Page 92 of Taken By the Lord of the Nocturne Court

Kyran lets out a gasp, like a dog striving to comfort its master, and when he cups my face with his clawed hands, there’s nothing monstrous about his strange features. He wants me, cares about me, and I can trust him with my life.

We kiss, slotting together like two hands during prayer, but a soft thump makes my lover look up. Can something endanger us here?

The sense of peace and relaxation drains out of me when I spot golden tracks appearing to our left like burns in shadow.

“The stag,” Kyran utters.

Chapter 33

Kyran

If anyone else understood how easy it can be to find the Stag of Sunrise by sinking into the shadowild, the hunt would have been long over. The golden tracks don’t stay visible forever, fading into nothingness after a few moments, so we follow their path through the black expanse, adjusting our clothes as we go.

Anticipation throbs around my teeth, as if I could kill the creature with a bite to the throat, not crossbow bolts and daggers, but as excited as I am to seize my prize, it can’t compare to the joy of Luke’s promise.

He will stay.

He wants me to take care of him.

He’s to be mine forever.

Joy flows through my veins like pure moonlight, and as I prepare a silver bolt and load it into my crossbow, all I can think of is the need to prove my own devotion to this human who has changed my life in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.

He’s accepted me the way I am. A sunspawn. A beast surrounded by shadow. I can let go of all inhibitions when I make him mine.

“We will leave now, and he will be nearby. Stay ready,” I whisper, even though the stag won’t hear us until we leave the shadows.

Luke stares at the golden tracks. “No one got to him yet,” he says with a smile and a healthy flush on his cheeks. I could watch his face all day and not get bored. But I stifle the desire to pull him against me and choke him with kisses and instead stroke his cheekwith the back of my hand. He leans in, his eyelashes flutter, and I can’t push away the realization that something’s changed between us for the better.

I have a lifetime to prove he’s made the right choice.

But the stag might end up taken down by someone else at any moment, so I nod at my promised, steady myself, and let the shadows part. Moonlight is blinding as we step back into the material world, but it can’t rival the glow of the stag’s sunrise coat.

We’re in a clearing. The animal is drinking from a tiny brook cutting through the mossy ground, but it senses my human the moment he appears. Its antlers are like massive branches peppered with gold dust, and when the stag faces us, heat rushes to my face, as if the Sunlight emanating from the beast is burning me already. I don’t have to check to know my shadowcraft would be useless against this beast.

I send a bolt at its neck and grab another one, preparing to shoot, but the scent of blood soaking the pale fur seems to enrage the stag, and it charges toward us with a roar that makes the ground shake.

I urge Luke to run while I go the other way, to take attention off my human. But as soon as we go in two different directions, instead of chasing me, the creature focuses on Luke. I assumed it would chase the person who attacked it. Wrong. Luke’s presence has the Stag of Sunrise frantic as if my promised is the cure to the pain it’s feeling.

The stag’s eyes glow red, as if filled with molten iron, when it lowers its antlers. It catches up to Luke so fast I have no time to wonder about its majestic size, or the sparks of gold bouncing off its fur. All I can think of is Luke’s safety. Even killing the stag comes second.

Luke screams when he realizes the stag is right behind him, but I was ready for this. This beast cannot be restrained or attacked with shadowcraft, but I use my powers to push Luke out of the way. He falls into a bush, and the sharp antlers miss him. The stag narrowly avoids falling over head-first but still digs the lower tines of its magnificent crown into the ground. My muscles feel as though they might snap as I dash at top speed, faster than each time I came to my brother’s aid in the past, earning all the eels floating over my skin.

My heart leaps when the beast struggles to free itself, likely stuck on some root. I notice my Luke crawling away from the cloven hooves, and I know this is my chance. The shadow of my own feet pushes me up, and I jump toward the golden creature, prepared to bear the brunt of its scorn.

I drop the crossbow and reach for my silver dagger as my heart slows.

I’ve ridden many horses, kelpies, and once even a bull. But the way the stag bucks under me as soon as my boot slides off its side, holds fury only the heat of the blazing sun can bring. I straddle its back behind the neck as it rips its antlers out along with a tangled root. I grab the fur on its back, because I have barely seconds before the beast manages to kick me off, and I sink the blade into flesh.

The animal roars with pure wrath, but it’s already lost. Hot blood sprays my face as I stab my silver dagger into the stag’s neck, right next to where my bolt still protrudes.

Then again. And again.

The creature jerks its head, shakes its rear to throw me off, but as the woods fill with the scent of its death, it’s a losing battle. I scramble off when the massive stag loses balance, and I roll away when it collapses, soaking the ground with its blood.

The coppery droplets cool my face and hands as the world stops spinning. The stag’s struggling to breathe, its tongue lolling as it moves its legs, trying to get away. I consider ending the beast’s misery, but there is no need for it, since it stills before I can make up my mind.

A sense of peace settles over me, and I seek Luke, who peeks out from a spot by a bush, panting. Once he realizes the stag is no longer moving, he gets up and joins me.