Eternity of Darkness (Divisa Huntress Book 3) Read online

  Or a sleeping Ashor…

  I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew there was this invisible thread between Ashor and me. I could sense it, humming from me to him and him to me. What would happen if I followed that thread? How far would it take me?

  So I did. But the thread turned out to be a maze. Navigating through our bond became a puzzle in itself. How did I get to his mind?

  I actually had no idea how I managed to get there, but I knew the second I hit a roadblock and the thread just stopped that I’d reached his mental shield.

  Now what?

  Imagining I had a mental finger, I poked at the shield, giving it a little nudge. I didn’t know what I’d expected, maybe for the shield to just shatter or crack open. But why? Because I was his mate knocking on his mental wards?

  It was no surprise when nothing happened. So how exactly did one infiltrate another’s mind?

  Darkness, something whispered in my ear, followed by invisible, icy feet tapping down my spine.

  I shivered.

  I should have been concerned about where the voice came from, but I had a good idea—my demon’s attempt at giving me a hint. Or maybe it was the darkness itself murmuring inside me. Either way, I needed to be cautious.

  Should I really be summoning that bead of power Ashor had given me when we became soulbound? There was still so much I didn’t understand about having magic.

  Fuck it.

  The one way I would ever master this part of me was by using it, whether it frightened me or not. I was a damn tough chick. I hunted demons, for God's sake. Had more blood on my hands than most serial killers. It was black demon blood, but tomato-tomahto.

  This time, I summoned that kernel of darkness, letting the shadowy magic trickle along the thread until it reached Ashor’s shield. I envisioned the protective barrier my mate fabricated around his mind like a lock and my power the key. All I had to do was turn the—

  “What are you doing, luv?” he purred inside my head.

  I jumped, my eyes snapping open as my heart soared in my chest. His eyes were still closed, looking peacefully asleep, except for the hint of a smirk I caught on his lips.

  “Bastard,” I sent back.

  His chuckle rumbled through our bond. “If you wanted to play, you should have just woken me up. I’m always ready for a rumble with you.”

  Relaxing back against his firm body, I thought about poking him in the center of his head for real, with my actual finger. “I’ll find a way to break your walls, princeling.”

  The fact that he could remain so still and looked fast asleep while having a conversation with me in his head was either impressive or psychotic. “I’m sure you will, luv. But not tonight.”

  5

  If I thought Ashor in the evening was a sight to behold, I was at a loss for words at seeing my mate in the morning. Waking up beside him with beams of sunlight warming the side of his face fluttered my heart. He was an early riser, always before the ass crack of dawn, leaving me alone. Having him still in bed was a treat I couldn’t resist.

  I took my fill of him under a stream of sunlight that just began to peek through a crack in the window curtains. It highlighted his cheekbone, leaving the other half of his face bathed in shadows. Both somehow fit him. He’d always be the Prince of Darkness to me, but I started to see this other side of him—the part that was a king.

  It didn’t matter which crown he wore. Nothing could dull the attractiveness of his features.

  Why did he have to be so damned good-looking? Or maybe I just found him so much more alluring because he was my mate.

  Mine, the demon within me purred.

  Yes he is, I agreed.

  Mine for the taking.

  I had every intention of letting him sleep while I enjoyed the view. It was a rare moment for me to see him so peaceful, and I should appreciate it because our lives were about to get crazier. However, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from leaning toward him. I scraped my teeth over his earlobe before pressing a soft kiss against his neck. The vein there pulsed at my touch. Once again, that overwhelming urge to bite him fell over me.

  Tongue darting out, I licked the beating vein and felt it quicken. My lips curved. I knew it wasn’t possible, but I longed to stay in bed all day, forget about what waited outside this room, and just explore my mate’s body. How could someone make me so aggravated and happy in the same breath?

  Tracing over the lines of his demon marks had become my favorite pastime. The ones that trailed at the base of his neck and shoulder captured my attention.

