Page 52 of Promise of Darkness
“Begone!” he bellows, flinging up his arms.
“Tasty, tasty blood—” Right behind him. “Wants it.”
His weight leans on me, as if they’re sapping him of strength. I catch a glimpse of the strain on his face. The sound of slobbering echoes, and then he screams and hot blood splashes against my cheek.
“Keep me safe,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my face to his throat. Greedy hands tear at my velvet cloak, and something slices my thigh. “You can do this. You can control them. I know you can. You promised you’d keep me safe.”
I don’t know what sort of magic this is, but I know now why the queens fear him.
Blood splashes as the creatures take their thwarted rage out upon what remains of the banes. Strain tightens Thiago’s jaw, and I press my hand to it, stroking his cheek with my thumb.
“Control them, curse you.” I don’t know if being torn apart by… whatever this is… would be better or worse than being eaten alive. “Control them!”
“I’m… trying.”
Out of pure desperation, I press my lips to his.
It’s as if the sun suddenly rises.
The gloom seems to lessen, and suddenly I can’t hear those malevolent whispers anymore.
Thiago stills, his hands clinging to my shirt. And then his mouth is moving hungrily over mine, meeting me with an urgency he’s never displayed until now. “Vi,” he whispers, shaking in my arms. “Vi.” And then a trembling hand is sliding through my hair, curling into a fist, as if he’s trying to anchor himself.
The Darkness vanishes abruptly. The shadows dissipate.
I come back to myself, my forehead resting against his as we both pant for breath. He’s getting heavier, and I realize he must be almost listing toward me for our heads to touching.
“Whatwasthat?”
No Seelie fae could have wielded such power. That was pure Unseelie magic, malicious and dangerous. The clearing is splashed with blood and bone and other pieces of flesh I don’t want to identify. There’s nothing left of our attackers.
There’s barely anything left of us.
Thiago groans, his weight nearly driving me to my knees. Before he can answer, he collapses with a groan at my feet.
I kneel at his side, checking his pulse. "Your Highness?"
His skin’s clammy to the touch. Dangerously so.
"Thiago?" I whisper.
But there’s no answer.
A chill settles on my shoulders. It’s so fucking quiet now, without the banes or Thiago’s Darkness. I blow into my cupped hands, then realize the snow settling on my shoulders is starting to penetrate my clothes.
I’m feeling the cold.
Which means Thiago’s wards are failing. I need to get us to shelter. Fast. And then I don’t know what I’m going to do.
13
Wind whips my fur vest and shirt around me as I drag Thiago through the snow.
I made a makeshift sled with his own cloak, and then packed my own around him to keep him warm. My own blood runs hot, but by the time we’ve gone half a mile, even I’m starting to feel the bitter chill creep into my toes and fingers.
He said the hunting cabin wasn't far, and I found a narrow track through the trees that clearly leads somewhere.
Please, please let it be the cabin….
