Page 12 of Cursed Shadows

Even now, as he looks at me in shock and wonder, there’s also suspicion behind his gaze. As amazed as he is to find out I know the truth of his rebirth, he still doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t trust anyone. Maybe that’s how he’s been able to survive as long as he has.

“Baron,” Dragan starts, and Baron jerks his head toward the larger man.

“Revenant,” he says in a hiss.

“Revenant,” Dragan corrects himself. “Welcome back.”

***

DRAGAN

And I thought I had it bad…

Compared to Cambion in his forest sanctuary, my life isn’t exactly a fairy tale story. For a time, I took solace in the misery. It was retribution for my sins—my atonement. Even if pleasures of the flesh had been at my disposal, I wouldn’t have indulged them. After the war, I was no longer a king. I was no longer the man deserving of those rewards. Slowly, arduously, that time passed. And then, more time still—until I’d more than paid the price for my failure.

My imprisonment turned my immortality into a sentence of unending torture. And yet, for Cambion and me, our imprisonments were blessedly only physical. Our constraints were tied to our locations, not to our minds.

To lose our identities, entirely?

Most times, my memories feel like a curse, but at least I have them. To be unaware of the bounds of my immortality, unaware of my purpose or my past, unaware of the reason for my fears or my anguish or my need for revenge? I’d take another century of celibacy over that.

Yes, I thought I had it bad. But Baron’s hell is much worse than anything I could imagine.

Then my thoughts turn to Eilish and the pull I feel towards her. Maybe I would have felt this way even if she weren’t physical perfection. My body, so desperate for sexual release, might have reacted this way to any woman within view. But somehow, I doubt it. There’s something about Eilish that’s different; I still can’t put my finger on just what that something is.

There were times before the war—and I’m not proud of these times—when I took many women to fulfill my own desires. But once I’d failed in my duty to protect the realms and was banished to the Gorge, my desire for female company died along with my freedom. Until now.

Many of my doomed gargoyles had bought affection wherever they could find it, but I’d never stoop so low, even in my most desperate hours. I understood their need, though. Opting to take the time to earn a woman’s trust would leave them with loins wanting.

And then, I remember the promise I made to myself—that once I entered Grimreap and found the time, I would pay to visit a woman. Even though I haven’t had any time to myself, it doesn’t matter; the idea of finding solace inside another woman leaves me feeling cold and empty. I would rather watch Eilish sleep than spend the next however long in the arms of a woman I don’t know or care about.

Something is desperately wrong with me.

I turn to look at Eilish and find her already the subject of Baron’s direct gaze. Despite my relief at his return, I can’t help but feel threatened by his presence. The way he looks at Eilish rouses me; the sense of need behind his eyes is greater than the need I feel for her, that much I can tell. It unseats me. Not out of something so immature as jealousy, though. His need seems deeper than merely sexual. I can tell Cambion desires her sexually, but I believe that’s the extent of his interest. Baron, on the other hand, seems to desireher.As if he would consume her, were he given the chance. And, as a vampire, he could very easily kill her if he chose to.

It’s part of the reason I don’t trust him. I don’t know him anymore. It’s been over one hundred years since his death and, in that time, he’s been reborn into a different man. Who’s to say he’s still the same, virtuous man he was in the past? We’d be foolish to assume such is the case.

And Eilish…

She isn’t just the first woman I’ve spent time with since my exile—she’s also the key to my future, to everyone’s future. Protecting her means protecting the three realms, something I wasn’t able to do before. But something I’ve sworn to right this time around.

CHAPTER FOUR

EILISH

Grimreap

Shadow Realm

I glance down and notice my veins no longer glow green; instead, the pale skin is smooth and devoid of color. I’m not sure if theAtacomitehas finally left my body from Cambion’s healing or if it’s because Baron touched me. But I’m whole and pure again.

“Then we’ve solved the riddle of why Bar—er, Revenant can’t access his memories,” Cambion starts.

“But we haven’t solved the riddle of why I can’t access mine,” I finish for him.

I glance at Baron, only to find him studying me in that detached, curious way of his. I’m sure he’s wondering why I didn’t mention the woman’s voice I heard, the woman’s voice webothheard. I haven’t mentioned it because I’m still in shock. The woman’s voice was the same one I keep hearing in my own head, and I’m not really sure what to make of it.

Baron’s eyes darken, “It’s a question I, too, would very much like the answer to.”

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