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How could I tell him that he terrified me? That I feared him as much as I loved him? I swallowed my fear and looked into his eyes at the emotions waging war within him. The clash of tension, the clash of swords, the desire to hunt and the desire to love, all played out across his face, and all I wanted to do was hold him tight and wipe away the pain.
“Grieve . . . will she know? If you drink from me?”
He shook his head. “She is not all-powerful, though she is a force and fury. She is cruel, and vicious, and I’m terrified I’ll become like her. I can feel myself shifting, every moment I’m with her. She is the corrupter, the Snow Queen with the heart of ice. And she means for me to be her king.” His hands shifted and he leaned down again. “May I drink? It will help me keep my sanity—for a little while longer.”
“Cicely, get away from him.” Chatter’s voice echoed through the snow and I glanced over at him. “Let her go, Grieve. If you truly love her, let her go.”
Grieve stared at Chatter for a moment, snarling. “You would become a turncoat on me, too? You would forsake the one who saved your worthless life?” His voice was harsh and cruel.
I struggled against him as his hold changed on me. He laughed. “Cicely, my own little Cicely. Oh, Myst would have such fun playing with you.”
“Grieve, no—please. Please, hear me with your heart, not with the haze of her madness.” I reached up, stroked his face, forced him to look me in the eye. He quieted then, and again my wolf whimpered in pain, making me want to weep.
Ulean swept around me. He is dangerous, like a wounded animal. Use caution, Cicely. Do not provoke him.
But he let out a shuddering breath and hung his head. “Chatter is right. I’m dangerous. If I drank from you now, I don’t know if I could stop.”
I shook my head, running my fingers through the platinum locks that cascaded down his back. “You will not hurt me, Grieve. Our love runs through lifetimes. Remember . . . remember that. You and I were together before, and we’ll be together again. We are soul mates, stronger together than apart.”
And then . . . flash . . .
Grieve and I were standing there, together, on a mountain, scanning the vegetation below. Only he was Shy, not Grieve. “Can you see them? Are they coming?”
I shaded my eyes and searched the area. “I think so, but we are far enough away. We routed them, my love. We tore them to pieces.”
He flinched. “You tore them to pieces. I still can’t fathom your fury, Cherish. But we are free from the chase for at least a little while. My mother will never rest until you are dead . . . and me. I am a traitor to my people, because of you. But I choose you—it has always been you. Only you.”
And my heart swelled, as tears began to run down my cheeks. I dropped to my knees. “And you, my love. Only, always you. Traitors . . . we both bear the label. My mother will torture me in front of our people, if she catches me. I have dishonored her. But I am not like my people . . . at least not without reason.”
The memory of the guards, dismembered, bloody to the bone, tasting sweet in my mouth, filled my body, and I murmured a gentle moan. Their flesh was tender between my teeth, their blood still staining my lips. I’d taught them a harsh lesson about interfering with me.
Grieve-who-was-Shy knelt down and gathered me into his arms and slowly kissed me, long and deep, and the taste of blood mingled with the taste of his gentle breath. I slid my legs around his waist and he entered me, rocking gently against the mossy ground, as we mated. The sky shone crimson and yellow overhead, the sun high in the sky, and the feel of him on me, deep inside me, swallowed my anger.
“I will be with you forever, Cherish. We are fated together. No one else will ever measure up. You are my soul mate and we will never let them take us alive.”
“We’ll escape. Somehow we’ll escape and go to a place where our union is not forbidden. Now, take me. Love me,” I whispered. “Make me forget who I am. Who my people are. Who my mother is.” And he did.
Grieve shuddered in my arms, then inhaled a deep breath and gently pressed his lips against mine. “We are soul mates,” he murmured. “Together forever.” And then he dipped his lips to my neck and lightly nipped the skin, quietly lapping the blood that began to flow.
The pain was exquisite, and I flowed into his pleasure as my wolf let out a high pitched yip of joy. I wanted to lay him down, to straddle him in the snow, to feel him deep inside me, but this was not the place or the time. And Grieve seemed to sense it.
He voluntarily lifted his head, his eyes gleaming black, filled with stars. “You are mine, Cicely Waters. And your blood will sustain me. I can resist her, for a while longer. You are mine.”
“I am yours,” I whispered. “Keep her at bay, speak not to her, avoid Myst at all costs. And I will come for you—I promise, I will find a way.”
“Do not make promises you can’t keep, my sweet.” And then he turned, and like a ghost he was gone through the woods. And my wolf bayed in the waning light.
“We have to go.” Chatter was looking pissed out of his mind, but he said nothing. Peyton just glanced at me as we hurried through the snow, over the snowbank. She put in a call to Rhiannon, and after a couple of minutes, her car came rolling up the road and we scrambled in, exhausted and bone-weary.
“Did you make it to the Court of Dreams?” She sounded frantic.
“What happened? I can tell something happened. And yes, we did. I have the spell to help Kaylin.”
“Thank gods—I was afraid Myst might have caught you. You were gone two days.” She flashed me a worried smile. “Last night, a group of vampires and a group of Myst’s hunters got into a rumble downtown. It was bad, Cicely—very bad. Several of the townsfolk were nearby and there were deaths.”
“Holy crap. How many dead on each side?” I didn’t want to know, but it was like taking off a Band-Aid; better to just rip it off quickly.
“Three vamps, two Shadow Hunters, and five passersby. Including two police officers who didn’t know enough to stay out of it.” She sobered. “It was pure carnage down there. A bloodbath.” After a pause, she added, “Oh, and Lannan’s furious—he’s been looking for you.”
