Page 13 of Song of Night

Zara and the serpent spinning around each other in a deadly dance.

The flash of her blade.

The glow of the beast’s eyes.

Writhing tentacles encircling Zara’s legs.

I force myself forward again, zig-zagging as my vision goes in and out. Zara’s on the ground now. I see the thing dart its head down, but she dodges its ten-inch teeth. Her blade goes into the side of its neck, but it barely reacts.

It dives for her again, but this time my sword takes its head clean off. And when the head hits the ground, already growing more tentacles, I impale it through the top of the skull, clean through its brain. The monster finally goes still, its eyes staring sightlessly at Zara.

I lunge for her as it starts to disintegrate, rolling on top of her and away from the thing. We roll several feet across the sand, barely managing to avoid the poisonous gas left by the creature’s carcass. When we finally stop moving, I’m lying on top of Zara.

We’re both breathing heavily from the fight, and Zara’s face is covered in dirt. I’m sure mine is even worse, my skin still burning from getting caught in the noxious gas. My vision is still blurry, but my other senses absorb everything. The racing of Zara’s heart, the feel of her breath on my face. The curve of her hips beneath mine.

“Asher, your arm,” she whispers.

I look down, realizing that in addition to being burned, I have a bloody gash down my bicep where I must have been impaled by the barbed tentacles. Pain lashes through my body as my adrenaline slows. It’s more than the cut—there’s clearly poison running through my veins.

And in that moment, as agony takes hold of my body, I lose the fragile control I’ve been holding on the hunger inside.

Chapter Nine

ZARA

I watch Asher’s eyes as he winces in pain and a tremor moves through his body. But then his expression changes, something wild and craven roiling beneath the surface. I have only an instant to realize what’s happening before he sinks his teeth into my neck.

He is not gentle.

A cry escapes my lips, both pain and pleasure. Because even through my fear, even though I can tell he’s lost control of his inner demon, even though my life is in grave peril, the bliss still sings through all of it.

Asher sucks hungrily at my skin, one hand twisted in my hair, holding my head in place, the other wrapped underneath my body, under the arch of my back, pressing me up into him. His cock lengthens against me and I shudder, hooking one leg up around his hips to press him harder into me.

He growls and sucks even harder for a moment. My eyelids flutter, both from the wave of ecstasy, and because he’s taken so much blood already in just a few moments. At the back of my mind, I know I should be scared. But I also know if I struggle right now, it’s just going to trigger his animal instincts even more.

I move one hand to the back of his head, pressing his mouth even harder against me, and my other hand slides between our bodies to the waistband of his pants. My fingers move over the hard length of him and he shivers against me. A moan escapes his throat.

Asher’s lips slide down my neck and he pulls my tunic aside, plunging his teeth into the soft, rounded top of my breast. I gasp as a fresh spike of pleasure moves through me, and Asher undulates his hips, grinding into me. Even fully clothed, I can feel the beginnings of that blissful little death rippling through my body.

I wrap my other leg around him and pull him even closer. “Asher…” I gasp.

He pulls back and his mouth finds mine, his tongue probing me with as much ferocity as his teeth had. I can taste my blood on his lips. His breath mingles with mine, and although no magic sparks between us, there’s enough fire even so to burn the whole world down around us.

Another moan moves through me.

And then, abruptly, he pulls back.

He straightens, still straddling my hips. His brow furrows and the muscles in his jaw roll. He looks down at his arm, seeing that his wound has closed, my blood healing him. Even without magic, he apparently still has the healing abilities of a vampire.

“We need to keep moving,” he says gruffly, standing and turning from me to go find his horse.

My heart is still racing, my breathing ragged. Slowly, I roll onto my knees and then climb to my feet. I stare at his back as he strides to his horse, who had the good sense not to run off into the fog. Mine is next to it, their eyes still wide with fear from the attack.

“So, you’re just going to kiss me and then act like nothing happened?” I snarl.

Asher doesn’t turn around, but his voice carries over his shoulder. “I fed, which is the whole reason you came along. This changes nothing between us.”

“That was not just feeding, and you know it!” I stalk toward him, snatching the reins of my horse off the ground where they dangle.

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