Текст книги "Desire in His Blood"

Автор книги: Zoey Draven

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 24 страниц)

It was done.

It had happened so quickly that it felt wrong.

In a mere matter of moments, I’d signed my life away, scribbled down onto a million floating pixels that resembled paper and with my blood. A contract. A promise.

For a marriage ceremony, it had felt cold and impersonal.

And yet…

This Kylorr was my husband now.

“No…” came my father’s voice, surprisingly brittle. For a moment, I thought he was protesting but then he continued with, “No harm will come to her. Do you understand, Kylorr?”

A slick whisper sounded in the room. When I looked down, I saw large blades had extended from the gauntlets, resembling long claws, the shimmering sharpness of them enough to make me pale and balk, stepping back into Fran.

My husband smiled. All his teeth were sharp, but his fangs glinted like his gauntlet’s blades.

I suppressed a shiver, despair and fear rising in my belly, making me want to vomit. So much for not showing him my fear. It shone on my face now like a beacon. And when those red eyes came to me, that smile only widened when he saw it.

“I will do whatever I please with my wife, Rye of House Hara, Lord of the Collis.”

His voice was like an endless fog. Deep and dark, wrapping me up and making me lose my way. Lost.

His wings flared behind him, an unbreachable wall, the dark span of them shocking. His hand clamped over my arm, tugging me toward him, away from Fran, away from my father. The hot smear of his blood was like a brand on my flesh, the strength of his grip evident.

“She is mine now.”

Chapter 5

Gemma

“It will be a three-day flight to Krynn,” Rivin grunted, releasing my arm abruptly enough to make me stumble into the quarters. It didn’t help that the trail of my wedding dress twisted around my legs. The Kylorr male frowned down at me. For a moment, he stepped toward me, as if to help, but then looked away. “How many meals do you take a day?”

Rivin was my new husband’s ambassador. Not the one who’d brokered this marriage with Mr. Cross, but he’d been the only one present as Azur’s witness. The one who’d stood quietly in the corner of the courtroom, his hand casually draped on the hilt of his sword, as I’d signed my name in blood. The one whose arms Azur of House Kaalium had shoved me into the moment we’d left.

My husband hadn’t even let me say goodbye to my father, to Fran, and that stabbing tendril of cruelty nearly made me cry.

But if he thought he could break me, he was wrong.

“Am I to be a prisoner on board?” I asked Rivin, straightening when I got my legs underneath me. He was dressed in the same fashion as Azur: armored. Though, unlike his lord, he wore a flexible plating down his chest and had circular, decorative rings cuffed to the bones of his wings. “Locked away in this room until we arrive to your home planet?”

Truthfully, it would be a relief. Perhaps my husband wouldn’t seek me out on our wedding night. Perhaps he would just leave me alone. Which was the next best thing I could hope for, being the bride of a Kylorr.

Rivin had bright blue eyes, resembling the color of the Nulaxian male’s. A deep scar ran down his left cheek, curving around his mouth like smile lines. Only this male was scowling something fierce.

Strangely enough, I didn’t see fangs. Could…could the Kylorr retract them?

“How many meals do you take?” Rivin asked again.

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him, None.

But I would need my strength and a clear head once we arrived to Krynn.

“Three.”

He turned.

“What about my belongings?” I asked hurriedly. My three trunks from home. My entire life packed into them. I needed to change out of this dress. I needed to burn it next.

“They will be given to you once they are searched,” Rivin informed me, his heavy footsteps treading back up the short set of stairs. Those stairs led to a door I knew would be locked from the outside, which led out to the hallway of the Kylorr’s ship.

I watched that door close behind him.

Then I was alone.

Dragging in a deep breath, I slumped down onto a chaise lounge, plush and draped in black velvet. The whole room was appointed with expensive furnishings—including the largest bed I’d ever seen on a space cruiser, a glistening bar cart of multicolored liquors in various crystal decanters, and a complete Halo system installed into one of the wall panels. There was a second door that I assumed led to the washroom. And behind the bar cart, there were floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out into open space, dark and starry, where the ship was docked in a private bay.

Not even as soon as I got my bearings in the room, a gentle hum sounded and we pushed off from the docking port, the launch sequence seamless.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I clenched my fists in my dress, feeling my thumb throb. When I opened my eyes, I saw the dried stain of my blood, dark red against white cloth.

