Page 91 of Don't Fae With Dragons

“Aurora?” I gasp.

“I am not she.”

More trickery. It sounds just like Aurora, or how I imagine she’d sound in a silent cavern. “Then who are you?”

Another laugh, but this one is harsher. Colder. “I know you’re afraid of moonlight. I know you’re afraid of the WhiteWarlock. You fear his icy whiteness, don’t you?” I don’t respond. How would Aurora be in my mind? It must be Kar. “I wonder how you feel about pure darkness?”

Then I feel nails, sharp and catlike, scratch down my spine. I shriek in alarm and leap forward, but the ground falls out from under me.

I tumble through the darkness, the empty nothingness, falling slowly down, down, down. I feel my mouth open in a scream, but I hear nothing.

“Perhaps you didn’t appreciate my glow, before. I wonder if you envied my beautiful light. Did you wish you could shoot across the sky like me? Paint the night with streaks of violet, green, turquoise?”

It must be Kar mimicking Aurora. It can’t be her. She wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t do this. She would never let me fall.

“Oh, I would.” It’s not Aurora. Kar can’t fool me. “I’ve already fallen time and time again for you –don’t you deserve a turn?”

Suddenly, the wind in this strange mind-cavern begins to whip around me. Tendrils of darkness spring out violently from the black ether and catch my arms. I feel my eyes shoot open as they tighten, then more tendrils lash around my ankles and pull me down as my arms are yanked up.

I’m suspended. Trapped. It’s not of my own will this time, though, and it’s terrifying.

“Stop this,” I manage to choke out. My mind is still reeling from the horrible drop when the ground fell out from under me, and my heart is starting to pound from the sensation of being stuck.

Once more, the Aurora-voice laughs brightly, but sharp as crystal. “I can’t do that, but allow me to introduce myself.”

The nails that scratched down my back suddenly stab into my shoulders and stretch up to my neck, wrapping around me in a movement as petrifying as it is erotic. I tense up painfully, not wanting to give in to the taunts of this creature, and the hand around my neck tightens as a figure cloaked in black comes to stand before me.

I whimper despite myself as bright white teeth smile from beneath the cloak’s hood, writhing helplessly as the being slowly unbuttons her cloak. “Don’t,” I manage to whisper through the painful hand around my neck.

“Shh, pet,” the woman says. Then she throws the hood back and reveals her face.

It’s Aurora, with eyes black as night and her golden hair gone, replaced with raven-black locks. She breathes in heavily, smiling viciously as she squeezes my neck tighter.

“I’m not Aurora anymore,” she whispers cruelly.

My eyes widen in panic, and I blink back tears before they can form. What did Kar do to her?

“I chose this, Mili. Don’t be stupid,” Aurora spits out. How in the Realm can she hear what I’m thinking? “Borrowing some of the White Warlock’s little tricks,” she grins. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“What have you done?” I whisper hoarsely, nearly out of air. My vision becomes spotty as Aurora’s hand tightens even harder. I wonder if I’ll end up with real bruises to show for it.

Her smile morphs into a callous, wild-eyed grin. “Remember this, and this alone –I am the Black Lady.”

CHAPTER 54: PORT

Afew hours later, Mili sits silently clutching her knees to her chest on the living area floor. Cory sits behind her, his legs on either side of her, providing her a bit of stability and protection. She seems to appreciate it. Max and I, for our part, are in the kitchen making dinner for the four of us.

The faery hasn’t been doing well since seeing Aurora’s transformation into the ‘Black Lady,’ or so she calls herself. I’m worried Mili is blaming herself; it’s a tendency she seems to have, much like Max (and perhaps even myself).

Max and I quietly discuss our worries in the kitchen. It’s likely that Cory’s able to hear us, despite our efforts to stay quiet, but at least Mili shouldn’t be able to pick up on our words.

“Do you think Cory’s spoken with her about it yet?” Max asks me as he dices the potatoes.

I shake my head. “There hasn’t been much time to, and Mili’s been so quiet. I’d assume he’s letting her process on her own for a moment.”

Max frowns. “She’ll get stuck in her head like that.”

“I know,” I sigh.

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