Seeds of Sorrow (Immortal Realms Book 1)

While Eden ate, Draven’s mind reeled. Last night he had allowed his own actions to get away from him. Throughout the ball, he’d made a show of touching Eden, drawing her close, dancing with her, and paying her more attention than he had ever paid another. He had wanted his people to realize that Eden was here as a mate for him, not as a plaything, and she was not to be touched by any other.

The ruse hadn’t only fooled the nobility, it had gotten into Draven’s head as well. Her scent was intoxicating, increasing his hunger and his desire equally. He had wanted to taste her lips long before she had faced off with him in the hallway. When Eden had kissed him, a part of Draven had wondered if he’d unknowingly glamoured her into action.

While he was still aware of the fluctuations in her body this morning, due to the connection formed from her drinking his blood, Draven had convinced himself that was all it was. That it was only the powerful force of vampire blood coursing through her, stimulating her sexual drive and leaving her wanting. It was easier that way. The temptation to finish what they had started was easier to ignore if it wasn’t based on something real.

But had Eden truly changed her mind about him? She claimed to have felt a stirring of desire for him before she’d been given his blood. What would be her purpose for lying?

Draven studied her face, taking pleasure in the fact that she no longer shied away from his touch, that her eyes continually sought his own, and that she had chosen to be closer to him. Did he dare let himself follow whatever pull was bringing them closer together? Or did he let common sense overrule?

She was only allowing herself to think better of him because she thought she was to wed him . . . If she knew she would shortly be returning home . . .

Draven didn’t want to let himself believe that her changing opinion had any true value. Eden was making the best of a terrible situation. She wasn’t going to remain here and be the one bright spot of sunshine in a dark world just for him. Draven wouldn’t allow her to, even if it were something she could possibly fathom wanting.

Andhera was no place for someone as pure as Eden. And he would be the monster she had first named him if he allowed this dark realm to transform her for his own selfish desires.

“Would you like to go for a ride today?” he asked suddenly, ignoring every ounce of reality telling him this was a terrible idea. Perhaps Travion had been right: he should enjoy what little time he had with her.

Eden glanced at him, a smile forming on her lips that he would do most anything to keep there. “Truly? No matters to attend to?”

“Oh . . . there are always matters that require attending. However, this morning I find I would much rather ride out to the lake with you.” He had most certainly gone insane if he thought humoring this situation would bring anything but grief. But Draven couldn’t seem to stop himself. “Would you care to see a little more of my land?”

“I would like that very much,” Eden said, the smile still upon her lips.

They had parted ways to change into proper riding attire, and once he was ready, Draven called Hannelore and Channon to him, letting them know he would be leaving the castle and heading out over the fields.

“Keep your distance as best you can. I don’t think anyone will interfere, but after last night, I don’t care to chance it.”

Channon nodded. “Of course, sire.” The were-wolf then transformed and headed outside. Hannelore went along with him.

It may have been excessive to bring a guard with him for a simple outing, but with Eden coming with him, Draven would not risk being taken by surprise. Not again.

He went to fetch her at her bedroom door, casting an appreciative glance over the black leather riding breeches, white blouse, and black vest with thick brass buttons down the front that Loriah had dressed her in. Draven did his best not to allow his mind to wander, but the thought of her shivering body pressed against his the night before seemed a constant thought in the corners of his mind. It felt as if this outfit had been chosen specifically to torment him. To remind him of the taste of her tender flesh upon his tongue and the sound of her needy moans breathed into his ear. The memory stirred his blood, and Draven had to grit his teeth and physically will his fangs not to extend.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Quite. Lead the way, Your Majesty.” She tilted her head back, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

Eden was smiling at him once more. Draven offered his arm to her. Once her hand rested on his forearm, Draven moved them through the firelit corridors.

“I’ve had one of our kindest kelpies saddled for you. She will be yours to use whenever you choose to ride.”

Eden glanced up at him, curiosity on her face.

“Is it safe? I thought kelpies had a murderous streak and were likely to drown anyone who rode them?”

“That is a common misconception,” he stated, leading her outside and over to where two black kelpies stood saddled and waiting, the sharp black horn centered on their foreheads glinting proudly in the bright moonlight.

