Darkest Flame

Kellan saw Denae make herself as small as she could while Taraeth quickly gained the upper hand and had his fingers around Emil’s throat.

 

Taraeth was breathing heavily, his lips peeled back in a dangerous scowl. “I’ll return after I deal with this,” he promised and quickly disappeared.

 

For a beat of four seconds Kellan didn’t move. Then Rhi materialized. “About damn time,” he ground out.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

 

 

Denae wanted to stay inside the small room in her mind she had created, to forget she was in a place no human should ever be, being touched by a Dark Fae with evil intent.

 

Taraeth had barely touched her, but he had invaded her body, made her orgasm by his magic alone. She had been assaulted in a way that should never have happened. She knew how to defend herself, how to pick out predators. But no one had told her about the Fae or how they could gain control of her body and mind no matter how she fought it.

 

She felt minuscule, insignificant. Used. It was the most horrendous thing she had ever endured. It didn’t help that her skin still sizzled from the ferocious orgasm Taraeth had forced on her. She wanted to scrub her skin raw to get his touch, his scent off her.

 

The thought that it might never happen made her retreat deeper into that little room in her mind.

 

“Denae,” Rhi’s voice said near her ear. “Taraeth is gone. You’re free. Focus on Kellan and remember the special night you had in his arms.”

 

She turned her head away. She didn’t want to listen to Rhi, or face Kellan. A cry rose up within her as she realized he had witnessed her attack. She would really become the weak human now.

 

“Look at Kellan,” Rhi whispered urgently. “Look at the anger in his eyes for what was done to you. Both of you are at the mercy of the Dark. Stay united.”

 

Denae wasn’t sure she could do as Rhi asked. It was too much. All of it was just too much.

 

Rhi let out a sigh. “Damn it. I need to go to Kellan. Please, Denae. This is killing him. He might never show it or say it, but you could see it in his eyes if you but looked.”

 

Denae wanted to ignore the Light Fae, but she couldn’t disregard her need for Kellan. Being in his arms had been the best thing of her life. Feeling his touch, tasting his kisses. It had been heaven on earth—something she hadn’t thought existed.

 

She opened her eyes to find Rhi standing beside Kellan. He was speaking in low tones with Rhi, and she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

 

Denae focused on Kellan’s lips. He had full lips, lips a man like him could use as a weapon. She thought of his kisses and how she’d felt them all the way through her body into her essence and her soul.

 

The same couldn’t be said for Taraeth. He was average, at best.

 

Denae inwardly snorted. So much for the seduction of the Fae. But the Dark still managed to win in the end.

 

Denae turned her head, the last vestiges of her control slipping away when she found herself still held by Fae magic. She couldn’t cover herself, couldn’t claw her way through the stones, or even cover her eyes in an attempt to hide the tears that threatened.

 

“You did well,” Rhi said, beside her once again. “Concentrate on that. Not many could infuriate Taraeth the way you do. Bravo!”

 

Denae was thankful the Fae didn’t try to get in her face. Instead, Rhi stood on her other side and draped something over her as she talked nonstop and smiled often.

 

That kind gesture was too much for Denae. She closed her eyes and fought against the moisture that gathered in her eyes. The last time she cried was when she buried her father. Her heart had been ripped from her chest as she watched the third member of her family lowered into the ground in a four-year span. She’d sworn to never shed another tear again.

 

“Are you hurt?” Rhi asked gently.

 

Denae swallowed twice before she could find her voice. “No.”

 

“I don’t know how long we have,” Rhi said. “Tristan and Phelan are coming, but I have to get both of you out of here.”

 

“Denae.”

 

She pressed her cheek farther into the cold stones when Kellan said her name in a soft voice too kind to come from someone like him. Was she that much of a mess? Did he know she was on the jagged edge and about to fall off?

 

“Look at me,” he urged.

 

She wasn’t sure if she could. Not after what Taraeth had done. It was worse than the moment of pain Taraeth had put her through.

 

Pain she could handle. And though she wasn’t mindless with need for any of the Fae, Taraeth had still been able to manipulate her body into pleasure.

 

It was sick and dirty, and … wrong.

 

How many more times would Taraeth do that to her? Worse, when would he take her as he’d promised to do?

 

“Denae.”

 

This time Kellan’s voice was hard and demanding, almost daring her to face him.