled from me, as if he were a sorcerer casting a spell, like Argamin from my stories. My cheeks went bright pink, but…I wasn’t ashamed. I thought it was a nice sentiment, to admire someone from afar. Was there any harm in imagining them as yours in another life?

But maybe that life could be this one, I couldn’t help but realize. Especially when Kaldur was looking at me like this , with his molten eyes and sweet words. Could he love me?

The edge of his lips quirked up. He kissed the inner side of my wrist gently.

“I see you now, Erina,” he said, his lips lingering. “That’s all that matters.”

Elation filled me as his fangs broke my flesh.

Just this morning, he’d warned me not to romanticize this with him. That he would only disappoint me. But in this moment, it felt like the opposite. How could I not dream of something more with him? Especially when he made me feel like this? Seen? Desired? Protected ?

That’s all I want, I thought. To be seen by him when I’ve been invisible for so long.

A swirl of pleasure and happiness exploded inside me before I felt the familiar warmth begin to spread. He fed slowly. What made this one different was that he could watch me as he did…and I could watch him. Our eyes held, making the prick of desire feel all the more pinching.

On the first large pull of blood, my eyelids fluttered and I made a sound in the back of my throat. I watched his pupils flare, his needful hunger reflected there.

He pressed me back into the tree, his strength surging. My satchel dropped to the ground with a small thud. I felt the hardened outline of his cock, rigid and thick, against the middle of my belly. My hands went around him, sliding up the wide expanse of his back as he cradled my arm between us. Nothing would make him let me go, I realized.

He was just as affected by this as I was. He desired me too, and that filled me with the confidence to explore him, to touch him when before I’d been too shy.

Kaldur groaned, feeding more forcefully, which sent a dizzying wave of pleasure through me. I was close already, the edges of a quick orgasm beginning to close in. Especially when he began to rock against me, using my body as friction against his cock.

I’d never felt this want before. This delicious sensuality that was freed and made normal by this act. We were nearly strangers, and yet I was on the verge of coming in his arms, trapped against a tree and his enticing cock and his fangs deep in my wrist.

“Kaldur,” I moaned.

I want him, came the desperate thought. I want to feel how lovemaking would be with him.

This was aching madness that made no logical sense. But just like Kavelyn, I would be brave and explore where it led. I would willingly let go of the cliff—my safety and sanity—and plunge into the darkness, the unknown. I only prayed that something would catch me on the way down.

The orgasm blossomed out from my core, rippling through me with waves of intense, elongated pleasure. I cried out, gripping his shoulders tight as he thrust against me.

He watched me as I came apart in his arms, his eyes going so dark that they appeared not silver but a gray so intense they were nearly black. I’d orgasmed the first time he’d fed from me, in this very garden, in the courtyard where the starwood blooms were. And yet this felt so much more intimate. I felt connection.

His body was tightening more and more. And it wasn’t my imagination, I realized…he was growing larger, his muscles swelling beneath my palms. A result of the feeding? I knew that Kylorr got strength from blood.

His fangs released my wrist. The look in his gaze was so severe, so full of need.

“Don’t stop,” I pleaded, still feeling my body pulse from the pleasure. “ Please. ”

His nostrils flared. Before I knew it, he was moving forward, cupping the back of my head so I didn’t hit it against the tree trunk…

And then he was kissing me.

I gasped, feeling the bite of his fangs as I tried to maneuver around them during the kiss. Not my first one, but one that was actually meaningful. I tasted my own blood, mingled with something sweet that made me arch into him. He continued to thrust, harder and harder, against me.

I went dizzy with his kiss. It was both gentle yet unyielding. I never wanted it to end. It made my whole body tingle, made my eyes squeeze shut, made my teeth hurt because it was so sweet.

“Going to come,” he growled against my lips before licking the seam of them with a wicked swipe of his tongue. “ Vaan , you’re going to make me?—”

I bit his bottom lip. My body moved on its own, as if guided by instinct I’d never known I possessed. One hand went to the curve of his cock between us, thick and so incredibly hard, and I felt his shuddered gasp into my kiss.

He covered my hand with his, keeping my touch cupped there, and he gave two thrusts before he went still. His breath stopped even as his tongue moved against mine.

Then…I felt the flood of heat spread below my hand. I squeezed my legs together, the sensation and realization of what had just happened erotic and strangely tantalizing. Then came his deep groan, the huffs of his breath as he broke the kiss. His forehead came down to rest against the side of my head.

After a few moments, it went quiet as he took my hand away.

“Fuck,” he cursed softly, though there was only tiredness in his tone.

He pulled away, and I felt the cool rush of air replace where his warmth had been, making me shiver.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said, voice gruff when he peered down at me, over an arm’s length away. “I got carried away.”

“I didn’t mind,” I said, suddenly shy. “I…I liked it.”

His eyes closed briefly. I licked my lips, tasting my own blood and him. My gaze dropped to the spreading wet patch over the front of his trews, and something quivered in my belly. Satisfaction, perhaps?

But when Kaldur opened his eyes, gone was the male who’d been in my arms. The Kyzaire stood in front of me, managing to look as untouchable as ever, even though he’d just come in his trews.

“Enjoy the gardens, Erina,” he said, as if he was trying to erase what had just happened. Frustration pricked at me. He was determined to keep me at arm’s length now ? After what we’d just done? “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You won’t want to feed tonight?” I asked when he turned away .

He met my eyes. His fangs were still out, gleaming and sharp.

“Our contract stipulated two feedings a day,” he pointed out. “I’ve taken my allotted fill already. I’m allowed no more.”

The words felt like a bucket of cold water over my head. The contract. The damn contract. It made this feel so…clinical. Especially after the heat and wildness and need of that prior moment.

“I don’t care about that,” I argued.

“But I do,” he snapped, making me jump. He took in a deep breath. His tone gentled when he said, “Two feedings a day. That’s all. That’s what we agreed on, and I intend to uphold my word.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, smearing blood on my dress. Kaldur noticed, biting into his thumb without a moment of hesitation.

“Give me your wrist,” he demanded.

I held it out wordlessly to him, and he smoothed his blood over the bite. I stared down at the black mingling with my red.

“Don’t be upset with me, dallia ,” he said softly, turning my chin up so I met his eyes. “I’m only trying to keep our agreement. My word is important to me. One of the most important things. Many times it’s all someone has.”

“I understand,” I said. But I didn’t. Not really. He held my gaze for a moment more and then stepped away.

“Have a pleasant day, Erina,” he said, inclining his head.

I watched him go with stinging disappointment.

Maybe he’d been telling me the truth, I thought.

Maybe all he would do was disappoint me in the end.