Draven led Eden up to her mount. Taking the reins, he gently brought Karistand’s head down toward her. The kelpie’s braided mane dripped with black ichor, the true sign of her dark nature.

“This lovely filly is Karistand. She is patient, the mount we use to teach the young were-pups to ride.”

Eden reached out to stroke the filly’s nose, peering up at the horn protruding from her forehead.

“Where do kelpies come from?” she questioned softly.

“When a unicorn is slaughtered, if they die before their horn is severed, then their spirit arrives here on the shores of Andhera.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then they are lost forever, as if they never were.”

Draven drew her over to the side of the kelpie and helped her up into the saddle. Offering what he hoped was a comforting smile, he moved to Rayvnin and mounted the stallion. Checking to be sure Eden was settled, he kicked back with his heels and directed his steed away from the castle and through the city walls, heading over the silvery fields ripe with darkly sweet scents.

Behind them, Seurat followed with supplies, while Channon ran alongside him, and Hannelore flew overhead. It didn’t give Draven and Eden complete privacy, but they remained far enough back that there was a semblance of it.

He didn’t try to speak as they raced freely over the field. Instead he took the moment to appreciate the freedom of being away from the castle and the heavy weight of responsibility that trailed him there.

“Just follow me,” Draven shouted to Eden as they drew farther away from the city and its lights. While the day moon was bright in the sky, the land was still darker than what Eden was accustomed to, and without eyesight especially adapted to the darkness, he knew that she and her mount could end up in danger.

He took them along the easiest path, passing through a small wooded area to come out on the other side near the lake. It was a dark body of water, flanked by a large mountain on either side. Above, the moon shone down, its light reflecting off the lake’s smooth surface. Between the two mountains, a rainbow arched over the lake, offering a soft glow on the waters. Draven had grown to love the subtle beauties of Andhera, but he was a creature formed in the darkness; Eden was not.

Draven drew them to a stop just shy of the shore, on a small hill that overlooked the full body of water. Eden pulled up beside him, and he glanced over as he heard a soft gasp leave her.

“It’s beautiful.” She looked up at the sky, the glittering stars a stark contrast against the dark blue. “Before Midniva, I’d never seen the moon, let alone stars. I’d wondered why poets wrote about them incessantly.” Eden turned to look at him. “I now know why.”

He gazed at her and found that her words did not lie, for upon her face was a look of wonderment.

“It is,” he murmured softly. Draven had never had someone to share the wonders of Andhera with before. While his brothers appreciated what he had built here, from the ground up, neither were interested in spending enough time in the dark realm to become acquainted with her delights. It did something for his soul, to see the appreciation in Eden’s eyes as she beheld his land. Her hatred of it slowly melting away to make way for something new.

“How cold is it?”

“Excuse me?”

“The water . . . is it very cold?” she asked.

“I don’t find it unpleasant. But then, I’m not—”

“A warm blooded Lucemite?” A defiant look filled her green eyes.

“I did not say those words.”

A smile tugged at Draven’s lips as Eden slid from her kelpie and raced toward the rocky shoreline surrounding the beach. With a shake of his head, he also climbed down from Rayvnin and released him and Karistand to wander along the water.

Following Eden down to the shore, he was surprised to see her already in the process of disrobing.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he stopped a few feet away from her.

“What does it look like, Your Majesty?” She shot him a shy, playful look. “I am proving that I can handle the water just as well as you can.”

“I don’t believe I ever said you couldn’t,” he responded in his standard dry tone.

“Perhaps not, but it was implied.” With that, Eden cast aside her black vest, and soon her blouse followed.

Draven knew it was improper to stare, yet he found his eyes glued to her sun-kissed skin as quickly more and more of it became bare to his discerning look. Once her garments were gone, Eden twisted her hair up on top of her head in a quick knot and then began to wade into the water.

He felt a breath of air rush out of him, watching the dark water swirl around her slender legs as she walked in, unhindered by cold or concern. Once she was up to her chest, she turned to face him once more, that sweet smile playing over her lips, and beneath his breath, he cursed her brazen, Lucemite ways. She truly did wish to torment him today.

