Falcon's Mate 1(6)

Without a word, she held up the Chalice. Ari’s fingers shook as she

reached out. Hesitant, she took it. Feelings of hope and fear warred

inside her. She’d managed to stay calm until this moment, but now her

body shook from head to toe. She didn’t want to drink and in a moment

of panic she almost threw the Chalice to the ground in refusal. She

looked at Lynus, wondering if she’d wake up next to him. Then, as she

brought the cup to her lips and tasted the first sip of the magical pink

liquid, her gaze darted to the side. Rurik’s eyes were on her, steadily

staring at her like everyone else’s.

The liquid was unlike any she’d ever tasted, somewhat like punch

and liquor and tingling herbs all in one. It slid thickly down her throat

and she coughed lightly, forcing herself to drink it all. A buzzing started

in her ears as she drew the Chalice down from her mouth. She’d heard

the sensations described, but feeling them was something else

altogether. Her hands went numb and she looked down in time to see

them become transparent. The Chalice dropped and the young girl

leaned over to catch it. Suddenly, a bright white light bombarded her and

she heard droplets of rain seconds before the world went black.





 19

Michelle M Pillow

Rurik bit the inside of his lip, his gut clenched as he watched Ari lift

the Chalice to her lips. Even from across the hall he could see that her

eyes hadn’t changed in their blue intensity. She saw him, he had no

doubt, but she didn’t smile, didn’t show that she recognized him.

Part of him wanted to watch her, the beauty of her face, the soft

curves of her body as she moved beneath the clinging material. The years

had been kind to her, maybe too kind for they’d made her a gorgeous

woman. He’d heard people speak of her beauty, but in his mind she was

always the young girl, awkward and without power. He’d been attracted

to her then, but now, now she was a woman and attraction didn’t even

begin to cover what he felt.

The two women kissed his neck, but he didn’t feel them, not really.

Their hands were on his thighs, but in his mind he only wanted one

person and neither of them was she. His hands trembled, and he longed

to wipe the makeup from her face, longed to run his fingers through her

loosened hair.

Ari drew the Chalice down from her mouth, her eyes wide as she

looked down. The Chalice dropped from her hand and he felt a strange

tingling in his stomach, an almost nauseous sensation. Jealousy?

Regret? Anger? A shiver worked over his spine and he couldn’t move.

“You’re cold as ice.” The blonde pulled away from him. “Commander,

what is it?”

“He’s freezing,” the dark haired temptress added.

“Commander?” Ivor and Lleu said simultaneously.

Rurik opened his mouth to say he was fine, but a rush of air hit him,

filling his lungs and knocking the breath from him, followed by a

blinding light. He couldn’t see a thing as the noises of the hall

disappeared into the pounding sound of warriors’ feet running over a

battlefield seconds before they took to flight.

20



Talons: Seize the Hunter

Then, suddenly, darkness replaced the light, a heavy, disorienting

contrast. Soft cushioning pressed into his hands and knees and he

realized he was bent over on a soft mattress. Something warm was by his

leg and he reached over blindly to feel what it was.

“It’s done,” a woman whispered. There was relief in her tone. “I can’t

believe it’s finally done.”

His fingers ran over a leg, buried within a gown. It didn’t take long to

ascertain it belonged to the woman.

Nae, not just a woman. It belonged to…

“Ari?” he whispered.

Rurik drew his hand away as if burnt. Jerking back, he spread his

wings slightly. They bumped an invisible boundary. He reached for it,

feeling the air like a thick wall encircling them and keeping him trapped

with the princess.

“Yea,” Ari said. Her tone had deepened into an almost sultry, vixen’s

tone.

“Princess Ari?” he said, more to himself than to her.

“Yea, are you well, Lord?” she asked. “Did the transition take you by

surprise? What is your name? Who has the Chalice chosen for me?”

“I can’t believe this. It’s a mistake.”

“The only way it’s a mistake, Lord, is if you are…” the woman paused,

“…a pure blood.”

Rurik froze and started to lower his naturally deep tone an octave

more, but then stopped himself. He didn’t expect Ari to remember his

voice. “No taste for pure bloods?”

“What? Um, nae, it’s just they can’t rule.”