AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The men turned their attention to the horizon. While they discussed whether the far-off, dark specks in the sky could be harpies or hawks, I kept my focus on the bearded giant, waiting.
It only took a few moments before Ozias’s gaze darted to me once again. “Say nothing,” he growled under his breath.
“Very well.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Trust me when I say I wish to find her too,” I told him. “But I must know what prompted your reaction just now.”
His teeth ground, making the hairs of his beard ripple as he visibly debated whether to acknowledge what I now knew. But after a moment, his words emerged, grudging and barely audible even to my ears. “She’s with him.”
“With—”
The implication sunk in.
Rage surged within me so hot and fast I couldn’t keep my fangs from descending. Beneath me, the horse danced and bucked, whinnying with fear.
With effort, I pulled my mount—and myself—back under control again. “Is that creature forcing himself on?—”
“No.”
I froze.
Ozias scowled and then cast a quick look over his shoulder at the others. Frustration on his face, he snarled under his breath, “She wanted him. Wants him.” His face twitched, and when he continued, his voice was tight in a strange way. “Roan’s not…” He cleared his throat and adjusted his pants surreptitiously. “He’s not hurting her.”
With another glance at his friends, he tapped his heels to his horse’s sides, sending it onward faster.
I didn’t follow. I couldn’t. I was too shocked to move.
Because Gwyneira was having sex with that monster.
Willingly.
With enough pleasure that it aroused her mate all these miles away.
I didn’t react to the others while they rode past and eyed me with curiosity. No, I was too busy reeling from the sudden realignment of absolutely everything I thought had occurred. Dispelled were the images of my kingdom as it crumbled, of the mangled bodies of the innocent and the blood-soaked vampires feeding on the ones they’d previously sworn to protect and love. Fading were the agonized cries of their victims, helpless to stop what was happening to them.
Now I had no idea what was going on.
“You coming?” Clay called back.
I shuddered. “Of course.”
My voice was steady, and my grip on the reins was too.
Neither hinted at how much I was reeling inside.
“What did Ozias say to you?” Niko asked when I rode closer.
I hesitated, my mouth opening but no words emerging, and the gods only knew what they would have been. “Nothing.”
That answer would scarcely satisfy anyone, but it was all I could say.
Because, gods help me, Gwyneira was currently having sex with that creature, never mind that it had kidnapped her from us all.
My thoughts slowed. Realization sank through me like ice water, washing everything else away and leaving only crystalline clarity.
Never mind that it had…