I thought of his voice, soft like smoke but as unyielding as stone. It was my fear that this was his room, his private quarters. When my gaze flitted to the bed, I stood and walked to the Halo panel. I tapped on the setting to darken the windows and to project the mountains of the Collis instead.

Home.

Not anymore.

I felt a breeze across my face as the Halo panel adjusted the temperature in the quarters to that of our province. I heard bird songs, bright and melodious. I smelled the pine trees after a rain. Instead of the darkness of space, I spied the peak of Mount Hara. I was transported home for a brief moment of time.

But instead of peace, all I felt was crippling worry. Worry that my father wouldn’t keep his word. Worry for my sisters. Worry that I would never see them again. Or Fran.

Instead of the bed, I curled up on the chaise. Lying on my side, I felt velvet tickle my cheek and I thought of the red glare of my husband, thought of the sound of his wings and the whisper of the blade across his palm, the slice blooming black.

With Mount Hara in my sights, we set course for Krynn.

For three days, I waited.

My trunks were returned to me on the night of the first day, and I could finally change out of my bloodied wedding dress. I pressed my face into the textures of my clothes, breathing in the soap Fran used to wash our laundry and feeling my throat go tight with grief.

On the second day of our journey, I spent it mostly curled up on the chaise lounge. Rivin locked the door whenever he came to drop off my meals—three a day. All were travel rations, dried chunky bars of high-calorie meals. His lips seemed to press tighter and tighter with every single one he delivered to me, and I wondered about that.

The second night, I decided to help myself to the bar cart, wrinkling my nose at the whiskey and going instead for the blue liquor of Bavian slew. It reminded me of the blue salt caverns, and I downed the first glass like a shot, the taste pleasantly sweet but tart.

It didn’t take much to get me drunk—I never drank, after all, leaving that particular habit to my father—weaving around my new prison, my head light, giggling like a loon.

The third day, I woke with a pounding headache and so incredibly nauseous that I slept as much as I could. The bed was still made. My meals were untouched. I never cried. Not a single tear, though inside, I felt shriveled and defeated.

When I woke next, I saw him.

With a gasp, I shot straight up from the chaise lounge, highly aware that my dress had bunched up during my fitful sleep and I had a sour taste of slew on my tongue.

Azur’s red gaze dipped to my bared legs, and I hurriedly tugged the material down, rising on shaking knees to stand before him. He had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall next to where I’d been sleeping.

How long has he been watching me? I thought, panic rising in my throat.

He was wearing a deep green tunic—the color of our dark pine forests in the Collis—that molded to his chest, highlighting ridges and valleys of sculpted muscle. His pants were black, his dagger present at the belt on his waist. He wasn’t wearing his gauntlets, revealing veined hands with long, strong fingers and surprisingly neat and shorn black claws.

He was studying me quietly, those eyes narrowed on me, his chin tilted down. Like a predator with prey, that gaze tracked my every movement. My every breath. My every fidget. And so I forced myself to be still.

Azur flashed his fangs at me when I held my breath—thinking it likely he could hear my thunderous heart—and I couldn’t contain my flinch.

“Gemma of House Hara,” he rumbled, the words drawn out. Mocking though soft. “Daughter of the Collis. I must admit, I expected more from such a noble house.”

I wasn’t surprised at the level of indignation that rose in my breast, even as nausea roiled in my belly.

The sharp words left my lips. I even smiled at him as I noted, “Yet you paid for me. You paid whatever I asked. Whatever I wanted. You were desperate to have me.”

Those red eyes burned. His glare nearly withered me where I stood.

Perhaps my pride would be my undoing. Perhaps it would be a blessing. Perhaps that berserker beast in him could be triggered. Perhaps my death would be quick, a flash of a blade, instead of the slow drain from his feedings. Because thinking of him taking my blood, knowing it would nourish him, strengthen him…it was sickening.

Azur pushed off the wall quicker than I could blink. Then he was leisurely circling me, once, twice, three times, like a beast about to pounce but not before making its prey fearful.

Chills ran down my arms when he stopped at my back, goose bumps rippling across my flesh. My heart felt like it was in the pit of my stomach. His scent drifted to me, a clean, woodsy musk like the silverdrops that bloomed only under a full moon in the Collis or of damp soil after a heavy rain.

His touch came, cool and unavoidable, oddly gentle. He swept my black hair over my right shoulder, baring my neck, his dull claws scraping over the column of it like a warning.

