The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) Read online

  “So that you don’t have to protect me anymore.” He was shaking his head like I was missing something.

  “He already knows my feelings, it was one of the reasons that I was chosen to guard you. He wanted me to form a connection, a bond so that I would guard you with my own life.”

  “But... that was so cruel. To play on your history…your loss.” He shook his head before rubbing the back of his neck with a large red skinned palm.

  “Not cruel, it was smart and I would have done the same.” At this I reached my limit. I leant my head down into my hands and lost myself by counting up all the problems I had caused. I wanted to run away and try to make sense of all this craziness. I was human after all and knew that I would soon crack. I wondered just how long the conversation would take between me and Draven to go through everything that happened today. Tonight had made me realise just how little I knew about the man that I loved.

  I wanted to say more but I couldn’t find any words of comfort or any of my thoughts that would have made sense to say to him. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry. Sorry for everything, his loss, his lack of faith in humankind but more than anything I was sorry for all the trouble I had caused him. In the end I didn’t have time to say any of these things. Ragnar had straightened up at the sound of his King’s footsteps coming closer. I held my breath and tried in vain to still my beating heart.

  Draven marched into the middle of the room between me and Ragnar and it looked as though his temper hadn’t yet subsided. If anything this added to his impressive beauty. He was a hard and handsome man painted on a rough canvas. The lower part of his face was covered in black stubble and his hair had been pulled back from his face in a black cord. This made his chiselled features all the more startling. He still wore his black cloak which made his dark eyes look as black as this horrible night. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and his didn’t leave mine. I was hoping to find love and compassion in them but there was none. He hid it well and I knew why.

  This was the only way that Draven knew how to operate. He was going to try and frighten the answers out of me. But one thing he didn’t count on was how well I knew his games, because even though he clearly intimidated me, I was never truly frightened of him. I knew he would never hurt me but I was wondering just how far he would take this interrogation of his.

  He tactically removed his cloak with one flick of his wrist and then threw it toward Ragnar to take away. I had to catch my breath at the sight of his tanned naked torso that was ripple after ripple of solid muscle. Ok, so that intimidation level just went up a notch! He knew what he was doing as it looked like he knew me well also. He only wore black fitted trousers with a black belt that had his family crest in brushed steel at the front.

  “Did you find out who needs to be punished?” He asked Ragnar without looking at him and even though he couldn’t see, Ragnar still bowed his head in respect.

  “My Lord, she is telling the truth.” At this Draven let out a growl and turned his head towards him, making Ragnar take a step back.

  “LEAVE US! I will get to the bottom of this myself!” At this he turned his attentions back at me but Ragnar didn’t leave and Draven noticed.

  “My Lord, if I may? She holds the mark to prove her story.” He also found my eyes and I mentally thanked him, for at least one person was on my side.

  “Is that so?” Draven was being an arrogant fool now and I felt like chucking a glass of water in his face and telling him to grow up…but I was no way brave enough, no matter how much foolishness still remained with me.

  Draven nodded to the door as way of an order for Ragnar to leave but still he remained firm.

  “You have more to say?”

  “Yes…I think you should pursue this after she has had some rest….I think she is too fragile for your questions…she is also hurt.” At this Draven looked furious, turning to face him. I felt like running in between them both and protecting my loyal friend.

  “Wohin?” (Means “where?” in German)

  “Schulter” (Means shoulder in German) Ragnar said and nodded towards my neck which made me pull my sweater closer over the four deep scratches that had been burning since they were made.

  Again at this Draven growled a low groan of disapproval and it made me wish Ragnar would just leave to save himself.

  “You are not under my rule to think for me! Incompetent fool! When I give an order I expect it to be obeyed. NOW GO and obey me Ragnarök. I will deal with you later!” At this my smooth skin was replaced with bumps and I pulled my legs up underneath me closer to my body. Ragnar admitted defeat and left after his usual,

  “Yes my Lord”.

  Now was the part I was dreading, time to face the music, time to face the Demon for…

  Draven and I were finally alone.

  Chapter 22

  Who Wanted a Normal Life Anyway?

  I was determined not to be the one to break the silence first and thankfully I wasn’t. After a small eternity of playing ‘Who could stare the most?’ He finally looked away and my heart broke when it was in disappointment.

  “Come here!” Was all he said in a controlled voice but I still didn’t move. This was Draven’s way of dealing with things, this was due to his high ranking and now he was pulling rank with me. He stood with his arms folded waiting for me to obey like all the rest do but I just couldn’t do it, this however he took in the wrong way…

  “If I didn’t know any better I would say you fear me… is this so?” He raised an eyebrow when I didn’t answer him, so I folded my own arms and looked even more like a spoilt child before answering,

  “NO!” Was all I said before turning away from him but not before I caught sight of a little smug smile form on his lips, which he quickly discarded.

  “Good, then prove it. Come here!” Again with the orders! If I had been in my right mind then I would have done as he’d asked but I just couldn’t think straight. I didn’t have time or the comprehension for his dominance. I felt like I was drowning in a whirlwind of memories I didn’t want. I saw him stood there like some cloaked God ready to control his armies. Ordering the destruction of anyone that got in his way!

