Page 30 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER 30

NEEV

* * *

T he stench of decay fills my nostrils as we pass over the carcass of the ursax that Raiz killed a few days ago. The kyrils snort and shake their heads as we drive them down the tunnel toward the cave of bones. I can’t tell if I’m sensing something watching us or if it’s just my imagination, but all the hairs on the back of my neck seem to rise the closer we get.

Raiz tightens his arms around my body, tension radiating off him in waves.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” I whisper.

“I know.” He nods at Vynia when she looks back at us. “Do you have your blasters ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Try to stay on Nebula if anything happens. He’s the safest place to be if we’re attacked.”

We continue through the darkness in silence. The feeling doesn’t dissipate, it actually gets worse. I try to tell myself it’s just because I know the creepy cave of bones is coming up, but I can’t shake the anxiety. If I could melt back into Raiz, I would.

We emerge into the cave of the bones, the kyrils standing side by side as they scan the darkness. Nebula steps in place while nervously snorting. Las leads his kyril and the one carrying our supplies out first, the path through the bones has changed since we were here days ago. Vynia goes second, followed by Hyva, and then finally us taking up the rear.

We’re halfway through when the growling begins. I can’t tell if it’s one ursax or many because of the way the sound reverberates through the space. All four of the Zeahirians jump off their mounts and unsheathe their weapons in the blink of eye. Their speed is a good thing because eight ursax run from opposite sides of the room, converging on where we are with no cover.

The first two reach Las before he can swing his weapon. The smaller ursax jumps on his back and bites his neck while the larger one bites into his leg. He doesn’t even get the chance to scream before his body is torn in two. Each creature takes its piece and runs off to where they came from.

The horror of the moment doesn’t fully sink in as I watch my friends fighting off the others. I pull my blaster as three close in on Vynia. Nebula stays calm beneath me as I lift the gun in two hands like Raiz showed me. It takes precious seconds to find my target, but when I do, I pull the trigger. The ursax falls to the ground with a lucky shot to the side of its head. Vynia kicks one of the attacking creatures and slices the head off the other.

Now that she’s down to just one, I turn my attention to Hyva. He’s managed to take down one and is pulling his knife out of its eye. I yell for him to watch out as two more race out of the shadows going right for him. I shoot with my gun but miss the first time. It howls out when my next shot gets it directly in the leg.

I’m just about to check on Raiz, when I’m knocked completely out of the saddle. My breath whooshes out of me on impact with the ground, and when I look up, I notice an ursax on Nebula’s back. The kyril rears back on its hind legs, violently shaking the creature off.

Raiz yells my name just as a large shadow crosses over me. Hot, foul, saliva drips onto my face from the jaws of the largest ursax I’ve seen as it steps over me. Just as I turn my head, I see Raiz run and slide between us. He covers me with a roar of anger I’ve never heard him make. His fangs are down, and his talons rip into the belly of the ursax that was about to attack me.

I can barely breathe beneath Raiz’s weight, but at least I’m alive. He tears the ursax into shreds, flesh and fur flies when it makes a feeble attempt to flee. Raiz won’t allow it though, as he wraps his hand around one of its legs and tears it apart. Blood and gore arc through the air, painting the bed of bones into a macabre masterpiece.

Once he’s ripped that ursax to pieces and watched it take its last breath, he runs to the closest one and tears it apart. It’s as though he’s fueled by some sort of primal rage now. It’s gone beyond protecting himself and turned into a mission he must complete.

My arm hangs at an unnatural angle, but I’m too horrified by the scene in front of me to feel any pain. Vynia is on her back, kicking at the jaw of the ursax who keeps attacking her. I look down at the ground for my blaster but can’t find it. I hear a sickening crunch and look over just in time for Vynia to rip her leg from the mouth of the ursax. It spits out her prosthetic leg and shakes its head. She uses its momentary confusion to her advantage and swings the leg at its head. When it falls to its side from the impact, she pulls her knife and jabs it down into its chest, twisting the blade until blood trickles from the ursax’s mouth and the light of life dims from its eyes.

The sound of a neck cracking is the last thing I hear aside from heaving breathing and irritated snorts from the kyril who managed to live through the attack. Hyva runs to Vynia, helping her stand up on her one leg. Raiz drops the body of the last ursax and hurries back to me. He can’t speak around his elongated fangs as well, so he falls to his knees beside me. His talons retract quicker than his fangs, so he runs his hands up and down my legs, checking for injuries. I’m only just realizing that I’m covered in blood.

“It’s okay.” I grab his hands as I start checking him over. “It’s not my blood.” It’s likely from the ursax he slaughtered while protecting me.