Channon and Hannelore had moved much farther down the shoreline, enjoying the water themselves where they were out of earshot. Seurat, for the moment, had also disappeared. Draven stared down at Eden in the water, wondering what was holding him back. Should he succumb to his desire, would she hate him once she learned why she was truly here? Was it worth the risk?

Eden was an independent female. If she wished to interact with him in this manner, it was her choice to do so. Would he be yet another controlling force in her life attempting to curb her behavior?

His fingers were working at the stays of his clothing before he could rethink his decision. As he undressed, he felt Eden’s unblinking eyes on him. Even in the darkness he could see the faint flush of desire rising up her neck into her cheeks as his slacks joined hers on the rocky beach.

Naked, he headed into the water, wading directly towards her. Seeing his narrowed look, Eden pushed off from the sand below her to swim backward, trying to move out of his reach.

“Why do you flee from me?” he drawled. “You called for me to join you.” Lowering fully into the water, Draven swam in her direction.

“I called for you to join me, not to devour me.” Eden’s voice lowered, and because of their remaining bond, Draven could feel that was exactly what she wanted him to do.

“Something tells me that perhaps that is a lie.” The timber of his own voice lowered to match Eden’s, and his eyes dropped to her lips. Draven caught the quick dart of her tongue out to moisten her upper lip. He pushed off from the bottom, moving closer toward her.

Eden continued swimming backward as Draven progressed closer to her. When he was close enough, he reached out to try and grab at one of her ankles, but before he could, she had sent a wave of water his way.

Sputtering as it streamed over his face and splashed up his nose, Draven blinked droplets of water out of his eyes and glared at her. Was she playing with him? His blood heated even more. “That . . . was terribly unkind,” he growled.

Eden released a nervous laugh and turned to swim away. This time, Draven lunged with enough speed to grasp onto her ankle, and with a jerk, he drew her quickly under the water pulling her toward him. He kept her below the water for only a moment before releasing her ankle. As she surfaced, she let out a soft cough, then shot him a fierce glare.

“That, Your Majesty, was very ungentlemanlike.”

“I am only a gentleman when the lady deserves it.”

Gasping, Eden swam to him so that she could lift a hand and flick a drop of water into his face. Draven grabbed her wrist quickly, and pulled her in against him, their bodies grazing in the water as they kept afloat. Releasing her wrist, his hand dropped below the surface of the water to rest on her waist. Gone was the playfulness of a moment before. There was no denying the heat rising between them.

“Also . . . I thought by now we were on a first name basis?”

“Are we? You never said . . . ” Her whisper was on the edge of breathy, just enough to make his length stir.

“Well, now I am.”

She was close enough to him that he could count the freckles over her nose and cheeks, and Draven found he much preferred those to all the stars in his sky. If he should follow their trail over her body, would they lead him to a treasure more heavenly than the sweet afterlife?

“Draven.” Though not the first time she had uttered it, it was perhaps the first time she had done so intentionally. “Why did you come to Andhera, and neither of your brothers?”

He was taken aback at first by the sudden inquiry. It had been a very long time since anyone had questioned his presence in the dark realm. And this was not at all where his mind had been taking him at their present nearness.

“It was dark, unruly, and filled with chaotic creatures that needed to be contained and ruled before they destroyed the other realms. I came so my brothers did not have to.”

Eden’s eyes were studying him in a way that left Draven feeling rather exposed, a sensation that he was neither used to nor did he like. What did she see, this innocent fae of the light realm?

Her arms slipped around his neck, forearms resting lightly on his shoulders as she relied on his frame to keep her afloat. Her nearness was like a dose of belladonna, leaving his senses reeling and his nerves on fire. Since their moment in the hallway the night before, he had been able to think of little else other than kissing her once again.

“Did you know you would change once you got here?” Her fingers played with strands of his hair, which both ignited his nerves and relaxed him at once.

“We assumed.”

His hand slid around to rest at the middle of her back and pulled her a little nearer. Though space remained between them, they were close enough that the occasional kick of a leg or shift in the water allowed for satiny curves to brush against firm muscle. It was a test in endurance, one that Draven was intent on winning.

“But you didn’t know what you would become.” It was not a question.

