I wrap myself in a heavy cloak and hide the book in its folds. Quietly, I ease the door open and peek into the hall. It’s empty. I hurry down the halls to the doors leading into the gardens. There’s a candle in my pocket, along with a bundle of matches. The gardens are always empty at night. If I find a quiet corner to read, no one will find me until morning. Smiling softly, I walk purposefully through the hedge maze towards the overgrown trees near the back wall of the palace.
The trees are thick, their branches long and gnarled. They’re bowed over with the weight of the leaves and fruit they bear, a clear marker that this part of the gardens will give me the solitude I seek. I duck beneath one of the overgrown branches and weave between the tall trunks until I find a bench covered in ivy and moss.
I sit, and light the candle I brought with me. Its yellow light flickers merrily in the small clearing, lighting up the trunks and foliage the protect me from sight. It’s like a cave of green and living things. I perch the candle on the edge of the bench and open the cover of the Bloodbane book. A soft wind blows through my sanctuary, rustling the pages.
“Hello, Verity,” Dain says.
I gasp, glancing up sharply for the source of his voice. I see him then, melting out of the shadows. He smiles, his eyes glimmering in the candlelight. “Dain,” I sigh. “You scared me.”
His smile broadens. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing out here?” I ask suspiciously.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he says, draping himself over the bench beside me. “I wanted to see you.”
“You followed me,” I say flatly.
Dain drops his gaze, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I saw you leave the castle. Two days without seeing you feels like eternity.”
My heart pounds loudly at his words. “For a Fae, that sounds like torture.”
“It is,” he murmurs. “Forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” I shrug and turn back to the book. “Have you ever read this?” I ask, stroking the pages.
“Many times,” he says. He loops an arm over the back of the bench, almost around my shoulders. “Shall we read it together?”
I nod breathlessly and shift the book closer to him. But Dain stops me, instead closing the distance between us. My hip and thigh are pressed against his, his arm holding me close. I can hardly breathe as he drops his head to my shoulder and nuzzles me. My body feels as if its on fire, electrified by a hundred volts. It’s been too long since I felt this sort of attraction, the kind that instantly sets my blood pumping and my body aching. I sag into him unconsciously, sighing.
Silently, our eyes rove the pages, drinking in the words as one. As the hours pass, I catch myself leaning over the books as if I’m going to dive into it. Dain always draws me back with a soft stroke of his hands on my back. He’s so gentle, so thoughtful. I lean into him, letting my eyes drift away from the text.
His hand strokes my arm and I turn towards him, feeling light-headed. “How do you find the book?” Dain asks, his voice soft and melodic. “Is it answering your questions?”
On the contrary, it’s giving me more. I keep reading different spells and rituals, different beliefs of the Bloodbane. But I don’t know how any of it relates to me. I don’t know how to find myself in it, except that it feels right. I shake my head. “The more I read it, the more different I feel; as if I’m not myself anymore,” I confess. “The more I learn, the more distant I grow from Altair.”
“Why does that matter?” He asks in dulcet tones. His hand cups my cheek.
Why does it matter? My mind is foggy, filled with sparks and urges and desires that all lead to Dain. “I don’t know,” I breathe, my eyes locked on his.
Dain smiles softly, gently. And then his full lips are on mine. The kiss isn’t gentle, the way I imagined it would be. Dain kisses me hard, his lips commanding me to surrender to him. He bites me roughly, pain lancing through me. But the pain sends a thrill of excitement through me. I rake my fingers through his dark hair, tangling them in it in a desperate attempt to get closer to him. I want to give myself to him, every cell in my body craves it. But there’s a tickling reminder in the back of my mind that I belong to another man.
So, I crawl into his lap, straddling his hips, but I don’t let him tear my silk dress away like I want him to. Dain’s hands grip my hips, moving me against him. I feel him stiffen, feel his body shudder when I roll my heat over him. Dain growls, a predatory, otherworldly sound that sends fear coursing through my veins with the pleasure. He trails his lips down my neck, sucking and licking and biting at me like a man possessed.
I gasp, pleasure flooding through me as he laps at a bite mark he left on me. My hands clench around his shoulders, back arching. His lips move down the neckline of the dress and he nips at my collarbone. I open my eyes, lips parted as a silent keen escapes me. I wonder briefly if Dain will leave bitemarks over my entire body. He looks up at me and for an instant I coil away from him in fear. His eyes look completely black in the dim light; his lips twisted into a gruesome smile.
I blink, and the frightening image falls away; it’s just Dain. But then his hands are roving
