Текст книги "Eyes of devious burgundy"

Автор книги: Lacey Lehotzky

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Текущая страница: 30 (всего у книги 43 страниц)

Rokath rose, towering over everyone kneeling in the shifting earth. “The Fates gave me the power to call death to our cause for a reason. To end the Angels and their relentless, fanatic pursuit of the extermination of the Demon race. Never forget what they will do in the name of that cause.”

With that, he dismissed everyone for their break. I went to the closest wagon, hopping in it with Grem and Zeec. The hounds panted, hot with their long black fur. The three of us settled in the shade, tucked behind a barrel so every male coming for a drink wouldn’t stare at me. A week into our journey and they hadn’t stopped. At least my wrists were healed now, though the faint white H scarred into them would never leave. I couldn’t decide how I felt about them, if I was being honest with myself.

A primal part of me liked the claim Rokath had laid on me. The logical part of me knew I should never speak to him again because of it. My feelings were confusing, and these long rides weren’t doing anything to help me sort them out. Especially because my mind kept drifting back to the world shattering moment he entered me.

Zeec groaned and rolled over on his back, exposing his belly. Unable to resist his charm, I rubbed both hands along it. “You’re such a good boy,” I cooed, and his tail thumped against the wood in a staccato rhythm.

At least I had the dogs and Rapp to keep me company and distract me from my thoughts some of the time. As if I had summoned the male, he peeked his head around the barrel. “Do you want to ride in here the rest of the day today?”

“Is that an option?” I asked. I was still trying to show Rokath that he could trust me enough to let me out of his sight for more than an hour or so at a time. He had to let his guard down in order for me to run. Though with the landscape around us, surviving after would be difficult.

Especially as I scanned the northern horizon and found two skeletal remains of what appeared to have been cattle. Maybe now was the best time, while I still had a chance to retreat into the mountains where I could find water and shelter.

Rapp shrugged. “Do you want permission or forgiveness?”

I smothered a smile. Kiira had shared the same sentiment with me when I defied Rokath and went to that party with her. Rapp and Kiira, I had learned from both of them, were close friends, and I understood why with the similarities they shared.

“I’d rather not have him scream at me in front of the entire army,” I sighed, feigning defeat.

Rapp laughed. “Fair enough. Halálhívó,” he shouted over his shoulder. I felt my mate approach, and my heart pounded erratically against my ribcage.

“What?” he growled.

“Why don’t you let Assyria ride with Grem and Zeec for the rest of the day out of the sun. I’ll ride beside the cart with Blaeze,” Rapp offered.

Ugh, there goes my chance of slipping away unnoticed.

A grumble echoed into the wagon. “Fine,” Rokath acquiesced. “Her weight offsets the amount of water we drank anyway.”

I crawled around the barrel and hissed, “I’m so glad you pay attention to my weight.”

Rokath raised one dark eyebrow, scrunching the fang that stretched onto his temple. “Your figure has crossed my mind once or twice.”

Rapp barked a laugh, startling the dogs and sending them scrambling to their feet. Then, he clapped Rokath on the shoulder and gave him a playful shove. “Alright, Halálhívó, better get the troops moving again before this devolves into you two fucking in the wagon.”

“I would never–” I started.

At the same time Rokath groused, “She wishes I would–”

A scoff slipped out before I could stop it. “You should be grateful I said that we should couple and relax the bond.”

Not like it helped now with the way it tried to shove us together again.

“I knew it,” Rapp laughed again, this time dragging an infuriated Rokath away. But Rapp’s intervention didn’t stop him from entering my mind to have the last word.

“If I hear you planning to escape one more time, I will shove my cock so far up your ass you won’t be able to walk or ride for a month. And I will thoroughly enjoy every second of it.”

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40

The desert cooled quickly as the sun dipped, and a shiver swept through me as I hopped down from the wagon and landed on the sand. It was denser than I anticipated, a mixture of hard packed dirt and fine grains that blustered around me as I walked toward the camp with Grem and Zeec on either side of me. A breeze gusted through the flat plains, and I squinted against the dust that blew into my eyes.

Rokath stomped toward me, sweat still beading his forehead. “This way,” he growled, jerking his hand toward the set of black tents I’d come to call home.

