Page 53 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

I take a sip of tea and lean against Draw.

“We need to tell Ivy,” Mrez whispers.

“Tell Ivy what?” asks Lisa and she comes downstairs with Khal. Well, Lisa kind of floats, though she looks more aware and almost solid. “Ivy, thank you again for allowing me to stay. I really appreciate it. I’d hug you if I could.”

I smile. “Hugs to you, love. You can stay as long as you like.”

Lisa looks at the guys. “What about you guys. How do you feel about it?”

“I’m cool,” says Mrez.

“You’re welcome as long as you don’t endanger Ivy.” Draw is in his half scorpion form and appears as threatening as hell.

“Cool, big guy.” Lisa smiles. “Do you mind if I explore the house a bit?”

“Go ahead.” I want Lisa to relax.

As soon as Lisa departs, Mrez casts a look at Draw and Khal. None of them speak.

“What’s going on? I can see you’re all tense, so talk.” I don’t want to raise my voice but, damn, I need to know what’s going on. I have a right to know.

Draw clears his voice. “The Church of Light is out natural enemy. Initially, the confrontation between us was healthy and resulted in a balance of the Land of Dreams. Dreams influence the human mind and the way they make decisions. However, the Church of Light tried to bring back the Dark Lord. We shared the same deity. When the Dark Lord went insane, the Shadows locked him in a prison dimension. His power is tremendous, which is enhanced by his insanity. If he’s unleashed, there’s no telling what’ll happen.”

“What you’re saying is that this church is going to use my blood as a sacrifice? They’re not cool with me giving them a used tampon with my blood instead?”

Draw and Khal both snicker.

“Nope. They’re out to kill you. And they won’t rest until they have you.”

“Fuck. I don’t want to be the sacrifice lamb that brings about the end of the world.”

Draw wraps me in his arm again and kisses my forehead. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”

“I know, but we need to do something. These church guys are killing nurses left and right. The nurses are innocent and don’t deserve to die.”

Mrez clears his throat as he pours himself a cup of tea. “If this information is right, and I believe it is, the number of members in The Church of Light is increasing daily. We can’t handle them ourselves. We need backup. We need a damn army to stop them. All the three of us can do is keep you safe, move you from one place to the next, doing our best to stay one step ahead of them.”

“Fuck, no.” The resignation in Khal’ voice makes me shudder with excitement. “I won’t run from those fucks. They killed Lisa and will only grow stronger. We have the element of surprise on our side. We need to rally the troops and pound them now, and good.”

The way the veins swell on his neck turn me on badly. Why is it that I find dominant guys so hot?

“That means we have to go home and take Ivy with us. Our people won’t believe she’s of royal blood if she’s not with us.” Drawn turns to Ivy. “After the last fight, most of us retreated to pockets of silence in various dimensions. Core Shadows still live inside our real. As exposed as they are, they chose to stay there. What do you think, Ivy?”

“I think I’m scared. But you guys are right. We can’t keep running. And we can’t allow these assholes to keep going. I’m ready.” I look down at my ratty t-shirt and bare feet. Yeah, I look so much like the savior of whatever. Not. “I need to change clothes first.”

“That might be a good idea.” Draw smiles.

“Where exactly are we going? Have I been there before?”

“We’re going to our dimension. You’ve never entered it because you were not fully bound. A Shadow can only bring a bound mate into his world. It’s one of our laws.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re predators. If an unmarked female entered our world, the others would see her as fair game and would try to mate with her.”

It’s my turn to clear my throat. There’s so much I don’t know about these guys and so much more that is foreign to me.

“I get that. But where exactly is this place?”

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