Page 12 of As Darkness Fall
“We should go,” I croaked out, my eyes scanning the inside of the temple once more.
Amunlea. God of all gods. And I’d used her power somehow.
Crap.
“Aaron,” I called before he could head back up the tunnel and out of the temple. “Come here.”
With a frown, my hired guide walked over to me. I could see a slight wariness in his step, and at one point, his eyes flicked past me.
“Vir, go on ahead,” I said, wondering if I was going to have to keep the pair of them permanently separated. Vir was growing more and more protective by the second, and I really wasn’t about that. I needed my freedom.
Which was precisely why I was about to demonstrate to him that he had no hold over me.
“What can I do for you, Dani?” Aaron asked as he stopped a step away.
His words were directed at me, but all his focus was on Vir.
“Vir,” I snapped, growing tired of his reluctance.
There was a deep rumble, like two boulders grinding against one another, and then Vir stalked past us.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Aaron asked.
“I’m not sure of anything,” I said. “Now, carry me, will you? I’m about to fall over.”
Aaron leaned in and caught me up in his arms.
“Don’t worry,” I said as he lifted me with casual ease, once again proving, in a subtle way this time, that he couldn’t possibly be human. “Vir will be fine. He’ll manage.”
“It’s not Vir I’m worried about,” Aaron said. “It’s me.”
I didn’t respond. Maybe I was being petty, spurning Vir like this and making a blatant effortnotto let him help me or do anything that would give our Soulbond something to latch on to and amplify. The truth was, though, that I didn’t care. I hadn’taskedfor him. I’d asked for nobody; to be set free.
In a corner of my mind, I could admit that I didn’t think Vir had done this intentionally. He’d just reacted. Part of me wanted to know if he’d suspected such a thing was even possible. I certainly hadn’t. Regardless, just because ithadhappened didn’t mean I was about to open up and give in. That wasn’t me at all.
I watched Vir as he walked stiffly ahead of us. He was attractive as well, in a different yet equally powerful way compared to Aaron. Yet, if I was going to have a mate and let myself go down that path, I needed more than a walking sexbot who threatened to blow my mind with endless orgasms just with a look. That was all well and great, but there were things I doubtedeitherof them could provide.
Like an actual honest mate. Vir was an immortal deity. He wouldn’t know the first thing about being mated to a human, and Aaron… Well, he radiated nothingbutsex. A night with him would probably be unforgettable,butI couldn’t picture him as a father, for instance. The image just did not appear. He was too cold. Sterile, almost, in a way.
No, neither of them fit what I wanted in a life partner, and that was why I wasn’t going to let either of them worm their way into my heart. And probably not inside any other part of me.
Probably.
While I contemplated the sexual possibilities of both men, Aaron followed Vir as he led us to his temple. I craned my neck back, looking up at the giant stone statue that marked the entrance, much as one did for all the other temples nearby. It was Vir, alright. Tall, wolf-headed, holding his spear like the guardian of some unseen passageway, his statue stood tall and regal, visible in the dim light that filled the cavern, the origin of which I’d yet to figure out.
Maybe once I was recovered, I could do some exploring of the ancient citywithoutbeing chased by a murderous wolf while my head tried to rip itself in half. It would probably make for better sightseeing.
Aaron, with me still in his arms, ducked in through the rectangular opening and followed Vir down the main passage. It soon opened up into a rectangular room about two-stories tall with a balcony running around the upper level. At the back, a raised area separated itself by a few feet from the rest of the chamber.
“I don’t get it,” I said, my eyes straining to pick out details. “There’s nothing here, Vir.”
“The impatience of youth,” Vir muttered, receiving a snort from Aaron that seemed to indicate agreement.
I opened my mouth to fire off a retort, but before the first syllable could emerge, Vir spoke a word of command in a language I didn’t recognize, and the entire interior of his temple shimmered and transformed.
All I managed was a croak as tables full of food materialized out of thin air, followed by trunks of clothing, cots and blankets, pillows, jugs of water, and what appeared to be a cask, perhaps of wine? I wasn’t sure.
A second later, the aroma of food hit me.
