Reaper's Dark Kiss (25 page)

His beast pushed forward, reaching for Sky. Julian instinctively yielded. “My brother Furie speaks the truth. The Dark Kiss is the only way,” the beast said in its growling rough voice. “I have no right to ask, but I will not stand to lose you. SkyLynne Jordan, will you allow the Dark Kiss between thee and me?”

It seemed like eternity before Sky whispered, “Tell me what I have to do.”

Julian held her close, soothing her tense body. After a time he began to speak of the unthinkable.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Seated in the high-backed chair opposite Marek, Sky felt like a child sitting in her father’s place. Julian, too much on edge to sit, stood behind her. After he told her what she had to do, Sky had made him bring her to Marek’s audience chamber. Julian was one hundred percent committed to having Sky, but he was barely on board with the Dark Kiss. She could almost feel Azryal inside him, tossing Julian in a raging sea of fear.

The candles in niches along the walls seemed to burn dimmer than Sky remembered, as though light were an intrusion. With Julian and Viper and Marek in the same enclosed place, the walls felt closer, as if the brothers weirdly sucked up space.

Seated behind his desk, Marek asked, “SkyLynne has fully consented?”

Would I be here if I hadn’t?
But Sky kept her thoughts to herself. Julian had told her not to say anything until she was asked.

“In fairness and true honesty, the one who I would have for my mate was told what must be done,” Julian said, intoning the words in slow ritualistic rhythms.

“Who stood witness to the telling?” Marek asked.

“I witnessed my brother’s true and honest words,” Viper said.

Sky had never seen Viper so serious. He was standing beside Julian, head up, eyes straight ahead.

“Please stand beside my brother, SkyLynne,” Marek said.

When she was next to Julian, Marek stood before both of them and asked, “SkyLynne Jordan, do you consent to the Dark Kiss of your free will?”

“No one’s forcing me,” Sky said.

A hint of a smile touched Marek’s face. “You must answer in the affirmative or negative,” he said softly.

Julian shifted, only a subtle leaning toward the door, but Sky knew he was ready to take her and go at a second’s notice. She had to sound sure. She had to sound like she’d never wanted anything more than she wanted Julian to drain her body until she flatlined. She made herself thing of how good it felt to be in his arms, of how she loved him like she’d never thought she could love anyone, and said, “Yes.”

“Why?” Marek asked.

Of course he would ask that. He was king. He couldn’t have an unknown quantity added to the family equation.

“She’s—”

“SkyLynne must speak of her own accord, with no influence from you, brother,” Marek said to Julian.

The utter stillness of three undead, unbreathing creatures was eerily unsettling. Julian was on the edge of sweeping her into his arms and leaving. She could feel his muscles quivering with his effort to stay where he was. Viper looked neutral, but she knew he’d come down on Julian’s side, and dear God, would these brothers try to kill each other over her?

Into the silence, Marek said, “We must all undertake journeys of courage to live our heart’s dream. In this mortal and immortal are united. Tell me, young SkyLynne, why do you undertake this journey of courage?”

Sky pushed back all the words of logic rushing through her mind. All the reasons in the world, all the whys and wherefores wouldn’t keep Julian in this room. She listened to her beating heart. Then she let her heart speak. “Because,” she said, looking up at Julian, “I could live another sunset without him, but I don’t want to.”

“Well spoken.” Marek’s smooth voice seemed to settle Julian. “I invite you to join us and be as one of us. You will be protected as one of us.” Marek rested his palm on top of her head, like a priest’s blessing. “You will live as we do,” he went on, “never dying, never seeing the sun. Do you accept my invitation as Lord of the Creed to live in the Shadow World as one of our own?”

“Love the night shift,” Sky said, slipping her shaking hand into Julian’s. He squeezed a tiny bit, and Sky remembered to add, “Yes.”

“And you, Azryal, reaper of the fallen, do you undertake to protect the mortal SkyLynne Jordan, to honor her as one of our own for all your eternal days?”

“Yes,” Julian said.

“Then as Lord of the Creed, I speak thus. You Azryal, fallen Furie of Death, are bonded with the mortal SkyLynne Jordan.” He bowed his head. “So it is. So be it for all time.”

“Witnessed and seen with true eyes,” Viper intoned.

Marek kissed Sky’s cheeks with solemn formality. “I welcome you among us.”

