Drac’s indolent posture disappeared in
to sharp predatory awareness. Her two pursuers rushed after her with no hesitation, and within seconds they crossed the border into his realm. Slight fear wafted from her attackers, which they quickly suppressed. Interesting they had such control over their fear, knowing where they trod.
A soft bluish light glowed around the female. She was not fast enough, a beacon for her pursuers to follow. Drac coiled with the shadows, keeping pace as they moved further into his kingdom.
Who was she?
She stopped and wiped away the glow of chakra, plunging her attackers into unrelenting darkness.
He observed her as she stood with absolute stillness. Unease snaked from the two men, who slowly unsheathed the swords strapped to their backs. She looked in their direction as if she could sense their presence.
Drac glided behind her soundlessly. She was breathtakingly beautiful. He reached out, almost compelled to touch her hair. It hung to her hips, its hue a mixture of fire and jasper. A sharp stab of arousal lanced though him as he drank in the slant of her cheekbones, soft lips, and her lush figure. She wore a blue caftan that molded her curves with precision, hugging her breasts and rounded hips that were more than a handful.
And her scent.
He inhaled deeply, clenching his hands as something inside of him twisted viciously and lunged. Her scent was intoxicating. But it was her eyes that had him gliding even closer—the deepest blue he had ever beheld. They swirled and darkened with dread and something akin to determination.
Drac checked his thoughts and moved away from her, but not far. He did not mingle with females outside of his kingdom, and to have been engrossed with her was a perplexity he wondered if he should pursue. He dismissed the thought; outsiders only viewed his kind with revulsion, and the fact she could not defeat her attackers indicated a weakness he could never tolerate.
Drac thought fleetingly of leaving them in the forest. The intruders were not a threat to his kingdom; it was impossible to survive in his obscure world if they thought to remain and venture further. Yet he did not leave.
Against his own volition, he leaned in and breathed in her fragrance. Decadent. The beast in him—a creature of blood and rage, growled in pleasure at her scent. The anomaly of it froze him, and he ruthlessly suppressed the hot hunger flaring to life.
“You have entered the Darkage without the expressed permission of the Ricarkri. You will be allowed to leave the way you entered immediately without repercussion. Do so now,” Drac commanded.
***
Fear sliced through Saieke’s veins. She stumbled, and her breath wheezed at the dark drawl. Someone else was with them? Impossible. She flared her senses, seeking for any other chakra and found none. Yet the voice indicated that he stood near. What was even more unbelievable was that he offered them passage to leave. Other kingdoms would arrest and question if the sentry entrances were not used.
Hope stirred in her breast. “I seek sanctuary within your forest. I am being pursued. My kingdom, Boreas, will recompense yours favorably and honorably.” Saieke made her voice firm and even, though she was anything but calm and collected.
“Denied.” Came the voice silky with menace.
“Please…I am the Princess of Boreas. For your aid, I will honor you with several jars of my kingdom’s elixir,” she countered.
“We will depart,” one of the assassins interjected. “But the princess leaves with us. We are Grand Generals from the great empire of Mevia sent to retrieve her. If you interfere, you risk death. If you think to offer her sanctuary against our emperor’s order, both of you will die. Is that understood, Darkan?”
The suddenness of their decision to kill her was so startling it rendered her speechless. They must have thought the Darkan would agree with her bargain, but why would Mevia murder her if they could not take her?
A chuckle of amusement echoed from the dark before she was buffeted with feelings of such blood thirstiness she trembled. Without thinking, she expelled her energy to light up her surroundings to see where such a chakra came from.
She stared at the Darkan mesmerized, fascinated, yet repulsed. She was within touching distance of the most primal male she’d ever seen. He was darkness and sensuality. Black chakra pulsated around him with menace. He stood less than ten feet away and observed her with an awareness that had her instincts screaming at her to run.
Her heart pounded, drowning out sounds, and the hand that held her dagger shook. His macabre beauty scared her—obsidian eyes, a sensual mouth that hinted at cruelty, the palest of skin, a frame lithe yet coiled with power. The raw carnality he reeked of caused something hot and unwelcomed to squeeze low in her stomach, startling her.
It had the sharper taste of desire she’d normally felt from others.
She clenched her fist tightly around her dagger, trying to hold his penetrating gaze.
“Kill them.” A harsh order from one of the Mevians.
They rushed in deadly unison at them and screamed out a sound of destruction. Her world tilted as she was moved with a speed that left her dizzy.
The Darkan had actually lifted and moved with her, and she stood behind the Mevians. Their sound wave splintered trees in its path and rendered them to chips. If she had been caught in the attack, the pressure from the waves would have caused her to explode into bloody pieces.
The assassins spun, and she blinked. Decapitated heads slid from lifeless bodies. Fear cramped her stomach. She’d not seen the Darkan kill them. Saieke sucked in a harsh breath as he appeared before her. An explosion of dread snaked through her, leaving her heart quivering and mouth dry. The light stood about two hundred feet behind her, but she would not make it.
There was no cocooning darkness swirling around him anymore. Saieke did not know how it was possible, but she could not sense him at all. It seemed he had absolute control of his chakra. Her heart jerked, and her breath became shallow. He had not responded to her offer. Instead, he killed the Mevians without hesitation. The blood drained from her face as he leaned in close to her, so their lips almost brushed.