Page 57 of Dark's Savior

"Nillium with marks are seen as...well, to not put it so lightly—ugly or flawed. Ryziel gets enough shit from just being a darkborn nillium—an outcast amongst his kind and an omen to some. Scars would probably only hurt his ego even more. And since he's looking to return to Nihl and be accepted amongst his kind again...I'd say scars will only hurt that goal."

Aly's frowned deepened. With a guilty glance, her eyes fell on Ryziel's body. She didn't respond right away to Nar, and he took that as a sign to click off. Ryziel still gripped her wrist but when she pulled away, he reluctantly let her go. She stepped back over to the salve on the ground, still solid and usable to a degree. Aly scooped a small bit into her fingers then returned to kneel before Ryziel. He watched her with half-lidded eyes. When they finally did close and he began to breathe slow and steadily, Aly took her chance to reach out and touch the mended skin, spreading the salve gently below his shoulder.

She watched him with a sharp, nervous intensity, pausing in her effort to see how he would react. When he didn't move, she continued, her hand slipping to his chest then down to his stomach where she could feel the tightness of his muscles, his body hard as rock but his skin smooth and warm under her careful fingers. She traced along the mended skin then along the silver markings that weaved along the sides of his stomach. Heat rose in her face as she stared down at his torso, and guilt ripped at her again, this time for touching him like she did, even if it was to help. She drew her hand back and rose her eyes to his face, only to see him staring at her.

Aly licked her lips to say something—likely an apology, afraid that she might have offended him or angered him again. But before she could speak, Ryziel moved on her.

It was both slow and fast, all in one graceful movement. He had her lying on her back, his body flush against hers. Aly let out a little gasp as he brought her arms up over her head and pinned her wrists together with one large hand. He was like a giant on top of her, his body nearly crushing hers. She didn't move, however, or struggle under him. She was surprised but not alarmed; nervous but not entirely afraid. Her body turned hot quickly from his own warmth on top of her, from adrenaline still coursing through her veins, and from her own growing desire that she had kept reined in for so long.

"Ryziel," she breathed. Whether she meant to or not, she lifted her hips to move against him.

He was still for a long moment, though his chest vibrated with a low rumble. It was like he was on the edge of a knife waiting to tip over, but he remained unmoving, and Aly wished she could read his mind, if he were thinking anything at all.

When his free hand did move, it settled between her breasts then moved up to her throat, his thumb stroking her jaw.

Aly shivered unexpectedly. She had touched him, and he hadn't turned angry. He didn't snarl down at her or try to scare her. Instead, he was touching her like a lover.

A spark popped in her brain, a realization hitting her like a strike to the head.

He didn't hate her or her touch, he wanted it. But he had been fighting this desire—until now, and perhaps only because he was lost in himself.

Aly's heart, which had already been pounding heavily for some time, now felt like it might burst in her chest. She wanted to touch him again, but he held her wrists tight.

His eyes, which had been staring at her face, flicked down to her lips and then her throat. His hand moved back down till it touched at the collar of her slipsuit. He lingered there for a mere second before he gripped the edge of her suit and ripped it down with one violent tug. The suit—which was supposed to be durable against any element—tore in two down the middle, exposing her left shoulder and breast. She inhaled sharply as it ripped then again when Ryziel's mouth came down once more on her neck; his teeth nipped and his tongue trailed along her skin as he moved across her shoulder then downward until his fangs grazed her breast and nipple.

Aly moaned, her back arching, hips pressed against him. He moved in response, and she felt the hard length of him pressing against her belly. She felt all the heat in her body slip down between her thighs, and she writhed under him, trying to open her legs more in invitation.

All he needed was to peel the rest of her suit off along with his and take her, hard and fast and with wild desperation, and she would be undone. His hand began to take hold of the rest of her suit as if to do just that when he suddenly froze.

