Moon Borne (Halcyon Romance Series Book 1) (32 page)

As he strode in her direction, a voice called his name. Thereus? He whirled, intending to tell the bastard how his meddling had ruined everything.
Tell her your feelings—Bloody wise advice, centaur.

Peering into the forest, he spied a winged male pacing the trees. Not Thereus. Squinting, he recognized Nazrin. Despite his handsome features, he looked terrible. As though he’d not slept in days and had gone through Tartarus.

Arsenius scrubbed a hand over his jaw and recalled the conversation he’d overhead between Nazrin and Kyme. How he was without his mate
. In a few days, I might look like that too.

He inclined his head at the male. “Nazrin?”

“Arsenius.” He shrugged as if his torment was of little consequence.
I would wait a thousand more lifetimes for her.

If his declaration wasn’t so full of misery, Arsenius might have punched the Wind Borne for invading his mind.

The winged male crossed his arms and returned his stare, those hawk-like eyes piercing. “My apologies. When people’s thoughts are loud, I can’t help but hear them. Like…” He cleared his throat. “Your female’s.”

He narrowed his eyes at Nazrin.
Tread carefully, my friend.

“She left at dawn. She’s…” He paused, rubbing the side of his neck. “She’s trying to protect you. She’s an Amazon, right?”

Arsenius nodded.

“Yes, well, she’s afraid her Queen will hurt you if she discovers you love her.”

Arsenius shifted his feet. He didn’t like this male in his head, in Kyme’s head.

“She’s planning on going to the Caucasus Mountains and will do her best to throw you off her trail. She’s good at that, apparently.”

Despite his desperation, Arsenius reciprocated the grin quirking Nazrin’s lips.

“First, she’ll head for the village to get supplies.”

Arsenius ground his jaw. This was useful information. He shouldn’t be so ungrateful. “Thank you.”

“Not at all.”

“Do you have a horse I can borrow?”

“My friend, after everything you’ve done for my brother, you can have fifty horses. The stables are that way.” The winged male pointed to a large barn in the distance. He smiled, but the strain was still evident on his face. “I am in your debt. You will always be welcome here. Take whatever supplies you require and find your female.” He clapped Arsenius on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

“And you as well.” He nodded and headed into the main village. Kyme’s advanced start didn’t concern him. There was no trick on this earth she could employ to prevent him from locating her. She was his and when he captured her again, he had no intention of releasing her.

Thereus staggered from one of the cabins. The closing door muffled the giggling of several females. The centaur’s grin as he adjusted his breeches faded. “What’s wrong, Captain?”

Arsenius glared at his friend. “What do you think, centaur? I followed your damn advice and she…” He wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Didn’t want to admit it.

“She ran?”

He hung his head in defeat.

“Forgive me. I believed… I honestly did.” He snorted. “What’s the plan?”

“You’re going to stay with the ship.” He narrated a list of provisions for Thereus to collect before heading to the stables and choosing a stallion. Saddling the beast, he led it out and met with Thereus, who handed Arsenius the supplies.

“Should I accomp—”

“Nay. I go alone.” He jerked his chin toward the shore. “Sail the ship, pick up the crew, and return. Wait for us.”

“Aye, Captain.” Thereus’s eyes were full of questions Arsenius did not want to hear.

“See you in a few days.” He mounted the stallion.

“Take care, my friend.”

Praise the gods, the centaur grasped when to hold his tongue. Arsenius didn’t seek anyone’s pity and he refused to consider what would happen if he found her and—

No, he wouldn’t contemplate it. He inhaled and caught his mate’s scent.

“I will find you, Kyme. I’ll always find you.” As he repeated his vow, the words lent him courage and purpose.

By the time the sun set, she’d be back in his arms.

Chapter 30

Kyme rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her shivering skin against the chill breath of dawn. Fleeing in her thin tunic had proven a poor decision. Her legs ached and she hadn’t slept or eaten in two days. Other than a few brief rests, she hadn’t dared to stop.

