Damonq was grateful he had the ability to find humor in everything again. He’d forgotten humor and how much it could change one’s mood. Sandu was telling them all the strict truth. A fact. But the play on words made it humorous without the ancient meaning it that way.I sent for the others. Sandu added. I had forgotten what it was to chase the beast, and a war is shaping up here.I did as well, Andor admitted.The others nodded and Damonq had to smile. He had also sent for the others in the brotherhood. It scares me that we all think alike.We’ve been together too long, Ferro pointed out with a small shrug.Danonq got back to the task at hand. They always used the first safeguard, Alycrome taught us. Alycy had been the high mage for many years before Xavi, his son, had taken over. Alycy had insisted they follow their instincts and develop safeguards of their own, but many had problems completing that task. Weaving strands was easy enough; making them complicated, so difficult that o
I’ve got something, Afansiv said.Damonq stopped moving forward. He materialized beside him. The two barely fit in the narrow space.Andor streamed past them. I’ll check out the rest of this passageway and come back.Damonq concentrated on the fissure in the floor. It had been there for centuries. No monster had constructed it, but they could easily have taken advantage of it. Even though they were in darkness, with a mountain on top of them, a barrier between him and the sun, he still felt the burn as the sun began its first journey.Let’s get this done. You ready?In answer, Afanasiv waved his hand to open the crack. It widened a mere half inch. As it did, the entire boulder above and around them creaked and groaned. Dirt ran down the sides of the cavern to land on the floor. Damonq was already streaming through the crack, Afanasiv behind him. They were used to traveling in complete darkness. They were used to tons of earth overhead. More, hunting vampires was what they were most co
Afanasiv waited until the demon’s outstretched fingers nearly connected before sending the fiery spear rolling right through the withered, blackened organ. The flames were white-hot, bright orange red, spilling glaring light across Ravenous’s face. His lips were pulled back in a soundless grimace of sheer strain as he desperately tried to force his long, bony fingers into that fire to retrieve his heart.Leon crab-walked down the side of the cavern, his features, too, illuminated by the fiery spear incinerating the lesser vampire’s heart. He didn’t appear as fearful as he should have. The cave filled with the sound of a drumbeat, a call, Leon sending for reinforcements. That told Damonq that there were other pawns in the web of underground caves. That didn’t matter since the other ancients, he was certain, were already dispensing justice to those demons.He followed Leon’s every move, matching the steps like a dance partner, he on the ground, Leon coming down the side of the cave.
Afanasiv groaned under the weight of the ceiling as it fell. He stood in the center of the cave, legs wide apart, knees slightly bent, both arms raised, hands palms up to keep the tons of rock from coming down on top of Damonq as he fought to extract the heart from the master demon.Leon calmly raised both hands, his nails lengthening into sharp daggers. He slammed them into either side of Damonq’s neck, burying the nails deep, piercing the artery on both sides. Damonq didn’t waver, not even when Leon slowly pulled the nails loose so the ancient’s blood spurted out. Leon opened his mouth to catch the treasured blood. He gulped as his army of scorpions swarmed up Damonq’s thighs.Get it done, Afanasiv snapped.It wasn’t easy extracting the demon’s heart. His blood was acid, burning through skin to penetrate bone. It felt as if each individual finger was burned off. Damonq couldn’t feel the heart, only excruciating pain as he closed his fist around what he perceived to be the organ. He
Damonq didn’t know which was more extraordinary – that Elina could dream or that she could reach out to him in her sleep beneath the earth.Are you dreaming that I am in need of you?I will always be in need of you, lifemate. You are most important to me.There was a small silence. He pictured her little frown. He found himself smiling instead of checking his body for levels of pain.That is a good play on words, but I know you’re injured and those injuries are severe. If you allow me to wake, I can send the healer to you. She mused.The healer will soon be on his way to me. I am sending for him.He loved being in her mind. He loved the way she thought of him. Her worry for him. He wanted to be with her. No, he needed to be with her.Why didn’t you send for him on waking?We have set a trap and if I call to him on the common path, everyone will know I am injured. I am needed to fight, not be bait. I took the healer’s blood, but he didn’t take mine.She was silent for a moment. He was i
Elina woke up in a bed in her home. She was dressed in a soft gown, red with red roses embossed throughout the material. Before she opened her eyes, she realized she felt no pain. None. She inhaled and drew the scent of Damonq into her lungs. He always smelled wild. Dangerous. Delicious. She would recognize that scent anywhere. Sliding both hands protectively over her unborn child, she smiled without opening her eyes.“You’re here with me.”“Where else would I be?” The deep timbre of his voice slid over her skin like a caress. “Open your eyes for me.” He always spoke softly. She loved the way he did that. His soft was commanding yet gentle.She lifted her lashes, her gaze moving over him a little anxiously. She knew every wound on his body. She’d seen them in her vision. She’d experienced the battle with the demons as if she’d been there. That world was so far removed from the one she thought existed.She thought she was tough being a survivor of Darkness’s claws, but ancients were o
Damonq drank, pushing into Elina’s mind to share how taking her blood felt to him. His cock hard and full. Pulsing for her. Throbbing. Jerking with each strong pull of her essence into his mouth. She tasted better than the finest wine ever could to him. He was addicted to her taste. Obsessed with it. His body was on fire for hers. The wicked things in his head he wanted to do were right there, easy for her to see.Elina wanted to try all of it with him. The more he shared the way his body reacted, the more her body needed. His hands stroked her curves, traced her ribs over and over down to her waist. Then his tongue swept across her breast, closing the two puncture wounds. His hand anchored in her hair, pulling her head back and his mouth was on her, tongue slipping in, sharing her taste.The craving was there instantly. She knew part of it was his craving for her blood, but it was also hers. She wanted blood. Needed it. It might be abhorrent to think about, but the hunger was the
Elina lost herself in the feeling, in the need and hunger. The feeling was beautiful. Terrible. Glorious. She would never get enough. His hand slid between his chest and her mouth. A silent command. For a moment she thought to resist him, but his cock swelled, stretching and burning the tight muscles of her sheath, and she couldn’t think straight. She let him take over by sliding her tongue instinctively over the small punctures on his chest.Immediately she threw her head back, grinding down, rising and sinking on him. She didn’t want that to end, either. She wanted to live there with him, sharing the same skin, the pleasure spilling through her like a diamond comet streaming across the night sky. Pure and perfect.You’re so beautiful you make me cry. She whispered the truth into his mind. So intimate. She knew he saw her. Every sin. Every fantasy. Everything she was. She wanted him to know because he’d given her so much. He’d believed in her when others might have thrown her out