This had all happened so fast, it felt unreal. Marek had walked the fine line between bonding and mating with the professional ease of a tightrope acrobat. Julian had explained that a ritual bonding and a mating were two different things. It depended on the words used in the ceremony. Sky was bonded to Julian. He was obligated to protect her, to treat her with honor. They were engaged but not married. Not yet.

Marek said to Viper, “It is my wish that you stand as listener for the Dark Kiss.”

“It is my honor to obey,” Viper said.

“SkyLynne must be prepared.” Marek retreated to the door and signaled Viper to go with him.

“You have to come with me,” Viper said to Sky. “Julian’s not allowed to see you again until the ritual starts.”

Before Sky could turn away, Julian took her hand and pulled her close. “Give us a minute,” he said.

Marek and Viper left, closing the door quietly behind them.

Julian looked down at Sky, smoothed her hair back. “Italy?”

“What?”

“Mortals call it a honeymoon. How does Italy sound?”

“Montana,” Sky said. “Who doesn’t love a good ghost town?”

The delicate lightness they’d both tried for suddenly collapsed.

“You don’t have to do this, Sky.”

All Sky had to do was whisper a word of protest. That was all it would take to start a war. “Not one more sunset,” she said.

Words flooded from Julian as if it were the only way he could stop himself from taking Sky, crashing through the door, and chasing down the sunset. “It won’t hurt,” he said. “I’ll kiss you, then you’ll get tired, and it’ll feel like you’re floating. Let it happen. Don’t fight it.”

Sky rested her head on Julian’s chest and drew a strange comfort from the silence there.

“All this time I’ve lived,” Julian whispered, wrapping her in his arms, “and I didn’t know love could be like this.” He kissed the top of her head. “Wake up for me, Sky. Because if you don’t, my world is over.”

Instead of answering, Sky kissed Julian, sliding closer, pressing into his hard, strong body. Then Julian’s lips were on her neck, teasing, kissing lightly. The tips of his fangs traced over her throat, twin lines of warm pleasure. Then Sky was in a dream, falling into a cloud, into eternity.

Chapter Forty

Vandar was turning to go when he remembered Maggie. He sensed her far back in the stone maze. She must have seen what he’d done. Smashing Kraeyl into the rocks had been merely a way to get his attention. He was ancient, old enough to endure a blow ten times greater and come away unscathed. But Maggie couldn’t know that.

He found her hiding between two twisting pillars of stone. At the sight of him, the youngling, who had yielded her body to him without hesitation, shrank away.

Well done. Is there nothing I can touch without despoiling it?

Not approaching her, he said, “I have to leave. Come with me. I’ll take you back to Light Town before I go.”

“Did you get mad at your counselor?” she asked, not coming any closer.

“Kraeyl’s temper sometimes takes him away,” Vandar said. He could have caught Maggie by the arm and dragged her along. But he didn’t want to. Yet another surprise on a day full of them. “When that happens, he needs guidance. He’s unharmed.”

“He didn’t look okay,” Maggie said, trying to see past Vandar’s bulk.

As if to prove Vandar right, Kraeyl came smoothly out of the labyrinth, pushing his hair back with his usual show of patience. With a deep bow to Vandar, he said, “Accept my apologies, my lord. I await your pleasure.”

“I see no reason to wait until noon to enter the neutral ground of Night Crypt,” Vandar said.

“Bringing the battle to the enemy always works in the aggressor’s favor,” Kraeyl said, approval in his voice. I will make ready.” He rose straight up into the black.

Vandar turned back to Maggie and found her nearly at his elbow, worry lining her young face.

“You’re an incredible warrior, but should you go to Night Crypt with just Kraeyl?”

Just Kraeyl?
His counselor, who had slaughtered more beings than Maggie could count, would have had a genuine laugh at that. “A betraying rebel is allowed on neutral ground,” he said, “even if Marek thinks otherwise.”

For the second time that day, Vandar was shouted at.

“You didn’t betray anyone!”

The bite of anger in Maggie’s voice amused him. She immediately took a step back and bowed her pretty head. Pink hair fell into her face.

“I didn’t mean to raise my voice to you, my lord.”

She was back to
my lord
. Hadn’t he frightened her enough for one day? “If you call me that again, little Margaret, your naked body will warm my bed, and you will pleasure me, but I will make you wait many days before I have you again.”

Maggie blushed. An arousing scent of desire came from her.

