Page 77 of Whispers of Ruin
“They are,” Kaylia agreed.
Plus, he’d withstood a dark fae sword through the heart. He could survive this too.
Allegra rested her hand on Kaylia’s arm and squeezed it. “Good night, Kaylia. Try to get some rest before we move on tomorrow.”
“You too.”
Kaylia watched the young witch stroll away through the trees with her shoulders hunched forward as sadness emanated from her. Allegra hadn’t said it, but Kaylia saw the truth; the woman was in love and suffering. She would recognize that fact anywhere; she’d lived it for centuries.
But that didn’t mean Allegra had also withstood the effects of the mandarus. That didn’t mean love… or, at the very least, having feelings for another made fighting off the mandarus’ seductive powers possible.
There could be another perfectly reasonable explanation for it, and she hadn’t considered it yet. Maybe, for a reason unknown, she, Brokk, and possibly Allegra had simply been able to fight the pull of the mandarus more than the others.
That is a possibility, which means you’re driving yourself crazy over nothing.
She told herself this, hoping she might get some sleep tonight, but she didn’t believe it was so simple.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-ONE
It was stillnight when Brokk woke, and its blackness clung to him as he struggled from sleep. For a second, he was too disoriented to recall where he was and why he felt so weak.
His throat was dry, and the hunger twisting in his belly made it almost impossible to piece together the scattered fragments of his memory.Why am I so hungry?
He couldn’t remember ever feeling this ravenous before. He’d always fed both his vampire and dark fae halves at regular intervals to ensure he didn’t lose control, but now his veins burned for blood, and despite his weakness, his cock ached as it sought the sexual energy the dark fae required.
He tried lifting a hand to his pounding head, but it felt like someone had tied a thousand-pound weight to his arm. As fragmented memories spun through his head, a new sensation crept in to replace his hunger.
Something warm, supple, and oh-so-tempting pressed against his side. Saliva rushed into his mouth as an earthy scent filled his nostrils.
Kaylia.
Despite his exhaustion and the ravenous appetite clouding his judgment, he knew she was there. No one felt or smelled as amazing as her.
When he twisted his head to look at her, the pull of something on his neck caused a flood of memories to return. Thosemonstershad done this to him, and they’d paid for it, but he’d like to sink his fangs into their throat and shred their veins as he killed them all again.
He ignored the weakness in his body as he lifted his hand. He flexed his fingers while trying to comprehend they were his. They were there; he saw them moving, but they were weak and distant, like they belonged to someone else.
When he dropped his arm, it felt more like a rock falling to the earth than anything he could control. Brokk ignored the hammer beating on his head as he rolled to the side, planted his strange-feeling hands on the ground, and pushed himself up.
The movement made his head spin, and he nearly toppled backward. Determination was all that kept him from falling over again as acid burned up his throat.
He had no idea how long he’d slept, but he should feelbetterthan this. Sleep should have healed him, not made himworse.
When his gaze fell to Kaylia, curled beside him with her hands under her head and sweeping lashes shadowing her cheeks, his anger faded. With fingers that felt at least three times their normal size, he awkwardly lifted them to stroke her cheek.
He traced the contours of her face while savoring her silken skin. She was beauty and life. Something about her captivated him so much that it pierced through the power of the mandarus and allowed him to evade their treacherous, seductive hold.
He’d managed to retain control of himself and kill that woman because ofher. Things would have been a lot worse otherwise.
As he watched her, his heart swelled until it felt like it was twice its normal size. He swore it grew so big his ribs wouldn’t be able to contain it anymore.
She’dpulled him back from the certain death of those creatures and taken care of him afterward. For months, she’d been a part of his life. Initially, she hated him, tolerated him, and finally came around to liking him, but he wanted more.
He wanted itall.
And that was something he never thought he’d seek from a woman, but he did from her.
As that realization settled into a knot in his chest, the memory of the ghost between them returned. Her fiancé, a man she was still in love with, haunted every aspect of her existence; she couldn’t enjoy her life without guilt because of him.