She concentrated on her hands and, for the tenth time, frowned as no glow condensed. What did she expect? She hung her head. Her gift was gone. Never again would she bask in Moonlight.
You surrendered it, remember? For one night of passion.

Her body melted as she recalled the heat of Arsenius’s hands. His silken tongue had sampled every inch of her flesh, his solid shaft had filled her and swept her over the edge of ecstasy again and again.

The roughness of his voice as he’d declared he loved her echoed in her mind, yet left her hollow. If she’d been born as something else, the emotions inside her could be actualized. She yearned to be capable of reciprocating his love, to know the ache inside her chest ran deeper than lust.

That she wasn’t more of a monster than Arsenius claimed to be.

She shook her head. He was a magnificent warrior, worthy of legend, and a male who cared for her despite the fact she would never reciprocate his affection.

Who is the true monster?

Her heart clenched and she had to fight back tears, forcing her feet to trudge forward. She had to flee to protect him. Her fears made her quicken her pace.

As she cut a path through the dense forest, Kyme pressed her fingers against her lips and let her mind wander back to that night. Her gift was a small price to pay for a memory to last her entire life. Well, it had to.
One night.

Arsenius hadn’t caught her yet, and enough time had passed for her to acknowledge he wasn’t going to. The forest had always been her territory.

Her stomach growled, the rumble slicing through the tranquil woods. All she’d been able to gather were a few berries and nuts. Even if she’d brought a dagger, she had no time to hunt and she didn’t dare light a fire.

As the morning waned, Kyme reached the village. Since she had no coin, she poised alongside a barn like a common thief, scanning through the window for occupants. It churned her stomach to steal, but she couldn’t risk being seen. In the future, she vowed to replace what she had taken. The barn proved empty, and she slipped inside. Spotting a sack containing dried meat, bread, and a flask of water—likely some poor farmer’s meal—she slung it over her shoulder.

As she stepped inside a barn, she was tempted to thieve a horse, but the village was small. Each of the horses in the stalls would be worth a fortune to these people. It was cruel enough stealing their food. She wouldn’t ruin their lives.

“Forgive me.” She snatched a blanket from off a bale of hay.

With her guilt-ridden bounty, she headed back into the forest. As she trekked, she stuffed some nourishment into her mouth and ignored the protests of her aching muscles.

By nightfall, she’d made it to the top of the mountain. She weaved through an overgrown path toward an abandoned temple perched on the side of a cliff. Its neglected walls would provide shelter from the approaching storm.

She stumbled across a field of knee-high grass to the temple and braced against the stone entryway, brushing aside the moss covering an inscription dedicated to Demeter. Kyme blew out her breath, thankful this wasn’t a temple of Artemis. Thunder clapped in the sky, encouraging her to step inside. She tossed the blanket onto the floor, collapsed, and huddled with her knees against her chest.

Sure enough, as soon as she had tucked inside, the rain poured. Stopping for the night was a small risk, and her body required rest. Besides, Arsenius was likely quite a distance away. He’d be holed up somewhere too, waiting out the storm.

***

The trail ended. Again. Bloody hell, Kyme
was
that good. Arsenius had lost count of how many false trails he’d run across. How many streams. The detours he’d had to make because his horse wasn’t able to traverse the terrain.

She was capable. It’d been two days. Arsenius huffed. He’d been so sure of catching her that first night. So cocksure. Now, he was humbled. Even more, he was determined. The longer her retrieval was delayed, the more his control slipped. His plan to reason with Kyme faded, swallowed by the coming storm.

I must get her back.

He glared at the sky, at the dark, ominous clouds. It was going to rain tonight. He prodded the horse with his heels, spurring his mount to gallop. Rain would mask her trail.

His nostrils flared as he stepped inside a barn in the village. Her scent was strong. She’d been here mere hours ago. He followed her scent out of the village and into the forest. She was close, so close.