  His eyes slowly opened, and my breath caught at the glaze of violet. “Don’t tell me this is what I’ve been missing in the morning,” he rasped, voice thick with sleep as gentle fingers tangled in my messy hair.

  For a moment, words eluded me, mesmerized by the hue of his eyes. “I’m better than breakfast in bed,” I finally replied, finding both my voice and wit.

  He turned his head to the side toward me, lips brushing against my ear. “Hmm. I’ll need a taste first before I can agree.” His wintery breath cooled the flush of my skin only for it to blaze once more as he took a nip of my neck. His teeth were just firm enough to cause both pleasure and pain but not pierce the skin, but oh damn, did I want him to.

  My neck arched into his canines, pressing them farther into my flesh as I slid my hand into his hair, just in case he got any ideas of pulling away. A moan slipped past my lips when I felt the tiny sting, and the scent of my blood drifted to my nostrils. Molten heat flooded inside me.

  “Harlot.” He chuckled, licking up the drops of blood that beaded from his teeth marks.

  My breasts tightened under the borrowed T-shirt I’d slipped on last night. I wore nothing else, and he knew it.

  “I was right though,” I said, full of feline pride, feeling very much like the harlot he teased me to be, and some part of me knew it was my succubus heritage that propelled me to act in such a manner. I reveled in having power over such a compelling male.

  “Maybe.” He flipped me over on my back, covering half of me with the hard length of his body. Propping the side of his head on a closed hand, he gazed down at me with hunger swimming in his eyes. Through the cotton material of my shirt, his finger circled around my nipple, causing the little bud to pucker. “Is this what you want?”

  “I want an eternity of mornings with you,” I whimpered.

  He rolled the sensitive nipple between his fingers, playing with me like a cat might taunt its prey. “An eternity is a long time, luv.”

  My back bowed off the bed, my toes curling as he ran the nail of his pinky down the center of my chest to my lower belly, my muscles quivering. “Are you saying you’ll get bored of me?” I didn’t know how I even found my voice to speak. A miracle in itself. I rubbed my thighs together, desperate for any relief from the burning that ached between my legs. There was only one way the need could be sedated. I was at the mercy of my mate. How quickly he could turn my seduction into his.

  With a dip of his head, he lightly brushed his lips over mine, deliberately avoiding the full possession I sought. “As if that could ever happen. Perhaps you’ll hate your life with me,” he said huskily, telling me he was just as affected by his movements as I was.

  The fingers snared in his hair tightened as my eyes captured his. I wanted him to look at me as I said this. “We don’t know what that will look like, not yet. But it doesn’t matter where we are as long as you’re with me.”

  He gave me a smile that was all smug male. “So you’re saying you can’t live without me?”

  “Don’t let it go to your head,” I murmured before covering his lips with mine in a kiss that shook the underworld. Well, at least my world.

  I dipped my hand under the covers, and Ashor growled against my mouth at the feel of my fingers wrapping around him. I squeezed gently, and the blood rushed to that particular part of his body.

  “I’m fully committed to eternity.” His thumb grazed the aching spot between my legs
that begged for his attention.

  I bit my lip, my hand stroking down the length of him. “Is that so?” I slanted my mouth over his in another heart-dropping kiss. I could do this forever. Tease him. Kiss him. Touch him. But other parts of me were rushed, imploring relief, needing the sweet torment to end.

  His thumb flicked the sensitive spot of my center, drawing a purr of pleasure from my throat. I moved my hands to his lower spine, nails digging into flesh as I pulled him farther on top of me until his full body sank onto mine.

  I couldn’t endure the waiting any longer, and thankfully neither could he. Ashor filled me in one quick thrust that had every molecule in me humming. He trembled as he held himself above me, the muscles in his arms flexing.

  My skin flushed, and I trembled with desire at the first stroke as he began to move inside me. With each thrust, my hips met his, rolling and clenching against that part of him within me. I never thought it was possible to die from pleasure, but God help me, Ashor made me believe it was possible. And it wouldn’t be a bad way to go.