His mouth unlatched from her and his head snapped upward to release a sharp, furious hiss. Aly went still beneath him as his eyes went wild, searching the dark, his teeth bared at something unseen.

Breathless, Aly tried to shake her head clear. A loud rumble sounded nearby, low like thunder. She tensed, her head turning to the side as if she might have imagined it. There was silence until Ryziel growled low, and a few seconds later, the sound of thunder rang out again, closer.

"What is that?" Aly said, more to herself than to him.

Then, with no warning at all, she was being picked up and thrown over Ryziel's shoulder. Before she could even blink, they were racing away, farther into the garden.

"Ryziel? What's happening?" she tried to say but the breath was knocked out of her as he leaped through glowing bushes and budding plants. She was astounded that he could move so fast and carry her at the same time when only a moment before he had been mortally wounded.

She felt him slow as he approached the left wall of the garden then she both heard and felt the hard kick as his foot connected with another door, slamming it open. He slipped them through then made a sharp right, and Aly saw what looked like a courtyard beyond the shadows of dozens of pillars. Ryziel ran alongside this courtyard, never breaking speed. Aly lifted her head up as best she could and saw a soft blue light casting down from the roof above, illuminating the chamber and the balcony above. Ryziel turned again, taking them up a flight of stairs, and Aly wondered if he even knew where he was going or if he was just running as far away as he could get from whatever threat was close by. He continued on down the side of the courtyard, now along the second level, until he halted and climbed up the side of the wall. Aly could see a large broken statue crumbled to pieces below them. Ryziel climbed into the deep alcove where the statue once stood then brought her down from his shoulder, wrapping his arm around her tight. He swerved around, placing his back against the inner wall. Aly twisted her head and body around to see down into the courtyard. There was a bridge not far past where they hid, broken in half as if something had crashed through it. They waited, Ryziel as still as the statues around them, while Aly trembled, breathing hard, crushing herself against him.

The rumble of thunder came again, along with the sound of something slithering against the ground. Something massive. Aly dared not look but she knew whatever it was was making its way along the courtyard down below. As the sound quieted, she dared peek around and saw the tail end of a scaly back slide out a doorway into a chamber beyond.

When all was silent, Aly let out a slow, painful breath. As she looked up at Ryziel, he watched the courtyard below. Without letting her go, he brought them both down, seating himself back against the alcove as best he could. Aly didn't try to release herself from him. Instead, with a weary sigh, she let her head fall to his chest, uncaring that she got salve in her hair and on her face.

Several long moments passed, and the adrenaline that had been pumping through her body began to disappear, bringing on a deep, unavoidable exhaustion. With Ryziel's chest rising and falling below her and his arm safely around her, Aly began to drift away. As her eyes closed, she thought she heard a hiss of breath and a whisper of words with it saying, "I'm sorry."

Chapter Twenty

Aly awoke in the dark, her eyes fluttering open as a soft white light flickered and passed over her face. Confused, she blinked several times and lifted her head. Ryziel remained unmoving against her, his arm still around her waist even as he slept. He did not stir when the light passed by again, and Aly slowly turned her head to see the source of it.

It was hard to make out at first, but as Aly shifted around a little more to get a better view, she saw in the distance a blur of light moving across the other side, just across the second balcony opposite them. Aly's face twisted, her eyes squinting against the light, trying to make out what exactly it was.

With a short repetition of flashes, the light seemed to morph, no longer just an unidentifiable blob but into that of a woman. A tall, slender woman with a halo crown above her head and a flowing white gown.

Aly stared at the woman with a silent sort of fascination, too stunned to speak. The woman was more than beautiful, she was otherworldly, like a fairy queen or an angel. She walked with long fluid steps across the balcony, as if she merely glided with no real effort at all. Her slender face, which had been pointed forward, turned slightly in their direction, and Aly had to stifle a gasp.

Her eyes were pupil-less, white, shining. They stared at everything and nothing. And though they looked around, they didn't seem to see her.

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