  NO…no, I wanted to scream out at myself for even thinking it. I was just so confused, my mind was like a box of puzzle pieces that had bits missing. I was trying to convince myself that what I had seen in Draven was a necessity but there was still so much I didn’t yet know. He was waiting for me to say something and I decided to play the only card I had. I just couldn’t let him see how intimidated I was. I needed him to see that I was still his equal here and not just another servant to obey.

  “I don’t have to do what you command Draven, especially when you refuse to let me go home.” I said in a weak and unconvincing voice, which made his arms unfold as he walked over to his desk to lean upon it casually.

  “I am not commanding you to do anything unreasonable, you are injured and I want to fix it. As for the going home, that I will not allow because I need to get to the bottom of all that has happened tonight…all that you have seen.” He rubbed his forehead with his fingers to express his feelings on the matter. He knew what I had seen and this had been his worst nightmare. I had seen the truth.

  “I’m fine!” This was a lie as I could still feel the blood that had trickled down my back but I continued anyway.

  “I don’t need your help, all I needed was for you to believe me and the fact that you didn’t, well…it speaks volumes.” This was also a lie as all I wanted was for him to scoop me up in his arms and comfort me. I had needed nothing but his help throughout my whole experience but when the time came, he had destroyed that need by proving himself the enemy behind my fear. I still couldn’t get out the thought of him killing that girl.

  “Is that so… well in that case, I will have you taken to the hospital immediately, because let’s face facts, I know how much you love it there!” He replied sarcastically and I could feel the tears start to rise. As soon as he saw the hurt in my face
it looked like he regretted it instantly.

  “That was cruel.” I said in a weak little voice to prove it but he knew this already, after all, he had said it for that purpose.

  “Yes…Yes it was... but I think I made my point. You are in pain and unless you like the feeling, I suggest you come to me.” He was right, I was in pain but the pain of his coldness was far greater than any gash I had in my flesh.

  “I think I will take the hospital, thank you.” I replied bitterly which made him laugh and not in a nice way.

  “What…Injections, stiches and above all questions?” He nodded to my covered arms as if to spell out my fears. I pulled my arms into my body as if to protect them in some way, which is where he found his answer.

  “No, I thought not.” He shook his head as if he was very tired of all of this and it made me do the same.

  “I fear that my patience cannot take much more, so for what I am to do, I apologise.”

  “Apologise for what?” I snapped back at his lack of compassion in his ‘sorry’.

  “For this!” Both his hands came out and I thought he was motioning for me to come towards him again, of course it was only when the arm chair I sat in started to shoot forwards towards him, did I realise the reason behind it. It moved too quickly for me to move from as it travelled across the room and before I knew it, he was towering above me, getting exactly what he wanted…total control. He could see me calculating my next move and before I could move from him he had me caught by the waist.

  “Oh no you don’t! Just behave!” He lifted me up and perched me on the desk before spreading my legs to step closer into me. This way I couldn’t go anywhere and even when I tried to push him away it felt like an impossible task. It took me back to when he had first kissed me and I had tried to push him away before. Of course back then that had only been because of a guilty conscience, one that had been unjustified as he had me believe he was engaged to Celina. Now I was doing it for very different reasons and expressing myself was very much a part of that. I was trying to express my unwillingness but when his hands circled both my wrists and held them still, it was the end of that.

  “Keira be still!” he barked at me and finally I obeyed. He sighed in relief when I gave up and his eyes for the first time softened when they met mine. He let go of my wrists before finding my shoulder and when I cried out in pain he froze. I couldn’t see his face as I had closed my eyes to help stop the tears but I could feel his hands now gently removing my sweater. The feel of his touch on my bare skin had me coursing with a familiar feeling and I couldn’t help wanting his lips to find mine. Talk about mixed emotions!

  I open my eyes finally to find him frowning (No changes there!) but he wasn’t looking at me, he was examining my torn shoulder. He didn’t ask like last time, he just grabbed a handful of material before tearing it from me. I was left with half a t shirt and half a naked top half, which also exposed the damage. I saw him shake his head before saying,

  “This isn’t good.” At which I wanted to reply “Well durr!” but I didn’t think it would go down well, so I opted for the silence route.

  “What did this to you?” He asked through gritted teeth and I could see he was trying hard to keep his anger under control.

  “A wall of hands grabbed me!” This made him swear out in another language and I wondered if I had just heard the F word in Latin?

  “Draven, that isn’t going to help!” At this he rolled his eyes and decided not to respond. He lightly pushed my hair back and carefully pulled the bits that had stuck to the bloody mess, making me wince as he put the red clumps to the other side of my neck. Then he started to get ready to do something as he slipped down my bra strap which was in the way.

  “Unfortunately this is going to hurt, try to relax, ok?” Relax! Was he joking? After what he just said, that’s as bad as climbing to the top of a mountain and telling someone afraid of heights not to look down! I knew what he was going to do but I couldn’t understand why it would hurt. He had done this to me twice before and it never hurt, it actually felt kind of nice. Like funny tingles lighting up my blood stream.

