A Kiss of Venom (An Araneae Nation Novella) (13 page)

Chapter Two

I jerked upright in bed as a scream ripped from my throat. I slapped a hand over my mouth while my body fought to flush the surge of adrenaline making my limbs tingle and muscles tighten. My heart pounded a deafening cadence in my ears as the remnants of my dream faded from memory.

Like all females of my line, I was night blind. Nothing permeated the absolute darkness surrounding me. My nighttime curfew had never been enforced since I didn’t dare leave my room after dark. Not all Evanti were as forgiving of my parentage as Harper, and their flawless night vision wouldn’t miss my bumbling attempts to find my way through the gloom.

Only the tangle of silken sheets around my ankles and the give of soft mattress beneath my palms assured me I was in my room and safe. Falling back into the pile of pillows littering my bed, I rested my palm across my chest. My heart punched urgently beneath my hand.

Was my nightmare the same night after night or something new? I didn’t know. I never remembered more than the sound of my own screams and the shattering sense of loss I felt upon waking.

The groan of metal twisting drew my attention in the direction I knew the door to be. Heavy wood creaked on worn hinges, spilling light into my room and illuminating the stark outline of my guest before the tumblers clicked back into place, locking him inside with me.

I heard a sharp, rasping sound seconds before the room began to glow.

“Bad dream?” Harper asked around a tongue still thick with sleep.

“No, at least, I don’t think so.”

I heard him move closer. The dim light cast from his oil lamp focused my eyes. The flame flickered and danced while painting fanciful reflections on the walls and floor. “I think tomorrow…” I glanced over at him. “I’m afraid.”

He didn’t waste words on placations neither of us would believe. “Move over.” His velvety whisper tickled my ears as the mattress dipped and he joined me on the bed. “Sit up.”

I arched a brow at him, watching his angular face soften with amusement.

His black eyes caught the light and shined with warmth while his full lips broke into a crooked grin. Then he softened his command. “Please.”

“You really shouldn’t have come.” He reached for me, but I batted away his hands. “You know what will happen if you’re caught in here after dark.” Thick scar tissue crisscrossed his back. Vivid reminders of the price he had already paid.

“Yes, Zaniah forbid the wolf bed down with his sheep.” His derisive snort brought a faint curve to my lips. “I was bred to serve you. I’m only doing what I was born to do.” His finger traced the slope of my nose. “Lucky for us both I enjoy my work.”

“Harper…” Archer had been right. I would have sold my soul to buy his freedom. What good were his wings if he would never be free to use them?

“Shh.” He pressed that same rough finger to my lips. “I’m yours, lady, and I will never leave your side.” He glanced around, seeming to survey not just the room, but the entire kingdom beyond the castle walls. “I could never leave you in this place.” Then his bright white teeth flashed. “And don’t think for a moment I would remain if not for you, and Emma.”

I playfully slapped his chest, content to pretend he, at least, had other options. Even if a haven existed, I doubted an Askaran royal would be welcomed there. Most likely I would be turned away, if not worse.

I’d heard whispers of an Evanti uprising. All of Rihos buzzed with the news of slaves gone missing under the cover of night and stores of food and supplies being raided. I was likely the only member of the nobility hoping, praying, that the rumors were true and wishing my slaves would vanish next.

Harper captured my hand where it still rested against his chest and pulled me into a sitting position. I flinched as pain seized my upper back.

“You don’t have to do this every time, you know.” I could only imagine how I appeared to him. Puny and pale, wingless and weak, nothing worthy of the devotion he gave me so freely.

“You might as well cooperate. I won’t leave while you’re in pain.” He tugged the hem of my nightgown up around my hips and exposed the pale coral of my silken undergarments.

“Stubborn male,” I accused.

Harper laughed, the sound as dark as the night surrounding us. “I’m not the stubborn one.” He tugged the sweat-dampened nightgown over my head to land softly on the stones. “Now, roll over.”

I growled at him, but the sound lacked any real heat. In truth, I needed the relief he offered me.

Flopping onto my stomach, I pushed my face into my buckwheat pillow. The hulls shifted and sifted around as they conformed to my new position. “Fine,” I groused. “Just don’t look, all right?” As if he hadn’t seen my back bared a thousand times since childhood. “I hate for you to see me this way.”

Wearing nothing but the same scrap of leather tied around his narrow hips, Harper straddled my legs and leaned over me, kneading away the aches sandwiching my spine.

“Oh, Maddie.” Sadness laced his voice.

The sound of his pity grated in my ears. I pushed up, but he forced me down with a gentle hand to the small of my back.

“I know they’re hideous,” I snapped, closer to tears than I cared to admit. “I told you not to look.”

“They” I called them, making it easier to forget
they
were a part of
me.

His fingers dug into the skin of my lower back still pinned beneath his palm. “You’re beautiful.” His warm breath fanned my skin. I shivered as he kissed the bony knuckles protruding behind my shoulder blades. “And you can have the use of my wings whenever you need them.”

His chest lowered to press against my back, and his leathery wings enfolded us like a living blanket. His bare skin warmed me. His chin rested on my shoulder, placing us cheek to cheek as his fingers interlaced with mine and tightened.

The steady beat of his heart soothed me, guiding my own to rest.

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A Kiss of Venom

© 2014 by Hailey Edwards All rights reserved.

Edited by Sasha Knight

Cover by Kanaxa