“Oh are you actually going to spend some time with me tonight?” I quipped as he led me there. “The soldiers are starting to talk about us, you know.”

He halted, and I nearly bumped into him. The way he towered over me should have been intimidating, but I was more annoyed with him than anything. This damn bond itched for me to be near him, begged me to have him inside me again, to touch him, to do anything but keep space between us. Between that and the heat, I was in no mood for his horseshit.

“And what are they saying?” he groused, pinching the bridge of his nose before wiping away a line of sweat.

“That they never hear us coupling. That they don’t believe I’m only here to be your fallen,” I said, crossing my arms and glaring up at him. The scarf fell back, pooling around my neck.

Rokath closed his eyes, and in my mind, I heard him counting to ten. “I will manage expectations,” he finally said, eyes snapping open.

I scoffed and walked past him. This was all a fucking joke.

The bond flared with pain as I left him behind, and then it eased as he jogged to catch up with me.

“This isn’t going to work once we reach the battlefield,” he grumbled, rubbing his chest. I resisted the urge to do the same, soothing the ache left from being unwanted by Rokath and unloved by anyone. Everyone who loved me was dead, and every death was his fault.

“Should have left me behind then,” I snapped.

His answering snort brimmed with derision. “Like that would have been any better. I’d have gotten this far and had to return for you with the way this damn bond likes to manipulate me.”

Sweat slicked down my backside, the leather not as breathable as I had hoped. Stupidly, I’d opted for the long-sleeved one today. While it was the best option to save my skin from the sun, it was the worst for the heat.

Another breeze blasted us, but it didn’t cool my anger nearly enough. Nails digging into palms, I continued my march to my prison. Rokath strode silently beside me, and when we reached his tent, I burst inside without looking back. To my surprise, he followed me in.

“Don’t you have to go to your officer meeting?” I grumbled, wishing he’d fuck off. I began unfastening the ties on the side of the leather, wanting, needing to breathe. It was all too much—the heat, the traveling, him.

“Assyria,” he growled. “Look at me.”

I ignored the hint of pity threaded in his tone and jerked the leather backward and off my shoulders. It landed on the bed with a thump, leaving only the bind around my breasts and the matching pants covering my legs.

A moment later, my skin burned where Rokath grabbed me. I closed my eyes, refusing to look at him as he spun me to face him. Tears pricked them as every confusing emotion barrelled through me.

He doesn’t want me.

No one wants me.

No one loves me.

I am alone.

“Fuck,” he cursed, then released me like I was a snake who’d struck out and sank its fangs into him.

One tear fell. Then another. “Just go,” I whispered, still not opening my eyes.

Rokath shifted on his feet, crunching the canvas, and then a heavy sigh slipped out of him. “Wander the camp as much as you’d like tonight, but return for dinner with Rapp.” His voice was as soft as I’d ever heard it, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say an undercurrent of guilt was there.

I nodded, and then his footsteps struck the earth, rattling it with all the hatred stretched between us. Only when the tremors no longer shook my legs did I open my eyes again. Grem and Zeec both watched me, and Zeec loosed a low whine. “Come here,” I told him, crouching down. He did, wagging his tail and licking the salty tears off my face.

That pulled a watery laugh from me, and I motioned for Grem to join us on the ground. The two went belly up, and I offered them more caresses, appreciating their thorough distraction. “Are you hungry?” I asked, and they both flipped over immediately, eyes lighting up.

“Let’s go find you food then,” I told them, rising to my feet and fetching my leather tunic. It was sticky when I put it back on, but I laced it up regardless.

The camp was still mid-setup, though mostly on the fringes. The center was always the first erected, and by now I knew exactly where the first food tent was. The cook saw us coming and handed me two bowls of raw meat for the loyal hounds. I perched on the edge of a long bench and watched them devour it in three bites. Then, I rinsed the bowls and filled them with water, setting them at their feet again. They lapped it greedily, droplets coating their furry muzzles and plopping against the earth by the time they finished.

