Page 4 of The Last Knight (The Cursed Kingdom #5)

Chapter Four

A choking mist blanketed everything, thick as wool and impossible to see through.

Gnarled branches tore through the fog like skeletal fingers, clawing at her as she ran.

The air was laced with something dark; an evil so dense it slithered along her skin, seeping into her pores no matter how fast she moved.

Her breath came in ragged bursts, her feet pounding against the earth, each stride a desperate attempt to outrun the malevolent force that chased her.

She’d always been fast. But tonight, it wasn’t enough. The evil was on her, its presence hot and fetid, breathing down her neck like death itself.

Then—a break in the suffocating fog. A clearing. Salvation.

Aubrey sprinted toward it, lungs ablaze, chest heaving, legs screaming in protest. She didn’t care where it led only that it wasn’there. But just as she reached the edge, a crushing weight seized her shoulder. She stumbled, knees collapsing beneath her.

“Where is it? Where is the key?”

The voice, deep, inhuman, echoed around her. Over and over, the demand twisted through the air like a chant.

She jolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, lungs still gasping for air.

And then she saw him. A man. Standing at the foot of her bed.

The silent scream rose in her throat. Her mind reeled, caught between nightmare and waking horror, as she struggled to understand:

Was she still dreaming?

“I don’t mean to frighten you,” a familiar deep voice said.

She saw an outline of a tall, muscled man, and blond waves that cascaded to his shoulders, his face shadowed. He shifted and the moonlight fell over him.

Dressed from head to toe in black, with a long overcoat, he looked like something out of an action movie.

It was Gunther, the warrior from the Dark Realm.

“What are you doing here?” Aubrey said, inching backward toward the headboard. She considered screaming for Padriag, but curiosity got the best of her. “Why are you here?”

His ice blue gaze met hers for a long moment, sending chills of awareness through her. She bristled with annoyance at the reaction. Even with the angry scar that ran from his left temple to vanish under the stubble of beard, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

“I require your help.” He stood stock-still almost as if holding his breath. “Will you help me?”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. “You are the ruler of darkness or something like that. Didn’t you tell me you got Meliot’s powers? So, no. I will not.” For some reason, she didn’t feel the urge to scream out for Padriag. Deep down she knew this wizard would never hurt her.

“Are you not going to ask what I need your help for? Last time we saw each other, you offered.” He lifted a brow in question as if already knowing she was curious to her own detriment.

“You can tell me if you wish, but I won’t do it.” Something she could never resist was the urge to help those in need, hence Oscar.

Oscar .

She turned quickly from side to side, looking for her cat and not seeing him anywhere. The cat slept with her every night, dozing lazily until late morning most days. “What did you do with Oscar?”

Gunther’s expression changed, hardened. The air shifted, almost stilled, and Aubrey understood he was controlling the surroundings. “Who is this Oscar?”

“If you hurt him, I will never speak to you again. Not that you care and not that I want you to ever come back…” She ran out of things to say, unable to think of anything that would threaten the huge man in the least.

When he continued to look at her in question, Aubrey let out a shaky breath. “My cat. Where is he?”

The change in his countenance was immediate.

He softened and once again it was as if the air around them went back to normal.

Gunther bent, standing back up with Oscar in his right hand.

The cat hung like a rag doll, purring loudly, his paws opening and closing, as if kneading dough.

The traitorous cat was delighted at the attention.

“I assume this is Oscar.”

Before thinking better of it, Aubrey sprinted from the bed, closed in on Gunther and snatched a startled Oscar from his hand. She turned and placed the cat on the bed. It was then she realized all she wore were a bralette and panties.

Straightening slowly, she turned and lifted her chin. “Please leave my bedroom.” She motioned with her hands toward the window. “Fly away, or whatever it is you do when you disappear.”

Her throat went dry at noting his eyes flickered down her body before meeting hers. “It is possible that you possess something that can help me return to this world.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have anything.” She couldn’t help remembering the voice in her dream asking for a key.

Gunther studied her for a moment. “Does your family own any old tomes, something that speaks to other realms? Your cousin, how did she come into possession of the dagger?”

Aubrey’s blood went cold. No matter how he presented himself at the moment, the man before her was from the Dark Realm, an assassin and utterly dangerous.

“Is it you that keeps giving me nightmares?” Aubrey asked and searched his eyes trying to sense if he would be truthful when he answered.

Brows lowering, he seemed puzzled. “Bad dreams? I do not believe I can affect your dreams.” He seemed to be actually concerned. “What happens in these dreams?”

Aubrey was convinced he already knew, but she explained anyway. “They are nightmares. There is always a dark mist and voices asking for a key.”

This time he looked away, fists clenching.

Aubrey took a step backward watching his wide back as he seemed to struggle to keep calm.

When he turned and looked at her there seemed to be fear in his eyes, while at the same time fury brewed just under the surface.

“Can you see anyone in the dreams? Any person? Creature?” His voice sounded deeper.

Frightened, Aubrey shook her head side to side, backing up until pressing against the wardrobe beside the window. “I only see mists, feel a hand on my shoulder or my arm, from behind.”

Gunther dropped his head, his wide shoulders lifted and lowered. Seeming to note that she’d moved away and stared at him wide-eyed. He moved closer and held out his hand.

“I am sorry.”

Aubrey stared at the outstretched hand, then placed hers into it. The large, calloused palm closed over hers and he led her to the bed. “I will go and allow you to rest. Please consider my request.”

