Page 33 of Of Nightmares & Fire (Elusive Umbra #1)

“Astraea?” A man's voice echoes around me. The one I heard in the stables. The way he addresses her makes something possessive stir in my chest, and the scowl I wear only deepens as I watch him come in close and take her hands between his. She flinches back a small amount, and he does not push. “You’re crying?” He says, and she doesn’t try to hide that is what she is doing.

She nods, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek.

“I just know they are going to kill him, Kellan. I don’t know what I can do.

I’m sick of the blood that is always coating my hands.

Is there anything you can do to help? You know I wouldn’t ask if I thought there was any other choice.

” He lifts his chin, but the concern he shows on his face appears genuine.

The familiarity between the two is apparent, and I know it shouldn’t, but I realize the sensation building behind the wall of my chest is jealousy .

“Who?” Kellan asks one of the many questions I’d like the answer to myself.

“Mavros Kahzal of Diemos. Probably Kyros too, but Kellan… I have my ways of getting some information. I know that he has something big up his sleeve for this challenge, and I know who is set to walk away the victor, and it is not Mavros. Mavros… he… I…” She swallows and closes her eyes as she thinks about what to say next. What is it you want to say, Shula?

“Astraea,” he says again in a whisper, endearingly. My teeth grind in my mouth .

“I cannot let him die. There is something different about the twins. I can feel it, maybe they are what this kingdom has needed all this time. Maybe they are the ones who can relieve me from this purgatory. You know as well as I do, I can never do anything right. I am always blamed for anything that goes wrong. Punished for it . You, of all people, have to understand. I have to help him.” Help him?

Mavros? She wants to save me and my brother from her father’s plans? Did she say she is punished?

“I brought the healing balm that Colette requested and put it in your bedchamber. I will do everything I can to find out what they are planning, but Princess, I am just a guard… One that is not trusted anymore because of everything that has happened recently.” He reaches out again, and this time, she allows him to take her hands in his, and I bristle.

“Thank you, Kellan. You are a good friend. I will remember all the ways you have helped me, and if I am ever in the place to pay you back, I hope you know I will do everything I can to ensure you and your family are well taken care of.” Astraea says with a broken voice.

It's clear she thinks that she will never have that opportunity. What the fuck is going on here?

“Spoken like the queen I know you will be.” He bows low, and something sinks in my stomach. When he stands, he offers no more. Astraea watches his form shrink as he walks away. A slight trembling influx of air is the only thing that tells me she is crying again. Crying for us? Strangers?

Slowly, she turns back in the direction she was headed before the guard intervened. She should have guards following her, guards who stand at the door to her bed chambers even if she is not in them. The fact that they are not…

She walks slowly, her gaze down toward her feet, so when I step out in front of her, she doesn’t take notice until I grab her and pull her into the darkened hallway before her door.

Her eyes widen as I press her into the wall with just enough light to show her who has her held here.

My hand presses firmly against the warm skin of her lips, and I’m reminded of how they felt pressed against mine.

When she realizes it’s me holding her, I feel the relief sag into her body. The longer her eyes train on mine, the more I feel the tension she carries release, even if just a fraction. I feel it , and I don't know what to think of it.

“Can you be quiet for me, Shula?” I whisper close to her face.

She shakes her head, agreeing to my request. “Mmmmm,” I hum and slowly peel my hand away from her face.

Her lips part, and as my eyes dance around her face, I see the pain from the way her hair is pulled back so tightly.

I reach behind her, and in one swift tug, I pull the pin from her hair.

Dark waves fall around her like a waterfall of ink cascading over her shoulder and down her back, and both of us lose our breath.

The metal pin clangs on the dark stone floor.

“I think I much prefer this look.” My eyes narrow on hers as my hand lingers at the crook of her arm, and she braces herself on mine.

“Kyros? What are you doing here?” She implores.

What am I doing here? I had a plan before what I just witnessed.

My eyes fall to the pendant low on her heaving chest, and I let my fingers find their way lightly down the column of her neck.

When I reach her collarbone, I let my gaze meet hers again.

She's not protesting; if anything, she is pressing further into me, and as much as I know I shouldn’t, I let my hand drop further.

My fingers trail the gold stitching of the low neckline of her dress, so low that I feel her breathing stop altogether.

My fingers hover almost touching the pendant, and while I certainly feel magick coming from it, it’s not the same as what I’m feeling coming from the princess… I have to know. I wrap my hand around the pendant and lift it between us.

“What is this?” I ask, toying with the delicate silver disc with carvings not much different than the tattoos that cover my skin.

“It was my mother’s. A gift to me when I turned ten.” Ten. The age that magick begins to surface for many of us. I drop the pendant and push my leg between hers. The slit on her dress is open enough that my leg finds her skin, and again, she sucks in a sharp breath.

“You shouldn’t be alone…” I finally say.

“I’m not alone.” She says, placing her hand on my chest. I look down at her delicate fingers. Keeping my eyes on them far longer than what is natural, but something warm ignites under her touch, and I can’t help but stare at the connection, trying to see what has caused the foreign feeling.

“I don’t see anyone here to protect you,” I tell her, lifting my gaze to hers.

“Does that mean you are here to hurt me?” She whispers, and I stay silent for a moment, watching her reaction to my lack of words.

I can see the pulse in her neck thrumming at the same rapid pace as mine.

Everything in me is telling me to say, “Fuck it.” Pick her up by her ass and carry her into that room with my mouth on hers.

Make her beg for anything I am willing to give her.

Make her pay for her father’s sins, but the other part of me—a part I don’t know how to handle—wants to cup her face and tell her I will always protect her.

My hand comes up, the backs of my fingers brush the softness of her face, and just as I am about to possibly say something regrettable, someone clears their throat.

“Princess?” A feminine voice says, and I step back immediately, missing the warmth of her, and a scowl quickly converts whatever weakness my face showed a moment ago.

“Colette.” Astraea fixes her dress, and pink blooms in her cheeks. “I was just going back to my room. I will meet you there.”

“Of course.” The girl from the stables bows and looks in my direction with a cold stare but quickly leaves us. I notice that she does not shut the bedchamber door behind her. Smart girl.

“I think it's time I take my leave. I’m sorry.” I say, holding her gaze and making a decision.

If it’s not the necklace that is the relic, it must be in her blood.

It wouldn’t be unheard of for a blood bond to be tied to a person with magick.

Regardless, the princess has secrets, and I plan to find out what they are, but that will come later.

Tomorrow we have to save my brother from his imminent death.

“Will I see you in the morning?” She asks, wringing her hands in front of her.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”