We sat there for a little longer, watching the soldiers milling about, getting food, dipping in and out of tents, walking by. At least now that I was in pants and a tunic, they paid me less attention. I wondered how Rokath was going to spin our lack of coupling to them. No doubt he was barking at his officers about it now.

With a groan, I rose, and jerked my head at the dogs. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Slowly, we ambled through the camp in large, aimless circles, passing flag after flag, until I blinked and realized we neared the edge. Twilight was fast approaching, and we needed to return to the center so I could dine with Rapp.

An eerie quiet clung to the section. I paused mid-turn, listening for any sign of activity. But no one was around, and only a distant roar reached my ears.

Could I run?

After the way Rokath treated me upon arriving, I wanted nothing more than to be far, far away from him. Yet after passing a dozen more carcasses with vultures greedily picking at what remained on their bones, death would be a constant threat.

Rokath had also sworn to hunt me down on multiple occasions. After he’d punished me for saying his name, I didn’t doubt that he would. Yet, I couldn’t find it in me to care. An ember of hope said I should at least try.

Grem and Zeec would surely follow, but perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad thing. They were trained to bite and kill, and they could hunt animals for me on our return journey, leaving only water as the primary concern. I knew enough about plants to know which ones held it for safekeeping during long droughts.

My heart leaped to my throat. If I was going to go, I had to now. The dimming light would aid me in my surreptitious departure.

Throwing up a firm mental barrier, I sucked in a deep breath and sprinted beyond the last of the tents.

The hounds took off too, running right alongside me, tongues lolling out of their mouths. In the distance, hearty bushes dotted the landscape, and I raced toward them, hoping the brush would hide my fleeing form. Rocks waited there too, and I slipped between them, half-running, half-climbing as I navigated the terrain. The dogs had no problem with it, weaving and leaping, and Grem released an excited bark.

Shit, I hope no one heard that.

“Hush,” I wheezed at him, leaping down from a boulder and cutting back toward the distant mountains. The lights from the camp grew distant, and a sense of giddiness filled me.

Fuck Rokath, I was going to be free.

Our bond scorched my back, finally realizing my intentions and my actions. I ignored it, steeling my spine and sprinting faster. My arms pumped wildly as I tried to put as much distance between the camp and me.

The effort burned my lungs and finally forced me to slow, if only to a jog so I could suck down dusty, albeit much needed air. Grem and Zeec eased their pace too, panting as they trotted alongside me. “We’ve got this,” I told them, mostly in reassurance to myself.

But then, Rokath exploded into my mind.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me, Assyria. Are you seriously trying to run? You know this bond will lead me straight to you. And when I get there, I will drag you back to this camp and throw a chain around that pretty neck of yours and make you the slave that always rests at my feet. I’m giving you one opportunity to turn around and come back now.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I shouted down our bond, and then I sprinted again.

A feral roar filled the air, and ice shattered through my veins. Rokath’s rage slammed into my back, nearly sending me stumbling. I caught myself on a rock, hissing as something sharp sliced into my palms. But I couldn’t stop, because he was after me. The wicked thrill racing down the bond told me as much.

Stealing a glance at my palms, I cursed again, deep cuts welling dark ruby and spilling over my palms and to the sand.

Guess I’m making a second offering today.

“Weaver, let me get away,” I pleaded, since I was already giving her my blood.

Three sharp caws sounded overhead, and I whipped my head toward the darkening sky, barely making out the forms of three black crows. Shouts rang out around the camp, and I gritted my teeth and forced my feet to move again.

“Come back now and I won’t fuck you in front of the entire camp as punishment. This generosity will not be offered again,” Rokath threatened into my mind.

“And finally put all those rumors to rest?”

Frustration leaked down the bond. “You’re going to fucking die out there, Assyria. I thought you were smarter than this. Stop where you are and I will carry you back to camp.”

“I won’t die, and I’ll be free of you. It will be the greatest victory the Demon Realm has ever known.”

I slammed up a barrier again because I needed to focus. The unfortunate part about my chosen path was that the rocks grew harder and harder to see. Grem and Zeec seemed to have no issue navigating, so I followed their path as best as I could. We rounded an especially large boulder, with sharp, thorny bushes surrounding its base.

Too late, I noticed one in the path in front of me, and my foot tangled in it, sending me careening toward the ground.

