Hopeless Realm: A Reverse Harem Series (The Hopeless Series Book 3), page 10
My brows crease.
“You just bought this?” I can’t keep the astounded tone from my voice.
His brows crease, mirroring my confusion exactly.
“Yeah … ”
“What if I hate it?” I shrug carelessly even though my fingers are still permanently attached to the smooth curve of the emerald jewel.
“If you hate it, then I only wasted five syphins.”
Five syphins. Five!
Wait, what the fuck is a syphin?
Honestly, it’s been a long time since I had five dollars, so five syphins has to be really impressive, right?
“Do you hate it?” He takes a step closer to me, the necklace held in the small space between our bodies. Both of us hold it, his hand on the thin chain and mine threatening to tear off the expensive jewel.
A single step closer and my hips are brushing his.
“I love it,” I whisper.
“Good.” His lips skim across my cheek and I lean into him. The simple affection relaxes me. This weird push of normalcy is distracting and relaxing.
His hands raise above my head and I force myself to release the pendant so he can clasp it behind my neck. His attention falls to the jewel before his gaze travels a little further to the curve of my chest. I smirk at him and his gaze finally meets mine again.
“It matches your eyes almost perfectly.” He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple working against the column of his throat.
“Thank you.”
No one’s ever given me anything like this before.
Not since I was a little girl.
“Come on.” He takes my hand in his once more. “Let’s go eat and hopefully we’ll be allowed into Bekka’s house once we’re done.”
Once again, Ryder pulls out more of his absurdly fancy fae money and buys us each a drink and some sort of meat on a stick. It smells delicious and I don’t question what it is. I’m sure I’ve eaten worse. The warm food is charred lightly along the edges. It looks similar to chicken but smells more heavenly. The tender meat practically melts in my mouth and I give a hum of approval as we walk the street.
Ryder’s lips tilt up as he smirks down at me.
“This is a date, isn’t it?”
My quiet eating is interrupted by his odd question. I swallow harshly, the food not seeming nearly as tender as it was just a moment ago.
I’m an awful date. The image of my last date swirls through my mind. I stole almost everything the guy owned. And it ended with Ryder trying to save my long-lost virtue.
Yeah, I’m great at dates.
But this is nice. The weather is nice. The food is nice. This ridiculously charming fae is nice.
“I guess it is.” My nose scrunches at the thought of it and Ryder’s smile widens.
“I haven’t been on a date in—” He pauses, his brows raising high. “Years.”
Hmm for once we’re both on awkward ground.
He finishes off his food in another heaping bite and I take my time savoring the last of mine. The trash is discarded into a bin.
It’s all so carefree and normal.
A small pause drifts between us in the warm summer breeze.
I want badly to know what the Travelers showed him. What death did he see in his visions? All this niceness is bound to come to an end eventually.
Tonight. Or tomorrow. All too soon.
This beautiful day will be swept away and forgotten.
“What did the Travelers show you?” It’s a quiet question that makes him look away from me. The horizon captures his attention for a moment.
His body crowds mine, his chest pushing into mine as his hands clasp around my hips.
“Stop thinking so much,” he whispers against my hair. “Not everything in the world is as tragic as it seems, Kara.” His hands skim up my sides before tipping my jaw up to him.
For a brief moment, while his soft lips press against mine, his earnest eyes shining down on me, I believe him.
“I saw you shudder in. How quickly can you make it to the Western Mountains?” A fae covered in thick blood stumbles up to Ryder, breathing hard with terror in his eyes.
Ah yes, not everything is as tragic as it seems. Wrong once again, my prince.
Thirteen
Nefarious
The time passes. I sit at a small, secluded table. My hands are folded neatly on the wooden tabletop as I wait for Ryder to return. This is ridiculous. I should be plotting Tristan’s death right now. Rallying the Armed Seven. Or at the very least having sex.
But no. Here I sit.
Waiting.
The Western Mountains are giant territory. Not even the nix have the balls to go there apparently. Ryder assured me he’d be back in an hour at the most. It’s been precisely forty-three minutes according to the taunting clock tower. It ticks the time away without care. It spirals anxiety into me with each passing sweep of its churning hand.
The sun’s setting. The rush of people that crowded the street when we first arrived has dwindled down to only a few merchants loading up their carts to head home. The sky gives off waves of deep orange and pretty blues as nightfall threatens the horizon.
My eyes shift over every minor detail as I dwell on the burden of things I should be doing instead of waiting here in silence.
“Psst … ”
Ryder’s pale hair peeks out from behind a building and he nods me over in the most secretive of ways.
My eyes narrow on him but I stay seated, my legs crossed tightly with impatience.
“Would you come here? What do I have to do to get you to come?” A knowing smirk taunts his lips and I have to suppress an eye roll.
I stand and slowly walk over to his hiding spot. He’s secluded here behind the iron buildings.
Miles of open fields surround us, as if the small village was dropped down in the middle of the country without much thought. A single towering barn is the only structure standing for miles and miles. Wind creaks through it, threating to tear it down with the next mediocre gust.
