CHAPTER 9
Darkness pulsed around him like a living thing. It seared like fire and burned like ice. It thickened and closed in on him, and then thinned and swept away, growing transparent in places, granting him a glimpse of Heaven from the blackest pits of Hell.
His little Amazon.
She danced into view and then disappeared again, twirling out of existence.
Loke reached for her, stretching towards his elusive female, desperate to grasp hold of her slender wrist and pull her close to him.
Where she would be safe.
She appeared again. A brief smile. A flash of warmth in her eyes. A laugh that echoed around them. His fingers brushed hers and he tried to curl them around to lock her to him, but she faded away, leaving only emptiness behind, a cold that swept over him and numbed him to his soul.
The darkness closed in again. Cloying. Choking. He shoved at it and fought like a wild thing, swatting at it and pushing his palms into it, trying to drive it away from him so he could catch another glimpse of Anais.
When it faded this time, he saw her standing in the middle of the village and his heart stopped dead before rocketing into action, thundering against his chest. Ren struck her hard, sending her staggering backwards across the black ground, and a cheer went up around Loke.
He growled and tried to run towards her, driven by a fierce need to pull her into his arms and shield her from the male’s blows, but his feet refused to move. He grabbed his bare legs and tugged at them, desperate to pull them free of the dark earth that covered his feet.
Ren struck again, dealing a blow that sent her crashing to the ground, and Loke’s heart lurched into his throat.
He reached for her, calling her name even though no sound left his lips.
Anais rolled onto her front and struggled onto her hands and knees. She shook her head, causing her long blonde hair to sway and brush the ground, and then pushed herself up onto her feet. She swayed on the spot as she turned to face Ren and something flashed silver in her hand. Loke’s eyes darted down to it and widened.
His knife.
She roared a battle cry and launched herself at Ren.
Ren’s golden eyes flashed like fire.
Loke bellowed a cry of his own, trying to call her back and stop her.
Too late.
The dragon male lashed out at her with long talons, cutting her across her chest. She stumbled a few steps, her hand coming up to her chest as her face tilted downwards towards it, and then wavered and collapsed in a heap.
Loke snarled and pulled on his legs again, filled with a need to reach her.
The village swirled into darkness, drifting away from him as he flew backwards through the air, still reaching for Anais.
The abyss swallowed him. It crashed over him and then receded, revealing his cave.
Anais stood on the ledge with her back to him, her golden hair streaming behind her in the breeze and her arms wrapped around herself. Her hands clutched the sides of her black top, tightly gripping the soft material. The wind buffeted her, whipping her hair around, but she didn’t move away from the edge.
He called her name and she turned as if she had heard him. The sorrowful look in her eyes faded and a smile curled her lips, filling her face with warmth that he felt deep in the pit of his soul.
Loke held his hand out to her and she mirrored him, stretching her right hand out to him, her lips moving silently.
He took a step towards her, forever drawn to her by her beauty and grace, and all that was kind and good in her.
His little Amazon.
Her smile widened and she opened her arms to him as he approached.
A great dark shadow loomed behind her.
Gusts of wind sent Anais staggering forwards and drove Loke backwards, away from her. He leaned into them, fighting them as his heart set off at a pace again and the shadow took form.
A dragon.
It landed behind Anais and she turned towards it, her hands coming up to press against her chest as her eyes landed on it. It transformed into the black shape of a male and Loke roared as he kicked off. Anais shook her head and turned back towards him, her hands stretching for him.
The immense male seized her by the back of her neck.
A sharp sense of dread pierced Loke’s heart.
He tried to call her name again.
“Anais!” Loke screamed at the top of his lungs, not stopping even when they burned and his head spun from the lack of air.
He saw the cave and the fire. Felt the breeze on his bare damp skin. Scented Anais.
His heart beat hard against his chest as he shoved the furs off him, flipped onto his front and collapsed. He growled and forced himself to move. His arms and legs shook beneath him, trembling with the fear that ruled him as he crawled towards the mouth of the cave.