He assisted her back onto the bed, and she slipped between the sheets, needing to cover herself from his perusal. When she looked back up at him, he was holding a picture on her nightstand. It was of her, her brother Stuart, and their parents during a holiday on the Spanish coast.

“Your family?”

“Yes,” Aubrey replied. “My father Andrew, my mother, Afryea, and my brother Stuart. We went to Spain on holiday last year.”

It was odd to see how gently he placed the frame back down. “You are fortunate.” He met her gaze for a moment and held up a hand. Then he was gone.

She ran both hands down her face. First the dreams and then a visitor. Whether Gunther knew about the nightmares or not, he was tied to them, of that she was sure.

Despite understanding that he didn’t mean any harm toward her, the fact he’d seemed to fight to keep control of his temper told otherwise. Gunther was turning into a very dangerous man.

She had to make a decision to either help him or condemn him to a life of darkness he’d never be able to turn away from.

Astonishingly, Aubrey slept soundly after Gunther’s visit.

When her alarm went off at seven in the morning, she stretched, a smile curving her lips, then she abruptly frowned.

She’d dreamed of Gunther, that they were on a picnic in a forest clearing.

In the dream they’d conversed, with her being attentive and asking about his past while fixing her plate of fruit, cheese and bread with care.

“Ugh.” Aubrey pulled a pillow over her face. She considered herself much too sensible for romanticism, especially with some king of the underworld type. Of course, she couldn’t control a dream that had been influenced by the late-night visit.

Sitting up, she scanned the room. In all probability, Gunther had not been there at all, only another dream.

It made little sense that he would come to her for help again, especially now that, according to Padriag, he had become one of the most powerful beings in the other realm.

Probably powerful enough to break free if he wished.

When she flipped the blankets off, something fell on the floor. It sounded heavy, almost like a cell phone. But a glance at the night table confirmed hers was charging. At first she didn’t find anything on the rug, then a round object caught her attention. Slipping from the bed, she studied it.

A round rock, the likes of which she’d never seen, lay on the floor.

Picking it up, the smooth stone fit nicely in her palm.

The coloring was amazing, shades of purple blending from the darkest, almost midnight color on the edges, gradually lightening to the faintest lavender. Its beauty took her breath.

Gunther had left a gift, something to ensure she knew he really was there. And that he’d asked for her help.

“I’m dropping Padriag at the castle,” Erin announced over the brim of her cup of coffee when Aubrey entered the kitchen after having showered and dressed in her yoga clothes. “Then I have to go to Edinburgh to work.”

“Aunt Lauren has done an amazing job running things. She may be reluctant to give up her new responsibilities,” Aubrey teased. “The last time I was there, she was discussing redecorating the Zen room with a woman she’d invited to class.”

“I was afraid of that. She’s been hinting she wants to do more than teach a class three times a week.

” Erin smiled. “Can you come to the studio so we can discuss things? I talked with Padriag last night about the commute from here and, later, from the castle to Edinburgh. We may want to open two additional studios, the one you want to have here in Linlithgow and one in Culross, which I can work at. Mother can run the Edinburgh studio if she wishes.”

Aubrey nodded. “After morning yoga, I plan to go to the council meeting and hopefully finally get the permits approved so that I can finalize transactions for the studio here. I can be in Edinburgh about noon.”

Erin gave her a bright smile. “Perfect.” Her eyes shifted to the doorway, and instantly her face brightened. Aubrey didn’t have to look to know Padriag had entered.

While Padriag poured himself coffee, adding milk and sugar, Aubrey steeled herself.

The conversation would bring back all that they’d recently been through to rescue Padriag from the other realm.

It had only been a few months, and Padriag, as well as the other four rescued men, were still adjusting to the modern world.

“Something happened last night,” Aubrey blurted out and before they could respond she added, “Gunther was here.”

Stunned silence followed her announcement. Erin put her cup down and looked to Padriag, who frowned at Aubrey, then looked toward the doorway.

“Where exactly?” he asked.

“My bedroom. He appeared in the middle of the night, like a vampire, all dressed in black,” Aubrey told them. “Scared the crap out of me.”

Erin let out a long breath. “What did he want?” Did he threaten you?”

“What did he say?” Padriag said, his coffee forgotten as he waited for her to reply.

It took a moment for Aubrey’s recollection to unscramble from the dream. “He wants me to help him escape the other realm. He wants to come here to live. He said that if my family had the dagger, we may have something that can help him.”

Padriag’s expression hardened. “If he has Meliot’s evil within him, what he wishes to do is to come here and bring evil with him. Just like Meliot, he wants to expand the Dark Realm. You must never trust anything he says.”

“He left this,” Aubrey went to her work tote and pulled out the rock. Holding it out, she almost wished she hadn’t shown it to them. She really liked the token.

Padriag peered at the stone. “Those are plentiful in the other realm.” He didn’t seem interested in it, so Aubrey put it back in her tote.

“I will speak to the others,” Padriag finally said. “We may need you to come and describe all that happened. Can you come to the Dunimarle later today?”

Her day was filling up fast. “It will have to be later.”

“She can come with me when I pick you up,” Erin said giving Aubrey a worried look. “I pray it doesn’t mean we’ll be plunged into another crazy experience.”

Aubrey let out a humorless chuckle. “I am not sure about that. There is another thing.” She went on to tell them about the nightmares that had plagued her for several weeks.

“And so it begins ag…ain,” Erin said, giving Padriag a worried look.

Padriag nodded. “I am sure he cannot come of his own will, otherwise he wouldn’t be asking for help. That is a good thing.”

Aubrey wasn’t sure that at the moment, anything could be described as ‘good.’