Authors: Chris Lange
Chapter Thirty
Sweet Jesus in heaven, she had healed him wrong. For Rogan not to recognise or remember her only meant she must have healed him wrong. Had he forgotten everything they had shared and suffered? Had she involuntarily erased some parts of his memory when the force invaded his failing body? Holy mackerel, this could not be happening!
Closing her mouth, Liv gaped at him. Rogan let go of her hands with care, and raised a quizzical eyebrow when she didn’t answer his question. Like two statues facing each other, they both stared and waited for the other to speak. A fragile silence ensued, soon broken by Raskhan’s voice right beside her.
“We’re done here. Let’s go.”
Heedless of his warning tone, Liv slowly twisted her head towards him while she grasped his hand in a gesture of apology. Emotion welling up, she struggled to articulate her distress to Raskhan.
“I’m sorry, but I healed Rogan wrong. Oh, my God, I am so sorry!”
“Hush, kitten, not here. We have to get back to the palace. Khord is still at large, and I don’t want to give him another opportunity to hurt you. There, hold on to me now.”
However, before Raskhan could take her to safety, shadows moved around them. Coming from behind the closest buildings to the desert, a band of rogues advanced towards the three of them. As they formed a semicircle to block their way to the palace, Liv counted ten vampires.
Ten—way too many for Raskhan and Rogan to defeat them. So outnumbered, even a king couldn’t work miracles. Eyes wide, holding her breath, Liv waited for a new swell of fear to override her mind. But as she watched the rogues get into an attacking line, no fear came. And she felt the vibe instead.
Connected to Raskhan, possibly linked to his present emotions, the vibe suddenly infused her with determination, power, and a single relentless goal—kill them all. Was that what he felt? If so, no wonder he had become king. At any rate, she welcomed the potent sensation while she wrenched her gaze away from their enemies to look at him.
He was watching Rogan, but Liv caught the knowing look that passed between the twins. Without any lessons in lip-reading, she also picked up what Raskhan mouthed to his brother.
“Keep her safe.”
Without a word, Rogan nodded. She shivered. Did it mean Raskhan was going to die? Would he fight to the death to protect her? Would he give up his life to ensure hers? Did he love her that much?
One of the rogues took a step forward, and it sounded like a clash of titans. They used their inhuman speed to rush at each other, preventing Liv from seeing anything except a vague swirl of black shapes, but the wicked, sticky noises followed by gurgling screams of pain told of hearts impaled on stakes and of blood being spilled. Whose blood?
Although she couldn’t make out Raskhan in the moving blur around her, Liv didn’t have time to feel helpless. Coming from nowhere, fangs out, a rogue grabbed her head to tilt it to the side. Something that had nothing to do with the vibe raked her from inside. At the same time she heard Raskhan shout her name. Probably overrun with vampires, he couldn’t save her this time.
She would. Ignoring the rogue’s thirsty grin, she put both her hands on his chest and pushed with her mind. As though anticipating her bidding, the force lashed out. Inches away from her face, the rogue ceased grinning. His eyes took on a faraway look and he released her head. Arms dangling along his sides, mouth agape, appearing disorientated, he shuffled to the edge of the desert and vanished into the darkness.
She had turned him human. Although a victorious sensation endowed her with renewed courage, panic hit her when a wrenching scream echoed from the battle.
Heart pounding, Liv blinked as she caught a clear view of the slaughter. Either exhausted or assessing their chances, they were all back to regular speed. Five rogues lay dead. Half of his face covered in blood but on his feet, Rogan grappled with a vampire. Looking battered yet as resolute as ever, Raskhan fought off two more.
With her attacker clearly out of competition, that left a single rogue missing. But where was he? Disregarding pools of light reflected from the buildings at her back, her eyes scanned the heavy darkness. She sure didn’t possess a heightened sense of sight. Being human didn’t help in this instance and she needed more light to discern… Her heart lurched.
Raskhan uttered a harsh groan, and fell to his knees. Although quick to pull out the stake protruding from his shoulder, he flew backward when both rogues kicked him square in the chest.
