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Chapter Eighteen

RUNA

Horns blew, and the roar of the cheering audience rose over the noise of the forest. Golden energy swept over me, threatening to push me over the ledge. Shit. Not again. The landscape wavered, shifting and changing.

I stumbled, falling against Custodis, and the ground dropped out from beneath us.

Together, the vampire and I plunged into a dark tunnel.

“Curse you, Idris,” Drazen’s voice echoed from a distance before fading away.

“What’s happening?” I shouted.

“Hang on to me,” Victor barked, clamping an arm around my waist.

I clung to his shoulders. No way did I want to fall into some dank hole in the ground alone . Even if Custodis was my only option, he was better than nothing.

Smooth stone slipped beneath our bodies, and my stomach slammed into my heart. We could end up anywhere—a lava pit, in a nest of golden-tailed scorpions, or the layer of a gallspawn .

Suddenly, the tunnel ejected us, sending us tumbling into a tangled heap of arms and legs.

Our ragged breaths broke the silence as the glowing orbs overhead illuminated the space. Solid stone enclosed us on all sides. We had landed in some kind of cavern.

Victor pushed himself to his feet. “Are you hurt?”

I rubbed my throbbing shoulder, rising as well. “Just a few bruises. Where are we?” I turned a circle, calling out, “Kronk? Drazen?”

Water dripped in the silence.

“I believe they fell into a separate tunnel.” The vampire dusted his hands.

I surveyed our new surroundings, relieved to find no animal scat, bones, or man-eating plants. Behind us was an elevated shaft we had no hope of climbing out of. In front of us was a single opening.

“Time’s wasting. I will lead,” Custodis said with zero discussion, heading deeper into the passage.

I followed, snorting, “By all means. Lead away.” If the vampire wanted to be the first to face the unknown, who was I to disagree?

A wise leader didn’t let ego get in the way, knowing when to let others rise to a challenge.

Me? I was allowing the vampire to rise. Hell, maybe he’d even learn something from the experience.

I inhaled, and my nose twitched. Instead of muck and mold, the air was sweet.

“Do you smell that?”

“This isn’t some crude joke about flatulence you share with your brothers, is it?”

“Are you serious?” I snapped, tone biting with disdain. Although, it was totally something my brothers would do. Only once had I fallen for the pull-my-finger gag. Once.

The walls of the cavern closed in on me, and my chest squeezed. I wasn’t afraid of small spaces, but following someone I didn’t trust deeper into a dank hole had each breath I took feeling tighter than the next.

What I needed was a distraction.

I frowned at the back of the vampire’s silver head. “What about you? Do you have any family?”

Custodis walked in silence. Just when I’d given up on his answer, he said, “I did. Once. Long ago.”

“Siblings?” Sweat trickled between my breasts, and I fanned my heated cheeks. It was strangely warm for being underground.

“Perhaps. I can’t be sure. My mother wasn’t mated. I never knew my father.”

“Is she still in the mortal realm?” Maybe that was part of his reason for wanting to return.

He snorted a self-deprecating sound. “It may surprise you, but I was actually born here.”

I grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Hold on. You mean to tell me you’re a native of Carcerem?” Yaga didn’t mention that.

He pulled his arm free and continued along the path. “I was sent to the mortal world as a youngling.”

“So, after all your bluster and disgust for this realm, you’re actually a native.”

“I am not one of you,” he grated.

“If you say so.” Arguing with a delusional aristocrat set on denying his own roots was pointless. Besides, what did it matter if he was born here? It changed nothing. Certainly not my feelings for the arrogant lord.

I drew a deep breath, sweet perfume filling my lungs.

Something wasn’t right. Dank tunnels shouldn’t smell good . Warmth flooded my veins, and I shivered, my nipples pebbling against the fabric of my dress. I inhaled another breath of the sweet fragrance. There was something vaguely familiar about it.

Custodis muttered a low growl, stumbling a step before catching himself .

My head spun, and I pressed my palm to my sweat-slicked forehead. “I feel funny,” I murmured, my voice a husky rasp. “We need to get out of here. Do you see anything?”

“We’re nearing another opening.”

Finally, we cleared the tunnel, stepping into a vast, open area. “Oh, wow,” I gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

Glowing crystals illuminated the space. On one side was a turquoise pool, the water shimmering in the soft light. Scattered around the walls were clusters of purple flowers with fuchsia centers. They clung to the rock in small clumps, their seductive fragrance filling the air.

“Why would Idris include this in his challenge when his goal is to punish and torture us?” There had to be a catch.