“Fuck!” I cursed as I landed half on my side. My shoulder popped, and pain raced up and down my arm. With an anguished cry, I rolled onto my back, clutching it. But the motion sliced the thorns into my calf.

Reaper, now I’m even more injured.

Carefully sitting up, I used my still functioning hand to work my way free of the bush, but not without a few more cuts.

Grem released a sharp bark, and Zeec growled, sending me whipping around.

Rokath couldn’t have found me already, right?

A hiss followed, long and low, and my blood froze.

Within striking distance, a blood-red cobra waited, its hood flared and tongue flicking in my direction. I recognized it immediately for what it was—the most deadly serpent in all of Keleti. I couldn’t breathe, for I didn’t dare move. One bite from this snake, and I would be dead within hours.

Grem and Zeec’s hackles were raised, and they continued to snarl. The snake paid them no attention, solely focused on me. My mind blanked of everything but this intense staredown.

Weaver, Giver, Reaper, please let it slither away.

But it vibrated, coiling backward, preparing to strike.

A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to laugh. Wanted to cry. Wanted to scream.

My life was nothing more than a joke to the Fates. One cruel joke after another. I would die out here, as alone as I’d felt for the past eight years of my life. At least then, all the pain would end.

I don’t want to die.

The thought sent hot tears to my eyes. For so long, I had wanted that, and now, the moment I was facing the Reaper, I realized just how badly I wanted to live.

I pressed my lips together and gritted my teeth. Shoving my palms into the ground, I attempted to move myself backward and curl my legs toward me.

The cobra’s tongue flicked at me before another hiss escaped.

I froze. It didn’t.

The hood flared, and then, it struck.

With every bit of energy I possessed, I dove to the side, hoping it would miss me. I slammed into Zeec, and he yelped as we hit the ground and skidded.

A scream shredded my vocal cords as the snake’s fangs sunk into my calf.

Fire ignited in my veins.

Stars exploded in my vision, and then the world went black.

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41

Blinding pain ripped down the bond, and I nearly fell from my horse as we raced through the desert. Clutching my chest, I doubled over, barely managing to stay seated.

“Assyria?” I shouted down our bond.

She didn’t answer.

“Assyria!” That one came out with an intensity only reserved for my worst behaving soldiers.

Still nothing but that searing agony.

“Rokath, what’s wrong?” Rapp yelled. I couldn’t even pick my head up to answer him.

“She’s in pain,” I gritted out.

Thankfully, Rapp understood what was happening and kicked his horse, urging him on. Mine followed, and I gripped as hard as I could with my legs and knotted my fingers in his mane.

Two dogs barked, their fervency growing, and we rode straight toward the sound.

Assyria must be dying for this level of anguish.

I was no stranger to near-death experiences, and this level of torment always accompanied it. “Hurry,” I wheezed. Her death wouldn’t necessarily mean my own, but I would share this pain with her until the end.

She doesn’t deserve to suffer.

The thought stole the rest of my breath. I couldn’t—wouldn’t think about her like that.

Because she’s my mate.

Once again, I cursed the Fates. Lately, trusting their timing was becoming tedious. Whether the Weaver had deemed this path the correct one or the Reaper had placed a curse on us was undecided. We had to continue walking forward regardless.

Rapp slowed his mount as we rode upon a pile of rocks, and in the darkness, Grem and Zeec’s red eyes flashed. Rapp leaped from his horse and raced toward them, and I gritted my teeth and slid from my own. Each step was like a lance through my chest, but I couldn’t stop. Not when my mate was dying.

Cresting the rocks, I found Rapp crouched beside a limp, lifeless Assyria and a severed cobra. “Fucking Reaper,” I swore. She’d been bitten, which explained why she was suffering in such an excruciating way. The snakes found in the Paks Desert were the deadliest in all of Ravasz, which meant Assyria was quite literally teetering on the threshold between life and death.

I have to save her.

Sucking in a serrated breath, I called my wings from my back, stretching and flexing them as they settled between my shoulder blades. “Give her to me,” I growled at Rapp.

