Bane of Winter Read online

  The Raven’s moan drifted out into the clearing.

  Veles inhaled and nodded. “I know.”

  I made to stand, but Veles grabbed my wrist. “Remember what I told you, Wynter? I told you that the soul can have many mates. Do not be ashamed.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll try, as long as you try not to be jealous.”

  His eyes gleamed in the firelight. “It seems that we both have things to work on.”

  Leaving him to the flames, I ducked back into the hovel to check on the Raven and assuage my guilt with my ministrations.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Raven’s fever broke a few hours before dawn, and I slept slumped over his torso, exhausted, both mentally and physically. Veles woke me with the first rays of the sun. He handed me an acorn cup from his spot outside the entrance to the hovel.

  “What is this?” I sipped the brew.

  “Just a mixture of herbs.”

  “Herbal tea?” It was indeed a hot herbal concoction that was both refreshing and energizing.

  “I suppose you could call it that.” His gaze fell on the Raven. “How is he?”

  “The fever broke. I think he’ll be fine.”

  The Raven opened his eyes. “I feel almost human, and that is not a good thing.”

  Veles let out a surprised chuckle.

  The Raven struggled to sit up, his bare chest pale in the light filtering in from outside. In fact, he looked much too pale to be well enough to travel.

  He sighed and reached for his shirt. “You’re right,” he said, reading the thoughts etched on my face. “I’ll slow you down in this condition. You need to go on without me.”

  “What? No. I’m not leaving you here.”

  His smile was wry. “You won’t be. There is a roost I can go to and heal. I’ll be in my raven form. I’ll be safe, and I will find you once I have regained my strength, but there is no time for you to waste. The taint has seen you, she knows you are here, and although she may not fully understand what you are, she will make it her mission to find out. Your presence here is no longer a secret.”

  “He’s right,” Veles said.

  But I wasn’t convinced. “Where is this roost?”

  This time his smile was more than a little amused. “You think I’m lying to you?”

  I arched a brow. “Are you?”

  “You know the fey can’t lie.”

  “Not directly.”

  He leaned in so his breath was warm on my face. “I swear to you that I will be safe. I vow to you that I will find you.” His gaze fell to my lips. “We are, after all, connected.”

  His lips were so close that the urge to bridge the gap and kiss him was a physical draw, but Veles’s presence was hot at my back, and having more than one soul mate didn’t mean that I had to rub it in either one of their faces. Instead, I reached up and gently caressed the Raven’s jaw.

  “Make sure you do.”

  Veles retreated, and the Raven claimed my mouth tentatively, a brief, sweet kiss that promised more.

  He pulled back with a sigh. “Now go.”

  Veles had snuffed out the fire by kicking dirt over it, so I couldn’t even see where it had been. The furs he’d lent me were warm and large enough to act as a cloak of my own.

  “We head east,” he said.

  “Yes, the Raven told me.”

  He nodded. “He told me last night too.”

  “How long will the journey take?”

  “It could take mere hours, or it could take days. It depends on Faerie’s mood, and the shifts it decides to take. All we can do is keep walking east.”

  With a final glance at the hovel, we left the clearing and dove back into the woods.

  We walked in silence for long minutes.

  “He will be fine,” Veles said. “The Raven is a resilient creature. He was an aid to a warrior.”

  “I know. I’d feel it if he wasn’t.”

  “Is that strange?”

  “It was, but not so much any longer.”

  The forest thinned out into flatlands dotted with the odd brush or a lone tree. He held out his hand to me and I took it. His fingers closed around mine, warm and secure, and we continued across the snow, hand in hand. For a moment it was easy to pretend that we were merely two lovers out for a stroll in a winter wonderland. It was easy to pretend that everything was normal, that we would return to our cottage for hot crumpets and cocoa and then sit with our feet up by a roaring fire. The image of Veles in PJs and woolly socks crammed into an armchair flitted through my head and a snort of amusement exploded from my lips.