  The lower muscles in my belly tightened as I chased not just my pleasure but to offer it as well. Pressure built, climbing and climbing as Ashor moved faster and deeper. The fingers on my ass gripped tighter. The only sounds in the room were our bodies and the moan that escaped through my lips. My teeth found the side of his neck and sank in just as his hand slipped between our bodies and rubbed the sensitive nub with the pad of his thumb.

  I lost it.

  The release whipped through me, shattering me in the best way possible. I bit down harder on his neck, muffling the cries created by all those sensations rocking through me. He followed me over the edge a moment later, the muscles in his back bunching and rolling as he emptied himself into me.

  His forehead pressed to mine, and we stayed there, joined together, neither of us moving. I didn’t know how long we lay wrapped up in each other, but it was time we needed.

  “How can you destroy me every time?” I panted, my brow beaded with sweat, my arms falling to the bed. Once my brain started to function again, I threaded my fingers through his hair.

  He touched my jaw, a lazy smirk on his lips. “I’m gifted.”

  The rumpled sheets were in a disarray around us, and I lay languid in the middle of the bed, content to never move again. A snort breezed through my nose, but then I had a sobering realization. “God, you might actually be right.”

  Ashor lifted his head, peering down at me with a satisfying twist of his mouth. “God has nothing to do with it. I’m the King of Envy.” And he was damn happy with himself, which I found cute.

  “Perhaps I've been looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps you being king is a good thing,” I said mischievously.

  He brushed his lips against mine. “Are you ready to return home, luv?” he whispered.

  I blew out a breath, a strand of hair flying off the corner of my mouth. “I’m not sure I can move after that.”

  His chuckle was cut off by knuckles rapping against the door. My eyes collided with Ashor’s beneath a questioning lift of my brow. “It’s Apollo letting us know it’s time to go.”

  “A quick visit, right?” I confirmed, needing to be sure we were clear about what this trip meant.

  He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and looking over his shoulder at me. “We’ll be in and out within a day. I promise.”

  The sheets were strewn in clutter around me, and I attempted to untangle my legs. “And my family will be protected,” I reaffirmed.

  Ashor nodded, the tattoos on his back shifting as he bent to pick up a shirt. “You have my word as your mate.”

  I couldn’t deny that I felt a certain excitement and thrill at going home. I missed my family. My bedroom. My old life.

  Scooting toward the edge of the bed, I laid my cheek against the broad space between his shoulder blades. “Then I’m ready.”

  Ashor dressed quickly, leaving me with Apollo and Draven, who waited outside. I made quick use of the bathroom and slapped on comfortable riding clothes. We would be taking Treachery and another Hellmount for me. This would be the first time I’d be riding one solo. I should have asked for a lesson first. It had been a while since I had gone horseback riding, and a snippet of trepidation danced in my belly. I could always ride with Ashor, but it would be faster for the Hellmounts if we rode separately.

  According to Ashor, the Hellmount picked the rider, so the Gardeness stables would be our first stop this morning.

  Securing my hair into a ponytail, I exited the bedroom into the suite’s living quarters. Ashor, Apollo, and Draven sat at the round table. Their low voices stopped as I emerged, leading me to believe they had been discussing one of the things Ashor continued to hide from me.

  I narrowed my gaze at my mate. “More secret meetings?” I asked, eyeing the trio.

  Ashor’s lips tilted into a faint smile. “Just court updates on security,” he replied breezily.

  Moving across the room, I went to stand beside Ashor’s chair, snatching a fresh strawberry from a basket of fruit. “Has there been any unusual activity?” I asked, taking a bite of the berry.

  Ashor watched me, a flicker of mischief glinting in his eyes. “Not yet.” At the same time, he sent “Wicked little demon” purring down our bond.

  My cheeks warmed, but I pretended not to hear his suggestive comment. “Yet you anticipate there to be trouble.”

  “You can always expect a traitor or two in the midst,” Draven replied in what almost sounded like a warning—an ominous one.