His head snapped up. “I can fly her–”

“No,” I snarled, half-stumbling forward. My heart thundered in my chest, and sweat broke out on my temples. “Take the horses and the dogs. I’ve got her.”

Rapp didn’t argue a second time. He hauled her up to where I stood, and then I clutched her to my chest like she was the key to slaughtering all the Angels.

She very well might be, for I’d spent none of this time with her trying to figure out why she was essential. An action I kicked myself for as I spread my wings wide.

Assyria weighed nothing in my arms, and with one powerful flap, I launched us into the sky. The desert air at night was biting, and I willed my wings to catch the wind and spear us straight to the healer’s tents. A shiver wracked her small frame, and I curled around her, trying to prevent her from moving.

The torture was enormous, bigger than the Skala Mountains at my back, and pure, unfiltered adrenaline was the only thing keeping me airborne.

Why did you run, Assyria?

And better yet, why did I trust her not to?

I left her in such a state of anger earlier. I should have said something, done something different. I wanted to comfort her in that moment, but she wouldn’t look at me. She twisted her dainty fingers in my heart and pulled out an array of emotions I’d numbed for centuries. I didn’t know what to do, what to say, most of the time when it came to her.

The lights from the camp grew brighter, and I barreled toward the center of it, not caring that the entire fucking army saw me carrying a limp female in my arms like a fucking hero.

With a thud, I landed at the entrance to the healer’s tent, then stumbled inside. Assyria’s head lolled to the side, and she looked so fucking pale in my arms. A cry of alarm sounded around me, and I snapped my attention to them. “Anti-venom, pium, poppy,” I managed to grind out, each step forward spearing me with blinding, unending agony.

No one moved, only stared in wide eyed, slack jawed shock.

“Now!” I roared with the last of my strength, then collapsed to my knees, Assyria still clutched against my chest. Her heartbeat was so weak, so faint…

“Your Glory, if I may,” the lead healer said, arms outstretched as if he were going to take her from me.

“Where,” I growled, and he stepped back, gesturing toward an empty bed off to one side.

My knees protested as I stumbled toward it. The bed was thin and narrow, but clean. I placed Assyria on it with as much gentleness as I could muster. Three healers were on her the moment I let go, though I didn’t move more than an arm’s length from her side.

No one bothered to tell me to leave either. “Halálhívó, would you like a stool?” an underling asked. The withering look I sent in his direction had him slinking back immediately.

“Lift her head,” the lead healer instructed one of his companions. The male worked his hands beneath her shoulders, and as he raised her, her head snapped back, unsupported.

“Out of my fucking way,” I snapped, shoving him aside and taking his place. This time, when Assyria rose off the table, my flexing biceps were there to give her the support she needed.

The lead healer poured two potions down her throat, then a splash of water. “You may lower her now.”

As I did, I jostled her shoulder, and a flare of pain traveled down our bond. Gritting my teeth, I pointed to the right one, “She is injured here too.”

“We will tend to it after her other wounds,” he assured me.

The male I had shoved and another examined her calf, splashing more potions there and using some sort of tube and bulb on two puncture marks.

Where she had been bitten.

I wanted to fry that fucking snake, and unfortunately Rapp had beaten me to it.

Fingers curling into my palms, I waited, shifting from foot to foot as they worked. My own physical agony eased, though the emotional agony was something unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It was as if my heart was simultaneously racing and shattering into a thousand tiny shards, pounding so hard against my ribcage I thought it might crack the bones there and leap from my chest in an attempt to close the distance between Assyria and me. Almost involuntarily, I rested a hand on her uninjured shoulder, needing to touch her, to feel her, to ensure she was fucking here with me.

For I could not breathe, not rest, until I knew she would live.

The thought frightened me. And nothing ever caused me to feel real fear.

Color returned to her cheeks, and the rapid rise and fall of her chest softened and slowed. Sweat dotted the healer’s brows as they worked, cleaning and binding her leg. Eventually, the lead healer approached her shoulder again, moving it around and drawing a snarl from me as pain flared again.

He leveled a serious look at me. “This is going to hurt.”

Then, without further warning, he twisted, and an audible pop filled the tent. Assyria, still unconscious, jerked into my hand, a weak sound spilling from her throat. But then, the tension in her brow eased, and she sighed.

