Mystik Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book 2) Read online

Shuffling footsteps echoed followed by scorching hot liquid pouring over his chest and abdomen. Angelica’s hands played through the oil, spreading it across his taught body. He couldn’t stop the flinch when her hand encircled his shaft. He was rewarded with her nails embedding in his erection. Unfortunately, her spell prevented him from deflating. She climbed onto the altar with him, straddling his hips. He once again tried to access his powers and counteract her spells. Nothing.

  “You cannot refuse me. Let’s make this interesting.” She snapped her fingers. A cane was slapped into her waiting palm. She crawled her way to his face, and placed her core on his clenched mouth. Rubbing herself across the slash of his lips she brought the cane down on his erection. He screamed out in pain and she climaxed on his face. She loved causing him pain and humiliation. He gave up praying to the Goddess to save him from this hell. He was never getting out.

  Jace jolted upright, confused and drenched in sweat, his heart pounding. It was difficult to push the fear and anxiety back so he was prepared to deal with whatever Angelica forced upon him next. Getting his bearings, he looked around the room and saw Cailyn sleeping fitfully on the bed next to him. Clarity struck, and he realized that it had only been a dream, and he wasn’t back in that dungeon. Thank the Goddess. His relief was short-lived as nausea overtook him and he hurried to the bathroom.

  He bent over the toilet and in between his stomach’s heaves he rubbed his Cuff de Draiocht. He hated these nightmares, and in the past six hundred years they had yet to leave him, and he rarely got a full night’s sleep. It wasn’t enough that his captivity had robbed him of the ability to be intimate with a female. Lady Angelica had taken everything from him, and continued to do so.

  More than anything, he wanted a normal life. The problem was, he had no idea how to take control and make that happen. She had dug her claws in and left her venom behind, and no matter what he did he was unable to purge it from his system. He flushed the toilet and washed his hands before reentering the bedroom to see Cailyn still sleeping.

  He locked his nightmare down, and recalled why he was in a room with the female who had been occupying his fantasies for months. He checked his watch and saw that he had slept for a couple hours. Everyone had gone to their rooms to rest for the day shortly after he had failed to heal Cailyn. His failure still burned. She was suffering because he had walked right into the Fae’s trap.

  Setting his guilt aside, he texted Bhric to make sure Jessie was secured in the dungeons. The warrior’s reply was instant - the female was sleeping peacefully in a cell, something that had upset Cailyn, but they had no choice with so many unknowns. At least she was still alive.

  He cocked his head listening for the other warriors. The house was quiet this time of the morning with everyone sleeping. Jace had used his position as a physician to be the one to stay at Cailyn’s side so Elsie could take her day rest. It had been difficult to pry Elsie from her sister’s side, but as a new vampire Elsie was forced to rest during the early morning hours. Checking the time, Jace saw that he had a couple more hours alone with Cailyn.

  Jace crossed to the bed and sat next to Cailyn who was far from peaceful in her sleep. He pressed his fingers into her wrist and noted that her pulse was still racing. Lifting the covers he saw that the splint and wrap was snug around her broken leg. The bruising and swelling were rising above the bandage. His healing hadn’t done anything except set off that Fae bastard’s spell. He watched his thumb run over her wrist when a noise had his head snapping up to her face. She stirred and her eyelids fluttered open.

  “Hi, beautiful,” he murmured.

  *****

  “Hey,” Cailyn croaked out, swallowing to wet her arid throat. She felt far more ancient than her twenty-nine years. “God, I need some water,” she groaned, trying to sit up and reach out to the glass on the nightstand. Jace was there helping as soon as she stretched her arm out.

  “Let me get that. You don’t need to be moving too much. Here, I’ll prop you up against the pillows,” he said as he piled pillows up and stretched his arm behind her. Cailyn leaned into the warmth of his chest and inhaled his masculine scent. He smelled like a thunderstorm, strong and potent. Rather than lying back against the pillows he had prepared she remained tucked into his side. She felt him stiffen around her before he relaxed and placed the glass to her lips.

