Urian stared at the human in front of him. His eyes were glazed from the spell Apollymi had taught them to use to drain a human down to a dangerous level where they hovered close to death. “Do you surrender to me?”
He nodded as his head lolled back.
Forcing his head up, Urian slapped him to an alert state. “Focus … I want your soul. Will you give it to me?”
“Aye,” he breathed.
Urian sank his fangs into the man’s throat and ripped out his jugular. He’d feel bad, but for the fact that it was better he should die than Urian. And as he drank, he felt the man’s fear. That was the worst part about feeding on humanity.
Their emotions tangled together. They shared their memories.
It was why a lot of Daimons didn’t like to prey on criminals even though they were a lot more powerful than the others, as a rule. What he did took a lot of control and discipline. Because of their corrupt souls and inhumanity, they could easily poison him, too. He could slide right into their cruelty.
If he were weak.
But while he had to do this to survive, he wasn’t the same breed of animal they were. This was forced on him. It wasn’t a choice.
Big difference.
Urian pulled back as he felt the man’s death rattle. He held him against his chest as he waited for that critical moment. Pinching the man’s nose, he tightened his grip on his chest and began to hum the summoning spell.
It was a tricky thing to lure a soul. Trickier still to absorb one into his body. When he’d first started doing this, he’d had several escape because he hadn’t been able to detect that moment when they left the human body. Now, his sight was well honed.
He could even smell them.
Like now. Urian sucked his breath in as the soul rushed toward him and slammed into his body, merging with his physical being. The shock of it was always exhilarating.
Shaking and light-headed, he let go so that the man’s body could slide to the street.
Where am I? What happened? Hello!
Urian flinched at the shouting in his skull. Rubbing at his forehead, he sighed heavily. That, he hated. It was like a migraine that had a baby run over by an elephant that had been struck by a hurricane in the middle of a volcano erupting.
And he wished he were exaggerating.
All of a sudden, someone brushed their hand through his hair. He tensed and started to strike until the scent of the woman hit his nostrils.
Urian relaxed instantly. “Xyn.” Her name left his lips like a prayer.
“I would ask about the body at your feet, but the blood on your lips gives me a pretty good idea.”
Opening his eyes, he wiped away the blood with his knuckle as he met her beautiful gaze. Until he saw the bruises and scratches on her forehead and cheek. Anger cut through him. “What of you?”
“War.”
His gaze darkened.
She cupped his face in her soft hands and rose up on her tiptoes to place a gentle kiss to his lips. “Calm down, my angry Daimon. I’m fine. In battle you tend to get knocked about.”
“Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“I know.” She nipped at his bottom lip. “How are you?”
At the moment?
“Hungry.” But not for blood. He was starving for something a little more exotic …
Urian pulled her closer to savor her curves against his body, though to be honest, he’d rather they were both naked and not covered in armor.
She curled her arm around his neck and held him tight as he pressed her against the wall. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw you. What are you doing here?”
“Came out to feed. You?”
“Someone stole my brother’s egg.”
“Egg?” Urian was aghast that anyone would dare go after a dragon’s child.
“Not what you’re thinking.” She teased. “It’s something we use to heal with.”
“Ah.”
Xyn gasped as she felt Urian’s hand sliding down inside her armor so that his fingers could delve deep into her body. Her heart began to pound. “What are you doing?”
“I think you know.”
She glanced around the deserted alley. “We’re in public!”
“Then you’d best take me somewhere private. I fear I’m a bit soul-drunk and between that and the smell of you, I’m rather feral at the moment.”
Indeed. She’d never seen him like this before. There was an edge to him that wasn’t normally there. While she’d always known he was lethal, this was different. He was …
She didn’t know how to describe it.
Using her powers, she teleported them to her bower. Urian shrank back with a hiss.
“Nay! It’s all right!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward the light. “It’s not the sun. The brightness is from fey fire.”
His breathing ragged, he still appeared terrified from it. He had the wildest look in his eyes.
