Rapture (32 page)

“Ferox,” she said on an exhale. “You know I love you, too, and I
assure you, what happened with your brother will not happen again.”

“Come away with me. Come to Vampur so we can be together.”

Raine closed her mouth, which had gaped open at his request.
“Ferox, my father … my sisters.”

“They don’t need you as much as I do. I can protect you if you’re
my mate. I can give you a wonderful life, and we can have children and—”

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, no as far as children go.
Valkyries cannot bear children.”

He narrowed his eyes and blinked at her for a few seconds before
shrugging. “Then we will not have children. You and I can travel the realms and
do as we please.”

It sounded wonderful, but how could she leave her father and
sisters? How could she leave the only home she’d ever known? “I don’t know,”
she replied, unsure.

“Just, come with me for one day. See Vampur and everything there
is, and then make a decision. Please just come.”

“What about Damion?” she asked, stepping back, but keeping hold of
his hands. “I’ll be at a greater risk if I am in the same realm as he is.”

“He’ll not be able to trick you again,
Caalia
. If you’re in the
same realm, you’ll grow accustomed to each other, and Damion will be forced to
recognize you as my mate.”

She was actually considering this. Could she really do it? She was
nervous, her body quaking with excitement. Could she leave Valhalla, if even
for a day? Raine smiled up at her vampire, though the bruises pained her. She
exhaled slowly and nodded as his eyes lit up. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Vampur—the realm of the Vampires

Over six centuries ago

“It’s beautiful,” Raine said, peering up at the night sky. The
land didn’t look much different than Valhalla. There were trees and grass and
flowers and mountains, but there was something startlingly different in the
sky. “One moon?”

Ferox laughed. “Yes, we only have one moon. I thought it strange
that Brelaan and Valhalla had more.”

“Hmm,” she responded, surprised. Reaching Vampur hadn’t been as
quick as she’d thought it would be. She and Ferox had had to travel through
three portals to get here, but now that she was here, she felt … relieved.
Maybe it was because she was with her vampire, or maybe it was because she’d
left Valhalla without her father’s permission and she’d
survived;
either way, she
was relieved.

“Our castle is just over that hill,” Ferox said, pointing ahead.

They continued on, hand-in-hand as they neared the base of the
hill that would soon reveal Ferox’s castle. She couldn’t wait to see it. She’d
often gotten lost in thought with fantasies of where he grew up and now that
she was so close to seeing it, she wondered how close she’d been in all her
daydreams.

“Raine,” Ferox said, halting his steps as he pulled her to him. “I
know it may be too soon, but I want you. I want to take you to my bed and love
you and caress every inch of your body. I need you. I
crave
you.”

Their eyes met, and she saw the truth of it in his eyes, and felt
it in their bond.

“I know it is probably too soon after … after what he did to you,
but—”

“It isn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want that memory
there either. I’d rather replace it with our own memories.”

“So you’ll have me?” he asked, sounding shocked.

“Yes. Take me to your bed.”

Ferox lifted her in his arms, and in what felt like seconds, they
were inside the castle walls and on their way up a stone stairway. Her back hit
the soft mattress and her clothes stripped off her body just before she saw
Ferox yank his off as well, and then their bodies were joined. He was soft and
gentle, and yet fast and unyielding as he took her. His hands, lips, and fangs
grazed her gently, caressing her just as he’d said he wanted, and yet his shaft
and hips moved hard, pounding her as she was pushed farther and farther up the
bed until she was against the headboard. She wasn’t quiet, and neither was he,
as lost as they were. Lightning crashed against the castle, rattling everything
within, and yet still she didn’t care. All she knew was Ferox: his strength,
his will, his tenderness, and his love for her. She stroked her hands over his
body, feeling every muscle bunch and flex under her touch. His eyes radiated
with the green glow that showed her his love and desire for her and her alone.

And as they made love, her mind recognized what her heart had
already known: she never wanted to be apart from him again.

****

Valhalla

Present
Day

Raine
had been forced to wait out the entire day for a chance at the dungeon. Dinner
had ended hours ago, and many of the Valkyries had already turned in for the
night. She’d spent the day target-practicing in the clearing next to the lake,
and some of her sisters had opted to join her. But now, she was alone, and as
far as she knew, she wasn’t being followed at the moment. She’d told Navvan and
Bree that she was heading for bed, and had even gone into their hut and snuffed
out the candles. But once the firelight had faded, she’d crawled through the
window and stuck to the trees as much as possible.

It
had to be here somewhere. Gods knew she’d stared up through it enough in her
time spent in the dungeon. She searched around for the bars, listening for any
hint of the underground dungeon. She heard Caleen’s voice and froze before
following the sound until she found what she’d been hunting for. She gripped
two of the bars and heaved, but they only bent a little. Raine repositioned so
that her boot rested against one, while she gripped the other with her hands.
She pulled with her hands and pushed with her leg, the bars groaning as they
bent farther apart.
A little more, just a
little more. There.
There was enough space now that she could shimmy
through, and she did, holding on to the bars before dropping into the dungeon.

Her
boots thudded against the hard ground and she stood, eyeing Caleen, Raven, and
Odette as they gaped at her. Raine held a finger to her lips, and her sisters
shut their mouths. As silently as she could, she crept to the key that dangled
on a hook beside the dungeon door and used it to unlock the three cell doors.

“What
are you doing?” Odette whispered as Raine reached her.