  “Thank you,” she whispered in between sips.

  “Not too much. I don’t want you getting sick on me. How are you feeling?” he asked as he ran his hand down her head and arm. She liked the feel of his caress a little too much.

  “I feel as if I have been hit by a wrecking ball a couple dozen times. Can I get some ibuprofen for this headache?”

  “Let me exam you first. I want to make sure it wouldn’t cause more damage than good. I’m going to unwrap your leg and that’s going to hurt, but I want to make sure its stable,” he said as he laid her back into the mattress. She immediately missed his warmth. Being close to him felt natural and right, like she belonged there. Apparently, pain made her mawkish.

  He grabbed a penlight from the table and shifted so he was facing her fully. Bright light shone in her eyes, making her wince. “Ugh, that hurts like hell,” she complained as her head exploded and stars winked behind her closed lids.

  She squinted open her eyes when the light abated and noted that his handsome features were now twisted in concentration as he proceeded to take her blood pressure. Something was wrong. She attempted to send her telepathy out but it hurt too much. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  He paused with the cuff around her arm and his stethoscope pressed in the crook but didn’t say anything. He finished taking her blood pressure and pushed back her covers. Instinct had her grabbing for the blanket to cover her bare legs. She had to remind herself that he was a doctor and had seen plenty of naked women and that it was no big deal that she was in nothing but a t-shirt and panties. She still blushed to the roots of her hair.

  He stopped her with his hand on hers. The moment their skin touched, electricity zapped straight to her abdomen. The heat built and she fought to keep it from spreading lower. She looked into his amethyst eyes and saw they were glowing purple. Knowing he was as affected as she was made it easier to let go and allow him to exam her. He lifted her shirt and probed her stomach. His touch felt more intimate than any doctor’s exam she’d ever had.

  “Without having scans done I can’t say for certain what is going on, but something isn’t right. Like I told you this morning, you have a minor concussion along with bruising and your broken leg,” he said as he settled his warm palm on her stomach. He stayed with his hand like that for several long minutes. She felt the heat build and thought his hand was trembling. As she opened her mouth to ask if he was ok, he rolled her to the side, exploring the area just below her rib cage. She heard his heavy sigh and glanced back to see him looking furious.

  “I don’t like that look. Tell me what you are thinking.”

  “Like I said—”

  She cut off what was sure to be more of his platitudes. She didn’t need him to protect her right now. She knew something was wrong. “Don’t keep anything from me. I have a right to know. Besides, I’m not so fragile that I will break.”

  He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. Automatically, she turned into his palm and kissed it. “You are fragile, so very fragile. Your head injury has worsened when it shouldn’t have. I can’t say for sure but I think you may be bleeding internally. Your liver is slightly enlarged on palpitation. None of this should be occurring. Aside from the broken leg, your injuries from the accident weren’t that bad. I believe it’s the spell and I have no idea how to break it, and I don’t know anyone who does.”

  She reached up and smoothed the crease between his eyes, ignoring her own fear. She wanted to reassure him and had no idea why. She was the one under some nefarious spell. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. Zander said he was going to see the Fae Queen. Surely she will help, right?”

/>   He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. Hope furled in her that maybe he did like her. “The queen isn’t sentimental or helpful unless it benefits her or her people. Giving away Fae secrets goes against that entirely. Asking her for help is a long shot, but it’s our only option.”

  Her stomach clenched when she detected the bitterness in his tone. It was so at odds with what she had seen of him so far. It made her wonder about his history with the Fae. She tried to reach out and grab his hand but she was so weak her hand fell clumsily onto his arm instead. She was getting worse. “I have to say, I’m not feeling optimistic about my chances here. What about what you mentioned this morning? Some mystical grim something? You said you wished it would appear. Can it help?”

  “The Mystik Grimoire,” he said and twined his fingers with hers. She didn’t think he was aware of what he was doing, but her heart skipped a beat. Touching him eased the pain and settled her heart into a more regular rhythm. It was frightening and confusing how much he affected her.

