Page 18 of The Prophecy
Chapter Eight
Kael rose to his feet and kicked at the ash with the toe of his boot. He hadn’t planned on any direct confrontation. His aim had been to lie low until the attack began and then get Raven out in the confusion. But the fire-demon hadn’t left him any choice. Clearly suspicious, he no doubt would have raised the security level and they would have never gotten out of the place unnoticed.
There was also the fact that he’d raised his hand to Raven—never going to happen. Not again.
“They’ll come looking for him,” Raven said.
He shrugged. “Maybe. Who was he? Do you know?”
Raven nodded. “It was Grieffen, Sorien’s second-in-command, and he’ll be missed.”
She was right. “We need to get out of here.”
He considered making love to her quickly, now, ensuring once and for all that the prophecy could not come to pass. But his whole being rebelled against taking her here with the stench of dead fire-demon in their nostrils.
The problem was: where to take Raven to keep her safe until the attack? “Stay here,” he said.
Raven rattled her chains. “Like I’ve got an option,” she muttered.
Kael grinned, his grin widening as she scowled in return.
***
Raven watched as he left the cell then closed her eyes and waited. She had to force herself to relax, impatient to get away.
She was trying to keep down the feelings of hope that had been growing since Kael had first appeared days ago. She’d tried to fight it, scared that she was doomed to disappointment.
But it had been almost impossible. The news that her father was alive and had been searching for her had lightened her spirit. Whatever happened here today, she would always have that. She’d felt so forsaken, as though she were unloved in a world full of darkness, a mere pawn in a war which had gone on for so long no one remembered the beginning. Now the knowledge that someone had been searching for her through all the long years was like a thrill in her blood.
She also realized how weak she had been. The blood she had taken in the past had never been enough; it had merely reduced the craving. But hunger had been a constant companion. Feeding up until then had always been accompanied by guilt, but now she relived the moment when she had sunk her fangs into Kael’s arm. Felt again the resilience of his firm flesh beneath her teeth, licked her lips as she remembered the rich taste of his blood. It had been days ago and yet she could feel her body responding to the memory, heat coiling at her core, her breasts swelling. That brought back other feelings, the sensation of his huge hand cupping her breast, the taste of his tongue as he kissed her. And she realized she no longer feared his taking of her body. Rather, she feared that somehow it would not happen, and Kael would be forced to kill her so as not to let her fall innocent into the hands of their enemies.
Where the hell was he? She shifted restlessly, then got to her feet, tugging at the chains. Pointlessly, because she knew there was no escaping. She had tried often enough. Finally, when she thought she would explode from impatience, he reappeared, framed in the doorway.
“Where the hell have you been?”
He looked faintly startled at her vehemence. Then he smiled. “Missed me?”
She stared at him through narrowed eyes, and he gave a casual shrug. He carried a bundle that he threw onto the cot. Then he stalked toward her, the knife clasped in his hand. “Hold out your hands.”
She held out her wrists with their shackles. Placing the knife point to the lock of the first, he twisted, and the shackle fell open. He did the same to the second, and Raven finally stood free.
A wave of euphoria almost engulfed her. She swayed slightly, and he rested a hand on her arm to steady her. Staring into the blueness of his eyes, she reached out her own hand, running trembling fingers through the silky sunlight strands of his hair.
For the first time in years she stood free. Was it possible? Could this man save her after all? Raven didn’t know, but what she was certain of was that he would try.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
She made to step back, but his grip tightened on her shoulders and he dragged her against the hard length of his body. He slanted his mouth over hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth. She tasted him, sensing the desperation in his touch. Then he put her firmly from him.
“My pleasure,” he murmured. “Now let’s get out of here.”
He picked up the bundle he had thrown on the cot and handed it to her. “Wrap yourself in this.”
Raven shook it out. It was a gray blanket. She lifted it to her face and sniffed.
“Don’t go all fussy on me,” he said. “That was all I could find. You need to cover yourself completely. We’ll be going into daylight.”
A tremor rippled through her. She knew what the light of the sun would do to her; Sorien had described it in infinite detail, relishing her fear. She glanced at the blanket; it seemed a fragile barrier to protect her life.