Azur gathered my hair in his large fist…

Then a ragged cry tore from my throat when he jerked my head back by my hair. Not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make me claw at his forearms in panic and alarm. He pulled far enough that my back was arched, my neck completely exposed, my head craned back so I was forced to meet his eyes above me. To look up at him. To submit.

A vulnerable, uncomfortable position. One meant to make a point…that he owned me. That he had the strength to make me do whatever he wanted.

I dug my nails into his forearm, but he didn’t even flinch. I only dug harder, determined.

“Remember how you feel right now,” Azur murmured, his eyes trailing down the front of my body, catching on my heaving chest. “Remember the way your blood is rushing. How you’re desperate and squirming to get away from me. Remember this ache, little wife.”

There was a sting over my scalp as his grip tightened. A whimper escaped me, and I did the only thing I could of. He wanted me to submit to him? Never. Instead, I pressed my nails as deep into his forearm as I could and I clawed hard.

A hiss escaped him. Anger flashed and he pulled me closer. He bent over me. Roughly in my ear, he growled, “Because this is how you will feel every day for the rest of your life, Gemma of House Hara. I give you my word as a son of the Kaalium.”

His head lowered.

“No,” came the ragged plea when I felt the sharp press of his fangs against my neck. But I was powerless to stop it. I was completely exposed to him, made vulnerable and unprotected by his sheer strength.

His fangs pricked at my skin. His hot exhale of air against my jugular made my scalp tingle. He bit—but not hard enough to break my skin. It was a warning. There was only a sharp pressure, and then…

Azur released me.

I gasped for breath as I fell to my knees on the floor, my hands flying up to the bite. The skin was smooth. He hadn’t made me bleed. Not yet.

But I hadmade him bleed, I realized when he stepped in front of me. A small stream of black blood was running from my deep nail marks across his gray forearm. A part of me was horrified at what I’d done.

The other part, however…

I tilted my chin up as he scowled down at me. I glared right back, despite my heaving chest and my wounded pride.

“I will break you,” he promised me softly, those eyes rapt on me. “It is only a matter of time.”

The worst part was that I believed him.

This Kylorr was a sick monster. He’d bought me, he’d brokered this marriage, all because this was a game to him. He wanted to torment me. He wanted to make me fear him. He wanted me to submit. How many others had he done this to? How many other wives had he had?

A thought occurred to me. Were there other wives, even now? Did he go around collecting various females from different species, accumulating them with his wealth, all to bring back to Krynn and keep them locked away for his sick pleasure and amusement?

I believed he would break me eventually. I heard the truth of it in his voice.

However…

“Not before I draw more of your blood, husband,” I promised him right back, meeting his eyes. My voice was unwavering. It was strong and certain.

Azur grinned. A wide smile that would otherwise have been considered darkly handsome, if not for the fact he was a twisted beast inside. Instead that grin filled me with dread and despair and loss and grief.

“I welcome you to try that again,” he warned. “You won’t like what I do in retaliation.”

His black tongue flicked against one of his ivory fangs.

Then his eyes went to my night dress and my unbrushed hair, made even more unkempt by his handling.

Scowling, he said, “Wash yourself and dress. Make yourself presentable.”

“Why?” I gritted out.

“We’re descending to Krynn,” he told me, already turning his back, making his way to the door. His wings appeared even darker than they had in the courtroom, though this time I spied tiny veins, like a spider’s web, running through the thinner membranes. “I wouldn’t want my wife to embarrass me in my own keep.”

The derision and distaste in his own voice was baffling. Still on my knees, I scrambled up to stand, pushing back my hair. Despite the fact that I’d worked myself to the bone for the last five years, I was still a daughter of the Collis from a respectable house. Even though no one knew of our debts, of our shame, my father was still a great and honored war hero. New Earth citizens recognized him from all over the colonies.

“I am still a Lord’s daughter!” I hissed at his back. “You cannot treat me this way and expect no repercussions. As a citizen of New Earth, I am protected by the United Alliance.”

His laugh filled the room like a rumble of thunder. He didn’t even turn to face me. He gave me his flared wings, and behind them, I heard, “You gave up your citizenship when you signed your name in blood, wife. You belong to the Uranian Federation now. As such, you belong to Krynn. To me.”

His smirk was dark and mocking when he gazed at me over his shoulder. Acid burned the back of my throat.

“As for your father,” he spat, “he was only too happy to let you go.”

I reared back, the unexpected words hurting more than I’d ever thought they might. It wasn’t anything I didn’t know already. My father hadn’t fought to keep me. He had betrayed me long before this Kylorr had ever made his terrible offer to Mr. Cross.

