He stared at her as he spoke, his fingers running along her cheekbone and over her lips. “She looked kind of like you actually, although you are far more beautiful.” He smiled as he ran his fingers along her face. “I didn’t even have to tell her I was there to help her escape. She looked at me and smiled and told me she didn’t need my help. She told me she loved Ryce and he loved her, that he treated her like she was a rare treasure that needed worshiped. I hadn’t even spoken one word and she had seemed to know why I was there, had told me everything I needed to know. I left her room that night with a clearer picture, that what I had thought of as a caged animal was actually the love of Ryce’s life.”
Helina looked into his eyes as he cupped the side of her face and brought his mouth to hers. “So they aren’t caged animals?”
“Not for Ryce. Although I can’t speak for all of my kind. There are some of my kind that use humans as slaves.”
“So what happened to the woman?”
Gaijryc’s face took on a look of grief as soon as she asked the question. “She died.”
“What happened?” Even though Ryce had killed her sister, there was a compassionate part of her that felt sorrow for his loss. There was a part of her that hated him, wanted him to suffer as she was now suffering.
“Everyone found out that Ryce’s human pet had died. They all knew she had been his favorite, but they didn’t truly know how deep it actually ran. I found him one night crying in the garden in my parents’ courtyard. I remember it like it was just yesterday, Ryce on his knees at the foot of her grave, tears streaking down his face. He was a strong and powerful warrior, but to see him so broken, so devastated changed something inside of me. He wanted her buried close to him so that he could see her every day. My parents agreed, not because he loved her, but because he was the trusted high ranking lord of the DarkShine league.”
Helina rested her head on his chest, her heart breaking as she listened to the story. “He had been on the cold ground, his hands and knees covered in dirt and his face wet with his own tears. Even though he knew I was there, his tears didn’t stop. He told me she died pregnant with his child. You see, it is forbidden to mate a human, to conceive a child with what our kind sees as the weaker species.”
Hot tears ran down her cheeks and she tried to stop the flow by closing her eyes.
“Why are you crying?”
Opening her eyes, she lifted head just as Gaijryc’s thumb ran over her cheek and wiped away her tears. “It’s just a sad story, one that I can relate to. I hate him, Gargryck, hate him for what he took from me, but I am still a human and feel compassion for people.” They stared at each other, concern etched into his face. “You make the pain bearable. I don’t know how or why, but your presence helps me.”
They made love that morning, the sun skimming off of their exposed skin as Gaijryc seemed to touch a part of her that had never been discovered. They connected that morning on a level that had nothing to do with sex. It was as if their very souls had meshed together and bonded as one. It was indescribable.
Preparations
Gaijryc left Helina asleep in the bed, exhausted from their lovemaking. He felt as if he were floating, drifting through the woods as he raced toward his parents’ home. As he reached the mansion, he turned and looked into the forest. He didn’t know how he was going to tell them, but he knew that he had to. His parents, his kind, needed to know that the future King of the DarkShine was going to mate a human female.
He walked through the double doors and into the ballroom that was already covered with extravagant decorations. Silks hung from the walls, and sheers from the ceiling around the huge crystal chandelier. Servants hustled around, placing tables and covered chairs away from the center of the room. He sighed as his mother and Iena spotted him at the same time and gave a wave and smile. He turned and went up the stairs to his quarters before the sirens could capture him.
Helina lay in bed, her face buried in the pillow as she thought about Gaijryc. She rolled onto her back and sat up, wrapping the sheet around her breasts and standing. She padded into the kitchen, her stomach growling even though Gaijryc had handfed her fresh fruit. Opening the fridge, she peeked inside, grabbing a cup of vanilla yogurt and popping the foil lid. Leaning against the counter, she stared out the small window above the sink.
Setting the yogurt down, she leaned forward and stared out the window. In the distance she could see a flash of white moving through the trees. The shape slowed, finally stopping completely and facing Helina. She could tell it definitely was a female, her small form standing next to a large oak tree, an overhanging branch obscuring her face. The white dress she wore billowed all around her, the wind moving it against her body in a sensual dance.