Vandar was in an urgent rush, but he couldn’t simply abandon her in the paths. “Do you know your way out of here, Maggie?”

“I can follow a scent trail back.” She took a gulp of air, making her nipples press against her half T-shirt. She said, “Vandar?”

He noticed how uneasily his name sat on her lips. “Yes?”

Her voice shook as she went on. “I heard you. I mean, what you said to Mr. Oracle…about what you do.”

“Ill temper often precedes indiscretion,” he said.

“What?”

Heroes, it seemed, were to be quiet when spoken to, lest their beloved be thrown from their course. “You wished to ask me something?”

“Is Prince Julian a bounty hunter?”

He was a curse, perhaps greater than the one that had landed the Furies in this world of unforgiving light. “You may think of him that way.”

“If he finds out you’re the…you know.” Like Kraeyl, she couldn’t bring herself to say “drainer.” “Will he hunt you? And kill you?”

“He hunts me as we speak,” Vandar said.

Such anguish came into Maggie’s eyes at the thought of his demise that Vandar took her into his arms. When she didn’t resist, he stroked her back.

“Why don’t you leave New York?” she said, almost pleading with him.

“What I do, Maggie, is bad. It endangers the entire Shadow World. Going to Night Crypt tonight will stop the draining for a while.”

In her misery, Maggie misunderstood him. “You’re
not
bad.” She struggled, and Vandar let her pull away. “You’re as good as you can be. What does Marek have to do to be good? Be king?”

Vandar almost smiled at that. Maggie thought little of Marek the Saint.

She stormed on. “Then everyone says how good it is he’s king. Then he hunts you down so everyone can be safe. You wouldn’t do that if you could stop.”

Her face, red and defiant, was lifted to Vandar, practically daring him to contradict her. Could it be that this scrap of a youngling, whose short life was barely a blink in Vandar’s eternity, was defending him? Perhaps this was what came of being a hero. Perhaps the warm glow her words brought forth in him was that utterly ridiculous feeling mortals named love, the emotion they wasted gallons of perfectly good ink writing poetry about.

His beast, a creature whose instincts Vandar habitually beat back, purred, and he found himself holding Maggie close. “You’re right,” he said quietly, listening to the whisper of a barely heard voice inside him. “It may take more than Kraeyl’s protection tonight. I want you with me.” What harm could come of it? “With you at my side, Julian may think twice about striking me down.” He kissed her warm willing lips. “After all, if he did, he would have you to deal with.”

Her hand pressed to Vandar’s cheek, Maggie asked, “Does it hurt? To want to drink like you do?”

Unrelentingly. Unceasingly. Except when I am near you
. To Maggie, he said, “The need is never far from my mind.”

She offered him a shy smile. “I know other needs that seem like they’re never far from your mind.”

Caught off guard, Vandar laughed aloud. Emotions were indeed useless, but some of them were enjoyable. “Come, young one. Fly with me.”

Maggie took the hand Vandar offered. His arms around her, he rose straight up. Once in the air, he carefully let go of Maggie, making sure she could hold her own, keeping her steady with a guiding hand. For one so young, it would be easier to be guided than held. “Don’t try to keep up with me. Let me take you.”

“You mean for me to let you take me again? I didn’t know you could that when you fly.”

“Vixen,” Vandar the hero muttered. Maggie had come full circle from fear to adoration. He couldn’t remember being so pleased with something he’d accomplished.

Well beyond where Vandar allowed the young to build Light Town, was the cave that gave entry into the tunnels. They spread under New York like a giant stone spiderweb. He forbade torches here. If an enemy came, he wanted them to miss the sudden drop-off and plummet to their death.

The darkness in the cave was absolute. Maggie tensed. For a moment, she lost the lightness of mind necessary to flight. He pulled her near, wrapped her close in his arms, and followed the scent trail Kraeyl had laid to speed Vandar on his way.

He hurried. Despite his command, Vandar feared that if the reaper gave the slightest provocation, Kraeyl would behave badly, very badly indeed.

Chapter Forty-One

Julian caught Sky before she hit the ground. Her face was peaceful. He’d put her into a dream sleep.

Viper swung the door open. “Julian, we have to—” He caught sight of Sky. “What did you do?”

Letting Sky’s nearly weightless body settle in his arms, Julian said, “I didn’t want her scared and without me. It doesn’t matter. She already consented.”