“No.”

“And yet you did it, so that neither of your brothers would have to face it.” Once again, she seemed sure of her statement.

“Yes,” he replied honestly.

No matter what had become of him, the years of torment and horror that had awaited him when he first arrived, Draven would never have allowed either Travion or Zryan to be the ones to face Andhera’s darkness. Zryan had not been cut out for such a trial as this, and the last thing Draven would allow Travion to face was more torture. Now that he had gone through the madness of claiming this land, he only felt more secure in his decision all those millennia ago. It had been his duty. It was what Ludari’s dungeon had earned him.

For a moment, Draven was transported back to the dank, musty depths of his father’s castle. The feel of iron around his wrists and the cold stone below his bare feet. A sweet, young face stared up at him from the cell beside his own, begging for his comfort and reassurance. A young face he would watch age into a young man’s, and later be required to bloody, if only to spare him a worse fate from another.

He was surprised when Eden pulled him in closer, pulling him from the dark memories his mind had transported him to. The soft swell of her breasts pressing against the bare expanse of his chest brought him firmly back to the present. His head dipped, and his lips met hers without hesitation, forcing them open to taste the sweet berries of her breakfast still there upon her tongue. This time there was a heat to their kiss that was not fueled by vampire blood or confusion.

While it did not burn as quickly or as hot as it had in the corridor, there was an underlying current of promise. Both arms around her form, Draven drew her nearer still, body thrumming with desire as he felt the silken glide of her naked body against his own in the water. Eden’s hands traced over his shoulders, exploring the skin at her disposal.

Though he could still feel the subtle hum of Eden in the back of his mind, he was not overwhelmed by her emotions and was instead able to feel the way she moved in his arms, pressing against him, willing, if unpracticed. A deep desire flared up inside of Draven to be the one to make her body come alive with new and fantastical pleasures. To watch her blossom from inexperienced need into knowledgeable desire that she could control and seek for herself.

Draven pulled his lips from her mouth to trail kisses over her jaw and down the side of her neck. The thrum of her rising pulse sent wafts of her fragrant fae blood into his nostrils, causing his incisors to extend as headily as his own rising desire. But he ignored his physical hunger and focused instead on Eden’s need.

His hand moved between them to cup her breast, feeling the bead of her hardened nipple against his palm. Eden’s welcoming moan spurred on his actions, and Draven grunted as her fingers twined tightly in his hair. Massaging her lightly, he nipped gently at her throat, growling as she gasped happily into his ear. Shifting his hand, Draven brushed the pad of his thumb over her nipple, then pinched at it lightly.

“More,” Eden rasped softly, her chest rising faster.

Spurred on by her demand, Draven dropped both hands to wrap around her thighs, lifting her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist and secure herself. He then laid her back on the water’s surface and dipped his head to capture that same nipple between his lips. Sucking, he laved at it with his tongue and felt her body arch and her hips grind against him in response. He hardened further, feeling the way her body reacted to him.

He wanted to witness her come undone. To know that he had brought that pleasure to her.

Pinching the nipple lightly between his teeth, Draven slid a hand between them, parting her soft folds to find the small bud waiting for him there. Eden’s soft moan of pleasure was all he needed to press on, and he rolled his fingertips over her clit, watching as she began to wriggle in pleasure.

Draven’s eyes drifted up to Eden’s face as he tugged at her nipple, letting it pop from his grasp while his fingers toyed with her. Eden’s hands dropped to clutch his shoulders so that she could lean back farther into the water, her eyes falling shut as she gave in to the sensations he was creating in her. He felt her heels digging into his thighs as Eden rocked her hips up into his hand, helping to drive her own pleasure forward.

He murmured in delight. The moonshine glinted off her glistening skin and highlighted the beautiful peaks of her breasts. He dipped his head to capture her other breast, sucking firmly on the nub while his fingers parted her so that he could slowly press two into her depths, feeling the way her wet heat welcomed him greedily.

“Yes . . . ” It was a soft breath, one of acceptance but also encouragement. The way her hips arched into him, Draven could tell Eden wanted more. Needed more.