The healer settled her arm across her belly, then fetched rolls of fabric and began binding her shoulder and arm. “She needs to keep this immobilized for at least a week for the joint to heal. But otherwise, she should make a full recovery.”

It was all I could do to brace my hands on the table and let my head hang. The breath that had been lodged firmly in my throat finally escaped. “Thank you.”

When I looked up again, the lead healer’s maroon eyes were wider than when I had dropped into the tent with Assyria in my arms. “Of course, Halálhívó. I shall check in on her daily to ensure her continued improvement.”

“Does she need to remain here?” I asked.

He shook his head. “She can recover here or in your quarters, sir. Whichever you prefer.”

“My quarters,” I pronounced, moving around the table in preparation to lift her.

The lead healer produced a bottle from his pocket. “Give this to her the moment she wakes. Ensure she has more water as well. Some food might settle her stomach if she is nauseous.”

I accepted the potion, then studied my mate. Ever so slowly, I snaked an arm behind her knees, careful not to touch her bandaged calf, then did the same beneath her mid-back, trying to support both her head and injured shoulder as I lifted her. This time, her heart beat a slow, steady rhythm against my cacophonous one.

Adjusting her slightly, I left the tent without another word. Most of the camp had settled, given it was now the middle of the night, and all was quiet as I strode toward the black tents in the center. Rapp and the hounds perked up at my approach, seeming to relax once they saw Assyria still breathed.

“Thank the Fates,” Rapp said, rising from the stump he’d been sitting on.

I wasn’t sure a ‘thank you’ to those cunts was what I wanted to offer at the moment. This situation was exactly the issue I had with being attached to a female in the first place, let alone my fucking mate. They were a weakness, a liability, and a distraction.

“Open the flap,” I said, too exhausted to try to be nice.

He hurried ahead of me and pulled it back. Ducking inside, I placed Assyria on the bed with the same level of care I had lifted her. Then, I put the potion on the bedside table. “I need water and something to eat,” I told Rapp.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, disappearing.

Unable to help myself, I settled on the bed beside her, watching those dark lashes fan against her cheeks, studying the dip of her lips, the shape of her jaw, the way her clothes hugged her figure. Lifting her hand, I studied the ring too, wondering why it was so important to her, why she had put herself at risk to retrieve it, and why Rapp had risked revealing her identity to win it.

My friend returned with both food and drink a moment later. “What’s so important about this?” I asked him, indicating the dainty ring with the tiny garnet stone.

“It was her mother’s. She died in the plague, along with her whole family,” Rapp told me.

Something that felt a lot like sympathy surged from my gut. First, she’d told me of how Vagach had treated her. And now this.

What else didn’t I know about my mate?

I said nothing, placing her palm over her belly, mirroring the one trapped there by the healer’s dressing. “I’ll see you in the morning,” I said by way of dismissal.

“You’re staying here?” Rapp questioned.

I managed to tear my gaze away from Assyria long enough to glimpse the shock on his face. “I am.” My tone left no room for further questioning.

As much as I hated it, I had to.

Needed to.

Wanted to.

I smashed that thought into oblivion.

“Well with her near-death experience, that would make sense. The bond and all,” Rapp offered with a shrug.

“Exactly,” I replied coolly, returning my attention to my mate.

Rapp shifted on his feet like he wanted to say something else. “I’m glad Assyria is okay. I really like her, Rokath. I wish you’d see that you could too.”

Before I could respond, a whoosh of air brushed over us, signaling his departure. I waited another minute before carefully undressing Assyria, tucking a pillow under her head, and climbing onto the hard mattress beside her.

Watching. Waiting. Wondering.

Protecting Assyria from harm was one thing—at which I’d utterly failed that night. But caring for her? Liking her? That was an entirely different ask, one that I wasn’t sure I could manage, especially after what happened to me while I grew into an adult male. What happened while I trained at Fured. What happened to Thast.

My body calmed as I lay beside Assyria, and my eyes grew heavy as I reached for her stomach, resting my hand atop it just so I knew she was still alive. And then, before I was even conscious of it happening, sleep claimed me.

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