  Veles shot me an inquiring glance. “Care to share?”

  “I was just wondering if you’d be amenable to wearing tartan pajamas.”

  His lips curled, and he fixed his gaze ahead. “I prefer to sleep in the nude, Wynter.”

  Oh, the images that went through my head. I cleared my throat. “Good to know.”

  “Better to experience firsthand,” he said.

  I pulled him to a stop. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  He pulled me toward him. “Now how would that benefit me? I’d rather just get you naked and beneath me. I’d rather just be inside you.”

  My pulse was pounding now, and my chilly limbs were suddenly toasty-warm.

  His smile was knowing as he stepped back. “The sooner we get to where we’re going, the sooner we can explore our options.”

  He began to walk again, pulling me along with him. “Tell me about your time at the winter court.”

  “Well, it all began when we came upon this village of ghosts …”

  The sun was making its descent and the temperature was dropping. Even with the furs, even with Veles’s heat by my side, the chill found a way to kiss my skin. The mountains rose up ahead of us, tantalizingly close yet much too far.

  What if we got stranded in the flatlands after the sun went down? “Can we make it before nightfall?”

  “I don’t know,” Veles said. “The terrain may shift at any moment, and we may be left without shelter, but if we can make it closer, there may be a cave or a nook we can bed down in for the night. There is woodland bordering the mountain terrain that will shield us from the elements.”

  Which made me think … ”The blizzard … It hasn’t come this way?”

  Veles looked up at the sky. “Maybe the winter queen’s attentions are elsewhere. You said she was tormenting the autumn court, and those lands lie to the west. Maybe the force of her storm is concentrated in that direction.”

  It was highly possible.

  We picked up the pace, eager to get to the woodland that was a smudge in the distance, eager to get as close to the mountains as possible. With his thick horns and the layer of furs, Veles looked like some primal beast trudging across the land. If not for his ember eyes and compelling features, he’d be a fright to behold. But he was my monster, my beast, and I was glad he was here with me.

  The woodland was upon us quicker than anticipated. In fact, one moment it was miles away and the next it was mere meters.

  “Well that was a beneficial shift,” Veles said. “And just in time for sundown.”

  The sky was indeed all hues of burned orange as we entered the wood. It was a rocky, frosted place, but it wasn’t long before I spotted a potential hidey-hole. My nature skills were improving.

  “Over there.” I headed off in the direction of the rise that led to an outcrop of rocks. Veles was right behind me as I began the climb, my fingers grazing the icy earth as I leaned forward, scrambling up. Veles’s hand cupped my butt, and he pushed me along. The opening to a cave came into view, and I hurried inside. It wasn’t a large space, and the entrance was low. I had to duck my head to get through. Behind me, Veles let out a curse.

  I looked over my shoulder to see him hunched with only a thin sliver of light around his form as his bulk blocked the entrance almost completely.

  I continued ahead, fingers trailing across the walls. The spa
ce narrowed significantly the farther we went.

  “I think we should camp here. Any farther in and I doubt there’ll be room.”

  “Agreed.” Veles tugged me back, slipped around me, and began to sniff the air. His horns scraped on the roof of the cave, and he fell to all fours and vanished into the gloom.

  He reappeared a minute later, his ember eyes glowing in the dark. “I don’t sense any other creatures. We should be safe. But there won’t be a fire tonight.”

  No. It wouldn’t be safe in such a small space.

  He dropped his pack on the ground and slung his furs beside it. “Sit.”

  I lowered myself onto the furs. It wasn’t cold in the cave, but it wasn’t warm either. Veles lowered himself onto the furs beside me, and his body heat leaked out to envelop me. He rummaged in the pack and pulled out something, a rolled-up leaf?

  “What is it?”

  “Dried meat. Try it?”

  “Where did you get this? All we’ve been able to find are berries.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not a Raven, Wynter, I’m a large, ravenous predator that knows where to look for his next meal.” There was a hungry gleam in his ember eyes that lit the fire of anticipation inside my chest.

