Page 79 of Lord of Eternal Night (Darkmourn Universe 1)

Yet this was different. My body should be filled with Jak’s essence. I should desire to feed from him, even now. But I did not.

Had the curse truly broken? Or just fractured?

The trickle of blood ran down my forearm, racing around my wrist like a circlet of ruby before dripping towards the slightly parted mouth of my love. My Jak.

With precision, each droplet never missed the darkness that waited for it.Drip. Drip. Drip.His lips were terribly white.Drip. Drip. Drip. I traced my nail further down my arm in a straight line, urging for more of my blood to spill.Drip. Drip. Drip. My will filled each droplet, carrying my pleading deep within Jak’s still, stiffened body.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

My strength flooded from me, flowing into him. Each moment I felt myself growing tired. Blinking became heavier, slower. Each time the skin on my arm knitted back together, I tore it wide open. Shaking my head, I growled with frustration, trying to keep my eyes on him. But they were growing heavier as more of my blood spilled.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

“Wake, my love. For I do not think I can bear the wait to see you again in death.”

31

Iwoke from darkness, to darkness. My hand slapped my chest as I gasped for breath, only to feel it empty. Hollow. Without the tender, gentle beat of my heart. It felt no different than touching an empty shell or a forgotten stone.

Beneath my palm my skin felt strange — cold. I parted my mouth to call out into the darkness, but my throat was dry. I could not form words, only the scratching gasp of a noise that sounded strange to my own ears.

Thirst. The feeling was intense. I smacked my dry mouth together, thinking of nothing but the cool dribbles of liquid that would quench the longing need for something to drink.

It felt as though I had broken free from a dream. A nightmare. Yet the events of what I had experienced were hazy and distant. Kept away by the need for … sustenance.

One hand moved from my chest to my neck. I did not know what to expect, but the soft brush of skin seemed to be a surprise. The other hand moved to my stomach which seemed to spasm deep within, the rippling of a hunger I had not felt before. No. It was not only hunger, but thirst as well. As I woke further, it was as though the feelings awoke alongside me, unfurling like a sleeping cat as it stretched its limbs in waking.

A noise sounded from somewhere in the distance. A shuffling of feet. It was loud, and quiet at the same time, so much so that I could not distinguish its distance. Then, as I came to, I could hear other noises. Sounds I had not registered before. The slight scratching of small legs against stone. A snuffling noise that could only be that of a rat or mouse sniffing for food.

All at once the world, beyond the darkness, came alive, and I heard it all.

Pressing a hand into my gut, I pinched my eyes shut, trying to focus on the one sound that I could understand.

Footsteps walked towards my location. With each step their footfalls grew and intensified in sound.

My stomach jolted and jaw ached as though my teeth danced within my mouth. The burning call of fire spread across my jaw as though it stretched inside my skull. The sensation joined the intensifying burn in my gut and dryness in my throat.

Darkness was a discomfort, a void of agony as I truly woke.

My fingers reached for my mouth as the urge of pressing my teeth back into my gums overwhelmed me. As my fingertip passed my dry lips, I felt a poin—

Voices mixed with the patter of feet.

“… come back to finish you. With the barrier down, you should find cover elsewhere. They have waited years to end you, just as you have waited years to leave. Do not think for a moment they will take their time.”

A deep voice responded, lush tones vibrating the darkness around me. “I will not run, nor hide from the likes of them. They can come. It would be a grave mistake.”

“You took the head of their queen, but that did not destroy the nest of vipers. I have been around them. I know the plans they have for you — please. You must go.”

“Katharine.” The name was spoken as a warning. And the name was equally a stranger, and familiar. “I will… not be forced out my home. Let them come, let them see what I will do to them all.”

“But you are free.” The softer voice responded. “You can leave, Marius.”

Marius. The name slammed around my skull, nullifying the discomfort and pain. My finger fell from my mouth and dropped to my still chest as I tried to focus on its origin.

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