  “The only way we win is to tear them apart from the inside,” Ashor added.

  I angled my head to the side, chewing the remaining bite of strawberry. A fleeting idea crossed my mind, but I let it quickly pass before Ashor picked up on it. “And just how do we plan to do that?”

  He plucked a grape from a silver bowl sitting at the center of the table. “I’m working out the details.”

  “Ashor,” I groaned.

  “Don’t stress, luv. It will come to me. The best ideas always do.” The calmness in his features worried me. How could someone be so collected and chill with a war on the horizon? I saw no fear or distress in his eyes.

  Snorting, I rolled my eyes. I was literally born stressed. “You know, we could use the information we received yesterday from the Uldrai.”

  Intrigue tinged Ashor’s gaze. “How so?”

  I sucked on my bottom lip, knowing if I uttered the idea that rolled around in my head, Ashor would lose his shit. Bracing myself for a storm to be unleashed, I gripped the sides of the table. Apollo and Draven both noticed the movement and drew their brows together. “Let her take me,” I said simply, keeping my voice neutral, as if the idea didn’t turn my blood cold or make me want to puke up my insides. But from a battle perspective, a man on the inside was key.

  I could be that man—or woman, in this case—if Ashor let me. It was a slim chance, so slim it almost didn’t exist, but if I could make him see how vital I could be in this war…

  Ashor blinked, and in that split second, his eyes morphed from violet to pure gold. “What did you say?”

  Everyone at the table had the look of ohhh, you fucked up now.

  “I believe she suggested that you use her as a spy,” Apollo answered for me, because my tongue had turned to sandpaper.

  “No.” His voice wasn’t loud. In fact, it was eerily quiet, but the impact in that single word rattled the room. Despite it being morning, all the light dimmed as if Ashor had sucked it away with his response.

  If he thought to intimidate me with a little display of power, he was sadly mistaken. “Don’t be an unreasonable prick. Just think about it. Not the mated male side of you but the cunning demon.”

  The other two demons at the table shifted in their seats, looking anywhere other than at Ashor and me.

  His eyes were hard, unyielding, and it was clear that nothing I could say would change his mind. “We need to go.”

  And just like that,
the discussion came to a screeching halt. I’d managed to piss off my mate, and it wasn’t even noon yet. This wasn’t how I wanted our trip to the mortal world to kick off, but it was too late for me to take back the words now.

  He was lucky we were seeing my family today or I would have pressed him on the matter. For now, I’d wait until we safely returned, hopefully with some good news waiting. Beck and Erlik should be back by then with word from the other kings.

  The stables were on the west side of the kingdom in between two guard towers. The kingdoms of the underworld had a very archaic facet, the ones I’d seen at least.

  Ashor hadn’t spoken a single word to me on the way to the stables, and I couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you going to stay mad the entire day?” I asked in my head, knowing he would hear me. Ashor was always listening.

  His mouth remained in a frown. “What makes you think I’m angry?”

  A snort puffed through my nose. “Have you forgotten that our emotions are connected?”

  “Definitely not, luv. Your aggravation is coming through loud and clear.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We can fight when we get home.”

  “Only if we also get to make up,” he retorted, his eyes focused straight ahead.

  The tension in my shoulders lightened some, though not completely. As long as we were in danger, I’d feel some form of anxiety.

  Guards lowered their eyes and bowed while Ashor guided me through the stables. Apollo and Draven readied Treachery and their Hellmounts. Unlike the horses in the mortal plane, the Hellmounts’ stables didn’t smell of hay and manure. They didn’t have much scent at all. With all the greenery surrounding the castle, the entire court seemed to carry the woodsy scent through the kingdom. There were hints of other things as well, like exotic perfumes, sweat, and sex. Someone in the castle at any given time of the day was doing something sexual. I hadn’t even begun to see half of what went on. Shame didn’t live within the walls of Gardeness. Closed doors weren’t necessary.