His white hair is dark and matted with blood. Violence swims in his eyes, like he’d bring the creatures back to life just to kill all over again. Rationally, I know this type of violence should be horrifying to witness and experience. But there’s nothing rational about the way my body is responding to him like this. I watch in fascination as his fangs slowly recede until he can speak as usual.

“I didn’t realize they got that long.” I wipe blood from under his eye. My cheeks heat as soon as the words are out of my mouth. What a weird thing to say after what we just experienced.

“Are you okay?” He scans me with his eyes and hands.

The hint of a smile that was on his face falls away when I wince as his hands brush my shoulder.

“I think it’s just dislocated from the fall.” As the adrenaline fades, the pain is starting to set it while my arm hangs limply at my side.

“Hyva,” he calls out urgently. “Neev is injured.”

Hyva comes quickly, helping Vynia along on her one leg. She waves him off and drops to the ground, blood coating her skin as well. Hyva drops to his knees looking me over to figure out what’s wrong.

“My shoulder is dislocated.”

“What does that mean?” Raiz looks from me to Hyva.

“The joint slipped out of place,” Hyva says as he frowns. “I’ve never treated anything like this before. Our joints are different from humans and don’t move the same way.”

“I think you just yank it back into place.”

“That’ll hurt without any anesthetic.”

“Better than risking nerve damage or not being able to use my arm. Just do it. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” He feels around my shoulder for a minute and then sets one palm in place and grabs my bicep with the other. “I saw you nail one of the ursax with a blaster.”

I hiss as sharp pain explodes in my shoulder as it pops back into place, but it quickly fades to a manageable ache. I circle my arm forwards a few times and then backwards a few more until the pain fades to a dull ache.

“I did get one of the bastards.”

His lips tilt upwards. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Almost normal. You did a good job fixing me up.”

“Thanks, I’d rather never do that again, so if you could refrain from doing that in the future it’d be appreciated.” He turns and heads over to Vynia. “I have a spare leg in my medical pack for you.”

“You brought a spare?”

“Yes. You have an irritating habit of using your prosthesis as a weapon or tool. I’ll always have a spare handy.”

“At least I wasn’t the one who removed it this time. That damn ursax bit it off.”

“After you kicked it in the teeth.”

They bicker a bit more while Raiz rounds up the three kyril we were riding. The other two ran off. I’m just about to stand up when I’m lifted off my feet and pulled into Raiz’s embrace. He spins me until I’m facing him and can wrap my arms around his waist.

“It’s okay.” I rub my palms up and down his back while he continues to radiate tension. “I’m okay. Hyva and Vynia are okay.”

He nods but doesn’t say anything. He just pulls me even closer until it’s work to breathe. “I thought I might lose you.”

“I’m tougher than I look.” I lean back so I can look up into his eyes. “We’re not too far from home, are we?”

“No, we’re not. Just a few more hours’ ride.”

“Good. A shower has never sounded better.”

* * *

It’s late by the time we get back to Raiz’s estate. My entire body is so sore it’s difficult to climb the stairs. I entice myself by thinking of standing under the hot spray of his shower for at least thirty minutes while the nastiness of the day washes away into the drain.

I’m not the only one who is exhausted, both Hyva and Vynia decide to take a guest suite for the night. I’m glad it won’t just be Raiz and myself tonight. It’s the first night I’ve spent back in the house since I was attacked. It feels strange to walk through the halls and not see Uzold passing by or bringing me something to read.

Raiz leads me down the hall, stopping between his room and mine.

“Where do you feel more comfortable sleeping?” he asks.

I think about it for a minute. Thoughts of being chased and attacked in his bedroom filter back, and my heart speeds up. “I think I’d rather sleep in my room, but I want you with me. If you prefer yours over mine, I’ll manage.” I look up at him. “I just want to be with you.”

He gives me a long, intense look. One that’s full of so many emotions I don’t know how to sort through it all. Then he pushes open my door. “I’m happy to sleep in here with you.”

My shoulders loosen with relief.

I immediately begin to strip out of my bloody, filthy clothes as I head right for the bathroom. I don’t turn to see if he is following me, though I really hope he is. I want to take care of him the way he’s always taking care of me. I want to clean the remnants of today from his body and give him the comfort that he so deeply deserves.

The door closes behind me, and I hold my breath as I turn the water to as hot as it’ll go. My breath whooshes from my lungs as I feel him grab the bottom of my bra and lift it over my head. The feeling of safety I get from his proximity brings the prick of tears to my eyes.

“I don’t know how you can wear those wretched contraptions all day long.” He tosses the bra to the corner of the room.

“I don’t really have a choice,” I say with a smile while I push my pants and panties down my hips and step out of them.

