morning who believed she should give in to Ta’bat.
“Wait.” Rhys stopped.
She whirled and faced him, her eyes wild. “We have to hurry. The Sarthian warriors will be all over these corridors very soon. No time to chat.”
“They’re out there with the Danaan.”
She shook her head. “They can’t do any direct physical violence to them by order of the Union. They won’t harm a hair on their heads. They want you , Rhys. And while you may be able to fight three of them at once, you won’t be able to fight five hundred.
Plus,” she looked pointedly at his scabbard-less side, “you don’t have a weapon. And there are no Union laws against direct physical violence against you, an outlander.”
“I need to Embrace you now , Cerian.”
She paused. Yes. It was the only way. They needed to go forward with that which Ta’bat meant to prevent. “Come with me.”
They ran down the corridor and she led him through a series of fissures in the rock-face. If Ta’bat thought he had her, he was badly mistaken. Renewed determination 48
Scarlet Sweet
flowed through her. This mountain was hers , and she knew it like she knew her own body. Ta’bat would take neither as his own.
She led him through the mine passageways. Sometimes they were so narrow she feared Rhys’ height and breadth wouldn’t allow him to pass. Sometimes they were so wide they had to dodge boulders in their path. All around them, the crystal embedded in the walls glimmered, giving light.
The room she sought opened up before them. In the bottom of the mines, this mountain chamber would take Ta’bat and his men a long time to find. If they were lucky, Rhys could Embrace her and then flee. He could evade the Sarthes and get out of the mountain undetected.
“This is where you want me to Embrace you, Cerian?” he asked behind her.
She turned. “Yes. Is it all right?”
His gaze roved the chamber. “Perfect.”
She looked around. She supposed it was very beautiful to a person who didn’t see the crystals every day. In light green, pink, silver and red, the translucent, faceted crystals dripped from the ceilings and jutted from the walls, emitting a low incandescent shimmering. A small pool of water, warmed by nearby underground hot springs, stood to their left. The area was mostly cleared of rock and boulder. A thick Gaman cave moss grew on the ground here.
“We’ll be safe here. For a while, anyway,” she said.
He dropped his gaze to hers and held it. The look he gave her was so full of heat that it quickened her pussy, flooding it with moisture. His dark eyes were filled with everything he planned to do her. He let a low, territorial and sexual growl slide past his lips as he walked toward her. Every nerve ending in her body jumped to life.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter that Ta’bat was searching the mountain. It didn’t matter that she had traitors within the Danaan. All that mattered was what lay between herself and Rhys. It was time to see it through.
“Are you ready for me?” he murmured darkly as he strode toward her.
49
Anya Bast
Chapter Three
She held up a hand to stay him. “Explain what’s going to happen to me, Rhys. I know some, but not all.”
“First, I’m going to trigger your mark, Cerian. That’s when things will start to get strange, if you react anything like a human. Then I’m going to drink your blood, let it mix with mine. When you drink my blood, it will be a biochemical cocktail straight from my veins to yours. That cocktail is going to cause internal changes. DNA-level changes.”
“But we don’t know what will happen because my DNA is already so different from a human’s.” She recognized the note of unease that had entered her tone.
She’d known since she’d been small that she was marked, but she’d never planned to be Embraced. Now being Embraced was the only way to stave off Ta’bat. It was something she simply had to do. A transformation she had no choice but to undergo.
But
“Wait.” Rhys stopped.
She whirled and faced him, her eyes wild. “We have to hurry. The Sarthian warriors will be all over these corridors very soon. No time to chat.”
“They’re out there with the Danaan.”
She shook her head. “They can’t do any direct physical violence to them by order of the Union. They won’t harm a hair on their heads. They want you , Rhys. And while you may be able to fight three of them at once, you won’t be able to fight five hundred.
Plus,” she looked pointedly at his scabbard-less side, “you don’t have a weapon. And there are no Union laws against direct physical violence against you, an outlander.”
“I need to Embrace you now , Cerian.”
She paused. Yes. It was the only way. They needed to go forward with that which Ta’bat meant to prevent. “Come with me.”
They ran down the corridor and she led him through a series of fissures in the rock-face. If Ta’bat thought he had her, he was badly mistaken. Renewed determination 48
Scarlet Sweet
flowed through her. This mountain was hers , and she knew it like she knew her own body. Ta’bat would take neither as his own.
She led him through the mine passageways. Sometimes they were so narrow she feared Rhys’ height and breadth wouldn’t allow him to pass. Sometimes they were so wide they had to dodge boulders in their path. All around them, the crystal embedded in the walls glimmered, giving light.
The room she sought opened up before them. In the bottom of the mines, this mountain chamber would take Ta’bat and his men a long time to find. If they were lucky, Rhys could Embrace her and then flee. He could evade the Sarthes and get out of the mountain undetected.
“This is where you want me to Embrace you, Cerian?” he asked behind her.
She turned. “Yes. Is it all right?”
His gaze roved the chamber. “Perfect.”
She looked around. She supposed it was very beautiful to a person who didn’t see the crystals every day. In light green, pink, silver and red, the translucent, faceted crystals dripped from the ceilings and jutted from the walls, emitting a low incandescent shimmering. A small pool of water, warmed by nearby underground hot springs, stood to their left. The area was mostly cleared of rock and boulder. A thick Gaman cave moss grew on the ground here.
“We’ll be safe here. For a while, anyway,” she said.
He dropped his gaze to hers and held it. The look he gave her was so full of heat that it quickened her pussy, flooding it with moisture. His dark eyes were filled with everything he planned to do her. He let a low, territorial and sexual growl slide past his lips as he walked toward her. Every nerve ending in her body jumped to life.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter that Ta’bat was searching the mountain. It didn’t matter that she had traitors within the Danaan. All that mattered was what lay between herself and Rhys. It was time to see it through.
“Are you ready for me?” he murmured darkly as he strode toward her.
49
Anya Bast
Chapter Three
She held up a hand to stay him. “Explain what’s going to happen to me, Rhys. I know some, but not all.”
“First, I’m going to trigger your mark, Cerian. That’s when things will start to get strange, if you react anything like a human. Then I’m going to drink your blood, let it mix with mine. When you drink my blood, it will be a biochemical cocktail straight from my veins to yours. That cocktail is going to cause internal changes. DNA-level changes.”
“But we don’t know what will happen because my DNA is already so different from a human’s.” She recognized the note of unease that had entered her tone.
She’d known since she’d been small that she was marked, but she’d never planned to be Embraced. Now being Embraced was the only way to stave off Ta’bat. It was something she simply had to do. A transformation she had no choice but to undergo.
But
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