Page 40 of Accidental Blood Lust
Why is fate so cruel? I’ve spent decades in love with this man, yet fate decides to give me a mate who already has my mage’s heart? This is bullshit.
I squeeze him harder, burying my nose in his neck, tempted to bite him, but I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right to mark him with my scent knowing he isn’t mine to keep.
My ears prick at the sound of the others’ voices in the distance. “They must be ready.”
Jareth nods, turning his head to look at me. Leaning in, he presses a too-brief kiss to my lips. “Thank you for helping.”
“Of course.”
Another wave of guilt hits me but I shove it down. Action first, feelings later.
We dress and hurry to the common area where everyone is gathered. Mac holds up a strangely shaped object.
“Found it.”
“What the fuck is that?” Cassius asks.
Mac shrugs. “Don’t know. Snatched it centuries ago from this fae asshole who was bragging about his riches. It was easy.”
Drax smiles at his mate like he has hearts for eyes.
“That,” Rune says, extending his hand, “is an amphora used to hold dreamvines. The fae use them to cast dreams upon unsuspecting mortals.” He unscrews the top part and a green vine creeps out of the container like a very slow moving snake.
Drax scrunches his nose, waving his hand in front of his face. “It stinks.”
“To non-mortals, it will,” Rune explains. “This is perfect, Mac. Come, Jareth. Let’s do this.”
Jareth glances at me, offering an uneasy smile.
“We’ll find him.” I hope I sound confident. We will find him. I just hope he’s alive and safe when we do.
JARETH
Rune and Ihuddle around his workstation while the others linger close by. I’ve got my hand on Rune’s while he chants and pours different concoctions into a bowl. As he works, his tattoos light up, and mine follow shortly after. He was born with his, I can tell, while mine were slowly added over time as my abilities grew. I can’t imagine the power he has.
The gargoyle stands beside his mate, his hands resting on Rune’s shoulders, and I can feel the magic flowing between the three of us. How interesting. I had always heard gargoyles were immune to mage magic, but he seems like a conduit for it.
My hand starts to vibrate and the room around us blurs at the edges. I sense Roman right behind me as his hand slides around my waist, holding me. Rune adds the dreamvine to the bowl and everything around me goes dark, the pressure squeezing the air out of me. I can’t take a deep breath, and as panic starts to rise, Roman’s soft hair brushes against my cheek.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers, his voice instantly calming me.
The pressure intensifies, and just as it feels like my head might pop off, it dissipates, dropping us on a bed of moss in a cool, dark forest. I suck in air, but there’s something off about it. It’s too thick, too sweet.
“What the hell…?”
“Perfect.” Rune smiles as he releases my hand. “Good stuff.”
“Where are we?”
“The fae realm,” Roman says. “I’ve been here once before. Don’t trust anything you see, and don’t eat or drink anything.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“I know. It’s just easy to forget.”
“Right. Fuck.” I rub my forehead. “What if Loch ate something?”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Let’s find him first.” Roman twitches his head as he tilts his back and sniffs the air.
