CHAPTER 52

Rune's eyes cleared as he dragged the Ra'Voshnik beneath the surface. It didn't fight him, floating through his mind content. Rune gazed down at Faye, her skin gleamed with a sheen of perspiration. A strand of dark hair clung to her face. She panted through parted lips, flush spread down her throat, between her breasts.

That is how you should always leave our queen. Take her to our bed and we will finish her rite,the Ra'Voshnik said, thoroughly satisfied with itself.

Jealousy clawed at Rune. Faye had writhed for the creature, letting it take her throat. Called it Voshki.

And worse it obeyed her.

If you won't share her, I'll have to take her from you.

Be silent,Rune grated.

Faye gazed up at him and her smile faded. Was she disappointed he was at the fore instead of the Ra'Voshnik?

I told you she preferred me to you,the creature brushed the surface of his mind wanting to return to Faye.

This does not matter, it is a ritual, Rune told himself. He dragged the Ra'Voshnik to the recesses of his mind and asked, "Do you wish to proceed with your rite?"

She nodded and touched his face, gazing past his eyes as though she were looking into him. "You're two men in one body."

Rune took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm. "I am sorry it was rough with you."

"He's not ," Faye scowled at him as the Ra'Voshnik cackled far below him. "Be nice to Voshki."

Tension riddled every muscle in Rune's body. "That is not its name."

"Then what is it?" She asked, wiping the strand of hair out of her face.

"The Ra'Voshnik does not have a name," Rune said.

Faye lifted her chin in that defiant way that drove him to madness. "I named him. His name is Voshki."

Rune looked away and then returned to her. "Do you want your rite completed or did you want to spend the rest of the evening discussing the finer intricacies of my vampiric nature?"

"I knew part of you liked me," Faye said, reaching between them to stroke his cock. Rune groaned, feeling the veined shadows slipping from beneath his gaze. She leaned up, kissing him before laying back on her sheets. "I just wasn't aware it was a separate part."

Rune growled and Faye giggled at him. Giggled. Beneath Pure Blood. Wanting him to let the Ra'Voshnik rise. Armies fled at the first sight of the creature, but not the young mortal. She beckoned it.

And it bowed to her will.

Jealousy looks terrible on you.Rune ignored the Ra'Voshnik's remark and brushed his mind over Faye's. "I need you to relax so I might hold your mind."

Faye closed her eyes, her lips upturned in a triumphant smile.

Rune withdrew into himself and stood at the edge of her mind. Flattening his hand against her mental shield, he focused his power to pierce it. Creating a doorway for himself. Her shielding eased back, allowing him entry

Rune took hold of her mind and pulled her into his. Faye's brow drew together.

"Be easy." Rune crooned, brushing the back of his fingers over her cheek. "You need to be in my mind so I can hold you above the Darkness. If we stay in yours, you are likely to slam your shields on me and plummet alone."

He kissed the corner of her mouth and divided his focus between his body and the intangible ravine that cradled the Darkness. Faye materialized before him and wrapped her arms around his neck when she looked down.

"Why are we up so high? Where are we?" Faye squeezed her eyes shut clutching to him desperately.

"Above the Darkness," Rune answered.

Faye's eyes widened as the Ra'Voshnik snaked its arm around her waist, pulling her into it.

Rune bared his fangs, "Do not frighten her."

The Ra'Voshnik held his gaze and pressed a kiss to her hair. It muttered, "We have you," and released her.

Faye twisted in his arms to glance at the creature. She turned back to him. "Can Voshki hold me above the Darkness?"

Hurt twisted in his chest and the creature spoke before he could. "You're safer in his hands. The Shadow Prince has a disciplined mind." It ran its fingers through her hair and Rune fought the urge to eviscerate the creature. It turned to him and said, "I know my limitations."

They growled at each other, and Faye slapped his chest. Him. He gazed down at her, canting his head.

"I'll stay with you. Be nice," she said.

The Ra'Voshnik laughed and Rune exhaled.

"Your instinct will be to dive. I need you to fight it and stay with me." He gazed down at her and asked, "Ready?"

Faye nodded.

"I have you," he promised. Rune angled his hips, pressing into her. Working her in slow shallow movements.

He held her in his mind, prepared for the start of her descent. Rune stifled a groan as her soft flesh gave and she took him into her. Faye took a sudden sharp breath, her eyes wide. She arched her back away from him. To Rune's horror her eyes slid closed and she dove through the psychic chasm. Plummeting toward the Darkness far below them.

"Faye!" Rune screamed, unable to pull her out of her freefall. Her body hung limp in his arms. Her long black hair whipped around them as they fell.

He channeled all his strength into slowing her descent, barely perceiving the skin under his ring as it blackened and charred on his physical hand.

"Rune!" Sadi's voice screamed from far above him.

"Cut the tether!" Morbid's voice thundered.

"NO!" Sadi's panicked screams lanced his ears. An influx of power surged through the tether connecting his mind to Sadi's, replenishing him.

The Darkness, raw raging power, coiled and crashed beneath him. Fear took hold of Rune, its icy fingers sinking deep. Reaching through his being. They weren't collectively strong enough to pull Faye out of her dive.

If I plummet, let me fall.

No! Rune clutched her tight, tucking her to his chest. He couldn't let her go. Rune cleared his mind, losing precious seconds as he devised a solution. He routinely walked into The Crumbling. Could withstand ten to fifteen minutes in it. He could shield them through the Darkness and pull them out when her dive eased.

Rune wove the shields to regenerate from him. Pain was fleeting, he could focus through this and keep her safe.

He tightened his hold over Faye, keeping her close. He rolled them so his back would hit first. Making it easier to focus on ascending in the right direction.

The first touch of the Darkness burned through his shield, searing his mind with pain that electrified every nerve ending in his body.

He'd misjudged this. The Darkness was exponentially stronger and far more destructive than The Crumbling. It consumed his power in an instant. A drop of water absorbed into a vast ocean. Pain beyond his comprehension racked his body.

The last thing he heard was Sadi screaming his name.