Page 18 of Whispers of Ruin
Lowering his arm, Brokk rolled to the side and pushed himself into a sitting position. He studied the sky before turning toward her. His eyes remained haunted, but he smiled.
With his tousled hair and sleepy grin, he was striking and boyish. The combination did funny things to her belly.
“Did you sleep okay?” he asked.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
His smile widened. It wasn’t smug or sly; it was simply a smile of genuine warmth from a man with a good heart… despite his heritage and the atrocities he’d witnessed.
She’d never been the biggest fan of vampiresordark fae. Vampires had been the witches’ mortal enemies for over eight hundred years, and the dark fae were pompous, self-serving, borderline-sociopathic assholes.
But somehow, the combination of those two things became a good thing in Brokk. She never would have believed such a thing could happen until she met him. Somehow, the arrogant King Tove had raised a few good sons… excluding Orin.
“Good.” Brokk sat up and stretched his arms over his head. “Let’s have breakfast and see if we can get out of here today.”
“I hope so.”
Kaylia settled a few feet away from him and pulled her pack over to remove some food and water. She wanted out of this place. It was far too confusing here.
And she had to put some distance between herself and Brokk. It was the only way she could eliminate her festering guilt, and it was best for both of them.
CHAPTERTWENTY
The sun glintedall around them as the sky remained cloudless. The bright yellow orb was far off in the distance, but Brokk had to squint against its radiance as sweat dripped down his back.
While the nights cooled off far more than in the jungle, the days were almost as hot. It was strange, considering he felt far closer to the sun here, and he thought it should be warmer, but without the trees to trap in the heat and humidity, the temperature wasn’t as oppressive.
While he appreciated being free of all the death traps, creatures, and bugs of Doomed Valley, Brokk was tired of the monotony of this place and frustrated by their inability to leave it. He kept reminding himself all mirror realms came to an end, but it did little good when he was ready to be free of it now.
They were never going to find the crudue vine while trapped here. And they were never going to get home.
Brokk shifted his pack on his back as he recalled they wouldn’t find any food or water here either. Supplies weren’t drastically low, but his appetites for blood and sex couldn’t be satisfied with food and water.
It would become an issue soon… especially while trapped here with Kaylia. She was too much of a temptation, and it would be more difficult to keep those appetites under control if he went for much more time without.
They’d already stopped for lunch, and the sun was sinking lower in the sky as day progressed toward night. The endless sky was their ever-constant companion, but as their shadows started lengthening across the blue surface, something rippled in the distance.
Beside him, Kaylia’s step faltered a little before her gaze lifted to his.
“Did you see something like that in the mirror realm you were in?” he asked.
“No.”
Brokk studied the strange ripple in the distance. In Doomed Valley, and possibly here, that movement couldn’t be good.
However, they didn’t have a choice; they had to continue. Turning back wasn’t an option, and maybe an exit lay ahead.
Plus, it was nice to see something other than the endless blue sky. He didn’t know how long he’d think that was true.
As they drew closer to the ripple, it became a sea of moving green parts swarming over one another like bees in a hive. He couldn’t distinguish one piece from another or what they were, but they were either all disjointed or a giant mass of…something.
He wasn’t sure what he’d prefer, but he’d do anything not to smell the rank aroma drifting from them. His nose wrinkled as the putrid scent of rotting flesh and something musky and feral wafted on the air.
Kaylia’s delicate brow furrowed as the small cleft in her chin became more noticeable when her lips pursed. He was glad he wasn’t the only one completely confused and repulsed by whatever lay ahead.
As they edged closer, the green mass started taking shape and forming into something more coherent, yet he still couldn’t understand what was happening. Arms and legs flailed as little green creatures crawled all over each other and scrambled to climb the stairway behind them.
Rising from the sky, the stairs were as blue as the ground beneath his feet and looked made of glass. He might not have noticed them if it hadn’t been for the brawling creatures.
