Page 79 of His Darkest Desire

Flare and Shade moved in front of her, their ghostfire burning more intensely than she’d ever seen.

“You must go, Kinsley,” Flare said.

The monster huffed. “The scent of death lingers upon you, mortal. Death has touched you, and it calls. You are mine to devour.”

Around the sunny clearing, the mist had grown so thick that it seemed solid, but still none of it had crossed into the direct light. It made the monster’s form more indistinct, more terrifying.

Kinsley swallowed. She didn’t know what this creature was, what it could do, or how to overcome it. But she knew her next words would either call the monster’s bluff or seal her doom. And she knew she was almost out of time either way.

“You…you hold no power in the light.”

A low, reverberating growl emanated from the monster, making the mist around it ripple and billow. Those long legs bunched, and the beast sprang forward, landing only feet away from Kinsley with the front half of its body in the sunlight. Its skin was darkest black, its lupine face almost skeletal.

“Oh, shit,” she breathed, stumbling back.

The wisps darted at the beast’s head, a pair of tiny blue firestorms. The creature gnashed its teeth at them.

Kinsley’s heart leapt, and she reached for her friends. “No!”

Those toothy jaws nearly snapped shut on Shade, prompting the wisps to hastily withdraw. They positioned themselves between Kinsley and the creature, which advanced, drawing more of itself into the light. Muscles flexed beneath its dark hide.

“Shade, Flare, go.” Kinsley continued her retreat until her heel bumped into something large, hard, and unyielding. She glanced over her shoulder to see a huge boulder at her back.

The wisps shrank back, hovering over her shoulders.

“These ones will not leave you,” they said in unison.

The monster’s voice was like the scraping of claws inside her skull. “Now you understand, human…”

She flattened herself against the boulder.

For the second time in less than two weeks, Kinsley was staring death in the face. She still didn’t want to die, but this was different. So much different. For the first time in so long, she felt like she had more to lose than her own life.

The monster drew close enough for Kinsley to feel its breath, hot and rancid, upon her face. Bile crept up her throat. The thing stared at her with eyes that would’ve devoured the heavens themselves, were it possible.

“The sun cannot shield you.”

“Nor can it shield you!” someone roared, the deep, furious voice echoing along the stream bed.

The monster’s head jerked to the side just before something big slammed into it from the same direction. Kinsley glimpsed green skin, leathery wings, and long black hair, which shimmered like silk in the sunshine.

Vex!

Whether she’d spoken it aloud or had only thought it, his name swept through her soul, suffusing her with warmth, with relief, with hope.

Vex and the monster crashed to the ground in a tumble of flailing limbs and slashing claws. Dirt, leaves, and tattered flower petals flew into the air around them.

The two separated suddenly, both regaining their feet in a flash.

“Come, Kinsley,” Echo said, tugging her hand. “You must return to the cottage.”

But her eyes were fixed upon Vex. His tunic was torn, and blood had further darkened its black fabric. The green membranes of his wings were blistered and blackened.

The sun.

It was much more than a discomfort to him. It was burning him alive!

Her chest constricted, and air refused to pass through her tightened throat.