“Clean yourself up,” he ordered me again. The voice of a High Lord. Cold and detached but forceful. He knew I would not refuse him. Could not refuse him. “We’ll land on Krynn within the hour.”

Chapter 6

Azur

Rivin was staring at me. Hard. I recognized the look. I saw it very rarely, but I knew what he was thinking.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the ship’s corridor. Putting more weight on his left wing instead of his right—an old injury from long ago. A bone that had never quite set right from when we’d been young.

“Do you have a grievance?” I challenged, never deviating from my path. I hadn’t been away from Laras for long, but I never liked to journey off planet. Not with the Kaazor testing our borders again as of late. I needed to be home, back in my territory of the Kaalium.

Only, this journey was necessary, I thought, grinding my teeth together, feeling a prick on my bottom lip. When I pressed my fingers there, the roughened pads came away black with a small bead of my blood.

Forgetting I’d had them extended, I retracted my fangs so they wouldn’t cut my lip, licking the blood away. For a brief moment, I thought of her. The fear she couldn’t quite mask, though she’d valiantly tried. The pleading waver in her voice when she’d begged no. She feared my bite.

She should, I thought, steeling my spine, a shiver of satisfaction zipping through me.

“Are you sure this is wise?” Rivin asked. Again. “Kythel said—”

I growled, “This is my responsibility. Not Kythel’s.”

“Azur,” Rivin said softly, pushing off the corridor right outside her room. My room on board my ship, truthfully. Considering I couldn’t stand the sight of my new bride, I’d bunked in the common quarters with the crew. “I—I haven’t seen you like this in a long time. I’m worried that—”

“What?” I asked, rounding on him, flaring my wings until he was forced to take a step back. Behind his shoulder, I saw the closed door of her room. I could still smell her in my nostrils, taste her on my tongue. She’d smelled divine. When I’d bitten her neck in warning, I’d almost been tempted to take my first feeding right then, my claws curling at the want. Her scent unsettled me. The ferocity with which hunger had gnawed at me was surprising, considering looking at her made me feel vaguely nauseous. “She is owed to me. She is owed to us all.”

“Then your brothers should have a say in this, don’t you think? And Kalia?” Rivin asked quietly, his blue eyes flickering between mine, his head narrowly bowed, a symbol of respect and deference. But my friend knew he could push boundaries with me, boundaries I wouldn’t let others ordinarily cross. There was safety nestled in the folds of our long friendship, despite the fact that I was the Kyzaire of Laras.

“It is my responsibility. For Aina,” I told him again. Quietly. Keeping his gaze. “We will not speak of this again, do you understand?”

Rivin’s lips pressed.

I was the eldest son of House Kaalium.

Rivin—an only child—couldn’t possibly understand the weight. The burden. But when I closed my eyes to sleep at night, all I could see was Aina. All I could hear were her wails. All I could think was that she was trapped in a dark, endless place, cursed to live out the remainder of her immortal life in Zyos.

I hadn’t slept properly in over a month, and the fatigue was beginning to pull at the edges of my mind. This was about family. It was always about family. The heart of all Kylorr. The heart of all great Houses.

Turning from Rivin, I continued on my way to the helm. I itched to get off this ship. My wings hadn’t stretched properly in nearly a week. I hadn’t felt the icy wind in my face, the caress of it against my wings, hadn’t touched the clouds of Laras, nor looked upon the Silver Sea in nearly a week.

It had been much too long, and I vowed that I wouldn’t return to space unless my father requested my presence.

Thinking of my new bride, I clenched my fists at my sides, navigating through echoing hallways, Rivin trailing me.

She is owed to me, I told myself again. And I can do whatever I please with her.

I smiled.

Nyravila.

A Kylorr concept, a right. To wrong a member of our family was to wrong us all. And balance must be restored. For Aina’s soul.

In my bride’s human terms, it meant…

An eye for an eye.

Nyravila.

That beautiful word filled my soul, and I vowed to Aina that I would see her safe.

I was the eldest son of House Kaalium.

And there was vengeance running hot in my blood.

I’d saved House Hara only so I could watch it fall once more.

This time, it would be at my hands.

Chapter 7

Gemma

I expected endless screams into a perpetual night. I expected a dark, shadowed keep with high walls and barbaric, bloodied, red-eyed soldiers standing at the ready, fangs glistening, marked chests bared.