“I have a gift for you.” Excitement shines in his clear blue eyes, pushing away the anxious feeling dwelling within me and replacing it with anticipation.
Another gift? He seems to like giving me things and it causes a warm feeling to spread through my chest every time he does.
Is he trying to buy my affection?
Because he probably can.
“Is it a unicorn?” I ask in a whisper. I wish I could say I’m joking. His excitement is tearing through me, though, and I fully believe Ryder has enough syphins to purchase a unicorn.
Confusion shadows his features and he tilts his head at me.
“Unicorns aren’t real, Kara.”
My lips purse hard as he completely destroys my childhood with that single statement.
“Of course, how fucking stupid of me.”
A smirk tilts his lips as he steps into the old barn. It’s in shambles. The roof has holes in it large enough to let a person fall through, and the scraps of wood surrounding the outer walls stand with a distinct slant. If a bird lands on this barn the whole thing is sure to go tumbling down.
The heavy clumping sound of hooves hitting dirt emits through the evening air.
Even though it isn’t like my prince to lie, it’s a unicorn. I just know it.
An onyx colored snout brushes open the swaying barn door. Long talons rake across the dry dirt. The creature that stands before me exudes power. Its glistening scales shine, and fierce silver eyes look right into my soul. Two horns spiral off from the top of its head in glinting colors of white and gray. A long, pale mane catches the wind, giving the serene animal an even more beautiful, but deadly appearance.
Its giant, scaly wings shake out from its back.
The sight of it is alluring and terrifying all at once.
“What,” I pause as Ryder’s fingertips trail down it’s flank, “what is that thing?”
He smiles to himself before turning toward me.
“It’s a longma.”
Longma. As if that explains it all.
My gaze never leaves the horse looking lizard thing.
“Dragons used to soar the skies here. A simple sickness drove them into extinction. It’s crazy to think something so simple can annihilate a thriving race.”
It isn’t that crazy. Not really.
Imagine how the human race will be in one week’s time.
“So, a longma is a dragon?”
A flicking tongue slips across the longma’s lips as it swipes over its long snout. Sharp teeth glisten inside.
“Not exactly.” He steps away from it and stands at my side. His shoulder settles against mine, warming me with the small contact. “Long ago, fae put a spell on the rivers around their communities to ward off the dragon attacks. The spell was fused with the blood of a dragon. A new breed was born when their mares began drinking the river water. A longma is a horse that’s been cursed with dragon’s blood.”
Cursed.
The word sounds vile. Evil. Tainted.
The beautiful animal before me isn’t cursed at all.
This world could rip it apart the moment nightfall comes.
It’s stronger because of that magic. It’s thriving because of that magic. It isn’t cursed. It’s prevailing.
“Does he have a name?”
“I traded with a giantess for this one. She didn’t say he had a name.”
A nasty thought flickers through my mind.
“What’d you give her for him?”
Will I always be so untrusting? My heart stumbles just thinking about the insecurities.
I step away from him and my hand hesitantly raises to the longma’s snout. Smooth but roughly edged scales skim under my light touch and he closes his bright eyes. He trusts me. A smile pulls at my lips at how gentle the beastly creature seems. A heavy purring sound shakes through its throat. It sounds like a cat that has hot embers in its lungs.
“I traded the usual,” Ryder says mysteriously.
I send him a look from over my shoulder. It makes him smirk at me. With only a few short steps he’s right behind me, his hands gripping my hips. My back arches against his chest, his hips skimming against the curve of my ass.
“I healed her,” he whispers against my neck. “Most fae are healers here. Just like at the Iron Bar, I healed people there for money. We’re paid well for it. This world needs more like us.”
The memory of how Daxdyn saved my life when we first met drifts through my mind. Do I possess that ability? Could I bring someone back from the brink of death with just a simple whim of my magic?
“And of all the things you could have asked for, you got me a dragon horse?”
It had to have cost more than a few syphins or callions.
I tilt my head to the side against his chest until my gaze finds his above me. A small amount of space separates his lips from mine.
“I wasn’t going to. Then I saw it. The animal was a mixture of aggression and beauty, and for some reason the deadly creature made me think of a pretty thief I know.”
It makes smile. I can’t help it. It’s a shitty comparison but it melts my heart.
His chest leans into me, sending a swirling feeling through my core.
Then his lips are on mine and I breathe him in. Strong hands trail up my stomach until he’s pushing under my shirt. Rough fingertips skim over my breasts and I raise my hands over my head to shove my fingers through his hair. Soft hair threads through my fingertips as his thumbs roll against my sensitive nipples, sending waves of tingles right to my core.
We’re a tangle of desperate limbs.
Through a haze I consider how much attention he gives my chest. How his gaze drifts there of all places. How his hands wander there before anywhere else.
And then, the thoughts slip from my mind as he sucks hard on my tongue.
A moan parts my lips and his tongue pulls the sound into his mouth.
The sound of my pleasure is followed by a slow, crawling roar that shakes through the air.
