Kaige

A jolt of panic shot through my chest and I stumbled, nearly dropping the bag of clothes, food, and elixirs I’d brought for the little human. My hand found the rough bark of a pine, steadying myself.

What the hell was that?

My breathing was ragged and lungs tight as if I’d been chasing fast prey. Or more like something had been chasing me.

I straightened, rubbing my forehead, my skin clammy. The cabin wasn’t too much farther. I’d parked the car a good distance away. No one had followed me, but I couldn’t take any chances.

I continued through the thick forest, ignoring the stabs of anxiety tattooing my skin. It was probably the warning Royal Guard Maxum gave me before I left Castle De La Divin. Two field taranoi had disappeared from a group bringing aevitas for harvesting.

Field taranoi were the poorest of nocturnes. They were either born into that life or were sent away by the king as punishment for petty crimes. They worked the aevitas fields far from the castle. The plant was created by the alchemists and one of the main ingredients used in synth. It grew year-round and its stalks were tough and riddled with thorns. Maintaining the fields wasn’t a pleasant job.

The taranoi wouldn’t have traveled this far from the castle. They were probably just searching for a stash of synth in the city.

An acrid taste crawled up my throat. I’d hate to think of what a starving taranoi would do if they discovered a human in Draconis.

Nothing good.

Paralyzing fear suddenly slammed into me, and I fell to my knees. An invisible hand clutched my heart, razor-sharp claws tearing into my flesh. What was happening? My eyes searched the dark winter forest for a reason behind the unsettling sensations.

There was no reason for me to be crippled by terror so sharp it ripped me in two.

And then it hit me. The panic wasn’t mine.

Garridan’s words yesterday came rushing back, cold and sharp across my face. He’d said there could be consequences. A bond. I would sense things. Feel them.

The little human was scared. She was in trouble.

I bolted, acting on pure instinct. The forest blurred by as my body answered her call. Branches slapped across me and briars tangled around my feet, but nothing would stop me. I had to get to her.

My teeth ground together as a hundred curses tumbled through my mind. I’d underestimated her stupidity. She had fled from the cabin, probably trying to find her way back to the plane. Something had found her instead.

Images of starving taranoi flashed behind my eyes. They could want plenty of things from her, but the most imminent would be the hot, salty blood flowing through her veins. Crimson flooded the edges of my vision, and my fangs tore out. No one was claiming that human’s blood.

No one except me.

I ignored the dark thought, batting it away with all the others I’d heard since finding her. The air in the forest thickened, and my skin felt like it was on fire. She was close.

A cry tore through the night.

There. Next to a large oak. Two taranoi had her, the female zeroing in on a spot to bite. The male’s fangs had already punctured the human’s neck, sucking down her warm blood.

If he killed her, any answers she held would be lost. The Collective could be helping a rival family steal the throne or my father could be trading resources with humans. What if the human government was stealing from us? A war would ignite between our worlds that would destroy all of New Isos.

Finding out what had burned in that plane was reason enough to save the girl. But deep down, I recognized the dark urges clawing from the recesses of my soul. It was something ingrained in me from my ancestors. It was buried deep in my blood.

Not deep enough anymore.

A harsh, guttural growl snaked out of my mouth, shaking the earth beneath us. The human’s green orbs met mine. Surprisingly, my arrival melted the heavy fear drowning her.

Air whipped across my face, and I stood before the three within the blink of an eye. My hands gripped greasy strands of hair, yanking the thin taranoi off and hurtling him into a tree. A crack echoed as his body hit. I didn’t need to check his pulse to know he was dead. The force I’d used wouldn’t allow for anything else.

The human fell to the ground as the female taranoi released her. She backed away, frantically shaking her head and lifting her trembling hands in surrender. “S-Sir, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know she was yours.” She dropped to her knees, bowing. “Please don’t kill me. I didn’t taste her.”

No crimson stained her mouth. She was a starving taranoi, no thanks to the king. Could I really blame her for wanting to taste human blood?

Yes.

I was on her in a flash, grabbing her jaw in my hand and piercing her with my silvery stare. “Forget what you saw.” My compulsion had quickly taken effect, her eyes glazing over. “Forget the human and forget me. You were with your friend looking for something to hunt, and he wandered off. You got bored and wanted to return home so you left him.”

She nodded. “Yes. I got bored. I left him.”

“Now return to the fields and don’t look back.” I didn’t need to give her any Abscondam. The unwashed stench she carried was enough to mask the human’s scent.

The woman stood and marched back toward the direction of Castle De La Divin without sparing the dead taranoi a glance.

A soft whimper hit my ears, and I spun around. The girl was sprawled on the ground. I went to her side, crashing onto my knees before I realized my body was even moving. The scent of her blood hit me, my mouth instantly filling with saliva.

Moonlight glinted on the crimson leaking from her neck, staining her golden hair pink. I was mesmerized by it and the veins running beneath her skin.

Her hand covered the wound, but it wasn’t enough. “You have to stop the bleeding.”

I licked my lips. I knew one way to stop it.

“Kaige.”

I blinked. Right. I needed to stop the bleeding before she lost it all on the forest floor.

Gods, her blood smelled good. My eyes were pure silver, and my fangs were hanging out. I could only imagine what she saw when she looked at me.

Probably a monster.

Except I didn’t feel any fear from her. Maybe I could only sense it when she was in danger.

My jaw clamped shut, and I yanked my shirt over my head, pressing it against her neck. “I need to get you out of here.” I glanced at her broken leg, not even bothering to ask if she could walk.

“Is he dead?” Her green eyes were fixed on the taranoi lying crumpled by the tree.

“Yes.” The word came out as a growl, but it wasn’t meant for her. My fingers curled into tight fists. I wanted to beat him until he was nothing more than a puddle of guts.

Maybe I would.

“Why did she call you sir?” she asked, trying to sit up. “She acted like you were someone important.”

I pressed a hand to her chest, stopping her movements. She was only going to rip the wounds open more. “I’m not,” I lied. If she had something to do with those boxes on the plane, she’d never tell me if she knew who I was and what I could do to her.

Before she could ask more questions, I slid my arms beneath her and gently picked her up, cradling her against my naked chest. A gasp slipped from her mouth, and her free hand clutched my shoulder. Her pulse skyrocketed.

“Are you afraid of me?” I asked, not really sure which answer I preferred.

She swallowed hard. “No.”

My eyes flickered toward the blood staining her shirt. “You should be.”