I expected shackles and chains. I expected downcast gazes and sunken-in eyes. Hollow cheeks. Hunger and desperation.

Everything I’d ever heard about the Kylorr was that they were beastly, soulless, violent creatures who thrived on pain and torment.

Only…I’d never expected this.

“Come,” Azur ordered me, narrowing his gaze on mine before walking forward into the ivory courtyard from the darkened transport tunnel.

Blinking into the bright sunlight, I followed, Rivin trailing behind me. We’d landed not even a half hour ago in a private docking bay and taken an underground transport here. Judging by the flutter in my belly, the transport line had been blazing fast, and we’d arrived at our destination in mere moments.

My eyes widened as I stepped forward.

The courtyard was pristine.

Beautiful.

Smooth cobblestones pressed into the soles of my slippers as I stepped out of the tunnel’s door. Rivin closed them behind us, and I saw the heavy doors were inlaid with a metal that sparkled silver in the sun, making elaborate designs that reminded me of the crawling ivy that used to grow on our estate’s walls. Intricate metalwork that must’ve taken months to craft by a skilled hand.

The tunnel led out to a courtyard terrace. There was a curved stone staircase to our right, the steps smoothed from time. The staircase had beautiful carved banisters, black, spindly vines trailing up them, wrapping around the stone, blooming with vibrant indigo flowers. The whole courtyard was filled and spilling with lush plants, tumbling over weathered walls.

But my gaze was drawn back to the terrace and the magnificent view that it afforded beyond.

We were situated at the shores of a sea, judging by the salt in the air. The sunlight dappled over the calm waters, gleaming like a pile of jewels. The water stretched wide, as far as I could see. To the right, set deep into the land away from the cliffs, I spied tall mountains jutting into the clouds, taller than Mount Hara, even.

Without thinking, my feet guided me closer toward the edge of the courtyard so I could get a better look. I hadn’t seen such a breathtaking sight. Ever. We had lakes in the Collis, but some were so small they could only be considered ponds. If this truly was a sea…it would be the first I’d ever seen.

A familiar hand wrapped around my forearm, making me gasp as it tightened. When I looked up, Azur was glaring at me. He tugged and I was forced to turn away from the view, catching sight of Rivin’s speculative look.

My husband released me when we began to climb the stairs, turning his back on me. I watched him ascend, frozen at the base.

“This way to the keep, Kylaira,” came Rivin’s voice, gesturing up the staircase.

Azur stilled.

His hand clenched on the banister, crushing a withered vine from the crawling plant, and he threw an unreadable look over his shoulder at Rivin.

Then he continued on his way, his wings flaring wide as he ascended the curving staircase to an upper level of the terrace. He’d replaced his gauntlets, I noticed, and they glimmered in the sunlight almost as much as the sea. Made of the same metal that was hammered into the wooden door.

My knees were shaking as I followed, unsure of what I would find at the top. Unsure of what my life would look like after this moment.

Looking over my shoulder, I caught one last look at the sea and drew in a deep breath. The higher we climbed, the clearer the view became.

The stairs were short, but the air felt thinner on Krynn. By the time I reached the top, I was gasping, my lungs tight. Then my eyes swiveled to what Rivin had called the keep.

Now I understood what he’d meant.

A towering, beautiful, glittering fortress lay before me. A house—if it could be called that—that likely spanned the entirety of our estate in the Collis. The architecture itself was eye-catching, with strong, unforgiving beams of stone meeting graceful swooping arches of windows and sunrooms. There were two towers I could see from this angle—one at either end of the keep. Watch towers? I wondered.

I was too busy gaping up at the beauty of the house and its surroundings—bracketed by the majestic mountain range to the right and the shimmering sea at its back—that I failed to notice the line of Kylorr—close to twenty individuals—that were spilling from a massive set of doors.

Rivin nudged me forward. Azur had already reached the first of the Kylorr—an older male with a streak of white running through his auburn-colored hair—and ducked his head to speak with him.

Most of the Kylorr were males, I noticed. Out of the twenty of them, only three were females.

Keepers, I thought. Keepers of the keep. They were staff, judging from the similarity of their dress.

And they were all looking at me with undisguised interest and careful expressions.

“That is Zaale,” Rivin told me gruffly, gesturing toward the older male that Azur was speaking with in low tones. “He is the head keeper of this house. You will likely see him more than your own husband.”

I turned my head sharply to regard him. He pulled me to a stop, giving the keepers time to look at me, while Azur finished his conversation.

