The Reawakened Read online

  He spoke with awe. “You can decide not to feel something and it goes away?”

  Sura almost laughed. If only. “No, it wasn’t that easy.” The conversation was pressing in on her, and she decided to change the subject. “So how are the wedding preparations?”

  He blinked, then shifted to face forward again. “Uh, everything’s ready. Kara’s still finishing her dress, she says, but I can’t help her with that.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “You’ll be there?”

  “Of course. The whole village is coming.” Sura leaned on one hand and ran her finger along the sharp edge of the slab. “Etarek said he’d teach me to dance. He made me dinner last night.”

  “Ah. That’s why the red flag was out on his porch.” Dravek clenched his hands, making one of his knuckles crack.

  “Was it? I hadn’t noticed.” She tried not to smile at the thought of Etarek signaling the world not to disturb them.

  “Did he show you his stick collection?” Dravek said with a tight voice.

  “For his drums? He played for me, but only a bit, since it was late and he didn’t want to wake anyone.”

  Dravek rubbed his palms together. “How late?”

  “Nothing happened. I was very tired from my Bestowing.”

  The muscles in his jaw relaxed. “Let’s get started.” He pointed at the flaming torch. “Snuff it, then bring it back.”

  Her hands went clammy at the thought of reigniting a fire, but she got to her knees, sank back on her heels and closed her eyes to concentrate. It was easy now to feel the flame. She snuffed it with a mere thought.

  “Good,” he murmured. “Keep going.”

  The heat spread inside her, searching for a way out. She could release it, make the torch spring back to life. But when she tried, she only saw the burning roof, heard the shrieks of children.

  “I can’t,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Yes, you can. Try harder.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at the extinguished torch, at the black smoke wisping toward the sky.

  “I can’t do it.”

  “Why?” Dravek reached to touch her shoulder, then pulled his hand back. “You can trust me.”

  Still kneeling, she rubbed her hands hard against her legs to release some of the heat. Her mouth opened, but emitted no words.

  “After tomorrow,” he whispered, “you’ll never see me again, so what does it matter?”

  Her throat finally released the truth. “They burned him.”

  Dravek’s eyes softened at the corners. “Who?”

  “My mate.” She sighed with the relief of finally saying it out loud. “We were out one night together.” She felt her face twist as she remembered their last moments of intimacy. “Mathias was a Bear, so he smelled the smoke before I did. We ran to his house. The flames were worst at the doors and windows, because the Descendants didn’t want anyone to get out, not even the children. We got inside and—” She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes, remembering the pain, the choking smoke. “We dragged his little brother and sister out—they were on the first floor. By the time we got out, other people had arrived, including my mother. The roof was starting to cave. His parents were screaming.”

  She pressed the heels of her hands against her forehead. “He ran back in. I tried to follow, but Mother grabbed me. I called and called Mathias’s name, but he never came back.”

  “Sura,” Dravek whispered. “I’m so sorry.” He touched her shoulder. “Was that when you decided to stop being afraid?”

  She nodded and lowered her hands. “It was the day Snake claimed me. I’d never had any powers before, but after that day I could put out a fire.”

  He got to his knees in front of her and grasped her arms. “Don’t you see? You are still afraid. They made you afraid of your only weapon.” He took her face in his hands. “Use it before it’s too late.”

  “Help me.” Her throat ached, trying to hold back the words of longing. She touched his chest. “Help me forget.”

  Dravek’s breath turned uneven as his dark gaze met hers. He slid his hands around her nape, up into her hair. She winced as her braid tugged her scalp. He leaned in close, and for a moment she thought he would kiss her. Panic streamed down her spine.

  Instead Dravek reached behind her back and removed the binding on her hair. His breath came hot against her neck as he unwound the braid. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of the bare skin at his nape. It made her want to run her own hands over every part of him.

  This is wrong, she thought. Even if these feelings let her use her power, they could lead to nothing but misery and disaster, and not just for her.

