Devour, A Paranormal Romance (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 3) (26 page)

A devilish, fangy grin crept across my face as I toyed with the idea of telling the truth. Sure, revealing that the deadliest enemy known in history was on the war path would certainly cause a panic, but it was better than not knowing, wasn’t it? I knew I’d certainly prefer it if I were still human. I’d rather spend my time preparing myself than wasting it partying the night away.

“What are you up to?” Arrick asked as he stepped up behind me, pulling my body against his as we stared out the open window.

“What makes you think I’m up to something?” I asked, keeping my tone even.

“’Cause I know you, silly,” he answered, laughing heartily.

“So, what if I am up to something?” I joined in his laughter, stepping away from the window and dropping myself on the bed.

“Well… if you are, then I’d like you to let me in on it.” He winked at me. “I know you’re sick of waiting around, hell, I am too!”

“Then let’s do something about it. Clearly diplomacy isn’t going to work here.” I knew we’d had the conversation a dozen times just in the past three nights, but I was hoping Arrick was getting as fed up as I was.

“What are we going to do, force Titan to join us?” his voice was full of doubt. “That’s not going to work, Claire.”

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. Of course I knew that wasn’t going to work. I might not have gotten as far as figuring out how to make Titan do what I knew was right, but there had to be a way. There had to be.

“Listen,” Arrick ordered as he leaned over me, tugging at my pouting lip with his fingers. “Tonight is a big night. I think Cathair is finally getting through to Titan.”

“What’s so big about tonight?” I stirred with excitement. Did Arrick know something he wasn’t telling me?

“It’s the last night of the shifting festival.”

“Yeah, so?” After the first night, Arrick and I curled into bed and talked until we both fell into a deep sleep. He told me that the feast wasn’t
just
because we had visited Titan. The real reason was because of the shifting festival, which was a celebration in honor of the men and women who were joining Titan’s secret army. An army which we had yet to physically see. I couldn’t help but wonder if it actually existed, and I also couldn’t help but still feel the amount of partying was going a little overboard.

Wow, had I always been such a downer?

“During the last night, Titan chooses who will join his army.”

“And you think after this he’ll decide whether or not to help us?”

“That’s my best guess.” He looked around like there was something more and I raised my brows at him, showing that I wasn’t going to let him go until he continued. “I spoke with Mikel, and he said he overheard a little of the conversations between Titan and Cathair.”

“And?” I kept the sharpness from my voice. I asked Mikel to spy for me and he said he wouldn’t do it! Did he not trust me, or was it just because I was Cathair’s daughter?

“He thinks Titan sounds scared, and that he might be waiting until this festival to end so that he’ll have a larger army before he’s willing to commit.”

“Goddess! What the hell is he so afraid of?” I couldn’t take much more of this, we were wasting time. Any moment now I was going to march into the throne room and demand Titan join us, or he could go to hell. In my eyes not fighting with us was the same as fighting against us. Hadn’t he accused my father of the same thing?

Arrick shook his head, clearly disappointed with my temper. “The last time Titan went full force against Baal, he attacked his wife. I don’t blame him for being afraid. If I were him, I’d be hesitant too.”

I slumped back to the bed with a heavy sigh, Arrick was right. I kept focusing on the fact that Titan hadn’t agreed to help us, that I was forgetting why he was tentative in the first place. No matter whom I asked, no one seemed to want to reveal what happened to Titan’s wife, but if I had to guess… she probably didn’t survive.

“You’re right,” I admitted.

“Now, can you promise to behave yourself?” he teased.

“I can,” I tapped my chin, pondering my answer, “but for how long I have no idea.”

We laughed our way out of the room, following the servants as they guided us to an outdoor arena. I was so thankful I had Arrick with me to not only to keep my temper in check, but also relax me. With him around I felt balanced. When I was sad he brought me joy, when I was angry he calmed me, and when I was scared he drew out the strength I had inside me. I hoped I did the same for him.