Liv screamed. Focused on the king of the Overworld lying at their feet, they ignored her cry but it distracted Rogan’s adversary. This precious second proved fatal. Rogan struck with all his might, the stake piercing flesh, muscles and heart. Even as the vampire collapsed, Rogan jumped on the other two now pinning his brother down.
They tumbled together, rolling on the ground, spraying dust. And Raskhan was up. Eyes elongated, fangs out, crusted blood covering his left shoulder, sleek muscles bulging through his tattered shirt, he looked like the God of Wrath. Rooted to the spot by the sight of his otherworldly, striking features, Liv admired the love of her life.
Weaponless, he rounded on the nearest vampire. Grabbing him by the hair, he pulled him up as if he lifted a puppet. In a heartbeat he seemed to dive into the rogue’s neck, tearing flesh, ripping tendons, severing veins. Then he discarded the limp body, and Liv averted her gaze as jets of blood spurted out of a red mass that had once been a throat.
Five feet away, Rogan fought for his life. The remaining vampire sat on top of him, one hand locked around his throat, the other holding a stake. Before Raskhan could help his brother, a black shape hit him full force, and both of them crashed down on the ground.
The missing rogue. The bloodsucker she had looked for a moment ago, but hadn’t located. Why had he been hiding? To bide his time? To plan something? She got her answer as a strong arm grabbed her middle from behind and cold metal touched her throat.
“Missed me?”
Body hair stiffening at the sound of the unmistakable, loathed voice, Liv froze. Very aware of the knife on her skin, she followed Khord’s lead as he backed her away from the heart of the battle.
She assumed he stopped when he felt a safe distance between them and the combatants. Her back pressed against his body, the blade icing her throat, she saw Raskhan pounce on the remaining rogue. Yet, as he landed on his stomach, he glanced towards her. His eyes widened. Realising she had been taken by Khord, he seemed to lose focus and his enemy drove him back.
“See? You won’t be his slut for very long. He won’t make it.”
Khord’s hateful statement rang in her ear. Anger boiling in her veins, she wished she could strangle him. But he held her fast and she had no idea if the force would work without her touching his chest.
“Am I your hostage? Are you going to kill me or do you think you can trade me for your life?”
He had somewhat loosened his grip, but the knife was back against her throat when she finished her sentence.
“Depends on how this ends.”
In front of them, neither Raskhan nor Rogan seemed about to gain on their opponents. Former skilled warriors, the rogues now fought with the strength of the desperate. Like a warning alarm, the vibe also told Liv that Raskhan’s fear of losing her didn’t play in his favour.
She had to rely on herself, to follow her natural instincts. Thinking fast, she raised a hand towards her stomach to place it on Khord’s arm and summoned her sexiest voice.
“Whatever the outcome, don’t tell me you don’t want a taste of me. I can’t believe you wouldn’t get what your king had. What Rogan had.”
His body stiffened. Seconds stretched, so many that she feared he wouldn’t rise to the bait. When he replied at last, a silent breath left her lips.
“Don’t try to trick me, bitch. I know you love him, it’s written all over your damn face.”
“Yes, I love the king…” She paused to carefully slide her free hand behind her back. Open palm facing his pants, she felt her way to his hard crotch. “Whoever the king is.”
The brusque harshness of his breath showed she had hit the right spot. Sex and power must have been too difficult to resist for someone like him because he eased the pressure of his arm around her middle to turn her around, and the knife left her throat.
Liv had to stifle a shiver of repulsion when they faced each other. But she could deal with that. As if caressing his body from his groin up, she moved both hands to place them at the centre of his chest. Mustering all her strength, she licked her lips in a sexy fashion.
“So what now, big boy?”
“You didn’t fool me like you did the others. Make no mistake, I will teach you what fucking really is.”
She felt his hard-on against her belly, she endured the sight of his misshapen teeth and disgusting humid lips, she listened to his exultation of self-satisfaction and victory.
“I knew you were nothing but a horny, greedy bitch. I never believed you were the Bringer of Death.”
She slightly cocked her head as she gave the detested warrior her most dazzling smile.
“Well…you should have!”
