The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (76 page)

Darkness completely surrounded her. Even when Rain raised a hand in front of her, she was unable to see it. Her heart beat erratically, the sound echoing in her ears. Obviously he had replaced the stone should anyone come and see it out of place, but she still couldn’t settle the frantic pulsing in her body. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her hands felt gingerly along the stone walls. Even as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was difficult to see where she was going. She stubbed her toe twice on invisible rocks, and bit back the urge to cry out. The winged creature was a mystery to her, she wasn’t sure if he was friendly or dangerous. It was crucial he didn’t hear her coming. Rain wondered how well his hearing was. Perhaps he already knew she was coming as soon as the stone had been moved.

Shaking off the feeling of dread, she kept pace until a faint blue light appeared at the end of the tunnel. She paused momentarily before she gave herself a mental push to keep going. Slower than before, she crept along the wall, keeping herself firmly pressed to it. When she reached the opening, she took another deep, calming breath before peering around the corner. He stood in the middle of the cage, glorious wings folded behind him, glittering in the moonlight. His head was down, causing the long, dark strands to fall forward, effectively hiding his face from her. The tip of his long, straight nose poked out from behind his hair, but those breathtaking eyes were not visible.

Taking advantage of his position, she let her eyes soak him in. He was much taller than her and built of all lean muscle. The white of his wing stood out against the bronze of his skin and the dark stands of his long hair. The black swirling tattoos rippled along with the fine definition in his arms. Rain had never felt so compelled, or taken with a man this way.
He’s not really a man, though is he?
She reminded herself. Raising her eyes slowly back up, trailing over each detail, she reached his face again and gasped. He was no longer looking down. Now he stood, his eyes fixed on her, his face an unreadable mask. Rain instantly pulled herself back against the rock. There was no way he could see her. It was far too dark where she stood.

“Come here,” his voice called out. It was a deep, musical voice, although slightly husky. Sweat broke out along her spine. So he
had
seen her, she thought, almost wanting to kick herself. She was immobile where she stood. Her feet didn’t want to retreat or advance. She too afraid to make any move. Why had she come back? Didn’t her father always tell her that curiosity killed the cat?
Well meow
, she thought bitterly.

“Come. Here.” His voice was hardened now, filled with impatience at her lack of response. With shaky legs, Rain pushed off the wall and slowly entered the small prison. He stood completely still, watching her approach with those pearl and ice blue eyes. Rain stopped a few feet away from his cage, watching him carefully. He titled his head to the side, in a very inhuman way. “What is your name?” he asked.

“Rain,” she answered, forcing herself to stand straighter. She never showed anyone her fear, and wouldn’t start now. She raised her chin a little higher and thought she saw his mouth quirk slightly in the corner.

“Rain,” he repeated softly. “You are bleeding.” It wasn’t a question. Confused, she took a quick look at herself and sure enough her big toe on her left foot was bleeding. Most likely from one of the rocks she stubbed it on, she realized quickly. Looking back up, she shrugged at him.

“Who are you?” she asked. He took a step forward, his long legs taking him to the bars of the cage in one stride. Two large hands gripped the bars as he examined her.

“Did he not tell you about me?”

Rain thought back to all the conversations she had with Aziz and knew he had never mentioned such a creature. She shook her head in response. One dark eyebrow raised on his forehead.

“Interesting,” he said, almost to himself. He regarded her again in silence, seemingly dropping the line of conversation. “Come closer.” His voice now soft and inviting. The hairs on her arms rose. There was something definitely wrong with that tone of voice. It was like it was perfectly executed to sound as unthreatening as possible, which in turn made it all the more menacing. It was a trick, a lure. She was sure of it. And yet, despite the warning bells ringing in her mind, Rain found herself taking a hesitant step forward. She still stood just beyond an arm’s-length from him. He smiled at her, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. His canines looked sharper, pointier than normal people’s, and instantly caused a shiver to run down her spine. He noticed it and his smile widened.