  We were alone, in a cave. Just the two of us.

  He dropped his gaze to my mouth. “Eat and then we’ll see what we can do about warming you up.”

  My hunger for food was suddenly background noise as a carnal hunger took the front seat, but Veles was unwrapping his leaf and tearing into the meat. His fangs flashed, wild and feral as he ate, and after a moment to allow my libido to calm down, I joined him.

  We drank melted snow and then there was nothing else to do.

  “Are you cold, Wynter?”

  No, I was burning up. Hot for him. But I nodded meekly.

  His grin was pure predator, and my stomach flipped hard. He leaned over me, arms on either side of me, giving me no option but to lie down.

  “I want to go slow,” he said, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated through me. “But the beast … the beast wants to rut, it wants to tear those offensive clothes off your body, part your thighs and fuck you.”

  His words were like hands kneading my flesh, like fingers sliding over me, like a hot, rasping tongue on my intimate place. His words were pure sex.

  “What do you want, Wynter? Would you like me to make love to you? Or would you like me to fuck you?”

  This was new, everything he said was new, and yet my body claimed differently; it softened and tensed in all the right places, ready for whatever he offered, but the power inside wanted violence, she wanted to be fucked.

  I closed my eyes. “I want you to fuck me, but … but I’ve never done this before.”

  His gaze softened, and he cursed under his breath. “Of course.” His hand trailed down my abdomen. “We’ll ease you in, soften you, make you wet.”

  He yanked open my trousers and slipped his hand into my pants to cup my heat. My body tensed.

  “Relax.” His breath brushed my lips, his mouth caressed my cheek, my jaw, and then his tongue laved my neck. His fingers slipped between my folds, sliding into my desire, and my hips rose up to meet him. My mouth parted on a moan, and he claimed it with a growl, kissing me so deep it was as if he was touching my soul. His hand continued to play me, to slide in, pushing me wider, easing me into a rhythm until I was thrusting against his fingers, craving the invasion, while my groans and moans were swallowed by his tongue.

  He came up for air and reclaimed his hand long enough to pull off his cotton shirt and then tug off mine. His gaze was hungry, sweeping over my nakedness. His mouth parted as if in awe, and a sense of power washed over me.

  I was doing this to him. That look in his eyes was for me. I reached down and slowly peeled off my pants; he licked his lips and then his mouth curled in a half smile.

  “Oh, Wynter, what is it you offer me?”

  I parted my thighs. “Whatever you want.”

  He didn’t need telling twice; he gripped my thighs and claimed me with his mouth. His tongue was large, and rough, and oh, God, he was inside me. He was everything, that point of contact was everything, and I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t … I needed more. I needed his cock inside me.

  “Veles, please. God, please, just fuck me.”

  He rose up, his horns dark shadows curling back from his head, chest rising and falling as he unbuckled his trousers to free his manhood. My breath caught on a gasp because he was glorious and hard and proud. He gripped himself, running his hand up and down his shaft.

  “Is this what you want?”

  “Yes.”

  He grabbed my hips and jerked me forward, tilting me upward at an angle, and then his hardness was rubbing against me, easing in.

  I panted, eager to take all of him but afraid of the pain.

  “Tell me if it hurts.” The words were a barely restrained growl. He pushed in farther. “Relax, Wynter. Relax.” His thumb found my sweet spot, sweeping across it and around it until I was pushing into him, urging him inside. And then there was resistance. He sucked in a sharp breath and gripped my hips. “Wynter, this may hurt a little.” And then he rammed into me. Pain, sharp and sudden ripped, through me, and my vision blurred with tears. And in that moment, I needed him out. But then he began to tease my nub again, and the pain ebbed to be replaced by that tightening sensation that promised pleasure.