  Dravek drew her hair in long black waves toward him, flowing over her shoulders and bare arms, making her skin tingle and spark.

  “Just like when we met,” he whispered. “I’ll never forget the way you looked.” His fingers tangled and twined in the black strands. “I’ll remember it the day I die.”

  He leaned forward and buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. His mouth drew near her ear. “Make it burn, Sura.” His hands crested her shoulders and slid down her back. “Do it now.”

  Her mind reached out through the haze of lust to sense the fire waiting, small and shivering, inside the extinguished torch. She offered it a fraction of the heat inside her. It sparked feebly, then fell back into coldness.

  “More.” Dravek’s lips skirted the edge of her earlobe. “Give it all.”

  Sura drew a deep, shaky breath, full of his scent. She let out her heat, all at once.

  The torch ignited.

  Dravek looked past her at the flame as it reached for the sky. He let out a low whistle, then flashed a smile that banished the new chill inside her.

  “I knew you could do it.” He glanced down at the tiny space between them, then let go of her quickly and sat back on the boulder. “How do you feel now?”

  She stared at the flame she had birthed, then up into Dravek’s eyes. They reflected the torch behind her, glowing like those of Snake on the night of her Bestowing.

  “Like they’ll never touch me again.”

  Dravek gazed at Sura’s determined face. Even if they never saw each other after today—the thought of which made his guts sink—he wanted her to have all the power and strength she deserved.

  He cleared his throat and tried to shake the memory of his hands and face in her hair. “Back to the lesson. Let’s spread the fire from one torch to the next.”

  “They’re pretty far apart. Can you do that?”

  “Almost. I was hoping we could try it together.”

  “It would be a good weapon.” She scratched her neck as she thought. “How do we do it?”

  His gaze adhered to the pale, puckered patch of skin she’d revealed as her hand shifted down from her neck. “Did you get that scar in the fire?”

  Sura grabbed the front of her shirt and jerked it up over her collarbone.

  Dravek reached forward. “No, don’t cover it. Please.”

  She pushed his hand away, but lowered her own from her collar so that her shirt fell open at the neck.

  “How far does it go?” he asked matter-of-factly, as if they were discussing a trail through the woods.

  She cleared her throat. “In front, not far. To here.” She placed her finger an inch above her heart. “It’s bigger in the back. A piece of ceiling fell on me, and my clothes caught fire. Mathias’s little brother got it worse, though. His face is still—” She twisted one of her black curls. “Luckily my hair was tied back, so it didn’t catch.”

  He’d known the pain of many burns; the thought of Sura suffering like that made his fists clench.

  Her gaze lowered to his hands, then flitted up to meet his eyes. “Do you want to see?”

  Wonder replaced his anger. “Do you want to show me?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. He fought to control his breath as he watched Sura unfasten three more buttons. She turned her back to him.
r />   Slowly he tugged the collar of her shirt, exposing her left shoulder blade. She undid all but one button, just enough to keep her breasts covered.

  The scar was both cratered and raised, in some places pale and shiny, in other places dark and ragged. He swept her hair aside to see better, laying it in front of her right shoulder. She shivered at his touch.

  “Does it hurt?” he asked her.

  “The healer said the skin died, so it doesn’t feel much of anything.” She swallowed. “So if you want to touch it…you don’t have to, but if you did, it wouldn’t hurt me.”

  He traced his finger along the edge of the scar on her shoulder blade, then caressed the center with his palm. His own skin suddenly seemed more alive than ever. “Can you feel that?”

  “I sense your hand, but it’s as if you’re at a distance, through extra layers of skin. Like when your foot falls asleep and you rub it.”

  He wanted more than anything to follow the journey of his hand with his lips, to show Sura that these inches were as beautiful to him as the rest of her, if not more. He slid his fingers up her shoulder and just over the edge.

  “Have you ever been burned?” she asked in a trembling voice.

  “Several times, but never so bad. It helps having a third-phase Otter on hand.”