“Shh,” she reassured him, stroking his back.
Urian stared up at the brightest light he’d ever seen in his life. It was unlike anything imaginable. How could that not be sunlight?
Squinting, he stared up at it.
Xyn smiled. “See, you’re not bursting into flames.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve got immunity.”
“True.” She nuzzled at his neck while she stripped him to the waist.
Urian could barely breathe while her hands worked their magick on his body. Gods, how he’d missed her.
“Lean your head forward.”
His mind was dulled by his rampant lust and the blood he’d drunk along with the new soul. He obliged her without question. She brushed her hands through his hair and gently massaged his scalp. It felt so good that he had to grind his teeth to keep from moaning aloud.
Her fingers slid around the contours of his skull, tugging ever so gently on his hair, stroking and teasing until the pleasure was almost blinding with its intensity.
Then she moved her hands lower to his neck and shoulders. His abdomen. In that moment, he swore his body became liquid. “What are you doing to me?” he asked, his voice thick.
Xyn kneaded her fingers into his rigid muscles, easing them. “Making you mine.”
“I was already yours,” he breathed as her hands pleasured him all the more. Her touch was forceful yet so tender that it caused no pain, only joy.
“Come and lie down on my bed.” Xyn pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at how quickly he complied.
He moved so fast that but for the fact he didn’t know where her room was, he’d have beaten her to it. As it was, she had to rush to get in front of him to lead the way to where her large round bed was set in the center of an oversized bower. White silk was draped from the ceiling, shielding the bed from drafts.
Tossing away pieces of armor as he neared it, Urian lay down dutifully as if he craved her touch like a starving man at a banquet.
She laughed as she crawled up beside him and rested on her knees. “Put your hands under your head.” She sat forward so that she could gently knead the muscles of his scarred back. How she hated to see how many more scars had been added since the last time they’d been together. That was always the worst part about their absences.
Cataloguing his injuries. Seeing the additional pain in his eyes that seemed to worsen. While he didn’t physically age, the mental toll was ever evident in those beautiful baby blues that seemed to turn a bit duller as the years went by. And that made her ache for him. Every time she saw him, she wanted to ask how many of his friends and family had been lost while they’d been apart, but she didn’t dare.
For one thing, she didn’t want that pain in her heart, and for another, she didn’t want to pick at his own festering wounds that haunted him.
So she pushed those thoughts aside and savored the fact that he was still here with her this year. For now, he was safe and they were together. That was all that mattered.
Urian let out a deep breath as utter ecstasy washed over him and her tender hands eased his sore, strained muscles, soothing him in a way nothing ever had before. There was truly no one else like his precious dragon.
It was why he loved her so. Why he wanted to stay with her.
If only he could …
But the pain of his past and the difference in their worlds would never allow it. He still hadn’t found all of Apollo’s other bloodline. The curse remained.
And yet something about Sarraxyn completely erased the pain of his past. Just looking into her eyes was enough to make him feel better.
Until he had to leave her. Every time he left her side, he was terrified he’d never see her again. Because he knew that everyone, even dragons, died. He’d lived the whole of his life stalked by Hades and his minions, and he never wanted to lose another person who meant anything to him.
It hurt too much.
The thought of losing her gutted him.
Xyn felt him tensing. “Shh, Urian,” she whispered in his ear, moving her hands back to his head, to stroke his scalp and temple. “Put your ill thoughts aside and think of nothing but happiness while I’m with you.”
That was certainly easy enough to do. She even began humming in an effort to help him.
Grateful to be with her tonight, Urian closed his eyes as her gentle voice soothed him as much as her hands did. He felt so incredibly calm. Peaceful. At no time in his life had he ever experienced anything close to this.
It was perfection.
And he owed it all to his beautiful dragon who made his entire body burn with nothing more than a sweet, shy smile.
Xyn kissed his back as all the tension left him. She gently dug her thumbs under his shoulder blades, then moved her hands down his spine until she reached the small of his back.