  My hips jerked in time to his ministrations, and he began to move, gentle thrusts at first and then bolder ones, pulling almost all the way out before invading me again. Heat rose up from my toes, tingling up my legs and sweeping over my body to leave me flushed and aching and desperate for something. That something that I knew was within reach. I wrapped my legs around him and sat up to face him, shifting the angle so that I was in control, so that I was driving. His eyes widened in surprise, and then a low groan, part chuckle, part appreciation, spilled from his lips.

  “What is this, Wynter?”

  “My turn to fuck you.” My voice was deeper, huskier, and wanton.

  My hips began to move in a rhythm that felt as old as time as I rode him; my hands went from his shoulders up to his head to grip his horns, forcing his head back to look up into my face, and then the spiral was at its apex. My body tightened around him, and our cries echoed around the cave.

  It was no longer cold in the cave. In fact, my blood was singing from all the exertion, and my skin was tingling. Veles had cleaned the blood from my thighs with a torn bit of fabric soaked in melted snow, and the soreness was now a pleasant ache to remind me of what we’d just done.

  I lay pillowed on Veles’s chest, running my hands over his powerful pectorals and then down over the hard-ridged muscles of his abdomen all the way down to … oh … Hello there.

  His chest rumbled, and his hand cupped mine. “Easy, or I’ll forget that you’re tender and take you again.”

  My pulse moved sluggishly in my veins. “I’m sorry.”

  “What for?”

  “For not realizing it sooner.” I pressed a kiss to his chest.

  He hugged me closer. “I think the wait was worth it.”

  He’d given up his godhood to be with me. “What does it mean to no longer be a god?”

  “Aside from being here with you? A decrease in power, and immortal vulnerabilities that I wouldn’t have had to worry about as a god.”

  I propped myself up to look down at him. “What kind of vulnerabilities?”

  He smiled. “I won’t be able to use the threads to travel. My strength is slightly diminished, as is my ability to heal, both myself and others.” He scanned my face. “Gods do not fall easily, but make no mistake, we can be killed, but if we do die, we retain our memories. But now … If I fall, my soul will be cleansed of my past. I will forget this.” He grasped the nape of my neck and drew me down for a kiss. “And this.” He rolled me onto my back and kissed my neck and my collarbone.

  His attentions were gentle, reverent, so unlike the primal
creature I’d come to know; it melted me in a new way. His kisses swelled my heart and made my throat pinch.

  I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back. “Please don’t die.”

  His gaze softened. “I’ll do my best.”

  I kissed him, running my tongue over his fangs and snagging his bottom lip with my teeth. I reached down between us to curl my hand around his shaft and massage it in a way that turned him to steel in my hand and drew groans from his mouth that I eagerly swallowed. He felt good, right, and the urge to taste him overwhelmed me. I twisted under him, urging him to roll onto his back, and then crawled over him to slide between his legs.

  “Wynter, what are you—”

  His words cut off as I took him in my mouth, and then the cave was filled with his growls and rumbles of ecstasy.

  The sun was too bright on my closed lids, turning the insides red. Wait. We were in a cave, how was this—

  My eyes snapped open, and I was instantly blinded by the beam of a torch. Figures surrounded me. Veles, where was Veles?

  His growl ripped through the air a moment later, and I caught a glimpse of his ember eyes to my left. He was surrounded by the shadowy forms of men. His arms were behind his back, and a thick silver rope gleamed around his neck while another cut across his mouth like a gag, muffling his roar.

  “Hold the beast,” a male voice said. “Hold him still while I examine the female.” I gathered the furs around me to hide my nakedness, my heart pounding hard in my chest even as my hand fumbled for my bone dagger, never too far away.

  A male crouched in front of me. His face was shrouded in the shadow of a hood, but a pair of intense blue eyes stared at me from the gloom.

  He held up his hands. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

  My fingers curled around my bone dagger, and I brought it up in a fluid movement to press to his throat. “But you’re not.”

  His eyes widened, and his companions gasped in shock.

  I glared at the hooded figure. “Tell your companions to let my lover go, or I will push my dagger through your throat.”