“Closer,” he said again. No way, Rain thought. Something wasn’t right about him and she knew better than to get in his reach. She stood still, looking at him with what she knew must be a mixture of fear and distrust. It was impossible to school her features in front of him. It felt like he took up the entire space, as if the whole room focused on him. Misguided and absurd thoughts filled her mind, telling her to just step closer, to reach up and trace the tattoo inked on his beautiful face. To wrap her arms around him, and run her hands down the soft, plush feathers of his wings. To do exactly what he said, no questions asked. It was the last thought that made her stop. She never did exactly what
anyone
said, that wasn’t who she was. She couldn’t tell where the thoughts were coming from or if they were even hers. It was terrifying.

“Rain,” he called out, shattering her daze. Her name on his lips sounded almost like a prayer. Instantly her defences went up again. “Please come closer,” he continued. At the word please, something snapped, and suddenly she stood before him, only the bars separating them. She could feel the heat of his body against hers. It reminded her that she only wore a thin nightgown. She looked up into his eyes. Her head only reached his collarbone. Those mesmerising eyes of his were focused on her intently. “I could sense you the instant you arrived,” he said. Slowly, he reached out a hand, gliding his fingers gently down her cheek and neck. He rested it on her shoulder. “It drove me insane that he wouldn’t let me near you. I never imagined you would find your own way here.”

Rain swallowed awkwardly. The heat around them seemed to notch up to a blistering degree. Her legs were shaking and her mind swirled with questions. Nothing he was saying made sense, and yet a small part of her was elated that he had wanted to see her. “Why?” she asked out loud, the question that most prominently swam through her mind. He smiled, letting his hand drop from her neck to her waist. He moved closer so that he could wrap his arm around her and effortlessly lifted her up against the metal. A rush of breath escaped her as she clung to the bars. Her eyes widened in confusion. They were face to face now. The instinct to reach out and touch him was too much and Rain found herself actually doing it. She rested a tentative hand on the side of his face, lightly tracing the intricate markings. He leaned into her touch.

“Why?” she asked again, her voice coming out a whisper. The weight of her body didn’t seem to bother him at all. The arm that banded around her felt strong and firm. The heat of his skin burned through the thin fabric between them. “Why would you want to see me?”

He lowered his head through the bars to her neck, hovering over her skin so that she could just feel his breath against her. He moved up towards her ear, still not touching her. He breathed her in, a low, pleased growl emanating from the back of his throat. His lips brushed her ear and she shivered. Then he spoke, “because, you smell
so
good.” His head whipped down to her neck again and she felt his mouth close around her pulse. Pain suddenly erupted, and her mind grasped that he was biting her. She could feel him drinking from her, and yet she couldn’t move. The pain quickly subsided, and suddenly her mind was fuzzy with pleasure.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her, anger seething through every word. “
Elex, drop her!”

* * *

Aziz’s office was comfortably warm, a large fire glowing in the hearth. Rain sat in front of it, a cloth pressed to the tiny puncture wounds on her neck. Aziz was busy pouring her a special tea which was supposed to help her regain strength. She didn’t know how much blood she had lost, but her body would not stop shaking from the cold and the shock of what had just happened.

As she was pinned against the bars of his cage, Elex’s mouth on her neck, Aziz had appeared behind them like a ghost. Neither had heard him enter the cave until he spoke. Elex, that was the winged creature’s name, had instantly dropped her, letting her crumble to the floor. His eyes met Aziz’s as he slowly wiped a drip of
her
blood from the corner of his mouth. She sat on the cold floor in silence, trying desperately to gather her wits again.

“You were
not
to drink from anyone but me,” Aziz had said, his voice deepening with rage. Neither man seemed to pay any attention to her. Elex stood taller, facing the sorcerer with arrogance.

“I was hungry. You were not around,” he shrugged casually, as if it were obvious why he strayed elsewhere.

Aziz’s eyes narrowed and he finally approached the cage. Elex stood his ground. He was much taller than Aziz, and his shoulders were broader, making him look stronger. But Rain knew Aziz was the stronger one simply because of his magic. “Was that all?” Aziz asked, clearly unconvinced. “I suggest you make sure it never happens again, do we understand each other?” Elex nodded his head once, taking a step back. Finally his eyes lowered to look at her again. For a moment he seemed to be checking if she was okay, but Rain highly doubted it. He was a monster, she decided, and that was when the shaking began.

