Page 85 of Mortal Desires

I buried my hands in her hair, feeling the soft strands with my coarse skin. She waited for my kiss, and I gave it to her, relishing the taste only she had.

For a creature, for death itself, it was hard to believe I got here. Holding my mate, knowing nothing could ever take her from me.

Wars would come and go, and I was ready to wage them in her name. If her sister’s soulmates loved them half as much as I loved the woman in my arms, I knew it was only a matter of time.

Adrian could run…

But the Morales sisters were coming. And they weren’t coming alone.

I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t remember what I was doing before this. Right before now, where was I?

It might sound like an odd question, but I asked myself that many times a day. In order to distinguish reality from dreams, always rely on time.

Real life happened chronologically, dreams happened in whatever way they liked.

I shuffled on my feet, twisting my mouth and telling myself I wasn’t going to freak out.

Nope.

Don’t freak out, Florencia.

I’ve been to worse places before. People dream about the wildest things. City-bending Inception was nothing. I actually laughed when I watched the movie. People’s minds were always surprising, and most of the time, horrifying.

So this was nothing, really. Literally a bunch of nothing.

I twisted my nose to the red wasteland before me, trying to get a glimpse of anything. I stood right on the precipice of a canyon. It gave me a great advantage for a lookout, but there was nothing there to see.

What was I doing before this?

I counted to three under my breath and tapped my shoes four times. Breathing slowly, I tried to keep my emotions at bay. What came first? The power of visiting people’s perverted dreams or the OCD? They were tangled at this point. My mental health and my powers were just one snarled mess sitting heavily over my chest.

It was pretty heavy right now, making me gasp for air, but I wasn’t going to let it drag me down.

“Don’t freak out, Florencia.” I sang under my breath.

Right when I almost believed I could control myself, a cry of war rippled through the canyon. It was raw and powerful, echoing everywhere. From both sides, warriors jumped into action and I watched horrified as they collided in battle.

I stepped back, my mouth hanging open. Swords clashed, arrows flew, and in a second, I was watching a war unfold right in front of my eyes.

Needing to run away, I turned around, not sure where I was going but knowing it had to be away from this massacre.

But I never got a chance to escape. I crashed right into a chest, my head barely making up to the nipple.

“I’m sorry,” I said out of instinct while I stepped away to give the newcomer space.

He was taller than anyone I’d ever seen, lean but strong, and had intricate tattoos covering both arms. His skin was darker than mine, brown with a copper hint that made him look inhuman. Although, his coloring was nothing on the huge set of black wings behind his back.

Shocked, I craned my neck to look directly at him, scared I was being too rude for gawking.

He had a smile on his lips that brought chills up my spine. Half of his face was covered in scars like it had been burned by acid. On the scarred side, he watched me with a black eye. The other was ocean blue.

“My brother has been fighting in your name for years, Florencia.” His accent was heavy, but from nowhere I knew.

I shook my head, processing his words, “I don’t know your brother.”

“He wants you so bad. And now I get why,” He continued, ignoring my confusion.

“I don’t know what—”

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