Blood Oath (The Darkest Drae Book 1)(11)

The man turned to me, just his head, and I gave him a pointed look. “Well? What are you standing there for? The king’s Drae is out and the soldiers, too. You need to get on home before curfew.”

The man jerked, as if surprised I was addressing him.

I rolled my eyes. This one must’ve dropped his acorns when he was fighting for the emperor.

“You see me?” he demanded.

Oh, brother. It was sad, really, what happened to men after war, but Mum said manners didn’t cost a thing. Using the politest tone possible, I asked, “Are you usually invisible?”

The silence following my remark was drawn out. In only a few seconds, it became awkward. I shifted, debating whether I should leave him, but something about his surprise held me back. His mouth open and closed several times, and then he answered, “Yes.”

He took a step toward me, still cloaked in shadows, and my heart stopped.

It wasn’t that I immediately connected his single word reply to what it meant.

Not at all.

It was that the insects stopped their chatter and the night became heavy exactly as he took that step.

One step and the world held its breath.

I’d been thinking about the night sky and the thing it concealed too often in the last two days to miss the connection. This man wasn’t lost. As my bones rattled inside me, I knew. The deathly quiet was confirmation a predator had found me. The king’s Drae was right in front of me. The shadows appeared to cling to him because they knew him. My heart sputtered in my chest, and rushes of blood sounded in my ears. I hadn’t blinked. I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t breathe . . .

Lord Irrik.

I took a deep breath as a billow of heat pushed against me from where I stood just beyond the center square. The warmth swirled around my legs and caressed my arms, and I felt an urge to flee and stay at the same time. Play it cool, Ryn.

“Al’right. You take care now,” I said in a hoarse voice. I willed my legs to move, but they seized as the inky darkness melted away and the famed Lord Irrik glided completely out of the shadows. My heart pounded, the thundering loud in my ears. A sliver of rational thought processed the danger I was in.

“You see me,” he repeated, stalking closer. But his words were no longer a question. His statement was a confirmation of what we both knew.

Death stood three paces from me, and I couldn’t move. My mouth dried as I stared at the man who I knew turned into a terrible beast. My gaze dropped, taking him in. He wore black boots, black breeches, and a sleeveless aketon that hit mid-thigh. His clothing fit like a second skin, revealing a lean build that was nevertheless all muscle. His fists were clenched, and his muscles flexed as if ready to strike.

I was going to die. I knew it as certainly as I knew death shouldn’t look so good. Not when it was already invincible. I’d heard Lord Irrik was beautiful, that even knowing he would bring death, looking at him would almost make up for it. My mother left that part out of my bedtime stories, but the women here talked.

His dark eyes narrowed, and he asked, “What are you?”

I frowned at him. Huh?

The Drae’s face didn’t change, except for a flicker of annoyance. “Let’s try a different question then. Why are you out after curfew?”

As he spoke, he flicked a lock of dark hair away from his face, and I embarrassed myself by flinching in the most horrible way, expecting him to strike me. He smirked again.

My mouth was parched, and it took several attempts before I could voice my almost incoherent reply. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the time.”

It was true. This time. I’d thought I still had half an hour.

He didn’t seem to hear. My words bounced off him onto the chipped cobblestone ground. He took one step toward me, and I took three back before hitting the coarse stone wall.

“I won’t do it again,” I whispered, pressing back. “I promise.”

The scream lodged in my throat as he crossed the remaining space in a blur my eyes could hardly trace. I turned my face away, lifting an arm out of instinct. My mother would never know what happened to me. Mum. I had to keep him from her.

I straightened but jerked when I saw his face inches away. I tried to meet his eyes but focused on his chin instead. Then he leaned forward, blowing a long breath into my face.

I clamped down on a scream because I knew what that breath would do to me. Why else would he breathe in my face? A Drae could turn anyone into a puppet with a single exhale in close range.

He looked at me expectantly, and I looked back.

His square jaw was covered with a day’s worth of growth, but it did nothing to distract from his sculpted lips, the lower slightly fuller than the top. It made him appear sterner, adding to the terror his air of darkness inspired. His nose was straight, and his deep-set eyes appeared to be the same color as the inky night. I couldn’t tell if his pupils were dilated so wide I couldn’t see his irises or if his eyes were really that onyx black. His hair was liquid coal, like the color of his clothes, and confined at the base of his neck. The sleeveless aketon exposed plenty of his neck, and his skin was warm like the burnt sugar Mum made on Solstice celebrations.

I swallowed and waited for the moment I would lose all control of my mind and body. Had it already happened? Though his breath smelled sweet, I didn’t feel like I was losing control. I wondered if I would know when his power took effect. Would I care when I betrayed my people? Would I care when he finally killed me?