Page 11

I shot upright with a gasp. That was one fucked-up dream . . . the stone walls came into focus.

The Lord of Shadows wasn’t my imagination. He was very real and very fucking scary. I scooted to the edge of the bed, and the soreness between my legs took my breath away.

And he’d fucked me. I closed my eyes, smoothing my skirt down until it fluttered near my ankles. Not only had he fucked me, I’d enjoyed it—too much.

I dropped my head back and dragged in a ragged breath. The creature seemed to think it had some weird claim on me, but why me ?

I swiped the back of my hand across my cheeks. There was no use in crying. I sucked in a breath. The stickiness had dried between my legs, so my first goal was to find somewhere to clean up. Maybe a bathroom, too? I had to pee.

Getting to my feet, I walked over to the window to look out at the barren land.

A deep blueish-purple tinted the sky. I shivered and inched back to the only door.

Once I popped out of the room, I made sure to leave the door open.

They all looked the same, and I didn’t want to waste too much time looking on the way back.

This place was too big for there not to be somewhere to clean up. Fortunately, the torches never seemed to be extinguished, so that was a perk.

All I could hear was my breathing as I shuffled across the stone floor.

I came to a stop at the intersection of a four-way hall, debating which way to go.

The place was a labyrinth. I scratched my neck to rid myself of the crawling sensation.

The same one that had haunted me since I turned eighteen.

I’d always believed they were normal until I started talking to them.

The first person I’d talked about them to was Aunt Vee, who’d dragged me right to a therapist, thinking it was a manifestation of my parents not being around.

Other than a few other small hiccups, I’d learned to mask my peculiarities .

The feeling of uneasiness wouldn’t leave. I whipped around, but I couldn’t make anything out through the shadows. I chose the left path. Something cold grazed my arm and I whirled, my heart thundering.

“Hello?” I whispered. The flames flickered so violently that they cast shadows everywhere and . . . wait—shadows.

“You,” I whispered. I licked my lips, feeling silly at addressing the inky tendrils, but at this point, I’d officially lost it. “Is there somewhere I can bathe?”

Absolutely no reaction. I’d probably gone mad a long time ago. Before I could take a step, the ticklish touch returned. Gasping, I focused on the darkness twisting around my wrist.

“Can you understand me?” What was I doing talking to a shadow? The tendril lifted and pulsated, and like a finger, the darkness wiggled up and down as if in a nod.

It understood me.

“Is there a place I can bathe?” The tendril grew and became thicker. It nodded again.

The shadow wrapped around my wrist and tugged. I staggered after the black pulsating mass, picking up speed as it dragged me down a hall, back the way we’d come. Shadows whipped around me, touching and caressing my skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake.

It took me with it so fast that the walls blurred in my peripheral.

It took a sudden right, and a wall rushed toward my face.

I tried to fight the pull, struggling and yanking to get free, but it was clear: I wouldn’t get free.

I squinted, waiting for impact, but the wall undulated, and I went through it.

It spat me out into the empty throne room.

He wasn’t here? The shadows guided me diagonally and to the corner behind the throne.

This passage led to a different hallway and down to a second entryway where it opened up to a room that was built of granite from top to bottom.

Every inch was covered in smooth opalescent stone, and in the farthest half of the ballroom-sized room was a huge oval granite pool filled with water.

It stretched from one end of the wall to the other.

Hesitantly approaching in case something jumped out at me, I peeked inside.

On one side of the pool was a thin fissure that glinted like metal, running from one edge to the other.

To the far right of the pool was an iron spout where water came out.

The thin sliver on the left must be a drain. It had some sort of filtration system.

On the drain side was a rounded exit to a terrace.

As soon as I stepped out into the open air, the trickle of water reached my ears.

I shuffled to the side, taking care not to fall off the porch.

I poked my head over the railing and immediately backed up.

If I didn’t die on impact, it would be an excruciatingly painful death.

I returned to the safety of the side of the pool and looked at the shroud hovering behind me.

“Is there a bathroom or rather, a toilet?” Unlike the last few times, the shadows didn’t wrap around my wrists. It faded and then thickened, clouding at the exit, pulsating like it was waiting for me.

I walked toward it, and it grew. Once I stepped into it, they curled around my arms and led me to the spot across from the terrace, through a slim path that turned dramatically to the right.

A toilet sat at the end, illuminated by the opening overhead.

I swatted the cobwebs blocking my way, and they tangled with my hand.

I didn’t want to see what had created them.

I shivered, but didn’t stop my progress to the porcelain seat.

It looked just like a toilet, with water and everything. But where was the plumbing?

As embarrassing as it might end up being, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting. I bunched my skirt to my waist, then dropped and peed. Immediate relief relaxed my shoulders. I waited a bit to dry off since there was no paper. I popped to my feet and hunted for the lever . . . but there wasn’t one.

I peeked into the toilet, and the water remained clear. It looked like it hadn’t been touched. So weird. It had to be some sort of magic, which had been proven to exist. I’d been dragged through shadows by some monstrous winged creature; nothing about this screamed normal.