Our walk led us up several dozen stairs along the wall surrounding the citadel. I felt a slight wave of dizziness as we walked the length of the narrow path with only a short one foot wall separating us from a deadly drop. The servants guided us half way around the circle before we reached a catwalk that floated above the city and connected to the outdoor arena on the other end. Blinding lights lit the area, and when we finally reached the other side I sighed with relief. It was totally ridiculous that I was a vampire who couldn’t let go of her human fear of heights.

The arena was set up much like any stadium. It was already filled to the brim with no visible open seats. The capital was big, but I didn’t think there were truly this many people. If this event was as big as Arrick made it out to be, maybe people from other cities within the region came here to witness it.

We entered at the top of the arena with the seats descending below us, surrounding a dirt field that had been raked with perfectly straight lines dragging from side to side. There were five massive rocks placed throughout the arena; two on each end, and one in the middle. The rake lines circled around the stones as if they were being dropped into a smooth lake, and their ripples were bounding outward in flawless precision.

The jubilation of the gathering crowd infected me, and I swallowed back my sour attitude as I took a seat at the head of the arena with my father, Titan, Ronon and Arrick. Banners waved in the hands of the onlookers as they cheered for the event to begin. I could feel the surge of excitement blowing off the people and I felt myself growing excited too. I might have been upset with Titan, but it was evident how much his people enjoyed this festival. It was clearly important to them, and though I didn’t understand it, I had to respect it.

Although I had avoided making eye contact with him as I sat beside my father, I could feel Ronon’s gaze on me. It was that same eerie sensation when you know someone is watching you, and I absolutely hated that feeling. It reminded me of Ana.

Titan on the other hand, ignored me as he usually did; like I didn’t exist. Considering how back-and-forth my opinion of him was, it was probably for the best that he didn’t speak to me. If he did, there would probably be a good chance that I would totally put my foot in my mouth.

“Is there going to be some kind of show?” I whispered to Arrick as the sound of drums began to fill the air, which only made the masses cheer louder.

“Anything but,” Ronon interjected, startling me. I spun around in my seat completely shocked that he had spoken to me. He’d stuck with an awkward stare until now.

“Those who survive will have proven themselves in the final test,” he continued, fully unfazed by the shock on my face. As the applause of the masses grew to an all-time high, I turned away from Ronon to see at least twenty men and women march onto the field of soil. They were laden with leathered armor and gleaming weapons.

“Wait. Are those humans?” I could tell by their movements that there was no way they could be vampires, and when they looked around the stadium their eyes revealed the truth. This event had suddenly taken on a whole different meaning than what I expected. I thought this was going to be some sort of ceremony, but they looked ready for battle.

“Aye,” he answered flatly.

“And you’re forcing them to fight each other?” I spun back around to face him, challenge in my voice. This was utterly barbaric. How could they possibly build an army when they forced their soldiers to fight?

“They have chosen to do this!” his tone rose, clearly insulted by my choice of words. “It is the dream of every citizen to join my father’s army. It is an honor,” he spat the words at me.

I couldn’t stand to see the ire in Ronon’s eyes so I turned away to face the arena. Arrick was distracted by an in-depth conversation he was having with Mikel, and my father was speaking with Titan. By the way he kept glancing at me; I knew he had heard what I said. I could see the disappointment creased into his expression, and I had to do something quick. Ronon was Titan’s son and if I offended him, I undoubtedly offended the king. There was no way I wanted to be the reason they chose not to help us.

I scooted over in my seat so I could turn to face Ronon without having to twist my back. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” I swallowed back my pride, hating to apologize to him. I’d never been good at saying I was sorry, and it was even harder when I didn’t particularly care for the other person. “Can you tell me why they’re fighting?”

“They must defeat a sand sylph,” he answered without looking at me. His scrutiny was locked onto the warriors in the arena.