  “Grimoire, that’s like a book of magic or something, right? If it has the answers, go get it. Or Zander can get it, just tell him where it is,” Cailyn offered.

  “That’s impossible, Cai.” She shivered at hearing him say her name like that. Only Elsie and Jessie had ever called her that. He said it like benediction, making her melt. “It disappeared over seven hundred years ago and hasn’t been seen since. There is no way to simply retrieve it.”

  “How does a book disappear?” The idea that a book simply disappeared was unbelievable enough, but to think they had been unable to find it in seven hundred years was outrageous. How any of it was even possible baffled her.

  Jace’s eyes took on a faraway look as if he was lost in time and he reached out with his free hand, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger. “It’s a long story. You need to understand more about the creatures the Goddess Morrigan created that make up some of the Tehrex Realm. Sorcerers are one of those races. We wield magic, as you know. Well, my father, head of the Miakoda family, held the position of Guild Master for millennia, up until the Great War killed both he and my mother. After that, my cousin, Evzen, was appointed to the position of Guild Master over the sorcerers in my absence.” He paused, and swallowed thickly. His features contorted in pain and he fisted her hair tightly. The action sent pain shooting through her already aching head, but she stifled her wince, sensing he needed the contact.

  He realized how tightly he was holding her hair and loosened his hold, but didn’t let her go. “The Grimoire had disappeared many years before the war. The Goddess endowed the leather-bound book with magical powers and it appears and disappears of its own accord. My father always told me that it was the book’s way of protecting its contents. It is bound to my bloodline, and will only appear to one of us…either me or Evzen since we are all that’s left. Anyway, the book not only holds spells and incantations but prophecies from realm Oracles, as well as ways to counteract various types of magic.”

  Cailyn tried to scoot closer to his body, needing more of his warmth. She was getting colder. He noticed and brought his body closer. She sighed in contentment and focused on what he’d told her. “All of this is so outside anything I’ve ever known,” she mused. “I can understand why you’d want the book. Call it to you again, and keep calling for it. Until it answers, we need to find a way to convince the Fae Queen to help us.” This was not going to be easy, but she refused to give up. And, she wasn’t going to let him either.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Zander and Elsie entered Cailyn’s room, causing Jace to fall off the bed as he quickly pulled away. The action nearly caused him to rip out a handful of Cailyn’s hair and she missed the contact right away. Hell, she wanted to crawl into his lap. She had a feeling Jace didn’t show others the vulnerability he had just shown her. She clearly saw the defenseless, lost child he had been when his parents had been killed. The intimacy of the moment had connected them, even if she sensed he was fighting it every step.

  Zander looked at them with a raised eyebrow in question. Cailyn turned to her sister and gave a slight shake of her head. Zander caught the exchange and let it go. “I’m ready to visit Elvis and question Zanahia about the spell on Cailyn. I want you to come with me, Jace. Or Gerrick. I need someone who knows aboot magic.”

  “I’ll go,” Jace said at the same time Elsie asked “Who’s Elvis?” Elsie’s question brought images of the famous rock star in his blinged-out polyester suit to Cailyn’s mind. Could he be a supernatural and still be alive? She smiled at the image of the famous rock star’s curled lip with fangs protruding.

  “He is the troll under the Fremont Bridge and he controls one of the portals to the Fae Realm,” Zander replied. Ok, not at all what she had expected. She had a picture on her digital frame at home of her with Elsie beside the troll from her first visit to Seattle. It was difficult to think that big concrete sculpture was a living, breathing part of this realm. Things just kept getting weirder.

  “You mean to tell me that the huge statue is an actual troll and protects a portal? I’ve said this before. You really need a handbook explaining your world. You could be cliché and call it Tehrex Realm for Dummies,” her sister teased, patting Zander’s chest.

  “Aye, that’s Elvis. And I’ve placed Gerrick on that assignment, mate. You should have the book in aboot a decade.” Zander leaned down and kissed Elsie with an indulgent smile on his face.