I wasn’t going to debate the blessing of the magical toilet, and headed back to the pool.

I pulled my clothing off and gently laid it on the ledge.

My cross settled on my chest in a comforting weight.

I dipped my toe into the pool, which was surprisingly warm.

Moaning, I stepped into the shallow end, walking deeper and deeper until it reached my shins.

Then I got to washing, cupping my hands to scoop water as quickly as possible to clean every inch.

Moisture trickled down my body, and I flicked the droplets from my fingertips.

Only the tips of my hair were wet and slicked against my shoulders, but I didn’t want to risk going deeper into the pool when I couldn’t see the bottom.

I could swim, but what if there was something invisible in there, ready to drag me under.

I shivered. No thanks .

Once I pulled myself up on the ledge, I hovered near my clothes.

“A towel would be so good right now.” I sighed, shivering and flicking yet more droplets from my fingertips.

The shadows undulated and began to vibrate. Something white shot at me. My scream was muffled when it smacked into my face. Just as quickly as it landed, I yanked it off, dangling the face towel in my hand. The shadows had gotten me what I’d asked for.

“Thank you,” I breathed. If the shadows could bring me things, what else could it do? I dried myself off quickly and slipped on my clothes. “Can you take me home?”

The smoky cloud pulsed and then seemed to thin. It was disappearing!

“Wait,” I gasped, scurrying after it, the towel still in hand. I slowed midway down the dark hall. I’d scared the shadows away.

Keeping hold of the towel, I wrung it in my hands as I entered the throne room. There was still no sign of the Lord. Movement at the corner of my eye whipped me around, but upon turning, there was nothing to see.

“I shouldn’t have asked that,” I said. “Please come back.” Nothing moved or made a sound. I sighed and spun back around, intending to find my way back to my room, but found myself facing the inky cloud formation. I swallowed my gasp and squeezed the cloth in my hand.

“Can you take me to him?” I waited, holding my breath to see if the question was too much and the dark cloudiness disappeared again. “Please.”

Tendrils whipped around, sliding against my skin, and dragged me after it. “You’re very pushy.”

I settled into a quick pace, as it brought me through another hall and another hidden sliver, cutting the wall in half.

A bellow bounced off the wall. Deep, violent, and terrifying. I stumbled, dropping my towel as I tried to stop the shadows from dragging me toward the evil sound, but it wouldn’t halt. They stopped at a huge wooden door. I licked my lips nervously.

“Is he in there?” I whispered. A tendril thickened and expanded from the mass, then it bent in a nod. I breathed out slowly and cautiously entered.

A similar rug to the one in the throne room, and in similar shades, spread across almost the entirety of the room.

There were wispy black shadows along the edge of the deep russet of the rug.

In the middle of the room was a large circular bed on a thick wooden platform with wispy carvings keeping the mattress off the ground.

He was making all those noises. I shuffled closer and saw the mattress wasn’t like anything I was used to; it was some sort of pad.

A wrinkle formed at the base of his nose and between his closed eyes.

He didn’t have eyebrows in the human sense, but the small feathering trailing up the sides of his chiseled face spread above his eyes.

His feather-textured hair slid back, allowing me a clear view of his pointy ears, which also had tiny feathers along the surface.

I reached for the earring lying against his cheek, the gold surface glinting under the firelight from the torches along the four corners of the room.

He bellowed again, his torso jerking up so sharply that it was obvious he was in pain. I yanked back from touching him and pressed my hand to my stomach. Watching any creature hurting was never a strong suit of mine.

“Hey,” I murmured. I tried to lean close to him but the base of the bed hovered around my torso.

His body stopped straining, but he panted. A small, agonized whimper left him. I couldn’t continue to watch this. I reached up to grip his arm and shook it.

“Wake up,” I shouted.

He hissed, still deep in the throes of the agony.

I let his arm go and eyed the tall wooden frame.

I bunched the pad he lay on and propped my foot on the edge of the base.

Straining, I huffed and threw myself onto it, landing on my side.

It was taller than necessary. I panted, climbing to my knees.

I crawled forward until I was kneeling next to his hip.

His wings were outspread in both directions, twitching. I set my hand on his chest and shook again.

“Wake up!”

In a movement too quick for me to follow, he sprang up and pinned me on my back. I gasped.

His onyx eyes settled on me, and his shadows whipped around him, his large wings stretching out.

A frightening creature of nightmares stared down at me.

I screamed, and he hissed in my face. His eyes were wild and maddened.

Shadows whipped around both of us in a flurry; they seemed a part of him, no longer the single entity that had led me here while he’d been unconscious.

He tossed me onto my stomach, gripping my legs with a harsh hold, my skirt bunching around my waist. With a sudden twist of his hips, he buried himself inside me.

The sudden invasion ripped a scream from my throat.

He pulled back, and I felt every inch of his shaft, the stretch pressing into my clit.

My gasp turned into a moan. I arched my spine and shoved myself back to get more of his length.

He slammed into me again and his body curved over me, so the length of his torso pressed against my back.

His claws dug into my skin, the slight pinch heightening the intensity.

My channel flexed around his cock, and I whimpered, needing more.