Eldritch (The Eating Woods, #2)

by Keri Lake

“Then, I suspect if I were the flame, it’s your touch that would make me tremble.”

“From this day forward, you are no longer the lorn. You are worthy. Superior to the others. You are …” So enraptured by her beauty, his breath hitched. Tears wavered in her eyes, and she quickly swiped at her cheek. “Yes?” “Perfect.” The

“If you’re a demon, then I would be punished for speaking with you. But…I would grieve the absence of your voice.”

He tipped back his head, fingers curled tight around the necklace. “Think of Maevyth,” he whispered, somehow unaware that I stood right there, beside him.

But I know pain and suffering, and the desperate need to be accepted for who you are. I’m not afraid of who you are.” With a gentle nudge against his chin, I brought his attention back to me. “Not even this.”

“Show me everything. I want to see every part of you. Even the darkest.”

“I’ve walked this world for so long, searching for you.” His brow tightened. “Centuries have gnawed at me, hollowing me to the bone. I didn’t know how starved I was, or what I craved, until I found you.”

“I will never be worthy of your light, the purity of your heart, but I’m too selfish to spare you from this darkness I carry. Godsblood, I would follow you to the edge of existence and into the black void.” I

“You bear the marks of a warrior unbroken by the kind of pain that would’ve destroyed lesser men.” A jagged ridge across his throat carved the violent path of a blade as it slipped beneath my tracing fingertip. “Every one of these scars is precious to me. More precious than coin or crown.”

“You’re a fate I never dared to dream, moon witch. The stars I was never meant to grasp. But seeing how this gluttonous world devours the unclaimed, I’m calling you mine.”

The iron door flew off its hinges, landing with an ear-splitting clank that rattled the tomb. Screams rose above the clamor of bodies running amok. In the doorway, stood Zevander and his massive scorpion. It shrank just enough to fit through the entryway, then expanded to its usual colossal form. “Who in God’s name is that?” Corwin asked, his voice shaky. “The reason she’s not interested in you,” Aleysia answered.

“I loved you before I even knew your name.”

He couldn’t recall a single vision in his life—sunrise, nor sunset; star shower, nor solstice—that’d roused the same awe he felt from just looking at her.

Like a bird picking the seed from its shell, Raivox plucked the soldier from his armor and flew upward, the body dangling from his maw. Tendrils of shock pricked the back of my neck as I watched him toss the soldier into the air and swallow him in one gulp. “Red God in Heaven!” Hand to his chest, Father looked about ready to fall off his mount . “Well,” Aleysia let out a small chuckle. “It’s settled then. Shall we be off?”

Warmth filled my cheeks as I quickly looked away. All my life, I’d been shunned, spat on, ridiculed for what I was. An entire village had once looked down on me, but tonight, they knelt. As I trailed my gaze over the surrounding faces, I found myself humbled by their show of reverence. My throat tightened, and I reached for my drink with a slight tremor in my hand, burying my discomfort in another sip of wine.

“You were just a child. A child who sought nothing more than love.” His words, as painful as they were for me to hear, fed my starving heart, and tears broke from my eyes, slipping down my cheeks. Arms wrapped around me, and I rested my head against his shoulder, surrendering myself to the acknowledgment, the validation and acceptance I’d fought so many years to grasp.

“I had dreams of you, Moon Witch. When those things swarmed me and the church crumbled.” He dragged my lips to his and greedily swallowed every exhaled breath in a kiss that was graceless and raw, devouring and clutching me as if I’d vanish from his arms. “Through the pain, you came to me.” He kissed my jaw. “An elixir in my blood.” Lips trailed down the column of my neck, and he kissed the base of my throat. “A calming breath to this rage that seethes inside of me. You quiet the noise in my head. The ringing and screaming.” He ran his palm over my shoulder and kissed the curve of my bone. “I can’t find peace without your touch.”

I loved him. Not simply because we were fated but for the way he trusted me with the vulnerable parts of him long hidden behind steel and violence. My beautifully broken protector whose scarred and blood-stained hands held me as if I were a coveted treasure.

“I love you, Lunamiszka.” The words trembled from his throat like a solemn vow. “I’m a godless and selfish bastard, but I’ve never loved anything, or anyone, more.”

But we found each other once. We will find each other again.” “I came all this way…All I wanted was to find you. I can’t just abandon you. I won’t.” “You’ve never abandoned me. Not once. You came back for me. You did as you’d hoped. You kept me safe. We’re simply parting ways. For now.” “And if something happens?” “Maevyth…you cannot serve as my shield your entire life. That leaves nothing for you. You have to let me go.” “I can’t.” “You will. And if the fates are kind, our paths will cross again.” I threw my arms around her, holding her tight to me, the feeling that I might not embrace her that way again tearing through my chest. “I love you.” “Only a fraction of how much I love you.”

“Balls of Castero!” Ravezio said beside him. “When did my girl learn that trick?” “Call her yours again and I’ll have her aim for your groin next time.”

A thunderous roar from above invaded his mind and Zevander peered up at two glowing eyes watching him from the edge of the cliff. How that damned thing had traversed the boundary was a mystery he didn’t have the energy to ponder. Raivox roared again, flapping his wings and leapt into the air, hovering over the chasm. A smiled tugged at Zevander’s mouth. “Hello, shitbag. Nice of you to show up.”