  “Are you guys at it again? Unlock those lips, we have a crisis to deal with,” Orlando blurted as he entered the room followed by about half of the warriors. Cailyn heard the longing in Orlando’s tone and knew he hadn’t gotten over his feelings for her sister. The warrior was careful with his feelings out of respect for Zander, but the feline shifter couldn’t hide it entirely from Cailyn’s telepathy.

  Cailyn glanced at the men in the room and suddenly felt very naked under the covers. As if reading her mind, Jace leaned down, pulling the blanket to her neck and smoothed them down, his hand lingering on her thigh.

  “Later, mate,” Zander whispered to Elsie who had a dreamy, love-struck expression before turning to the newcomers. “Orlando is right. We need to figure this oot for your sister. While Jace and I are gone, I want all of you but Bhric oot on patrol, keeping an ear open for any talk of the accident. If we are lucky one of the skirm will boast aboot Kadir’s intentions. Bhric, you keep an eye on Jessie.”

  “No problem, brathair, but Kyran isna here right now,” Bhric said, referring to their other brother as he reclined against one wall. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that that particular Vampire Prince was gone, Cailyn thought. He had always frightened her.

  “Where the fuck is he?” It was impossible to miss the anger in Zander’s tone.

  “Where else? Bite.”

  “Of course he is. I’m going to castrate him when he gets back. He is never here when I need him,” Zander growled. “Go patrol your sectors, now.” The room began to empty with Zander’s order.

  Elsie turned in Zander’s arms and Cailyn could see that her smile was forced. “Do you want to call John while the guys are gone? I’m sure he’s worried about you. He is your fiancé after all.”

  Cailyn’s heart twisted at the thought of John. She felt guilty that she hadn’t told her sister that she had broken off their engagement. She hadn’t wanted to ruin her sister’s big day, and had kept her news to herself. Now wasn’t the time to tell her either. Cailyn had no desire to deal with Elsie’s upset over that until she was feeling better.

  She looked away from her sister and her gaze went directly to Jace. She noted how he had frozen halfway up from the bed beside her, and those remaining in the room were all looking at him. The tension between them could be cut with a knife, and she had no doubt the others sensed their attraction to each other.

  “Um, I’m not sure I’m ready to talk to him yet,” Cailyn told Elsie. Aside from not wanting to tell her sister, she didn’t want to have to explain in front of everyone, especially J
ace, why she had broken off their engagement. She didn’t fully understand the reasons herself. What she knew was that from the moment Jace had entered her sister’s apartment all those months ago, something inside Cailyn had snapped to attention and locked on him, like a heat seeking missile.

  His sexy body had captivated her, and caused her to have fantasies about a man other than her fiancé. It was something she had never before experienced, and it was what ultimately led to her breaking off her engagement.

  She met Elsie’s gaze and saw her disbelief and confusion. That made Cailyn’s guilt all the worse. “You’re right. I will call him.” Cailyn was not looking forward to the conversation. The last time she had spoken to him, she had once again rejected him, and she didn’t want to twist the knife any further.

  *****

  Kyran’s groin tightened as he placed a metal nipple clamp on the female. The beautiful nymph bit down on the leather strap in her mouth and whimpered. He loved the fear and arousal in her silver-blue eyes. And hated it. The sound of her mewling fueled his deviant desires. Lost to his passions, he clamped the other nipple and stood back to admire the picture she created. Her come-fuck-me-thigh-high boots gleamed as he perused her body from head to foot.

  As his gaze made its way back up her body, he noticed blood trickling from one of her breasts. The reason he used metal clamps instead of plastic. Pain and pleasure. The sight of blood hardened his shaft further. He bent over and licked the blood from her moist skin, tasting a note of salt mixed with copper elements. He groaned as pre-cum leaked from his cock.

  The blood sent him over the edge of his control. He roughly grabbed her hands and pulled her to a bench. She stumbled and fell onto the wood face down. Perfect. He strapped her wrists into the leather cuffs under the bench. The position kept her upper body immobile with her delectable ass in the air. He ran his hand across the glistening globes and smacked one cheek. She moaned. He needed more force than his hand allowed and he swiveled to take in his options.