I pull back from Ryder to find the longma’s silver eyes in narrowed slits. It glares down on me as if it’s judging my promiscuous actions.
And here I thought we’d be friends …
Ryder’s hands cross over my waist, hugging me to him as we both stare at the creature. A comfortable silence gives pause for only a second.
“Let’s call him Nefarious.”
“Nefarious?” He leans over me to look me in the eye. “What’s wrong with a regular name. Can’t we name him something normal and boring?”
“Sure, we could call him Ryder, if you like.”
“You are not giving your dragon horse my fucking name.”
A smirk curves my lips.
“Good. Because I want him to be named after me; Nefarious. It’s perfect. You said he reminded you of me after all.”
He pauses and his eyes shine with a knowing look that makes my nerves tingle just looking at him. Something in us has changed since that first time we met.
I’m clinging to him instead of running away.
I’m terrified by how much I like being in Ryder’s arms.
Fourteen
Home Coming
This time, we don’t shudder. Ryder doesn’t even suggest it.
“Bekka’s house is only a couple miles from here. Want to see if Nefarious is as gentle as he looks?”
The longma gives a low, humming growl, his wings fluffing slightly. It’s as if the dragon horse is reminding the prince of its very ungentle heritage.
As carefully as possible, I run my palm down its flank. The smooth scales meet my palm and I can almost see his emotions. Big silver eyes peek back at me, but he doesn’t fully acknowledge my presence. He’s just keeping tabs on me; a stranger who’s about to fly the heavens with him.
Just as cautiously, Ryder steps up behind me. His hands grip my hips, and he lifts me with ease on to the longma.
The animal didn’t seem nearly this large when I was standing next to it. My legs hug its scales, careful not to kick its large wings.
The feel of tension is apparent in his spine and I run my palm slowly down it, attempting to brush away its uneasiness. A few seconds pass and I offer Ryder my hand.
His weight nearly pulls me off of Nefarious. Shifting, I settle back in and Ryder’s palms push down my stomach more sensually than safely. I suppose it’d be logical for Ryder to guide the dragon horse. I assume he has before at some point in his life. But he doesn’t hold his superiority over me. It seems it isn’t even a thought in his mind.
“You excited?” he asks from over my shoulder. His body presses nicely against mine, surrounding me with his strength.
A comforting, but awful, thought slips through my mind; if I fall, he’ll shudder us before we hit the ground.
Won’t he?
Would my wings make an appearance once again? Or would the fear of falling terrify them from coming out?
“Yeah.” I’m a little more breathless than I should be. I am excited. Excited and nervous and terrified all at once.
“Then let’s go.” With a swift motion of his heels the longma bolts into action.
Lunging strides pound against the grass, kicking up dirt as it races toward the horizon. Wild wind pulls at my hair, sending a cold chill across my bare arms. As if our destination is the sunset, Nefarious strides fast toward the setting sun, racing to catch the last little glimpse of it.
Until he kicks off from the earth entirely.
My fists tighten on its wildly waving mane. Long strands of white hair tangle through my fingers. The darkening sky welcomes us, pulling us higher and higher until the air thins out.
It’s beautiful.
I’ve felt small my entire life. Lost in the sea of existence. But here, up above, looking down on that very sea, I feel humbled. It isn’t about what you have or who you are.
It’s about the moments you steal away for yourself to look back on.
This is one of those moments. I can see it as the tiny metallic houses dot the land. I can see it in the lights that shine out. I can feel it coursing all through me.
This is just one more experience to make me whole.
It’s serene.
Until it’s not.
A small little bird whips past Nefarious and his silver eyes track the tiny animal’s movement. With a puff of its breath, white, smoky flames shoot out of the longma’s snout, reminding us that he is very much a dragon with only the facade features of a horse. Flames dart out several yards, coating the small bird in an instant. A crying squawk can be heard for only a second before Nefarious swoops down and swallows his charred dinner whole before going about his day once again.
Stiffly I peek back at Ryder. He shakes his head slightly and I can tell he’s holding back a small smile from my shocked expression.
“That one’s hers.” Ryder points to a secluded, shining house. It looks like a speck against the waving field of land. There’s hundreds of small objects behind the house that I can’t make out from here.
The soft hair of the longma is still held tightly in my hands and I pull back gently on its mane. Its speed slows until it begins to descend. The creature is tamer than it looks. It follows my guidance without question.
My teeth jar as the animal slams hard into the earth, its talons running at a rapid pace. I do my best to guide the dragon horse toward the house.
“Not too close. Their sisters will lose their shit if they see this thing.” Ryder points to a tree several yards from the house.
It’s the only tree for miles. It stands alone. Completely defenseless to the world around us.
“What about the nix?” I ask as he helps me down.
I pet Nefarious’ mane, pushing it back into place before I even assess my own tangled hair.
“The nix enter from the opposing realm near the mortal realm. They rarely ever make it out this far. They can’t survive without water, their body dries out. Without it they’re weak and there aren’t many water sources out here. That’s why that village was so populated.”
I still don’t leave the longma.
“He can most definitely take care of himself, beautiful.”