  “Ready?” He asked and when I nodded, I found out just what pain he was talking about. He placed his four fingers at my back and traced the cuts made in my skin. As he moved, he fused my skin back together and the burning felt like someone else was behind him pouring salt and vinegar into them. I closed my eyes once again so that he couldn’t see the pain in them but I couldn’t help the screams that came, making it more than evident at how this was feeling. Luckily it didn’t last long and by the time my breathing had got heavy, I was in his arms being held. His head was above mine and his hand held on to the back of my head, keeping me close to his body.

  “Shhh…I know it hurts but it’s all over now. Just breathe…that’s it... deep breaths.” He was trying to calm me down and with each new breath I took, I was starting to feel better. All that was left was an itching where the new tissue had been formed (or so I guessed). He could feel it to so he manoeuvred my head so that I could look up.

  “Better?” He asked and I opened my eyes at the sound of his voice, only when doing so I wasn’t faced with the human Draven, I was now looking at the purple energy that flowed through his veins. His huge wings looked blacker than they did all the other times and when looking at them this close I could see that each feather coursed with the same energy. He took note at where my eyes were staring and I saw them ruffle slightly as if he was uncomfortable with being studied.

  “Does it bother you…seeing me like this?” His deep purple eyes searched for the truth in my own and I wondered if my face had given me away. This had been the first time he had ever asked me anything like this before and I felt sad that he thought it would have ever affected me. Even after everything that I had seen, this was one of the things that never bothered me. Surprise yes, but not in a negative way.

  “No, it doesn’t bother me but what does, is when you don’t trust me!”

  “Here we go.” He said in a condescending tone and then moved backwards to give me space. The air that was created by his wings turning quickly blew my hair back. I jumped down from the desk making him say “Careful!” But I ignored his remark and used the desk for support rather than a seat. I crossed my arms across my chest once again and it was only then when I noticed my near nakedness. I angrily pulled the rest of my top off and reached for my sweater from where Draven had thrown it but before I could get there he had it in his grasp and was handing it to me. I noticed the blood stains inside it and let out a groan but when I tried to put it back on, he stopped me.

  “Wait…you need cleaning up first!” I was about to protest but he was already close to my body again and had produced a bowl of water with a soft wad of material. He was looking down at me again making my body start to yearn for his touch and when his hand rested on my good shoulder I started to bite my lip at the feeling it created. His other hand was soaking the cloth in the water and I had little option to do anything but remain still. I watched him ring out the cloth with one strong fist before placing it on my skin, making me shiver.

  “Cold?” He asked and I just nodded making him place a finger in the bowl and re-dampen the cloth before continuing cleaning my back. It was now warm.

  “Thank you.” I whispered and he looked happy to receive it. We remained in silence until he was done and when his fingers left my now pink skin I wanted to pull him back to me. He stepped away once again and let me put the sweater back on, without looking at me. I decided that if we were going to have this ‘talk’ then I couldn’t keep staring at him in his other form.

  I closed my eyes and listened to the noises around me until I heard something to pinpoint my thoughts on. I heard footsteps not far from the door and a bird cry out into the night. I wondered if it could be Ava and then realised that I hadn’t seen her since that night by the cabin. This was all enough to change Draven back to his human form as when I opened my eyes again he was back.

  “All n
ormal again?” He had known what I had been doing and for some reason I felt guilty but when he laughed at my frowning face I let it go.

  “So what now?” I said just to fill the silence that he seemed content with.

  “Why don’t you tell me how this all started. What on this Earth’s plane possessed you to find your way down to my Temple?” The hairs on my neck stood on end at the sound of the demanding Draven that had found his way crashing back.

  “Oh, so you finally believe me now?”

  “I might if you tell me what actually happened but until then I will try to reserve my judgement!” Grrr! This made me so mad that I could have screamed at him, which is precisely what I did.

  “What horse shit! Your judgement?” I’m not some bloody servant of yours that is about to be punished for not serving drinks properly or that poor girl down there that you murdered!” This last part certainly got his attention all right, I thought he would burst into flames with anger.

  “You know nothing about that “GIRL” you seem to think of as so innocent!” He was trying to control his temper by tensing his muscles and I could start to see his veins bulging along his arms.

  “I know what I saw!”

  “Oh and what was that, me murdering an innocent human girl as some kind of sacrifice to the Devil himself?” He let out a roar like laugh that chilled me to the core.

  “Don’t mock me! Do you have any idea what I have been through tonight, you…you,”

  “What?”

  “Jack arse!” At this he let out a sigh before holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

  “Is that why you thought I was Lucius?”

  “Yes. I didn’t think it was possible for you to be even involved in something like that, let alone be in control of it.” This must have hurt because he dropped his hand to his side and looked at me in disbelief.

  “Right… Well if that is the case, why NOW are you so intent on believing me some leader of an evil cult that murders young girls, for what…pleasure?”