“I take leave with my mate. I will call upon the Western Keep tomorrow,” he drawled.
“Stay,” Gidon commanded. “Drac and his mate, and Talon and his mate intend to stay for dinner. I invite you and Princess Shilah to do the same. The war council will need to convene, and your presence is needed.”
Shilah smiled tentatively. “We would be honored—”
“We leave for the Eastern keep now,” Lachlan said, his tone rough, sensual, and possessive.
“Why?” Talon asked with an arch of his brow. “My mate has wanted to speak with you, and it has been weeks since we’ve all dined together.”
She felt Lachlan stare at the top of her head and she glanced up at him. Lust blasted from him and raked against her senses, and her eyes widened. With a gasp, she snapped her gaze forward to his friends. A blush engulfed her body for she suspected they knew Lachlan’s intention.
Her heart thundered, and with trembling hands, she pushed a tendril of her hair behind her ear. He planned to ravish her once he took her away. She was not ready, Shilah doubted she would ever be prepared to take a lover as brutal and uncompromising as the man behind her. Without warning, shadows swallowed her, and she was gathered into his arms. She wrapped her legs high aroun
d his waist, hooked them behind his back, gripped his shoulders, burying her face into the warmth of his neck as they moved with unparalleled speed.
“War has just been declared, Lachlan Ravenswood. Should you not be meeting with your king and rallying your warriors,” she said desperately.
“Armies do not march on the first call to war, my mate. Kingdoms will begin assessing their strengths and weaknesses, securing their borders, and collecting intelligence about the enemies in preparation for the upcoming battles. Alliances will be formed, possible Allegiances— joint heirship of kingdoms by two rulers marrying, for the most powerful will win the war that is fated to tear the seven kingdoms apart.
“This is because I ran, I—”
“War has been trembling on the air long before you arrived on Amagarie. This call now by Mevia is a show of force by the empire to frighten those who harbor you for their might is great. Their population is almost three hundred million citizens, and they have an alliance with Avindar—the kingdom of lightning, and that kingdom has over two hundred million. The Darkage in comparison only holds fourteen million people, Boreas one hundred fifty-two million, Aria one hundred and ten. The size of Caelum is currently unknown for their kingdom is under the vast oceans of Amagarie. As of such the empire army is greater than all the six kingdoms’ combined forces.”
Shock and sorrow tore through her. “I am so sorry,” she whispered.
“You will not apologize again, mate. The Empire has no right to you, and I will protect you,” the menace in his voice echoing once again with unfathomable power.
Sudden fear tore through her for him. “Once I leave the Empire will cease hunting me.”
He made no reply, and with a sense of profound shock, she caught the edge of his thought that resolved he would never let her go.
She suppressed the need to reach out to her sister, not wanting to share her fear, when Kala had enough to shoulder. The visions haunted Kala, and drained her energy, for she constantly searched the future for another outcome. Shilah had reached for her earlier and had almost wept with relief to find her sister slept, resting peacefully for the first time in weeks. For that gift alone, Shilah would repay King Gidon in wealth from her kingdom.
Shilah buried her face in his neck and held onto him as he traveled with them for miles. Those minutes passed in silent anticipation, and with a peculiar vulnerability beating through her. He stirred in her mind, flooding her with warmth, and hunger, and the burning need to belong to him in every way. Just for a moment, a reprieve from the lonely existence she had consigned her heart and life to as she served her people.
Panicked, she could barely breathe, her lungs burning for air. “I feel scared.” The sense of tears was thick in her voice now, and she hated the anxiety searing through her. He felt so raw, so primal, so unstoppable.
He remained silent in the cage of her mind, but she could feel the fire of lust rising in him, sweeping along her senses in a wave of pure fire. His arms tightened around her, and the darkness and shadows danced, painting the blurred world with strange silver-grey auras as he moved with unchecked speed. He scattered soothing kisses to her jaw, along the edge of it, down her neck.
Then he said, “We will wait until you are sure of me, mate. Then I will take you…there.”
Raw, provocative images of his cock bruising her lips as she sucked his thick length deep, of her riding him with wanton hunger, of him gorging on her blood while he took her from behind with primal force. It wasn’t fear that filled her at his violent sensuality. It was a deep ache of want and complex needs. Her nipples became tight and tender, desperate for the stroke of his tongue over the tender tips, the sucking heat of his mouth as it would travel down, and the rasp of his teeth over her clitoris. But beyond the temptation of desire, there was another emotion pouring through her. A thing she’d never imagined feeling with a man like Lachlan Ravenswood.
His promise felt forged in iron. His arms felt safe.
And in that moment, she knew she could love this fierce creature with every emotion in her soul.
14
A few minutes later, they came to a stop, and the shadows retreated. Everything stilled—the surrounding forest holding its breath. There was a winding pathway leading to a castle perched on a hill in the distance. Dozens of torches lit the cobbled trail, and she moved forward onto the path, not questioning why he hadn’t taken her directly to the castle. It wasn’t that she was uncurious, but her throat felt too dry for speech, too many nerves thrummed in her veins for the coherent formation of words.
Shilah sauntered ahead, and the walkway gradually steepened. She could feel his eyes on her and every single step she took sent more heat rushing through her body. Though the great torches helped her see the cobbled path before her, it did not do much in illumining the surrounding land. Darkness hovered at the periphery of the light, and she tilted her head, fascinated the stars seemed to be much further up in the sky than seen from the other realms. It was as if a layer of darkness covered the beauty of the night sky, dimming the shimmering brilliance of the stars.
The incline grew sharper, and when she paused, he took her in his arms and as if in the blink of an eye she was at the top of the pathway. The castle sat atop a mountain overlooking the rest of the Eastern quadrant. Trees rose to enormous heights with vines and flowers sprawled for miles. They moved past the front courtyard which too had dozens of great torches lit, illuminating great winged beasts, massive snakes with ridged backs, wolvyes, lyons all frozen in eternal fight or flight.
His castle was starkly graceful, with an air of chilling elegance pronounced in every sleek line, which seemed to rise to the heavens. The massive stone structure, with the most beautifully designed buttresses Shilah had ever seen, was awe-inspiring. Cascading vines dripped from the castle, twining around the statues that perched on its highest peak. Its dark beauty strangled her breath.
He had dozens of gargoyles, many caricatures of massive beasts perched on high turrets. Some stared somber, some snarling, and some with their heads thrown back howling to the heavens. Some Shilah couldn’t decide what they were, some sort of Lyon with wings.