Dark Hunger

Elize picked up her satchel and then slipped out of the cave she was holed in. The forest was now cold and wet. She adjusted her vision in the dark and then scanned the area as she walked ahead up the slope. She marked the area as she walked following the smell. It had become weaker but it still wafted in the air. 

She had gone far up ahead and when she looked down, she realized that she had climbed very high to the north. Thunder continued to rumble and lightning flashed in silver streaks overhead. She wanted to use her magic to scale the slopes, but was afraid that if she did that it might act as a beacon to the devils up there. 

The moon had begun its descent when Elize reached the edge of the gap that was flanked by two peaks. She had smelled the demons all the way up. The scent would vanish and then come again. She had lost her way twice but then used all her senses to track the demons' lair. 

Right at the end of the gap was the peak that kind of acted as the barrier. She scuttled to the side. Extremely exhausted and very hungry, she hoped she wouldn't fall. The place was covered in layers and layers of thick snow. Two massive rocky outcrops jutted out of the mountain on the right, which looked more crimson than black, acting as the entrance to the cave. The smell of demons was stronger. 

As she neared it, she heard loud brawls and sultry conversation. She tossed her satchel on the side and decided to disguise herself as a demon to get inside the cave when she heard a raven cawing above her. The raven glided in the darkness and then sat right above the outcrops. Elize found it eerie as she gazed into the sharp green eyes of the raven. Her breath lodged in her throat as something jolted into her memory—her dance with the magic. The raven was… Elize shoved the thought from her mind, admonishing herself for overthinking. She disregarded the raven and trudged ahead in the snow towards the entrance of the lair. 

"We've been waiting for you?" a voice from behind startled her and she jumped back to find the demon she had encountered that night in the forest, glaring at her through his grin. "It was easy to lure you, wasn't it, vampire?" he said and the next moment something hit her hard on the head. 

Elize screamed with pain. She caught the back of her head as silver stars crowded her vision and she plunged into darkness. She hit the ground with a thud and after that she didn't know what happened. 

Ixoviya was burning, and Caleb with it. The mighty ancient Yelgra trees were burnt to the charred husks. There was so much smoke all around that it was like snow raining down, except that it was black. 

There were bright red embers that were carried by the wind. Embers, which matched the color of her red tendrils. Tendrils that bobbed inside her, trying to wake to life or trying to wake her to life. There was so much heat all around her, so much suffocation that her lungs felt burned. 

You shouldn't have come. So easy to lure. 

Yelgra trees came down with loud groans as she searched for Caleb. The entire kingdom was covered with fire. There was light everywhere. There was black smoke and the red tendrils that swirled around her. 

Movement in the dark smoke snagged her attention. Caleb was half burnt, half wounded, as he ran towards her. Demons shot arrows at him. His skin was so badly wounded. Flesh was torn from all sides. He wanted to shift but he couldn't. She realized that he was trying to save her. Her selfless warrior, her savior, her mate. 

She reached a hand toward him and he rushed towards her, yelling relentlessly to go away from there, to save herself. And she watched him running back to the demons to fight. He didn't come back. 

Elize woke up with a start. Green eyes were watching her. "Auril?" It was a dream! 

"Gods above!" Auril said. "You are awake! Oh, thank the forest spirit!" 

Elize Silver ran a finger over the stone she lay. "Caleb?" she asked. And then her eyes turned to the man who lay beside him, an unconscious mass of blood and flesh. "Caleb!" she shouted his name. Bile threatened to come out. Her body quivered as her heart stuttered to a stop. She tried to get up but found herself tied in heavy iron chains. She yanked the chains but she couldn't move an inch. "Caleb," she shouted his name. Seeing him in such a horrible condition was sickening. 

"He can't speak," said Auril in a grim voice. 

She looked at him with wide eyes and a thousand questions in her mind. "Why? And what happened to him?" Her cheeks became wet with tears that she didn't know had started falling. Her heart cracked up. She was lying a little further away from them over what felt like a stone altar. Her limbs were tied to heavy chains and she was spread. 

"Edyrm found us and he has been feeding on him since then!" Auril replied with gloom. He glanced at Caleb. "His wounds are badly infected." There was a shiver in his body and shakiness in his voice. "But how did you find us?" 

Elize couldn't stop crying. She extended her hand to Caleb, but she couldn't reach him. "You shouldn't have left me," she managed to speak and then again broke into a sob. Through her mental bond, she called him, but she hit the same silence. He was slipping into a deep chasm of death. "What do I do? What should I do?" She pulled against her chains again, but met with the same resistance. 

The door creaked open. "Ah, I see you struggling, vampire queen," came the voice of the demon who she had met with earlier. He chuckled as her gaze flickered to him. "You are so foolish, aren't you? You thought that you came to us?" He kept a lantern on the side, walked over to her and raked his finger over her belly. "No, it was us who got you here." He laughed as he took a step back to gauge her chains. "The brawl that you were a part of in the streets of the Whiteclaw pack—that was the silliest thing one could do. You made yourself visible to us. One of us is always lurking on those streets." He tilted his head when she struggled against the chains. "We noticed you and then the rest was very easy. Once you came to the foothills of the mountains, all we had to do was to spread our scent so that you could follow us." He tutted. "So very, very idiotic of you." He leaned over here and when his face hovered over hers, he said, "My king is going to drink blood from you and regain his magic. After that we are going to simply kill all of you and go back to Galahar to snatch the throne back from Rolfe Aramaer." 

The door opened once again and the woman with green eyes and ivory horns entered. Elize's eyes became wide at the recognition. 

"Hello Elize," Arryn said with a cold smile.