“These flowers…” Custodis strode closer to one, eyeing its dramatic blooms. “I’ve seen them before—in a book.”

“Please tell me they’re not carnivorous.” Sure, I’d lived in Carcerem my entire life. That didn’t make me a specialist on every twig and leaf.

“No. But their effect can be almost as deadly. We must leave this place. Now.” He drew a breath then groaned, bracing a hand on the wall. Energy pulsed, vibrating through the ground.

What was that? Was he hurt? Strange, but that didn’t sound like a groan of pain. I studied his tension-riddled frame, staring at his tortured expression, then his straining shoulders and lean torso.

Finally, I let my gaze drift lower to the impressive bulge in his pants.

Gulp . Nope. Not a groan of pain, more like…

Lust.

Victor Custodis was aroused.

At the discovery, my blood heated, warmth pooling between my thighs.

He wasn’t the only one .

“Fates. The flowers. They’re an aphrodisiac.” Simply saying it out loud had a soft moan parting my lips.

At the sound, Victor snapped his head in my direction. His eyes shimmered with a golden light. “Their pollen unleashes inhibitions. Hold your breath,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

“Too late,” I gasped, a haze clouding my brain with every inhalation.

I needed…to leave.

Thoughts grew fuzzy, my blood heating.

“I need…” I trailed off, my tone rasping. Warmth spread through my center, and I squeezed my thighs together, moaning. “I need to be touched.” I glided my hand down my throat to my chest, trailing my fingers over sensitive flesh.

“Damn you. Stop that.”

“Stop what?” It wasn’t as if I was the one in control here.

My fingers had a mind of their own. That wandering hand dipped beneath my corset, shoving the cups of my bodice down, leaving my breasts in little but the transparent shift.

Through the thin fabric, I teased my pert nipples, sending jolts of pleasure shooting through my belly.

Victor’s glowing eyes watched my every move, burning me with the heat of a thousand suns.

I liked his eyes on me.

Watching.

Wanting.

Down, my traveling hand wandered, touching me much as I imagined my lover would, following the curve of my waist, blazing a tantalizing trail over my hip.

Just as I reached the hem of my short skirt, I met the vampire’s hungry stare and smirked.

“Runa,” he choked, claws raking down the stone wall.

“Runa what?” I asked in a breathy whisper, guiding my fingers up the inside of my thigh.

“Don’t.” Rocks broke beneath his desperate grip .

The vampire was seriously pent up. When was the last time he’d let loose and blew off a little steam? Did he ever?

I didn’t live a life of restraint. I took what I wanted, when I wanted it, particularly if it felt good. Life was too short, especially with the false king on the throne.

“Don’t what?” I dipped my fingers inside my undergarment, stroking my swollen sex. Fates save me, I’d never been so wet.

Wind gusted. Victor moved in a blur, and my spine hit the wall. An iron grip held my hands above my head. I blinked, drawing into focus the vampire’s snarling visage.

Despite the rough stone scraping my flesh, I groaned, eyes rolling into my skull. The warmth of his body branded mine, and I arched my back, seeking more of him.

“Runa,” he gasped, his expression a mask of both pain and pleasure.

I tipped my face to his, our noses touching. “Release me and we can both feel good.”

“Can’t,” he said in a broken voice.

Despite the coolness of the cavern, sweat dampened his brow, trickling down his temple. Eager for a taste of him, I pressed my lips to his jaw, then drew my tongue along that single bead of moisture.

The vampire shuddered against me. “What are you doing?”

“Tasting you. Would you like to taste me?” I tilted my head to the side, baring my throat. I’d heard a vampire’s venom could be quite orgasmic, which was exactly what I needed right now.

“Damn you,” he panted, pupils dilated, eyes locked on the vein that fluttered in time with my racing pulse. “This is wrong. There’s something we must do. Something…”

He furrowed his brow, squeezing his eyes closed.

I breathed deeply and exhaled a heated sigh. In this moment, there was nothing more important than the two of us.

Thanks to his distraction, I managed to wiggle one of my arms free. I grasped his wrist and steered his hand to my chest, pushing it to my breast and enclosing his fingers around my flesh.

Transfixed, he gave me control, offering no objection when I drew his hand down my side, under my skirt. Drawing one leg over his hip, I steered his heated palm beneath my undergarment. With no further direction, he stroked my sex.

“Is this what you want, pet?” he purred in my ear.

“Yes,” I moaned. “I need you to ease me. Make me burn.”

He gripped my hair, snarling against my lips. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”