Page 75 of Whispers of Ruin
His mouth slackened as his head tipped to the side, and his breathing softened. He’d relaxed, but his question made it impossible for her to do the same as his words hung heavily in the air.
CHAPTERSIXTY-NINE
Kaylia’s mindspun as his question ran on repeat in her head. Why would he question such a thing? What difference would it make if the mandarus didn’t affect Allegra too?
Kaylia lifted Brokk’s blanket and settled it over him; she tucked it around him to ensure he stayed warm for the night since his skin was so cool and clammy. Again, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him as she rested her lips against his forehead and inhaled his comforting scent.
“Rest. You’ll feel better after some sleep.”
It took more time than it should have to move away from him as she finally sat back on her heels. She shifted to look outside while also keeping an eye on Brokk.
For hours, she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as she nibbled her nails. When she had nothing but nubs left for fingernails and had drawn blood, she scowled at the destruction she’d wrought.
In all her many centuries of living, she couldn’t recall a time when she’d bitten her nails, never mind chewed them to the quick. Shoving her hands under her ass, she sat on them to ensure she didn’t touch them again.
Outside, the others lit torches to combat the growing darkness. Ryker’s men and women moved around the clearing as the familiar sounds of night set in, but the whispers didn’t come.
Kaylia kept waiting to hear those awful murmurs again as Brokk’s strange words looped through her mind, but all she heard was the call of insects and the screams of those hunting and dying. Not hearing the whispers was a welcome reprieve after everything they’d endured, but it was also a reminder of what happened today.
Why did Brokk ask me about Allegra and Leonidas?
No matter how much time she spent pondering it or how many angles she looked at the question from, she couldn’t figure out the answer. But two things were for sure… he asked the question after she inquired about his ability to resist those women, and he didn’t know they hadn’t affected her as badly either. None of them did.
She tried to deny it and tried to think of any other reason, but she kept coming back to one conclusion: he was curious about whether Allegra had withstood the mandarus too because Allegra might be in love with King Leonidas.
But Brokk wasn’t in love. He couldn’t be.
And she most certainly wasn’t. It was impossible.
Her heart bashed against her ribs as a tickling sensation made its way down her throat, and the hair on her arms stood on end. A strange creeping, like that of an insect making its way up her nape, sent tingles down her spine.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his pale countenance as her thoughts fragmented into hundreds of pieces and scattered around her brain. She swore she felt them battering the inside of her skull.
Her fingers twitched beneath her ass as images of Fabian flashed through her mind. He’d been her life, heart, and soul.Hewas the one she loved.
She couldn’t deny that truth either, as her love for him remained. She also couldn’t deny she’d come to care deeply for Brokk while here. It wasn’t love, but shedidhave feelings for him.
Could those feelings ever become the soul-encompassing love she’d felt for Fabian? She didn’t think so. No one could ever make her feel like that again, but Brokk had made heraliveagain, and she’d savored every second of their time together.
Great sex isn’t love.No, but it had changed her.
And what of him?
Kaylia bit on her bottom lip as her gaze ran over Brokk. He was a dark fae, and while they could fall in love, his father and Cole certainly had, it was rare for the typically self-involved creatures to do so.
But he’s also a vampire and…and vampires have consorts.
And when a vampire finds their consort, they love deeply.
You’re getting way too far ahead of yourself here. He said some strange things while half asleep and after having been drained of his essence. It was probably all rambling nonsense.
But his and her ability to withstand those creatures was anything but nonsense. It was as real as her throbbing, bloody fingertips.
Shifting her attention away from Brokk, she spotted Allegra gliding across the clearing toward the river. She walked with her hands clasped behind her back and her head bowed.
Kaylia glanced at Brokk, who remained fast asleep. She rested her hand against his cheek and was dismayed to find his skin still clammy and cool, but his breathing was steady, and when she placed her hand on his chest, his heartbeat was strong.
Torn between staying with him and trying to find answers, Kaylia glanced back at the jungle as the shadows swallowed Allegra. The flickering flames from the torches illuminated some guards; if she went to speak with Allegra, Brokk would be safe for a bit.
