Page 20 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

I removed my hat to ease the tension off my ears and set it on a boulder nearby. With one motion, I reached behind me, tugged my cotton shirt off, and tossed it somewhere. Her body went rigid, and those violet eyes widened as they roamed shamelessly down every divot of my abs. I combed through my locks and tilted my chin up, pretending to fix my hair so she could steal a few more glances.

With my legs crossed, I leaned back and lifted my arm to expose the jagged, raised letter on the side of my ribs. Again, Vessa’s eyes widened, but this time, with shock. She said nothing as she took up the space beside me, much closer than I had expected.

Her fingers were cool to the touch, soft and feather-light as they followed the half-circle of the “R” down to its straight ridge, trailing further. She realized where her fingers were wandering, tensed, and withdrew them. The motion tugged a smile from me. Suddenly, I didn’t mind sharing a piece of my past with her. Whatever lies I’d been about to say evaded me in the confinement of this space. Any words spoken would remain here. She was deathly silent, waiting for me to speak.

“I knew nothing of my father other than that he was a Wind Fae, and my mother was human. She loved me, but being in the company of bad men was her vice, and I often paid the price for that. She had a lover once, one she was keen on. She kept him around for some unknown reason, but he despised me, knowing I was half fae. I bore the brunt of all their fights. He was a jealousasshole who wanted me out of the picture. One day, things got bad…” I paused, taking a deep breath. “She ended it with him, and he lost his fucking mind. He grabbed a knife and held me down. To this day, I remember the blood-curdling scream my mother expelled as she watched him carve the first letter of his name onto my side. He said he wanted her to remember that I was the reason they weren’t together.”

Then I tucked my hair behind my ears, exposing another harsh truth about how evil humans could be. Vessa gasped as she took in the sight of the scars marring the tops of my ears. Her hand reached out, the pad of her fingers touching the now hardened and calloused tips.

“He removed the part that identifies you as fae.” Her voice shook in anger and sadness at how anyone could be so cruel to a child. My body hummed in response as she touched them again. “Does that hurt?” she questioned after a grunt rumbled in my chest.

“They’re…a little sensitive.” My voice was low and husky. The fire crackled and popped as flames flickered and danced in the irises of her eyes. Something bloomed inside my rotten, filthy heart the longer we shared the same air, the same breath. “But with the right person, I feel more.” She didn’t withdraw at my words; she hung on every one. “So much more, Vessa.”

Her name was dark honey on my lips, a venom I wanted to taste. Her hands tucked the hair behind my ears as she examined them, tilting her head from side to side. I watched the rise and fall of her chest as she explored the jagged flesh, the thrumming pulse in the crook of her neck. Her heart pounded just as hard as mine. A few moments passed before I spoke again, savoring how it felt to have her hands roam.

“My mother’s lover went for her, and in her last breath, she screamed for me to take our horse and ride her until I couldn’trun from darkness no more, and then I would find that light.‘Ride her,’she said.”

In this moment, we both slipped into the dark, and Vessa lifted her scarred arm and brushed her palm against my face. I closed my eyes as her thumb trailed across my cheek. I’d expected her to see me for the monster I had become, but her eyes softened, an unspoken understanding as she studied me.

“‘Ride her,’” she repeated a few times. The more she said it, the more the meaning behind these two words sunk in. And with it, my desire for her.

“Ryder.” Her whisper was an unveiling to my soul, as dark and tarnished as it was, and even then, it wasn’t enough. Hunger burned in her eyes; she wanted more. I succumbed beneath her touch. It should have been me doing all the unraveling. We were gravitating closer, a breath away from a kiss until something caught her eye over my shoulder and she frowned.

Fuck.I knew exactly who it was.

As I turned around, I saw Raven bite into some cooked meat with an obviously irritated glare.

“Sorry to interrupt whatever the fuck this is, but dinner is ready,” he said.

Vessa sighed, glancing down at me, the moment definitely gone as she stormed past Raven, shoving him in the process.

16

Vessa

The cold sweat embedded in my bones was enough to pull me from sleep. I thanked the frigid morning and its unrelenting wind for saving me from the same recurring dream. I often stayed awake at night, hoping one day I’d feel a sudden poke at my side and find my sister beside me. That one day she would just show up and we would get to spend the rest of eternity catching up on everything we’d missed. I thought about what she would have looked like if she had survived. Every time, the same ache in my chest returned. Would she have resembled Pa or looked more like Ma and me with high, regal cheekbones? Every time I slipped too far, I ended up dreaming of the shores of home, of the onyx sand wedged between my toes, but this time, it was also of that masked man.

Pain pierced through me from the lack of tonic, causing me to moan as I lazily opened my eyes to Ryder scowling while he carved a piece of wood with his knife far too aggressively. I had spent too many nights with both my body and mind unsettled, so I refused to let the pangs annoy me. I glanced downward to find Pa standing outside the cave, sun filtering through his strands of salt-and-pepper hair. Another gust of wind swept down my front; the breeze was not coming from the outside butfrom within. As if the belly of the devil himself was telling us to fuck off. But the unexpected warmth at my back had my mind reeling. I recognized that thick, heavy arm draped over my body. I knew the rise and fall of that chest, the way his deep breaths fanned the top of my head, always ending with a slight shudder, as if wherever he was while dreaming was somewhere terrifying. My body went rigid as my cheeks turned hot, my backside fully enveloped in his unexpected warmth, nearly causing me to stop breathing.

Raven wasnotin his bird form.

There were no little claws perched and gripping at my hip. No little beady eyes waiting to purr a hello when I woke up. Raven’s body nearly swallowed me whole, his firm arm over my waist and linked it across my chest. His pale skin had a luminous glow in the morning light. Apparently, I had been using him as a pillow and a blanket.

I swallowed.

“Raven,” I whispered, shaking his arm.

He moaned in response, grabbing the blanket that must have been tossed behind him while sleeping and draping it around us. My eyes widened as I was cloaked by the wool and canopied in complete darkness, his thick, strong legs entangled in mine as he pulled me closer. The clasps of his suspenders pressed against my back. We were too close. I sucked in a sharp breath. The man was gripping me like I washis. It did something to me, tugging on the frayed edges of a forced bond. One that was always desperately trying to keep itself tethered to me. I slightly curled my fingers into his grip as my pulse thrummed in my ears, but then stopped and exhaled roughly.

I belong to no one.

I turned to face him as darkness surrounded us. Entirely doused in his heat as we shared the same air.

“Raven, wake up,” I said hastefully into the confinements of the blanket, pressing my palm against his hardened chest, the black fabric soft beneath my touch. Another deep breath fanned down my face. I sighed, tossing the top portion of the blanket off us.

His eyes slowly opened. In the same motion, the sun crept in, casting light upon us, filtering through the strands of hair brushing across his face. I resisted the urge to pluck a thick lock away from his eyes.

“Tell me why I should allow you to keep breathing,” I quietly hissed, trying not to let Ryder or Pa hear us. There was a flash of concern in Raven’s eyes.

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