He began to stroke her, fingers gliding over that spot within her, which elicited moans of pleasure that carried over the waters. Eden’s lips parted for more air, and her nails bit into his shoulders as she held more tightly to him.

“That’s it, lovely,” he whispered encouragingly, adding his thumb into the fray, rolling over her nub as his fingers worked faster within her. Nipping at her breast, he lifted his head to watch Eden’s features as her body started to tremble. She rolled her hips into his fingers more rapidly, her breath coming more harshly.

“Draven . . . ” His name was a moan on her lips, and it caused a shudder of desire to course through him.

Working his thumb over her harder, he growled, fangs biting into his bottom lip as Eden arched into her pleasure, her breath halting as it took her over. He wished for the deeper link of blood then, to be able to truly feel how it took her away, wiping out all thoughts in that white hot moment of release.

Her cry sounded out over the lake, making his member stiffen painfully and increasing his need to plunge into her. Draven wished to ring more of those cries from her, to physically feel her body clamp around him as she lost herself to the orgasm. To bring her to that point and push her over it time and time again.

He was also panting as Eden’s body stilled, and he gently withdrew his hand so that he could press it between her shoulders and carefully lift her up against his chest once more. Eden rested against him, slack and breathless, a murmur of contentment slipping from her lips.

“That was so much better than anything I’ve done myself,” she said.

Draven chuckled softly, then turned his head to capture her lips, kissing her deeply. His body thrummed with need, skin almost burning with the desire to touch her further. Instead, he kept his arm securely around her languid form and enjoyed the taste of her on his tongue. A shiver coursed through him as her tongue grazed over one of his fangs. She had no idea what she did to him.

His hand tightened on her bottom, fingers pressing into the fleshy cheek. It would take nothing to hoist her up so that he could lower her down onto him, piercing her tender flesh. Seconds from asking her if she wished to experience more, Draven grumbled as Eden pulled away from him suddenly. He felt her stiffen in fear, and the clinging turned from a gentle embrace to one of shock and concern.

“Draven, is something in the water with us?” she hissed, arms tightening around his neck.

His eyes fell to the water, and beneath the surface, he could see the end of a tail sweeping away, likely fleeing in shock of its own. The lake was not the place for such pleasurable antics, as delightful as they may be, and he sighed, the heated spell between them now truly broken.

“Of course there is,” he stated matter-of-factly, fighting to keep the irritation from his voice. He could only blame himself for this current predicament.

“This is Andhera,” she finished for him.

With a sharp whistle, Draven called forth the creature he had seen below the surface. As it rose from the water, two large serpent heads with blinking bottomless eyes appeared. There was embarrassment within their depths, for having caught and disturbed this very private moment of the king’s.

Draven couldn’t help but chuckle as Eden wailed her distress and half crawled, half swam her way around to his back, placing him between herself and the water beast.

“What is it?!” Her arms clung tightly enough around his neck that Draven found himself choking slightly.

Pulling on a forearm, he loosened her hold just a fraction.

“Not what is it, but who is it.” Smirking, he reached out to graze fingers over one of the serpent heads that joined together at the same set of shoulders. “Eden, no need to be afraid, it is only Seurat.”

“What?” she whispered.

Draven drew them inland a little more so that her feet could touch ground once again. Reaching behind him, he pulled Eden back to his front. Holding her securely within his arms, Draven made her face the large water beast, which dipped below the water to swim nearer to them, only so that he could rise farther out of the water this time, showing off the dark scales.

“This . . . is Seurat?”

She seemed surprised. Draven was further amused, since all of them in this land were a monster of some sort. Hearing her uncertainty, the body before them wriggled in the water until it shriveled down in size, two heads became one, and the serpent body became that of Draven’s manservant.

“M’lady.” He bowed his head to her. “I apologize if I frightened you.” His eyes met Draven’s. “And for interrupting.”

Bowing his head once more, Seurat waded away from them, off to another portion of land where his own clothing awaited him.

“What . . . is he?” she asked.

“That is Seurat’s story to tell. Come, let’s dry off, and then you can have your fill of questions.” Keeping his arm around her waist, Draven drew Eden back to the shoreline and up over the rocky beach.