  “I couldn’t get to a healer the night of the fire. Mother said I had to hide my connection to my mate.” She turned her head so he could see the left side of her face. “He was high-profile in the resistance, and if they knew we were together, I’d be a target.” Sura’s lips pressed together. “I still feel like I have to hide it, even here.”

  “I won’t tell anyone.”

  One side of her mouth ticked into a tight smile. “Anyway, Mother knew enough first aid to save my life, but by the time I saw an Otter, it was too late to stop the scarring.”

  “I’m sorry you suffered.” His heartbeat quickened and skipped as his hand passed over the pale pink ridges on her back. “But this is the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen.”

  She glared at him. “Don’t mock me.”

  “You know I’m not.” Sensing her discomfort, he pulled her shirt collar up to cover her. “It’s a battle wound as much as any soldier’s. You won it saving a life.”

  “It’s still ugly.”

  “Nobody else has one just like it. It’s exactly you, and that’s what makes it magnificent.” He drew his hand over it, through the soft fabric. “To me, anyway,” he whispered, then immediately wished he could pull the words back into his mouth.

  She buttoned her shirt with shaking fingers. Dravek shifted away, though his hands itched to touch her again. He knew he should fight this desire with every scrap of strength, but it felt like some larger force beyond their understanding was yanking them together.

  Maybe Snake was testing them. If so, he could pass it. Only another day until the wedding, then two more days until he and Kara moved to Tiros. Three days of resisting the urge to kiss Sura, to touch her skin, to flatten her against the closest horizontal or vertical surface and fuck like wildcats.

  He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from under his eyes. No doubt he was failing the test just by imagining it.

  Or maybe these feelings were a punishment, for him alone. Maybe Snake—maybe all the Spirits—hated him for his Descendant blood, for his evil, violent conception.

  “It wasn’t just me.” Sura had finished buttoning her shirt and was now sitting with her arms around her knees, pulling them close to her chest. “Relighting that torch just now.”

  “It was you. I swear on my Spirit I didn’t help.”

  “Not directly.” She angled her head to look at him from the corner of her eye. “But when you touched me, I felt—” She stopped, then spoke slowly as if choosing her words with care. “It created heat. It gave me the fuel to light the fire.”

  He started to deny it, but realized he’d be a terrible mentor if he left out an important Snake fact. “When I’ve trained on my own, spreading fires or igniting them, I’ve found that it helps to think about sex.”

  She jerked her head to look at him, first his face, then lower, then back to his face. “Do you touch yourself?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “If anything, that makes the fire die.” His heart slammed his chest as he searched for the best way to tell the truth. “It’s the desire, not the satisfaction, that makes the heat.”

  “Oh.” She looked away, then her gaze fixed on the cold torch. “Do you think we could—” She shut her mouth hard, clacking her teeth together. “Never mind.”

  Dravek turned away, fighting to slow his breath. They’d have to be crazy to try what she suggested. They were Spirit-siblings. They couldn’t.

  He looked up and realized the sun was descending already. Soon their time together would be over. He’d get married and leave Sura behind forever. This was their one chance. And if it worked…

  He looked back at her. The wind blew her hair across her face, hiding her eyes. Black curls cascaded over the bare skin of her arm and neck, touching her the way he ached to do.

  Dravek gave in and slid to sit beside her. He put his palm next to her arm without touching. Heat radiated between their skin like two coals.

  “We could try,” he whispered.

  She turned her head and said, “It’s wrong,” even as she stared at his mouth.

  “We won’t touch.” He leaned close to her face and inhaled her rich, sweet scent. He could smell her desire, almost taste it on his tongue. The heat rose inside him in a violent wave. “Spirits save me, I’d kill to kiss you right now.”

  She drew in a sharp breath, and he could tell it was only part shock. “Dravek, we can’t.”

  “I know.” His lips skirted the edge of her earlobe, so that only his breath would touch her. “But we want it. That’s enough.” He whispered against her neck. “Sura. Let’s build a fire.”