The water is just shy of scalding when I step into the spray. The hot springs were great, but there’s nothing like a hot shower to make me feel truly clean. Raiz steps into the glass walled shower behind me, immediately taking up a majority of the space with his size. I turn around to face him while I tip my head back and wet my hair.

He stares down into my eyes and gathers my hair in his hands. “Let me?”

I nod, and he presses a quick kiss to my lips before getting the shampoo. He lathers it between his palms and begins to work it through my hair from the roots to tips. My eyes drift closed at the feel of his fingertips on my scalp. It feels so good that goosebumps race across my naked flesh regardless of the hot water streaming down over my body. As his chest brushes mine, my nipples tighten into hard, pink points.

If he notices, he doesn’t say anything. All his attention is on working conditioner through my tresses. I feel the need to do something for him, so I grab his soap and get a good lather going. I run the sudsy wash rag over his body, wiping any lingering smudges of blood from his skin.

Neither of us speak as we take our time helping the other clean up. The thrumming begins in his chest as he watches suds run down my body. It isn’t until now that I realize he didn’t thrum at all while we were on the way to the temple.

“Can you control that?” I ask.

“What?”

“The thrumming?”

“No. But it can be suppressed by a shot.”

“Did you suppress it while we went to the temple?”

“Yes.” He lets me switch our position until his back is under the spray. The last thing left is to clean his hair.

“Why?” I pull down on his hands. “Kneel so I can wash your hair like you did mine.”

He does as I ask, his eyes zeroing in on my breasts now that they’re at eye level for him. “I didn’t want it to draw attention.”

My fingers glide through his hair, working the shampoo through as his eyes fall shut. He wraps his hands around my waist as I watch the water run black from the blood in his hair. His palms move down to my hips and his thumbs circle slowly toward the apex of my thighs.

“I love your body, Neev. You’re so soft and pliant beneath my hands.” His finger traces along my slit. “And this heavenly place,” he parts my folds, “is my favorite in the galaxy.”

I reach behind him and turn the water off. He doesn’t wait for a towel before standing and lifting me into his arms. His cock presses against my clit with each step he takes, making my pussy throb with need.

Instead of tossing me on the bed like I anticipate, he sets me on my feet beside it and bends me over. When I look over my shoulder, I see him drop to his knees behind me. He pushes my legs apart until my sex is fully on display for him.

Heat from his mouth covers my clit as his tongue lashes against it in hungry, hurried strokes. My fingers dig into the bedding for purchase as my hips rock back toward his mouth. He squeezes the backs of my thighs just beneath my ass, hard enough to lace the pleasure from his mouth with the slightest bit of pain from his hands. He cups my cheeks, spreading them further apart and drags his tongue from my tight bundle of nerves to my pussy. He thrusts his tongue in and out of me in rapid succession. One of his fingers circles the rim of my virgin hole, teasing me with something I didn’t even know I’d want.

“Fuck,” I whisper breathlessly when his mouth continues its upward ascent and he circles my puckered hole with the tip of his tongue. “Raiz,” I moan his name as he slips two fingers inside me, immediately finding my g-spot and sending pleasure flooding my cunt.

He moans against me as his lips work their way back to clit. Searing, white heat rolls through me as I’m rocked by a powerful orgasm. He keeps working me through each trembling wave.

I crawl up the bed as he stands to his full height. His cock juts out proudly, a pearlescent drop of cum beaded on his tip. Before I can change directions and take him into my mouth to bring him the same pleasure he brought me, he’s on top of me. He settles between my parted legs and enters me in one powerful thrust. My fingernails dig into his back as he pulls out and glides back in. My body rocks into the mattress with each thrust, the entire bed moving with the force of our fucking.

He wraps his hand around the back of my thigh and lifts my leg into the air, resting it against his chest. His eyes travel to where we’re joined.

“You take me so well, female,” he growls. “The way your cunt stretches over and welcomes my cock makes me want to forget everything outside this room.” He reaches down and circles my clit with his fingers. “Fucking. Perfect.”

Our skin slaps together forming a primal chorus with his panted curses and my whimpered breaths. I lift my other leg until it rests against his chest. The new angle tightens my channel, and my walls begin to tremble and milk him again. He growls as his cock surges inside me; hot seed fills me as he pulses over and over with his prolonged release.

He lowers my legs gently to either side of him, but he stays full seated within me. He plants his hand low on my stomach, right over the softest, roundest part of my body. I’m usually uncomfortable being touched there, but he strokes the pooch gently, reverently. Like he’s transfixed by my body.

I feel bereft as he pulls out of me with a groan. His eyes move to the spot between my legs. “Mine,” he gathers the cum spilling from me and pushes it back inside.

He pulls down the covers and lays beside me, putting them back over us. I turn my head and press a soft kiss to his lips. Cocooned in his arms I manage to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.