Page 3 of Dark Desire
I had only been gone for half an hour, but when I returned to the church, her curtains were wide open. Unsheathing my demon claws, I climbed the tree trunk to the top and peered into the room. There was no sign of her. A colourful throw and dark orange covers lay neatly made on her bed, with a scatter of cushions. Crystals and books occupied most of the surfaces, but nothing of real value or interest. Was she inside? Had she left?
Cautiously, I made my way behind the graveyard to check if her wards were still intact. I reached out to touch the fence but was instantly zapped with a magical shock that made my teeth clench and blood burn. Damn witch. I fell down on my ass in the grass and wrapped my arms around my knees. My head hung low beneath my hood as I tried to calm my impatience and frustration and think of a solution. The obvious choice was to ask a skilled witch or warlock to remove her wards so I could get in. But I wanted to keep the royals as far from this as possible. She was my problem. My justice. My revenge. As soon as I involved them, they’d feel like they had an input. The only person I knewwould have my back in this was Leif Anderson, but he was in another bloody realm until he returned in three days for the royal family’s weekly tradition of family night. And I couldn’t wait three more days.
‘I say we do what Heathen suggested and stalk her,’Ambroz offered.
‘What the fuck do you think we’ve been doing sitting in a tree for the last three days?Reminiscing our nest life?’
‘She can sense someone is out there. She feels threatened. We need to watch her without her knowing so we can find the perfect moment to strike.’
‘How do we watch her without her sensing us? You forget Heathen can identity steal. We cannot.’
‘Don’t remind me. That was supposed to be our gift from Father.’
‘How do humans stalk each other without being caught?’
‘How am I supposed to know? I’m a fucking demon.’
This was useless. We were fucking clueless when it came to functioning like an actual person and not a bird. Sitting in a tree alone and watching the church was within our comfort zone. Having to actually do anything remotely social was not.
‘She works as a photographer for the village newspaper. Maybe we should start there. Surely, she has to turn up for work at some point?’
‘Look at you using that bird brain.’
I rolled my eyes at my demon’s sarcasm and trudged back down towards the village. The breeze whipped past me, carrying a whiff of sweat and dirt. The smell was me. Damn. I needed to wash. I kept forgetting that now I’m in human form again, these things matter.
‘Good job there’s a massive fucking bath right on the doorstep,’Ambroz chuckled as the vast, endless sea of blue stretched behind the quaint village to the horizon. Not wantingto draw any unnecessary attention or turn people’s noses up at the sight and smell of me, I headed for the coast straight away. I couldn’t exactly be in stealth mode if they could smell me from a mile away.
A few people were walking along the port’s wall and local dog walkers were on the shingle beach, so for a bit of privacy, I clambered over the rock pools until I was out of the public’s view. Stripping down, I left my boots, jeans, T-shirt, and hoodie on the rocks along with my rucksack and fresh set of clothes. I untied my long red hair from the tie I’d used to keep it back before plunging straight into the rolling waves. The icy bite of the sea’s first contact stung brutally, but I relished the pain. It made me feel alive. I crashed through the surface, pushing my long locks out of my face, and floated on my back, lulled by the gentle rise and fall of the waves. The salty spray of the water crashing against the rocks peppered my face, and I closed my eyes, feeling a rare moment of serenity.
“You’re brave! It’s freezing in there! You know, just last week, there was a very dramatic jellyfish attack. The poor sea wasp nearly didn’t survive Mrs Frome’s breasts. I would hate for you to suffer the same fate.”
At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Because there was no way a real voice could sound like that. It was slightly deep with a sultry husk, reminding me of the smoothness of bourbon. Effortlessly sexy and feminine yet with the bite of a viper. My eyes snapped open, and I lifted my head in the direction it came from.
My entire body froze. My disbelieving eyes fixed on the striking woman standing at the edge of the rock pool. For a split second, I forgot where and what I was doing. My legs and arms stopped treading water, and a wave crashed over my head, pulling me under. It was enough to jolt me from my shock, and the moment I broke through the surface again, I half-expectedto find I had dreamt her. But no. There she was. Still standing there. Still staring at me. Only now, her dazzling smile had vanished, and she looked almost concerned.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you. You can swim, right? You’re not drowning or anything?”
My voice failed me. All I could do was stare, stare at the most captivating woman I had ever seen in my life. Luckily, my body’s survival instincts still seemed to be functioning as I began retreading water, keeping myself upright, and her expression relaxed a little.
When our eyes locked, something deep within my chest shattered. It was a sharp, painful ache, and a sudden urge to let myself drown beneath the waves overwhelmed me as her lips parted subtly and those stunning hazel eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She swallowed and nervously tugged one of her thick black curls behind her ear, breaking our gaze and looking down at the camera in her hands.
“Well, um, sorry I bothered you. I’ll leave you to it. Just, uh, watch out for the jellyfish. Mrs Frome really did suffer a nasty sting last week when one got tangled in her bathing suit.” She turned away and climbed over the sharp rocks. Her long black skirt swirled around her ankles and her off-the-shoulder jumper gave me a perfect view of her smooth, golden shoulders, which her hair teased against in the breeze. I opened my mouth to speak but not a single word came out. She suddenly twisted back towards me, holding her camera in two hands and lifting it slightly. “I know this might sound really strange but do you mind if I take your picture?”
I stared. She stared. She shook her head when I didn’t speak. “Sorry, forget it. I came out here to photograph the wildlife but you just looked like the wildest, most untamed but undeniably beautiful thing out here. Like you were really at one with the ocean, you know?”
I blinked.Fucking speak Zoran. But I couldn’t. I was mentally, emotionally and physically shutting down.
She gave me a soft smile and shook her head again, causing her black curls to bounce around her face.
“Sorry,” she repeated, looking increasingly embarrassed. “I’ll leave you in peace.” She climbed the last few rocks to the wall, and then she was gone.
I blinked. My throat closed. Every muscle in my body felt heavy and ached against the relentless tide. That pain in my chest intensified as my brain slowly caught up with the nightmare that had just unfolded. Ambroz was speechless, his complex emotions heightening my own.
I knew the world was a cruel place. I had experienced firsthand just how vicious and brutal it could be. I thought nothing could ever break me more than I already was.
But I was wrong. That woman on the rocks. She was my soulmate.
And the very witch I came here to kill.