“Why are you doing this?” I couldn’t help but ask.

The scar that ran down his left cheek pulled when he frowned. “Doing what?”

“Helping me,” I said, my voice strong and unwavering, though inside I had never been more afraid, standing on the outskirts of this beautiful house.

“Is that what I’m doing?” Rivin asked, his voice surprisingly hard and dark. He narrowed his eyes on me, his blue gaze flashing with an unreadable expression. He chuffed out a harsh, short laugh. “I suppose I just know what it’s like.”

I didn’t understand what he’d meant by that, but before I could ask, Azur’s cold voice slid between us.

“Ludayn.”

“Yes, Kyzaire?” came one of the female keeper’s voices. An oddly small Kylorr stepped forward. Her wings were fluttering, and I couldn’t help but notice that one dragged on the ground as she walked.

The female had hair the color of the indigo blooms I’d seen below on the terrace. The color stood out against her gray skin, making the strands appear almost dirtied and dull. Her bright yellow eyes flitted with what I guessed was nerves as she waited for Azur to speak.

I’m not the only one he frightens, then, I couldn’t help but think.

“From this day forward, you will be the Kylaira’s keeper,” my new husband informed her coolly. I couldn’t help but notice the looks of disbelief that were being tossed around by the males in line or the pressing of the remaining two females’ lips. “Serve her well.”

“Y-Yes, Kyzaire,” Ludayn gasped out, her eyes going wide. “I will not fail you.”

“Take her up to her rooms,” Azur ordered.

This whole exchange happened without him turning to look at me once. And yet he captured my attention so thoroughly. I could still feel the scape of his teeth against my throat. I shivered in dread.

Take me up my rooms, Ludayn, and keep me there, I couldn’t help but plead with the small female in my mind. As my keeper, keep me away from him.

Ludayn’s gaze strayed to me, and I felt Rivin nudge me again.

“Go,” he murmured. “She will take care of you.”

Behind him, I could still see the shining waters. The sun was already setting, and I hadn’t realized it. Space was disorienting. All I knew was that I felt like I could sleep for days.

It felt like I was outside of my body as I moved forward. But Azur was already speaking with Zaale again. As I passed him, I heard, “I’m going to meet with the patrol on the northern borders. We will meet once I return tonight.”

Northern borders?

“Yes, Kyzaire,” Zaale said. “Will you need to feed once you return? I can schedule to have a giver come—”

“No,” Azur cut in. I froze when those fiery red eyes turned to me, and he could barely conceal the cold malice in his voice. “I have a wife now, after all. It is her blood that will sate me. Rivin, let’s go.”

My throat tightened. I might’ve gasped in dismay, my heart giving a thunderous boom.

With one mighty gust, his wings unfurled and propelled him into cleanly into the air, swirling dust and warm air all around me. Even though the dust stung my eyes, I couldn’t help but watch, lips parted, craning my neck back, as he launched himself into the sky and then soared like a bird high above us, dipping and weaving. His speed was unfathomable, the span of his wings even more massive that I’d original believed.

I was in a daze as I watched, unable to take my eyes off him. I’d never seen anyone fly before. Very few alien species that I knew of could.

Before I could blink, Rivin joined him, another burst of energy rippling across the ground, sending stray pebbles rolling.

“Kylaira,” came a gentle voice. I felt a grip on my wrist, but it was soft and warm. “I will show you to your rooms.”

I said nothing, allowing Ludayn to pull me forward. When we reached the set of doors into the keep, they were both just a speck in the distance, dark spots against the setting sun.

“Your rooms are on the upper floor,” Ludayn informed me as we entered what I assumed was the private entrance of the keep.

Inside, I was met by soaring ceilings made of the same white stone as in the courtyard below and a grand, wide, curving staircase in front of me. The inside of the keep was hollowed out, though I could see the individual floors stacked neatly above, winding around in a circle before branching off into wide hallways, into rooms beyond. There were decorative and intricate stone railings protecting anyone from the falling down to where I stood.

Though on second thought, a Kylorr wouldn’t fall. They would fly. Which was why I saw openings in the railings at various intervals.

“Ludayn, there you are! Is Azur back yet?” came another female’s voice from three levels above, echoing in this atrium of a place. A core. The center. When I craned my neck back, I saw another Kylorr was stepping up to one such opening…before she jumped. My heart was lodged in my throat. She was hurtling too fast to the ground. She was going to hit—