She traced one of the scars there. One of them was deep and angry as it ran from his hip down across his left buttock. She wasn’t sure if it had been caused by a sword or some other injury. Either way, the wound must have been excruciating when he received it.
So much pain …
Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and placed her lips to that spot. Urian hissed in pleasure, but he didn’t pull away from her or try to roll over.
Encouraged by that, she slowly trailed her lips up his spine to his muscled shoulders. Even with all the scars over his caramel flesh, his back was perfect to her. Beautiful. And she wanted to taste every inch of him. To lick him from head to toe until he begged her for mercy.
Urian felt himself growing hard as she gently laved the scars on his skin. It was strange to feel so much pleasure over something that had given him so much pain. But then that was his dragon lady. It was what she excelled at.
Making his agony vanish.
Rolling over, he caught her before she pulled away. He cupped her face in his hand, then brought her near up to his lips to kiss her. He could taste the desire on her lips, feel the heat of her body.
And he wanted more.
Every day they had been apart had been pure torture. Being so close to her now and not inside her already …
His resistance melted under the onslaught of her presence. He was too tired to fight, too weary to deny himself her comfort. Whether he liked it or not, he needed her touch. She was the air he breathed.
The heartbeat he needed to survive.
Xyn closed her eyes and let the masculine scent and feel of Urian wash over her. He tasted of decadence and power. Of lethal masculinity. His kiss was fierce and passionate, filled with promise.
Love me, Urian. Hold me tonight and never let me go!
The words were a prayer deep in her soul. He was all she’d ever wanted in her life. How strange to have every comfort and luxury her position as a dragon could afford her and to still want the dream of her golden Daimon champion.
Even though he was the son of an evil demon, he was also the symbol of all things good to her. For he was love. Nobility. Honor. Passion. She couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.
Not like this.
She trembled as he left her lips to trail his kisses down her throat to her neck. His hot hand cupped her breast, spreading chills over her. His grip tightening, he pulled her beneath him so that his weight was pleasant yet crushing.
His caresses weren’t slow and playful as they normally were. Tonight he was bold and hungry, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. As if he wanted to touch every part of her body at once.
And she was every bit as hungry for him. Her body thrummed with fervent need that was stoked by his own urgency.
To her utter shock, his eyes flashed a vibrant red before he used his powers to strip her clothes from her body so that the lower half of her body lay bare to him.
“What have you done to me, my lady dragon?” Urian whispered in her ear before he licked her lobe and sent white-hot chills exploding through her. “I crave you more than I’ve ever craved anything.”
“Show me how much you crave me, Urian,” she said, her voice thick and deep from her own wanton passion. “I want to feel you inside me.”
Urian’s cock jerked at her brazen words. And then it grew even more as her hand slid down between their bodies to cup him in her palm. He rubbed himself against her touch, delighting in the coolness of her skin on his fevered flesh.
“How do I feel inside you?” He was desperate to hear her describe it.
Her smile turned wicked as her eyes flashed. “Full and warm. It’s as if I can feel the tip of you all the way to my navel.”
He growled as she cupped him and gave a light squeeze. Hissing, he rolled over until she was on top of him. “Show me what you like, my dragon. Our passion is in your hands.”
Urian held his breath as she sat up on her haunches and surveyed his body. She trailed a blinding circle around his nipple before she spread her thighs and straddled his body.
His heart thundering, he reached to touch the part of her that was now opened for his delight. He watched the ecstasy on her face as he gently stroked her with his thumb until she was thoroughly wet for him.
Wanting and needing more, he lifted her up slightly and buried himself deep inside her body.
Xyn gave a small cry at the perfect feel of her Daimon. He lifted his hips, driving himself even deeper into her. He held her hips as she rode him slow and easy. It was glorious.
His beautiful eyes were hooded and warm as he watched her. “That’s it, love. Have your way with me.”
