Page 85 of The Edge of Dawn

That’s why it was so easy for her to reach out and touch his face.

He was one of the most dangerous beings in the Universe, but he was also unfathomably pure. He’d been viciously controlled by another. A terrible, malevolent presence that had forced him to do terrible things against his will.

What had really happened to him?

Were all of his kind like this?

Jade could hardly fathom the horror of it.

He caught her hand before she reached him. He wrapped his fingers around hers and gave her a look that immediately quelled the storm in her heart and mind.

“Understood.” He went quiet for a moment as he regarded her. His sightless, all-seeing, obsidian gaze traveled slowly across her face. His lips were slightly parted, revealing the sharp points of his fangs. His voice deepened into a low growl. “Your sympathy is unnecessary, however, and a waste of time.”

“No. It isn’t. You brought me here, Dragek. This is how I am. And I know what it’s like to be an outcast. So don’t tell me I can’t react to you in a human way—my way.”

He went quiet, gently squeezing her hand, his touch warm and rough and terribly addictive.

His expression changed, turning into a curious mixture of surprise and wistfulness. Jade felt the ripple of his powerful presence all over her body, and it was like a warm, familiar blanket. She was getting used to this, and that in itself was astonishing.

How had she gone from being utterly terrified of him to feeling so comfortable in his presence?

This is the place I used to go to… when I felt like I could no longer tolerate the oppression of the Mistress in my head. That’s how I was able to defy her. I walked the void between worlds and escaped. Even if it was only temporary, it was the very thing that kept me sane. Afterward, I’d be brutally punished. They couldn’t handle the fact that I could escape, but they didn’t know how to stop me. And I was too valuable to them. Anyway, I didn’t care. As long as I could escape… even for the briefest of moments, it meant my soul was still my own. Not theirs.

Jade’s chest tightened around her fluttering heart. “So this place is… sacred to you.”

It’s my creation. My domain. A place of yearned-for silence and stillness. It has never felt empty before, but now that I can come here whenever I choose, I can decide who I allow to join me. You… are the first.

The soft breeze tugged at Jade’s unbound hair. It wasn’t warm or cold, but it wasn’t unpleasant, either.

She was still dressed in the soft robes she’d found in her quarters, and she was still naked underneath.

The sand danced through her toes.

Dragek’s warm touch sent a ripple of anticipation through her.

He wasn’t letting go.

His entire being burned with quiet intensity—she could feel it through her sixth sense, through every fiber of her body.

His dark hair was loose, fluttering gently in the breeze. It came down past his shoulders, so silky and soft she was tempted to run her fingers through it. Such a contrast with his hard, rugged features and his powerful physicality.

And he was dressed now—well, as much as he could be dressed, anyway—in long, opulent robes that reached his ankles. A deep shade of midnight grey—if grey could ever be described as rich, then this was it—they were open at the front, giving her a glimpse of his smooth, sculpted chest.

Her fingers twitched. Suddenly, she ached to place her hand upon his smooth skin.

There’s a small possibility I might not come back from the place they’re sending me to. You’re the only one who’s ever been able to reach me in the void. I thought it would be good… if we met again before I departed.

“But you’re the one who left.”

He chuckled softly: a low, deep rumble that slid into her ears and wove its way right down into her toes, into her bones. “If only you understood, then you would understand.”

“I refuse to believe that someone like you wouldn’t survive… whatever it is they’re sending you off to do. As far as I’m concerned, you have to come back. We have unfinished business, the two of us.” Jade didn’t quite know what that was, but after this…

How could she ignore him now? How could they exist in different worlds?

Just like that, their paths were becoming more and more intertwined.

Just like that.

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