He would locate her. He would claim her.

His vision narrowed, wavering on crimson. His mate’s fragrance blasted through him, until the scents of the forest receded, leaving only Kyme. Tremors coursed up and down his arms—the beast inside fighting to break free. Arsenius clenched his jaw in resistance to the frenzy threatening to seize him.

The beast demanded his mate.

He slid off his horse and led it on foot along the steepening terrain. The skies darkened to near black and icy rain pummeled his body, yet nothing quelled the heat consuming him. Nothing except his Kyme.

Arsenius stopped and glanced down at his hand. The dark blue ink of his markings rose to the surface of his skin, flowing across his arms, his chest, and no doubt, up his neck and onto his face.

As the markings crept along his upper left arm, he howled. Staggering in agony, he sank to his knees. The bonding mark circled and branded his left bicep like a hot iron from a forge. The frenzy toppled his control, beating back his sanity to a shadowy corner of his mind.

Kyme. Mine.
The beast inside him roared. He gripped his head and gave it a violent shake. Too late. With the bonding mark searing his flesh, he was too far gone to fight it.

The beast can locate Kyme
, the darkness inside him whispered, tempted.

She was his, and no one in Hades or on earth would stop him from claiming her.

***

He’s here.
Kyme’s eyes flashed open.

She crept to the temple entrance. Her mouth grew dry; her throat constricted. Across the field, a figure emerged out of the forest. Blast it. What a poor choice of shelter. The rain echoing off the temple roof had masked Arsenius’s approach.

Time to flee.

She bolted out of the temple, hoping to lose him in the trees.

A feral growl fixed her feet to the ground.

“I’ll always find you, Kyme. You cannot run from me.” The words carried across the field to her, yet the voice didn’t resemble Arsenius’s deep timbre.

A sickening pit of dread dropped in her stomach as she twisted around. Lightning flashed in the sky and she gasped, spotting the predator stalking toward her. With long, graceful steps, like a panther, he hunted her.

Dressed only in his dark leather breeches, his upper body was bare. The chase was over the moment she perceived his markings, the burning embers of his eyes.

Oh, gods, no. Arsenius’s frenzy.

Her shock spun to terror, dripping icy beads of sweat down her back. A bonding mark circled his left bicep.

He bonded to me.

Against the black of night, his eyes flashed silver. Her pulse quickened as she grasped his intent. The beast didn’t thirst for her blood.

It aimed to mate with her.

Though her body responded, growing hot at the intoxicating sight of this powerful warrior, her mind would never surrender to him like this. In this state, Arsenius was more animal than man. Kyme eyed the beast in front of her. Combat strategies flew through her mind. No, she would not submit without a fight.

She crouched, ready to defend herself. Prepared to let him make the first attack. He outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds of pure muscle, and in his frenzy he was damn near invincible.

Still, she had to fight. Tooth and nail if need be. If she lost, at least he’d have the injuries to prove it hadn’t been an easy win.

Lightning flashed across the sky like a signal to begin.

He lunged for her legs.

Kyme rolled out of the way, grabbing a handful of sticks and rocks. She tossed them over her shoulder, into his face, and shot to her feet. He spat and swatted at the dirt. She used the distraction to land a couple of hard punches into his gut.

He blocked her third blow and twisted her arm, flipping her so she landed with her back against the ground. She gathered her strength and swept her leg out at his, knocking him off balance. Leaping upright, she spun around to his back.

Her goal was to prevent his massive arms from encircling her. She had to counter his strength. Pouring her might into her legs, she vaulted into the air and kicked her right leg into his spine. He collapsed onto one knee and howled in pain.

Without waiting for him to recover, she sprang onto his back and tackled him to the ground. She shoved his face into the mud, managing to pin one arm behind his back, yet she had no rope. Damn. He bucked against her like a stallion being broken, threatening to throw off her pathetic weight any second now.