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Chapter28
Rafferty
The darkness outside would seem a perfect match for my soul if not for the twinkling stars overhead.
I’d been so close to taking what I want—what we both want—and destroying what little honor I have left. Within moments of burying myself inside of her and experiencing passion for the first time in my long life.
Had she not stopped me—I would have done just that.
She may not want any part of this world, may be insisting on returning home, but it won’t be because I claimed what was not rightfully mine.
I stare down at the blood dripping from my wounded arm. I’m not foolish enough to believe that giving in to her, alone, will be what turns me, but it’s a start. A step in the direction of losing all sight of who I am.
And I am not a man who takes what is not his.
I am not a man who claims a woman who deserves better.
She wants me, the dark side urges.Take her.
The voice that I’d been able to silence with little effort before has now grown in full force. Much the same way it was when I first took in the dark magic.
It wants me to give in—to take everything it offers. What’s even more twisted? That dark shadow on my soul is one hundred percent me. The dark magic didn’t add to me; it enhanced parts of my personality that were already there.
I was a monster before. The power simply gave me an outlet.
Wood creaks, and I get to my feet, retrieving my blade and eyeing Ember sleeping soundly as I creep to the door.
With the same attention I take on the battlefield, I listen, extending my senses to pick up whoever is outside the door.
Kill.The word echoes through my brain, an order I will gladly follow should whoever is on the other side be here to bring harm to Ember.
I reach forward and quietly click the lock. Then I slowly move toward the handle. With one final breath, I rip it open and grab the man on the other side by the throat. In the blink of an eye, he’s pinned against the wall, my blade at his throat.
“What the fuck do you want?” I snarl, leaning in close enough that I can easily make out the bright golden eyes staring back at me.
“It’s me. Fin,” he chokes out.
Kill.
“Fin?” I take a step back, keeping my blade at the ready as I take in the man before me. Dressed in dark brown trousers and a cloak to match, he looks nothing like the hardened warrior I’d last seen.
He reaches up and removes his cloak, revealing dark hair braided on the left side, two black beads woven into the bottom.
“What happened?”
His expression falters. “I’m so glad to see you, brother.” Not answering my question, he steps forward and wraps both arms around me. It takes me a moment, but then I return the gesture. We stand, embracing for a moment, before he releases me and steps back, sniffling.
“What are you doing here, Fin?”
“Looking for you. Marie got word to me that you’d arrived.”
“I can’t tell you how damned glad I am to see you.”
“Nor I, you,” he replies, then peeks into the room. Eyes widening, he gasps. “That’s her? The woman from the prophecy?”
“Yes.” I reach behind me and shut the door, not wanting Ember to be disturbed.
“You found her.”
