She leaned closer to him, her mouth scant inches from his. “They are lovely. Where did you find them?”
His finger brushed against her lips, and suddenly she was there, where he stood. Dense, savagely beautiful jungles with wild creatures surrounding him. He lay on the ground, the grass rich and lush, a luminous waterfall rushing off the hill behind him. It was a hidden alcove, verdant and more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. She lay atop him, peace seeping into her bones, the fine spray of the roaring waterfall misting the air. She could feel the individual droplets on her skin, breathe the scent of damp earth into her lungs.
She lifted the flowers to her nose and inhaled. They smelled dark and mysterious, very much like the man himself.
“I can feel your worry, my mate. Rest your fears on my shoulders.”
It was an invitation to trust him with her deepest fears. She assessed him briefly, he could have followed her to her world but did not because she wished him to stay away. And she knew regardless of how perilous her situation was now, he would not go against her desires.
She opened her mind to his, showing him all that had transpired since her arrival. “I cannot keep wondering why the Senate crowned Prince Quan. He is not of our kingdom. There are many princes here who are fit to lead if it is believed the Symonrah bloodline’s reign has ended.”
His phantom arms dragged her atop his body. “They fear him.”
“Our history has taught us it is unwise to allow a ruler to reign with fear. Dxyriah has an army, why has the Senate not mobilized them if they fear Prince Quan?”
She felt the warrior in him turning over her words.
“He has the support of those in your Senate.”
“That is what I fear.”
“You are wise and intelligent, mate, they will see the wisdom of your words.”
Warmth burst inside her chest, and with a sigh, she snuggled even deeper into his arms, wishing she was in the Darkage with him.
“There is someone I’d like you to meet, Shilah.”
With a blink, they were within his halls. A young girl walked over to him, a hesitant aura about her, but her eyes shining with absolute faith and acceptance.
“She is over four hundred years,” he said with some amusement. “She denies the beast inside her and does not let it out. This is my sister, Nayia Ravenswood. I have hopes that you will meet and speak with her one day.”
Unable to speak, Shilah nodded, enthralled by the way he greeted his sister, the careful way he spoke and touched her.
“Does she live at your castle?”
“I have avoided her since I returned from Mevia. The malice is too much for her. I feared how she would react to me in such a state given our history with the beast.”
Shilah glanced up at him. “And now?”
“The more I’m connected with you, my mate, your light anchors the malevolence.”
Three little boys barreled around the corner, and with fierce roars, they rushed toward him.
“These are Nayia’s sons.”
Shadows darted from his feet, and grabbed them, hanging them in the air, upside down. They shrieked, loving it, and at that moment Shilah irrevocably lost her heart to Lachlan.
For once in her life, she was desperate to allow her heart to overrule her mind and logic. Needs long denied rolled over her like an ocean of fire. She saw it—the promise of a future with him, the man within the beast, the darkness, and the light. At this moment, Shilah wanted to belong to him as she’d never wanted anything in her entire existence.
22
A couple of days later, a shrill sound alerted her that a hovercraft approached the underground docking area. Kala glanced at her, her eyes deepening, and she peered into the future. “It is Rah and Megladine. They have news.”
At last. The inaction and lack of information had been driving her mad with frustration. She’d spent the previous six days locked away, not venturing out of the hovercraft despite Prince Nov
ar’s numerous invitations. She’d read over the bloodlines laws until they had been interred in her mind, watched the city through the monitors, and re-watched the memory feeds of her brother with his wife and children.
Those moments were the hardest, for it had been difficult to watch their happiness and recall how brutally their lives had been taken. The family hovercraft had malfunctioned in the sky, and before they had ejected from the ship, their vessel had crashed into the side of the mountains. It had been the investigator's belief their vessel had been hacked, their path redirected, but there had been no electronic footprint to follow. How quickly their hovercraft had crashed into the mountain, without their Prime Sentient Intelligence canceling the potential hack led Shilah to believe the attack had been made by an assassin with telekinetic or teleportation powers. There had been no virus redirecting their system and taking control of the ship’s mainframe, only raw, brutal power as they slammed the ship into the mountains.