Raine
grabbed her sister’s manacles and turned the key inside the lock. “I’m getting
you out of here. We don’t have much time.” The manacle clinked, and they both
cringed. Raine rushed into Caleen’s cell and unlocked her binds as well.

“Finally
remembered?” Caleen asked, rubbing her wrists.

“I
remembered all along. I just needed to find us a way out.”

Her
sister’s brows shot upward, and her mouth formed an “oh,” but that was as much
time as Raine gave it. She rushed to Raven’s side and unlocked her sister who,
once freed, promptly gave her a hug.

“What
do we need to do?” Caleen asked when they all met near the dungeon door.

“I
opened the grate enough at the top, we should be able to get through it,” Raine
said, walking underneath the opening that had been nearly right above her the
entire time she’d been placed in her cell. “But we have to be very quiet.
Father has some of our sisters monitoring everything I do. If we’re not fast
enough, they’ll know I’m not where I’m supposed to be. Raven, let’s get you out
first.” She cupped her hands in front of her knees and Raven stepped onto them
just as Raine hefted her up. “Alright, once you’re steady, I’ll push, and you
need to jump.”

“I’m
ready,” Raven whispered, and Raine shoved upward right before her sister’s foot
left her hand. “I’ve got it.”

She
waited until Raven’s form disappeared once she crawled out of the hole, and
cupped her hands again.

“I’ve
got this one,” Caleen said, offering her hands to Odette. Seconds later, Odette
was in the hole, pulling herself out with Raven’s help.

“Okay,
Caleen, you’re up.”

“Actually,
no, you are.”

Raine
shook her head. She should have known Caleen would argue. “Fine, but how are
you planning to get out?”

“Same
way as you, I suppose.” Caleen reached toward her and unclipped the whip at
Raine’s waist. Caleen snapped the whip toward the hole, and it wrapped around
one of the bars at the top. “Not to sound rude, your highness, but it’s time to
get you out of here.”

Raine
gripped the whip and climbed up, using her arms and legs to propel her higher.
She was lifted from the hole by two sets of hands, and then quickly turned to
pull Caleen out as well.”

“Okay,”
she said, meeting each of their eyes. “We need to get to the lake. There’s a
portal that can get us out of here.”

“Wait,
I need to go get Davina,” Raven said, eyeing the others.

Caleen
shook her head. “We don’t have time.”

“She
wanted to leave with us last time.”

“And
we waited for her. Who’s to say we won’t be in the same position again?”

Raine
stepped between the two and focused on Raven. “Do you know where she is?”

“I
think so.”

“Do
you trust her?”

Raven
met her eyes dead-on. “I wouldn’t have said anything if I didn’t.”

“She’s
right,” Odette said, stepping forward, “Davina was going to leave with us
before. It would only be right if we gave her the chance this time.”

“Go
then. If you’re not in the clearing next to the lake in ten minutes, we’ll have
to leave without you.”

Raven
nodded and turned on her heels.

“Raven,”
she whispered loudly. “The portal is to the west of the lake, twenty paces past
the split rock.”

Her
sister nodded and rushed into the darkness as Caleen, Odette and Raine bound
into the forest. They’d made it almost halfway to the lake before the horns
sounded, and Raine stopped running.

“They
know I’m gone.”

“Or
that we are,” Caleen responded, pointedly.

“Either
way, you can’t be caught with me.”

Odette
folded her arms. “We’re not splitting up.”

“Yes,
we are. If the two of you make it and I don’t, stay where the portal takes you.
Ferox will meet you there tomorrow night. If you don’t make it, we’ll come for
you. None of us have time to wait for Raven now, so hopefully she can make it
through on her own.” Raine felt hot and sweaty, a bout of nausea forming in her
stomach. “Head west and go around that side of the lake.”

Her
sisters nodded, though they weren’t happy. Raine set off through the bushes,
heading north. She stuck to the trees even as the moon’s’ light bounced off the
lake. She slowed to a stop as her nausea worsened, and she leaned against a
tree, retching. Taking a breath, she left the shadows of the trees as she
stepped toward the lake, cupping some water in her hands as she brought it to
her mouth.

“Ha,”
a female said. “I knew we’d find you near the lake.”

Raine
peered up quickly, letting water fall from her hands as a Hjörr aimed at her
chest. Bree. Of all the Valkyries in the realm, it had to be Bree.

“Get
up.”

Raine
kept her palms out in surrender and stood slowly to her feet. Sword still
pointed at her, Bree grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her. “Even think
about pulling something and you’ll be a full head shorter.” She shoved her
forward and Raine stumbled, though she didn’t fall down. Bree kept a tight hold
on Raine’s wrist, making sure that it was twisted extra tight as she was forced
back toward Odin’s Hall and dungeon. They reached the door, but not before
she’d passed hundreds of Valkyries who stared at her as she and Bree headed
toward the massive building.

She
hadn’t been taken directly to Odin’s Hall, as she’d expected. Bree turned her
toward the right instead, and down the stairs that led to the dungeon. “You’re
lucky Father isn’t here. Otherwise I’d have killed you on the spot.”

With
another quick shove, Raine was through the door, straightening as Bree entered
behind her. A gasp made her turn around, and she got to enjoy the satisfaction
of seeing Bree’s stunned face that the others were no longer inside.

“Where
are they?” she hissed.

Raine
snorted, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at the Valkyrie. “They’re
long gone.”

Bree
rushed toward her, putting their noses inches apart. “How did you get them out
of here?”

“Everyone
can be paid off,” Raine said, “especially sentries that want to leave
Valhalla.”