She pushed so hard a wave of dizziness blinded her for an instant. Fingers flat on his chest, she gasped when the force rose from her core to slam into the warrior. Although he didn’t make a sound she knew he’d never threaten her again. Eyes glazed, arms dropping to his sides, a string of saliva flowing from the corner of his mouth, he stared into the distance. The blade clattered to the ground, and Liv collapsed beside it.
Overuse of the force in such a short time had got the better of her. Throwing her hands forward to break her fall, she landed on her front. Though she didn’t feel pain she lacked the strength to get back on her feet. Head resting on her forearm, she looked ahead.
In unison, both brothers had their fangs sunk into their opponents’ necks. Wrenching bloodied flesh off their throats, they pushed them away and the bodies fell down. Instantly swivelling round, Raskhan looked for her. Fangs red, blood dripping from his mouth, he assessed her situation in a wink. Ignoring a motionless Khord, the king of the Overworld already knelt at her side, wiping his mouth with tatters from his shirt.
“Are you hurt?”
Smiling at the deep concern she read in his eyes, Liv shook her head and lifted her arms. He picked her up, a violent relief shifting his features back to his human face. Glancing aside, he gave a meaningful nod to Rogan.
“Let’s go. There might be more rogues around, and we can always retrieve Khord later.”
Liv felt a rush of wind on her cheeks, a brief sensation of a world of darkness whizzing past her, and she found herself standing in the centre of the bedroom she occupied in the king’s palace. Hard against her body, Raskhan steadied her while Rogan closed the door.
Here, the three of them bathing in the light coming off the walls, Liv got a close look at Rogan. His hair and half of his face drenched in blood, he appeared somewhat aloof and the recollection of what she had done to him lanced her heart. First she had betrayed him then she had healed him wrong.
Her bout of tiredness receding with each passing second, bitters tears rising close to the surface, she watched Raskhan remove the shreds of black fabric from his back while he walked to the bathroom. Water gurgled before he came back to throw a wet towel at his brother.
“Here.”
Then he wiped his face and shoulder. Apart from a faint circle, there was no trace of a wound, no evidence he had been stabbed with a stake. Against all odds, the sight of his perfect shoulder amplified Liv’s sense of guilt. Raskhan was still perfect, but his brother would never be the same. Because of her.
Overwhelmed by the consequences of her huge blunder, she strained not to cry. Safe in this familiar place, all the fear and pain she had experienced at Khord’s hands seemed to flow out of her. But, stronger than relief, an intense need to make Raskhan understand now seized her. He had to know she’d never have harmed Rogan on purpose.
Taking a deep breath, she laced her fingers in prayer. Yet she hesitated, held back by the look on Raskhan’s face when he saw her supplicant attitude and the tears in her eyes. Concern lining his brow, he dropped his towel to take hold of her joined hands.
“What is it, kitten?”
“Listen, I have no idea what went wrong when I touched Rogan. Yes, the power came quicker than the first time, but apart from that it felt exactly the same. I promise I didn’t mean to heal your brother wrong. I can’t control it anyway. Oh, God, what have I done? I’m so sorry!”
Liv quit blubbering when she became aware that Rogan had no clue what she was talking about, and that Raskhan was looking at her with a tender smile. Raising her united hands to his mouth, he kissed the tips of her fingers.
“There’s nothing wrong with him. Take it easy now because you healed him just fine.”
“No, I didn’t. He doesn’t remember me.”
She might have said more, but Raskhan gently wiped a single tear off her cheek and brushed her lips. Straightening up, he glanced at Rogan who had managed to wash most of the blood off his face. Then he focused on her again. When he spoke, his tone had never sounded so soft.
“Liv, I’d like you to meet my brother…Raskhan.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“What?”
If a fatal earthquake had suddenly rattled the whole palace, she wouldn’t have felt more thunderstruck. What had he just said? Rogan was Raskhan? Now that was quite simply impossible. She couldn’t believe it.
Unless he was testing one of his tricks on her again. Yeah, that sounded much more like the king of the Overworld she had come to love. But he wouldn’t have his way so easily this time.
“I see. You’re having another good laugh at my expense. Do you really need to involve your brother in this?”
Wiping his fingers with the wet towel, Rogan came up to her and held out his right hand.
“He’s telling you the truth. My name is Raskhan, and I’m very pleased to meet you.”