She smiled as she quickened her strokes. Urian arched his back as complete pleasure glowed in those magical eyes. He sat up beneath her to ravish her mouth so thoroughly that it actually made her dizzy. She loved the sensation of his breath mingled with hers, of his tongue darting through her mouth in time to her strokes. Xyn ran her hand down his muscled arm as it began to glow, delighting in the steely feel of it.
Urian laid his head against her shoulder as he watched her body giving pleasure to his. Her sleek wetness was a haven to him as tenderness for her exploded through him.
For the first time ever, he regretted being sterile. He would love nothing more than to have children with Xyn. To be normal for her.
That was his one true regret.
If he could have one wish in life, it would be to have met her as another dragon or even a simple human. Anything other than the monster he was. To be whatever hero she would accept and to be whole for her.
All he wanted was to possess her with a ferocity that wouldn’t be denied.
Their bodies still entwined, he lifted her up until he could lay her back against the mattress so that he could take control of their union. Dear gods, he needed this woman more than he needed breath to live. He was no longer in the mood to be easy and playful.
The demon inside him was in control now and it wanted only to possess her. To bury himself in her over and over again until he was at last sated and content.
Xyn bit her lip as Urian rode her fast and hard. His strokes echoed through her, sending pleasurable tremors the length and breadth of her body.
Her head spun as she came in his arms.
He bared his fangs as he smiled and gently cupped her face before he kissed her in satisfaction. Then Urian nibbled her mouth as he drove her climax on. She dug her nails into his shoulder as his name was torn from her lips.
Two heartbeats later, he joined her there in that moment of perfect bliss.
When his body was finally drained and sated, he collapsed on top of her, panting hard in her ear. He laid his head against her breast so that he could hear her heartbeat pounding beneath his cheek.
She played lightly with his damp, long, white-blond hair while she cradled his body with hers.
Neither of them spoke in the still quietness of her secluded home. Urian merely let her touch soothe him until he fell asleep, skin to skin, his body still resting inside hers.
Xyn kissed his brow as she felt him relax fully against her as he fell asleep in her arms. Never before had he done such a thing. It was the most blissful moment of her life as she realized the trust it’d taken for her Daimon to do such a thing.
And Urian trusted no one like that. It just wasn’t in him. Cradling his body, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like to have a normal life with her Daimon. One where they could live together as husband and wife.
Perhaps it was a stupid dream. But it was the only one she had.
Her brothers would laugh at her if they knew she had it. Dragons weren’t supposed to think of such things. They were born to be solitary. They weren’t supposed to have lovers or to crave spouses. This was a most unnatural thing.
Yet she couldn’t help what she felt.
Urian was her heart.
And they could never be together.
Urian came awake to the scent of his precious dragon on his skin. Even before he opened his eyes, he felt her hand in his hair, her thigh resting between his. Her buttocks pressed against his loins.
It fired his lust immediately. Still groggy from his sleep, his only thought was to feel even more of her warm, supple body.
Xyn awoke to the sensation of Urian deep and hard inside her. Gasping, she realized that he had one of her legs bent up as he entered her from behind and thrust against her hips.
“Good morning,” he whispered against her ear before he tenderly kissed her cheek.
She drew her breath in sharply as he went particularly deep inside her. “Morning, Daimon. It appears you’ve made yourself at home.”
“You want me to leave?”
Hissing sharply, she pulled his hand down to the center of her body. “Hardly,” she said breathlessly as she met his deep strokes. “But I do expect you to please me.”
His laughter warmed her as he took care to tenderly stroke her in time to his thrusts. He dipped his head so that he could run his tongue around her ear. Xyn shook from the force of the chills that went through her.
Urian inhaled the scent of his dragon as he reached up to smooth her vibrant red hair. In that moment, he never wanted to leave her body or her side.
He wrapped his arms around her and let her feminine scent wash over him as he thrust himself in and out of her body until he felt her spasm. She cried out and dug her nails into his glowing arm.
His breathing ragged, Urian quickened his strokes until he happily joined her. He ground his teeth as his own orgasm swept through him and he growled deep in his throat. The force of it left him weak and sated, and at the same time he was invigorated.
