Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

KESTRAL

T he haze of pleasure enthralls my mind, body, and soul, holding me captive. It entices my senses, consuming me whole.

She ensnares me. Her eyes bewitching, her beauty an allure and temptation I cannot resist. Her endless strength and wicked tongue soothe the beast inside me while also bringing him to life.

If I hadn't ripped myself away from her, I would have shoved her up against that wall, slid down her body, and…

A vicious hunger rips through me as a series of images flash before my mind; her beneath me, spread out as I explore, tease, and taste every enticing curve and dip. Molding her body to mine as I savor every inch of her. Absorbing the feel of her as she moves above me, tormenting me, trapping me with the thread that slowly binds us as one.

Her. Her. Her.

Damn it.

Blood thunders in my veins, making me lightheaded.

I cannot claim her. I cannot have her. Clenching my fists, I grit against the sharp pain the thought alone causes.

She will be my ruin, and I, her damnation. We cannot be. She is a beautiful cruelty the fates have condemned me with. A hypnotic flame that will only burn me to ashes.

I try to erase the feel of her. Of her enticing scent and soft hands and lips. But the ache, the hunger, and savage need only snare me more.

I need to push her away and put more distance between us, farther away from the powerful desire building and growing.

I move to the large balcony outside the royal suites with hope that the fresh morning air will extinguish a sliver of this heat.

A moment later, a palace servant stiffly walks up to me, his face growing paler the closer he gets. He stares at me but says nothing, flinching when I raise a brow in question. When he continues to stare at me in fear, I decide to use this opportunity to make sure Seren is at least checked over once more, to play it safe.

We do not know the extent of potential damage the orb may cause farther down the line. She may need to be watched closely.

"Send a healer to check on the Sidus competitor. I feel the orb may have left some unstable energy from its aftermath."

"Sir. The Sidus you speak of. She is…" He glances around as if searching for a quick escape, his hands trembling in front of him.

Every sense in my body is set alight and on alert. This particular servant knows what and who I am. He has worked for me for years and does not normally fear me. But he is also aware of what happened to Seren and the orb, and my instinct is telling me something is amiss.

"Another servant. They said they saw her being captured. She's gone."

Gone … My body turns to stone. A bitter ice that spreads through every nerve in my body before constricting and flaring to life as flames, igniting a fire that blazes throughout me.

Rage. Violence. Bloodshed.

It slashes across my mind in waves and thunderstorms, heightening each one of my senses.

Gone …

The servant slips away as Asha, Cyra, and Veles arrive, coming up behind me, but I do not move. I do not speak or turn around to them, the vicious impulse to slaughter anything that comes near me too great. To ruthlessly rip apart, destroy, and decimate everything until nothing but carnage and chaos are left behind.

Asra slowly steps up beside me but keeps his distance. "We will find her, Kestral. We will get her back. You have my word."

Gone … The flames claw and burn across my chest, piercing through my thundering heart.

A storm begins to build inside me and spill out, causing the light around us to be shuttered by dark gray clouds sweeping across the sky, completely obscuring the sun. They unfurl across the three kingdoms, swelling into a powerful windstorm, a tempest that upheaves the turbulent waters below.

Asra's eyes widen. "He is not supposed to be able to use his powers within the shield."

My power expands, charging outward with a rumble of thunder that reverberates across the sky.

The turbulent waves crash against the side of the mountain as the wind picks up. Twisting, spiraling, growing, before unleashing an onslaught of twisters that slam into the black sea.

"He is a direct descendant of those who created the shield, and his mate was just taken. I doubt that little restriction is going to stop him now," Veles says, my heightened senses picking up the strain in his voice.

The storm surges and swells, forming a powerful whirlwind that roars around us in fury. In rage and vengeance. In pain and torment.

Until everything stops and grows calm. A still silence that is a deceptive lull and ominous warning.

Energy fills the air, cracking around us, stalking outward.

Gone … The lightning hits, a booming strike that seeks out a ruthless revenge.

SEREN

The ground beneath me shudders and shakes, making my stomach roll. I try to move my arm and any other limb, but no part of my body obeys my command.

Flashes of light flicker across my lids, and my eyes blink open a sliver, too spent, too painful to fully open.

I can't move my head, but I can see the wooden edges of the open carriage I must be in. There are bodies beside and above me, their warmth bleeding into me, keeping me warm as we travel through the bitter winds outside.

I know I have to try to get out of this, to awaken my body from this strange unmoving slumber, but no matter how hard I try, nothing moves.

I try to pull up my Sidus light and then attempt to release my shadows, but nothing happens. I reach down inside myself and search for that familiar thread of power, but it is as if it has been carved out of me with only a hollow space left behind.

The carriage jolts, turning my head to the left, and my eyes slightly widen when I spot a familiar face.

Leora is by my side, her eyes closed, her body still. Too still. Focusing on her, I catch the rise and fall of her chest, and the tightness in mine slowly eases.

I can't tell where we are, the edges of the carriage high enough to block me from seeing directly out but low enough to see the sky above.

It can't be my town, as it's not dark enough to block out the sun above like it does in the Sidus town, and the ground is too smooth and straight to be up in the mountains.

It can only mean that whoever has taken us is taking us someplace outside the kingdom. Which should not be possible. The shield and wall alone should have stopped them, and that is without the dark creatures preventing them a way past.

Veles's words cross my mind about the mention of a portal, just as energy slides over my skin, an icy rush that fills me before dissipating.

Panic assaults my mind and silent body as dread fills me, and I realize my fears have come true.

The carriage stops and two males come into view, their side profiles now revealing one with a slight point to his ears.

It seems the shield does more than just hide the other kingdoms; it glamours the Fae's appearance too.

The Fae looks slightly older and taller, but the other male is familiar. It takes me a moment to realize who it is as my eyes attempt to close, my body wanting to rest. I force them to stay open and watch on as the Caligo guard we caught at the bridge stands in front of me. The one who betrayed us.

"I hate that bloody shield," the Fae says to the guard. "I hate not having my full abilities and how it makes me feel as fragile as a weak human," he sneers.

The guard glances backward before looking at the Fae, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "We have no new orders to go back…"

A smug grin crosses the Fae's face. "What will—" A rumbling thunder ripples across the sky, making the two males jolt and quickly lose their smiles.

A dark storm of thundering gray clouds and twisting whirlwinds expands out toward us as if it is trying to follow us.

"What in the blasted heavens is that? I've never seen anything like it," the guard says, the fear in his voice evident.

"That is not natural. Let us get out of here. Now ." The older Fae moves out of view, but the guard pauses and frowns.

"What should we do with them?" He tilts his head toward the carriage.

"They will be sold," the Fae replies.

The guard turns to me with a smirk, a small knife in his hand as he reaches out and nicks my neck.

Lightning strikes from somewhere far away, the force of it a violent vengeance that reaches out to pursue just as darkness drags me under once more.