  She sighed his name, and her hands loosened around her knees, opening her body to him. “Tell me how you’d kiss me.”

  He looked in her eyes and blinked slowly, hypnotizing her with his gaze. “Slow. Soft. When you close your eyes you won’t know if it’s me or just the breeze.”

  “Yes.” She closed her eyes.

  “You’ll open your mouth, waiting for my tongue, but you won’t get it yet.” He breathed in her scent again. “I’ll make you beg for it.”

  Her lips parted, as he said they would. “Please…”

  “Not yet. You’ll feel my teeth first, on your bottom lip. You’ll imagine how wild it could be if we didn’t hold back.”

  She smiled, an expression he’d rarely seen, and her beauty threatened to steal his words. He forced himself to keep speaking.

  “Then just when you can’t stand it anymore, you’ll feel my tongue. Just one stroke, under your upper lip, but you’ll feel it everywhere. On your nipples. Between your legs.”

  Sura gave a throaty moan, and he made a fist to keep himself from touching her.

  “Go on.” Her voice shook even on only two words.

  “No,” he said. “Now it’s your turn.”

  She spoke, her eyes still closed. “You may be stingy with your tongue, but I’m not. I’ll lick you everywhere. I’ll suck your fingers, one by one.”

  He swallowed hard, his hands tingling. “Then what?”

  Sura lay back on the rock. “Then I’ll take you in my mouth.”

  He groaned. The heat was already surging from his core out to his limbs. He could almost release it now, set the torch aflame. But he didn’t want to stop.

  “I’ll tease you,” she said, “running the tip of my tongue up and around and under your entire length.” Her fingers gripped the rock, kneading the unyielding surface as if it were skin and muscle. “Then I’ll give you my whole mouth, where it’s deep and wet and hot, and I’ll give you my hand, and I’ll stroke you until you’re harder than you’ve ever been in your life.”

  Dravek collapsed beside her, the purpose of their exercise a distant mem
ory. “I’ll want to finish in your mouth, but I’ll stop you just on the edge, and then—” He drew a shaky breath. “I’ll lick the sweat from your neck, from your breasts, your belly, your thighs. I’ll find places no one’s ever kissed you. Behind your knees, between your toes. Anywhere you show me. Anywhere you let me.” He paused, the blood swelling his veins, pounding in his temples. “Will you let me kiss you everywhere, Sura?”

  She squirmed beside him as she exhaled. “Everywhere.”

  “When I finally taste you, you’ll grind your hips against my mouth, dig your heels into my shoulders. You’ll scream, but no one will hear. No one will know how much you love what I’m doing to you.”

  One of her fingers brushed his. “How much I need you inside me.”

  He paused, as if they really were about to cross that threshold instead of just pretending. “Are you ready for me?”

  “Yes.”

  He couldn’t stop himself. He touched her, just his palm, moving down her arm. He could feel her heat surge, and she cried out as if he’d just made her climax.

  “I’ll spread your legs wide,” he said, “and I won’t tease anymore.” His hand reached hers, and she clutched it. “I’ll slide deep inside you, pinning you to the ground.” His thumb moved over her knuckles. “How will it feel?”

  “Hot, and hard. I’ll feel your bones grind against mine. I’ll feel every inch of you filling me up. I’ll clutch you tight inside, and you’ll feel it against you when I come.”

  He gasped as reality started to blur. “I’ll stroke you and move on you, again and again until you can’t think. Until there’s nothing in the world but our bodies.”

  “Dravek…” Her breath came hard and fast. “Are you ready?”

  He moaned in anticipation, then realized she was talking about the torches. “Yes.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “Give me the heat. I’ll send it.”

  It shot up his arm, spreading throughout his body in the span of a breath. For a moment his mind was nothing but flame. Then he found his voice.

  “I’ll lift your legs over my shoulders and get deeper than ever.”

  “Yes,” she cried, pouring more heat into him.