Page 9 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)
DRAKE
M an, this hurt. The unrelenting pain, and Riley up ahead without me.
Every attempt at getting to my feet only magnified the agony. Sitting in this slumped position was all my body allowed.
Shit.
I’d tried being strong for Riley, to get him to safety. But the initial surge of adrenaline had crashed, leaving me defeated. I wouldn’t be moving by myself, and was completely dependent on Riley and the soul bond now. If I didn’t pop up beside him, then who knew what my next move would be.
“Shit…” I rasped, triggering several stabs of pain in my ribs. They set off a round of pulses in my skull, which spread to my spine.
Fucking chain reaction.
I’d definitely suffered some sort of concussion. With every move, my stomach lurched, nausea rolling. The blue figure had really fucked me up, the physical consequences closing in.
I only hoped Molly was alright.
Unnerving silence engulfed the tunnel, only the faint sound of dripping water somewhere in the distance. Riley’s footsteps had long faded away, leaving me alone with my thoughts, sitting here like the useless lump of shit I was.
This whole thing could’ve been avoided if I hadn’t left the mansion. At the time, I thought I’d been doing right by him. Now I understood I was a giant prick who put The Moon in grave danger.
Unnecessary danger.
Man, thinking was dangerous for a man like me.
It set me off down dark paths, crushing me, sending me careening into one sorrowful wall, only to bounce off it to hurtle toward the next one.
A relentless pounding, like a ball inside a pinball machine.
A brutal way to live. But since the night I lost my parents, I’d been thrown into the shit pit.
Lived in care, adopted by a monster, giving up on a happy ending while hungering for it at the same time.
I went through life as a walking paradox of emptiness and longing, never feeling good enough for love, always on the outside of the world, watching it roll by behind frosted glass.
Until I met Riley.
The moment I looked into his magnificent blue eyes that day in Coldhabour’s Mystique Square, a shift took place inside of me. And it shook me harder and harder with every second, emotional tectonic plates crashing into one another.
The Moon occupied every thought, my fascination quickly becoming romantic. An insta-love thing, an admiration for his hopeful charm, his sunshine personality.
Or should that be moonlight personality?
I’d fallen for him, big time. And fucked it up.
Why would he want me after this? How could he trust me? I wouldn’t trust me, even if I knew deep down I’d never leave him again. It’d been a momentary lapse in judgment. A complete wanker move. If he did want me, I would make up for my mistake, take care of him, be the man he deserved.
He deserves better than you…
That voice. That cruel voice with hints of Sandra, my adopted mother, always dragging me down, always kicking, kicking, kicking. Never shutting up, never letting me be happy. Damaging me, forever sticking the knife in.
Being damaged meant the darkness had a piece of me, the scars of its cruelty deep.
But I didn’t have to let it win.
I was better than trash.
I was more than damaged goods.
I was in love for the first time in my life and Riley needed to know that.
You’ve fucked up, the inner voice whispered again, mocking me.
The phoenix tattoo on my back represented my counterattack against the lack of self-worth. Reminding me I was a fighter, surviving to the age of twenty-eight for a reason.
I survived. I battled on. I always rose from the ashes.
I’d escaped the hell of Sandra’s house to forge myself a new life, using my scrying power to help others find things.
I made a nice living from it, getting myself a studio flat in Norwich above a chip shop.
Lived. Embraced as much life as I could.
Even made a few friends, including Molly, and helped her bring down the scummy gang.
After, I worked for her, got paid in cash and comic books.
We bonded over our love of comics and graphic novels.
It was my dream to write and illustrate my own comic book one day, to see it on the shelves of Molly’s shop.
If she still had a shop left.
Man, here came the regret again, roaring like a bullet train. My actions landed her in the shit, along with Riley. Two for the price of one.
“Stop whining,” I chided myself.
Self-pity helped no one. Maybe from this moment on I could start thinking there might be some good stuff in my future for once.
Sparkle…
Sparkle in the shape of Riley…
Determined to fight on with an image of The Moon’s beautiful face blazing in my mind, I forced myself to my knees. The effort made me retch, pain flaring throughout my body. But I went one further, pushing through the agony until I stood upright, leaning on the wall for support.
It turned out I could get back up again.
Good.
Using the wall, I took slow, shuffling steps. Moving inch by inch, the movement a rigorous effort.
Man, I’d never been so sweaty in my life—sex with Riley aside.
That’d been some amazing sex. The best ever.
I want more.
A shade hissed behind me, killing the vibe.
At first, I thought I’d misheard. My ears might be malfunctioning. When it hissed again, the penny dropped.
“You smell delicious, human,” it spoke, setting my nerves on a razor’s edge.
Putting one foot forward, I stumbled, only just managing to stay upright.
Shit.
“Don’t try to run,” the shade warned. “Give in to me. Give in to death.”
Against my better judgment, I glanced over my shoulder. A set of red eyes greeted me, burning in a humanoid body made of shadows. It bared its teeth, crouching into the pre-race stance of an Olympic runner.
“Your blood smells as rich as honey,” it added. “I cannot wait to devour it.”
Maybe in your next life.
I clenched my fists, braced for a fight, then almost pitched forward as my head spun with queasiness.
The shade hissed, breaking into a sprint as Shade Horns boomed their warning.
Here goes…