Dark Possession - Aja James Page 0,74

to where they started.

“Ramses, you’re about to fall on your face,” Devlin interjected in his typical bored tone, though those who knew him could hear his concern.

“Sit down on that rock before you kiss the muddy ground.”

Because his physical exhaustion and wounds had finally caught up with him, Ramses sat.

He continued to glare murderously at Rhys, however, and the eagle spirit glared right back.

“On the bright side, Eveline did save your ass,” Anastasia said. “The rest of us couldn’t interfere. She did. There could be consequences, but…”

Ramses’ ears practically tingled as he waited for the end of the “but.” He was willing to grasp onto any loophole that would save Eveline from punishment for interfering in a Challenge.

“She doesn’t belong to a Dark Hive,” his Head of Security noted. “She isn’t part of either contingent present at the Challenge. Technically, she might get away without consequences.”

“And because the Challenge was interrupted before its conclusion,” Devlin continued, “no winner has been declared. The match will either be forfeit, or the Challenger will have to reissue.”

Ramses didn’t give a fuck about the Challenge. He only focused on Eveline.

How was he to track her down? Why did the warrior take her? What did he want with her? Dark Goddess, if he hurt her…

The boulder Ramses was sitting on shook ominously before hairline fractures cracked along its surface. Ramses’ entire body quivered with barely contained pressure.

“On the other bright side, we kicked Queen Anya and her supporters’ puny, weakling asses,” Ariel offered. “The hail of boulders helped, by the way. Thanks for that. Fascinating Gift you have there, Ramses. You’ve obviously been holding out on us.”

He ignored the comments and focused on Eveline. He had to get to her, but how?

Though he could feel his repressed powers churning through his system, he was also physically depleted, his body having taken a severe beating. He willed his powers to recharge him, but his Gift had been dormant for millennia, refusing now to answer his call. Only recently had he been able to wield it in small ways.

The rock explosion in the falls had been a fluke. And now that it was over, he didn’t know whether and when he could harness the same power again.

“We need to return to the Cove and regroup,” Maximus pressed. “Queen Anya will be doing the same with her hive. We need to be ready for—”

“No.”

Ramses rose to his feet, locking his knees to stay upright.

“I must go after Eveline. I must bring her back.”

“I can take Ariel to follow their trail,” Devlin volunteered. “We’ll—”

“No. I will go after Eveline,” Ramses repeated unequivocally. “The rest of you return to the Cove. Maximus, you have command.”

“Think clearly,” Maximus barked, careless of protocol. “You are King. You cannot go galivanting across the continent while we are on the verge of civil war. You—”

“I will not rest until I find Eveline and bring her back,” Ramses growled, aggressively shoving himself into the Commander’s space, until they were chest to chest, jaw to jaw.

“I will not leave behind the person who saved my life, misguided though her actions may have been. You do what you must to shore up loose ends with the Great Plains. But do not presume to lecture me again.”

Maximus narrowed his eyes at his king dangerously, the edges of his form shimmering with the energy to shift into his animal form—that of a giant Siberian tiger.

Ramses bared his vampire fangs in return as a primitive growl rumbled through his throat.

If the Commander wanted to Challenge him tonight, he was more than game, wounds notwithstanding. His broiling temper alone could detonate them all to kingdom come. But as long as he was king, he wouldn’t tolerate dissension. Not even from his trusted and respected right hand.

“I can help you find her,” Rhys spoke up, attempting to diffuse the crackling tension, and Ramses flicked a look of surprise his way.

He hadn’t exactly treated the male with fairness. He hadn’t the right to ask him for help.

“He is far away, now, that I can take flight once more,” Rhys said, indicating that the eagle king’s will no longer controlled him given the distance between them.

“If we pursue them by road, it will take much longer. I can take you with me in eagle form. But only you. I cannot carry a heavier load for long distances.”

Ramses gave him a brief nod, his eyes showing his contrition for taking his fear and anger out on the Chosen.

The other male accepted his silent apology with