Closing his eyes, he lay entwined with her, never wanting to leave. This was his Katateros. His heaven.
If only he could he stay.
Urian!
He jumped as he heard his father’s summons.
Xyn turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“My father’s calling for me.”
The disappointment in her eyes stung him.
“Sorry.”
“It’s all right. I know I can’t keep you.”
Rolling her over, he laid himself over her and held her close. “You know I don’t want to leave.”
“I know.”
Urian! Where are you!
“Still calling?”
Urian nodded.
“You’d best go, then.”
“Take care, my love.”
She kissed him. “And you.”
His stomach tight, Urian nodded as he got up and dressed. He returned for one last, lingering kiss before he teleported back to Kalosis.
The moment he landed in the great hall, he found his father on his throne, surrounded by Daimons. The dire look on his face would have chilled anyone, but something sinister had happened.
“Where have you been!”
“I went out for a psuché.” The psuché or psuché-sullambano was what they called the act of seeking a human soul. It was very different from the ichoraima, which was the act of feeding on Apollite blood. “Why? What’s happened?”
“Jason, Abiron, and Melissa were all killed last night.”
That news hit him like a crippling blow. Archie and Hagne must be reeling. That was three of their four children. “How?”
“A Dark-Hunter.”
Urian couldn’t breathe. The pain was so great and so overwhelming it was if his body and mind couldn’t react, so it shut down. He just stood there, stunned. Trying to process the fact that in one fell swoop, Archie had lost the majority of his children.
I have to go to him.
Urian teleported to his brother’s home. Without knocking, he opened the door to find the house strangely empty. He used his powers to sense where they might be. As he neared the bedroom, he found his brothers and sisters-in-law comforting Hagne, who was in bed, curled in a ball, unable to cope with her loss. She was completely catatonic.
Archie was nowhere to be seen.
Terrified of what that meant, Urian went to find him. For a few minutes, there was no sign of his brother anywhere.
Not until he had a peculiar thought. Acting on instinct, Urian went to the small garden where the kids used to play.
Sure enough, he found Archie sitting alone, underneath the tree where Abiron had carved his name. As he drew closer, he realized that his brother held one of Melissa’s dolls in his trembling hands.
“Archie?”
He didn’t speak.
Urian knelt by his side and placed his arm around his shoulders.
Then his huge brute of a brother looked up at him and burst into tears. Clinging to him, he sobbed in a way Urian had never heard him do before. Not when they’d lost their mother. Or their sister or brother. Never once had anything broken the mighty Archimedes.
Until today.
“I’m so sorry.”
Archie tightened his hold on Urian. “I should have been with them. Why wasn’t I there? How could I have let them go alone? I was their father, Uri. It was my job to protect them.”
“Shh, Archie, you didn’t know.”
“I left them alone …”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Nay, but I did. I left them to fend for themselves when I shouldn’t have. I should have been there!”
Suddenly, Urian felt a powerful grip in his hair. Looking up, he saw his father. Without a word, he pulled Urian back and then cradled Archie in his arms to rock him. Then with his other arm, he pulled Urian against his chest to hold him like he’d done when they were boys.
His hold was brutal and crushing, and yet it was strangely comforting.
“We won’t be broken. Not by this. The gods can try, but we are stronger than they know. And we are mighty. Do you hear me, my sons?”
He wiped at the tears on Urian’s face and then Archie’s. “Look at me, both of you.” He waited until they complied. “We will rise up and strike back. We are not the only ones to lose in this and we will not allow them to take it all from us. Not without a fight. Blood for blood. Life for life. We all have a choice. You either cave to the blows of your enemies …”
“Or you mount their heads to the wall,” Urian finished for him.
His father nodded. “Thánatago.” Deathbringer.
And after this, he would forge his own Thánati. A team of Spathi to hunt and prey on their predators. If the gods and Dark-Hunters wanted a war, Urian was willing to bring it to them.