His little Amazon stood there with the wretched male’s hand around her throat.
He had to reach her.
Arms clamped around his waist and he snarled as he fought his enemy, driving his elbow into their side and battling their hold as they tried to pull him backwards, away from Anais. No. He needed to reach her. The male was shoving her backwards now, towards the cave wall, and fear tainted her beautiful face.
The male was going to kill her.
He roared and tried to shift, but the arms holding him tightened like bands of steel, inhibiting him and stopping him from moving.
He needed to reach her before the male killed her.
“Loke.”
He paid no attention to that voice as it breathed a sweet melody against his ear. He had to reach Anais. She needed him. She was going to die if he didn’t tear the male away from her.
“Loke… please.”
The voice came again, edged with desperation and a touch of fear.
Fear that tainted the owner’s soft scent.
A scent that curled around him and comforted him.
Warm hands pressed against his chest and a body pressed against his back. The satin caress of a cheek on his shoulder made him still for a heartbeat of time.
“Please, Loke. Stop.”
He blinked and the Anais on the ledge flickered and disappeared, leaving only ragged black mountains and dark grey sky behind.
And the female clinging to him, her soft body pressing against his, her breath warm on his skin.
“Stop,” she whispered, stirring the hair at the back of his neck and sending a shiver through him.
He did as she asked as he realised he was dragging her towards the ledge.
“You screamed my name. Was it another vision?” She slowly released him and he sat back on his heels.
A powerful need to see her and see that she was all right consumed him and he looked to his right, towards where she knelt. Her blue gaze was resolutely locked on her knees and a trace of rose coloured her cheeks. He looked down at himself, saw that he was naked, and covered himself with his hands so she would no longer feel embarrassed to be around him and would look at him.
As predicted, her eyes lifted to meet his and relief swept through him, chasing away his fears. She was with him. Safe. Well. Unharmed.
But also partially undressed.
Her top was gone, leaving her in only the black garment over her breasts and her trousers.
He looked back down at himself as he recalled seeing black on him and frowned at the bandage around his waist. She had tended to him and had sacrificed her top for his sake, using it to bind his deepest wound.
It touched him. So did the fact that she had taken care of him and she hadn’t left him.
“Was it a vision?” she said again.
He nodded.
“Of me?” she whispered, the warmth in her eyes faltering and a trickle of fear showing in them.
He didn’t respond to that question. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her about them because he didn’t want to frighten her. He had thought the visions would end after he had removed her from the battlefield, but they had only changed. He still kept seeing her dying, but he couldn’t make out who killed her. The visions were always fuzzy and disjointed and they tormented him.
The sequence of events between Ren and Anais in the village had been nothing more than a nightmare, but it had paved the way for the vision that had come afterwards.
A vision that had her dying in his own cave.
Who was destined to kill her? It was a dragon. He knew that much now. Perhaps she would be safer away from this place, but he couldn’t bring himself to part from her and he would have to if she returned to her world.
“You screamed my name, Loke.”
He looked away from her and drew in a deep breath, seeking a sense of calm even when he felt sure he would never feel that way again, not until he had figured out what the visions meant and put an end to them.
Not until Anais was safe.
“Loke?” she murmured softly.
He closed his eyes, heaved a sigh, and then lifted his gaze to meet hers. Her blue eyes challenged him, demanding he tell her what he had seen in his vision. He didn’t want to hurt her, so he held his tongue and stared at her instead, giving himself a moment to absorb that she was safe and with him. It wasn’t enough.
He needed to feel her. Only then would he be able to believe that she was with him and she was safe again.
That need was a force he couldn’t fight. It was too powerful to deny.
He reached out and snagged her wrist, and she gasped as he pulled her into his arms and banded them around her. She tilted her head back and looked up at him, her hands pressing against his bare chest. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, and a different need filled him.
A fiercer one that ruled him.
He needed to kiss her, and he didn’t care if she struck him for it.
He just needed her.