“My poor dear,” Aziz clucked, crouching beside her. He gently cupped her face, lifting it so she looked away from the man in the cage, and stared instead into his coppery eyes. “Let’s get you out of here.” He lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Normally she would have protested, but the shaking increased, so she snuggled in closer to his warmth.

They didn’t speak until he placed her in the chair and offered her tea. Now she waited for him. Would he be angry with her?
Probably
, she thought despairingly. Her hands still shook, but she knew it was more from the fear of not knowing her punishment than from the cold. Aziz came to stand beside her and handed her a steaming cup.

“Drink this. You’ll feel much better,” he said gently. Taking the cup, she thanked him quietly, and took a small sip. The liquid burned the top of her mouth, but it was instantly soothing regardless. Aziz sat in the chair beside her, staring at the fire as he sipped from his own cup.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. He looked at her with both eyebrows raised. “I-I don’t know why I went there,” she started blabbering on, her words coming out in a rush. “I just heard a commotion and went to see what it was, and then I saw him and I don’t know what happened!” It was almost the truth. She didn’t need to tell him that she had meant to go back, but she really didn’t know what happened after that. Something had come over her when Elex told her to approach him, and now that she was away from him, she couldn’t understand why she would have put herself in that position.

Suddenly Aziz started to laugh lowly. “Do not fret, my dear. I am not angry with you. Tell me, did he compel you?”

“Compel?” Rain thought about it. Did he? She didn’t know. “I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“I’m going to assume he did, since I know you’re too smart to put yourself in such a compromising position. You wouldn’t approach something like him willingly would you?” Rain thought she heard a note of jealousy in his voice. He looked at her with focused interest.

“Of course not,” she assured him. “I’m not an idiot.” He laughed again, taking another sip of his tea.

“That you’re not.” He grew silent again, looking into the fire before he began to speak. “Tell me, what did you think of my son?”

“Your son?”

“One of my greatest creations yet,” he said proudly. “His name means man’s defender, or warrior. He is stronger than any of the other creatures here and will be our biggest advantage. No one knows of him, save for those who work for me. I’ve created the perfect weapon.” He turned to look at her. “He needs blood to survive. He is to only ever have mine, Rain. Be sure to remember that in the future.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” she replied instantly. He smiled. “So Brutus and Callum never knew about him? Or did you just recently create him?”

“Oh no, I created him long before I created anything else. Him and one other. They were the first and last of their kind. It took too much out of me. Even more so than all of the others combined. Elex has always been kept in secret, ever since he was a small child.”

“And the other?” she pried.

“Gone,” he answered, frowning into the fire.

His expression told her there would be no more questions or answers on the subject. “So you’re not mad at me?” she asked, after a brief silence.

“Not at all,” he answered, reaching out to take her hand. He rubbed gentle circles with his thumb on the beating pulse in her wrist. “I like a woman who is curious and clever. Now that you know about Elex, I can stop keeping him in that damn cage. He’s been acting strange lately. I don’t know why but hopefully it will stop and he can start to fly again.” She she tried to picture what he would look like flying through the sky, his large wings spread out.

“I think you should get some sleep now,” Aziz said, breaking into her thoughts of white wings with blue tips.

“Yes, I’m exhausted,” she agreed, setting down the empty cup. She didn’t remember finishing the tea. Practically dragging her feet the entire way, Rain walked back to her room alone and fell into bed. Pulling the covers up under her chin, her eyes inched closed. She would ponder over the night’s events in the morning, she told herself. For now she would sleep. And sleep she did.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The morning was grey and cold again. The King’s Army slept out in the open. This allowed them to leave camp quicker, rather than wasting time on dismantling tents. It seemed like a smart idea at first, but as Aiden gingerly stretched out his stiff legs, he rethought that opinion. His clothes and blankets were damp from the morning dew. He was chilled to the bone and every muscle in his body was aching and stiff from sleeping on the hard ground. Some things, he thought to himself, he didn’t missed about Eden. It would have been better had Lily slept beside him, but she had disappeared early in the evening. Something about finding out ‘who was around.’ She ran off into the forest on the western side and hadn’t seen her since.