“What’s a sand sylph?” Now I was curious. I thought that they’d be fighting each other, but if they really weren’t, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. So they had to fight some sand thing. Didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

“Legend says they were once a race of beautiful women,” he started, pulling his eyes to mine. Waves of nerves washed over me, making me shift nervously in my seat. “They floated down from the heavens like angels, watching man from above. The women fell in love with a band of soldiers who prayed to them before every battle, pleading for victory. The sylph watched the men in fight after fight, falling in love with their strength. Years passed and the soldiers were emboldened by the connection they felt with the spirits. Thinking they could destroy their adversary once and for all, the soldiers attacked their enemy stronghold.”

I felt myself pulling forward as he told the story, every word drawing me in. I no longer avoided his stare, but gazed into his eyes, falling into their limitless pools. He had a way with words, speaking them with such passion that I almost believed he had witnessed the legend being born.

“Did they win?” I latched onto the back of my seat, eager to hear the rest of the story and completely forgetting how much I didn’t like Ronon. The sound of the warriors in the arena introducing themselves to the crowd was nothing more than a whisper in the back of my mind.

“They were nearly defeated,” Ronon shook his head. “The sylph cried for the loss of their loves. Their tears were boundless, pouring down from the heavens like an ocean in the desert.” I gaped at him, utterly fascinated. His tale was more than some history lesson, it was an epic love story and I tried to picture how it would end. Would the sylph bring their soldiers to live in the heavens with them? Would they become human and live happily ever after. Goddess, I was a sucker for a good love story.

“That is how our oasis was born.” Ronon waved his arms around to emphasize the very place we were.

“You mean here? The citadel?” He nodded.

“Their tears soaked the barren earth, and brought forth life giving power to the land.”

“That’s a beautiful story,” I smiled at him, but quickly hid my grin when I realized I was being nice. I mean, he hadn’t exactly proven he wasn’t a total jerk, so there was no reason I wanted to show that we could be friends. All he had really done was tell me a sweet love story.

At that thought my brows creased and I gave him a quizzical look. Okay, he told me about some nice angels who fell in love with human soldiers, but what did that have to do with the battle that was about to happen in the arena?

“And you’re wondering what that has to do with tonight?” he flashed me a brilliant smile that I hadn’t been prepared to witness. Until now he had held a permanent glare, mixed with a deadly scowl, but to see the softness in his face was breathtaking. For a moment he actually looked like he wasn’t ready to tear my head off.

“Well, yeah,” I answered as the crowd chanted the names of their favorite warrior. I heard Arrick clapping and cheering beside me.

“That is where the beauty ends, young princess.” Ronon’s deadly countenance returned, matching the sinister turn his tale had taken. “Hanging on the brink of death the soldiers retreated. They dragged themselves through the dunes until their eyes caught sight of the oasis. As the soldiers sought refuge, the sylph visited them. That night they lay with the wounded soldiers, binding themselves through love, magic and lust. The sylph gave the soldiers strength and power so they would never be defeated in another battle.”

Hmm. That’s not at all what I thought would happen. The sylph and the soldiers get busy, and the sylph make sure they never lose any of them in battle again. Kind of like a twisted, insurance policy.

“What happens next?” Okay, so the story wasn’t turning out to have the happy ending I thought it would, but I still wanted to know what would happen.

Ronon’s father rose from his seat and began addressing the crowd in a booming voice. I felt Arrick squeeze my knee as I leaned in closer to hear the rest of Ronon’s story.

“They don’t lose. They win every battle, even when the odds are against them. As time passes the haze of victory consumes them and they forget the night they spent with the sylph. The soldiers lay with other women in the cities they recapture from their enemy, and the sylph grew jealous. As the men age from young soldiers, to veteran men they marry and plant their seed.”

To hear him speak those last three words I didn’t know whether to laugh hysterically or cringe. It was just awkward, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard anyone referring to getting a girl pregnant as
planting their seed
. It made the girl sound like she was some garden pot or something. If a guy ever told me he wanted to plant his seed I’d tell him to get lost. Then again, being a vampire I would probably never have that problem… unless of course Nyx decided she wanted to work her magic. That thought
did
make me cringe. I wasn’t in any way ready for a kid, but you had to have sex for that to happen so I was safe for now. Arrick and I might sleep together, but that’s as far as it went. For now.