On a rock sat a pile of towels Seurat had brought with him. Handing one to Eden, Draven unfolded his own and began to dry off as best he could. Then, with some difficulty, they both redressed, Draven tucking his still aching length into the confines of his breeches with a hiss. The intimacy of the moment before was gone, but Draven was still highly aware of every shift of Eden’s naked form. While Seurat’s sudden appearance had interrupted their moment, it did not change Draven’s need of her. Though it had not been his intent to seduce her at the lake, he could not say he regretted what had transpired between them. So long as she did not either.

Once clothed, Draven turned to find Eden staring at him, a faint flush to her cheeks and a soft smile on her lips.

“Thank you for the swim,” she stated, her words inferring more than just their dip.

Draven stepped closer so that he was towering over her once more. “It was my pleasure.”

He felt the pulse of desire between them once again and would have dipped his head to kiss her had the approach of Seurat not once more drawn them apart.

Starting to rethink the presence of the other man in his life, Draven eyed his manservant’s approach.

Seurat led his kelpie over to them, looking uncharacteristically sheepish. An odd look for a man that always seemed so composed. However, it wasn’t often he swam upon his lord pleasuring a maiden in the lake. “I wanted to make certain the lady was okay. It was not my intent to scare her.”

“I am quite all right, Seurat. I suppose I should have asked you when we met what you were. I simply wasn’t sure how to go about it. That being said, what . . . are you?”

“I am a hydra, m’lady.”

“A hydra?”

“Mmm, we thought he was simply a water beast when he first arrived. At least until someone cut off his head,” Draven supplied.

“Someone cut off his head?” Eden gasped, looking between him and Seurat quickly. “Someone cut off your head?” She stared at the other man. “Why!?”

“It was the early days, madam, and His Grace was not yet welcomed here. The creatures and men that had come to live in Andhera did not want to be ruled by a king who would enforce laws and govern with an iron grasp. They wished for chaos and death. I was simply one more thing between them and King Draven. However, when they cut off my head . . . ”

“Another grew back,” Eden supplied.

“Well, technically two grew back,” Draven corrected.

“Did it hurt?”

“It did. Fortunately, it has only happened the once.”

“Why did you come here to Andhera?” Now that her curiosity had been freed, it would seem there was no stopping it.

“I was a man running from his mistakes, and this seemed like a better opportunity for a free life of some kind. However, I was not expecting the change to come over me as violently as it did. Fortunately, His Grace found me and nursed me through it.”

“You did?”

Eden was looking at Draven in such admiration that it made him turn from them.

“Come, we should be getting back. I’ve been gone long enough.”

She was still studying him as they mounted their kelpies once again, and while he wanted to ask her what was on her mind, Draven was also rather glad that he wasn’t aware of her thoughts. He was beginning to think that perhaps he couldn’t measure up to the person Eden was forming in her mind, and the disappointment of that coming to light was not something he was yet ready to face.

Their ride back was a silent one, though Eden rode along beside him rather than behind. Shared glances were passed between the both of them, and Draven could tell she was wondering the same thing as he. Would what had happened in the water be something that they picked back up once they were in the privacy of a castle chamber?

Such thoughts died away once they rode into the courtyard of the castle. General Ailith was waiting for him, along with a messenger from Midniva. Jumping down off Rayvnin, Draven met Ailith on her way to him.

“What is it?”

“Your Majesty, there have been more attacks in Midniva. This time villages farther to the east, and it doesn’t look to be just vampires. Hearts were missing from three children in a small village outside of the Veil, and several travelers have been left charred and mangled on the road leading toward Hiregarde.”

Draven growled low, his shoulders tensing in frustration. “What in damnation is happening?” he shouted, snatching the letter from the messenger. It was a missive from Travion, and a map of the areas where all of the attacks had happened. “I will need to go to Midniva at once.”

Ailith’s questioning of the nobility had so far presented no clues as to who the guilty party may be. They needed to uncover the truth before it was too late.

“Draven?” Eden was at his side, a concerned look on her features. “What is it?”

Sighing, he turned to her. “There have been attacks in Midniva . . . more deaths than have happened in centuries. Something . . . or someone is rampaging through the middle realm. I must go and help Travion hunt them down.”