ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 2: TEMPTING THE DARK KING

A small whimper escaped her lips as she hid her face on the space between Rhol’s neck and shoulder. Bouts of tears overtook her as she imagined how disappointed the Lord Mage would be with her. She didn’t get to talk to her mate the way she wanted to. She was so disappointed.

Rhol’s tattoos whimpered with her and caressed her lightly as if they tried to sooth her. Rhol himself was so still she wondered if he was still there with her.

Her questions were answered when she felt the thick hand go up into her hair and caress the white locks with incredible tenderness. He started moving, his heavy boots knocking with purpose on the marbled floor. He never let her go and Lyrah didn’t loosen the tight grip she had around his neck. If she did, she was afraid she would sever the contact with his tattoos that seemed to have a mind of their own. They touched her face as if to rub her tears away. Some were around her arms and she also felt them on her back. They were warm and comforting and she doubted people could tell where one body started and where the other finished off.

“Bring some hot food and drink to my quarters.” She heard him instruct and frowned.

When she looked up, she discovered she wasn’t back home. She was in the black fortress of the King Jinn.

It was breathtaking and magnificent. It was made of what looked like black crystals and they pulsed with power. It was amazing and mesmerizing. She gasped as she looked at the low-hanging crystal chandeliers and the interesting art works around the hallway. She saw several females moved about, some dusting off furniture while other drew the curtains and put on the lights. Her eyebrows arched lightly as the King Jinn took her into the far end of the fortress, up the impressive stairs to a large room that had her dazed for a couple of minutes.

When the door closed behind him, he didn’t release her. He just kept on holding her until the last of the shudders passed through her.

“Are you quite done?” He asked her, his eyebrow arching up in question but Lyrah saw the slight twitch of his lips and that unfamiliar tightening of her gut occurred again.

They were incredible. Her eyes were stuck there for a moment before she recalled what he had asked her. “Aren’t you taking me back to my Realm?”

“With the fit you just pulled?” He grunted. “Besides, you are still too weak to travel.”

Lyrah swallowed hard as he placed her softly on his large bed. It had tirk sheets that glowed in different colors depending on the angle to looked at them. Tirk was a very expensive fabric found in the Realm of Water. It looked like fish scales and was very rare to get. “I should apologize for my behavior. I guess I was a little overwhelmed.”

As he moved away, his tattoos hissed in protest at the severed contact. He rolled his shoulders with a snarl and they silenced.

Lyrah too felt cold all of a sudden. She rubbed her forearms just as someone knocked lightly on the door. Rhol eyed her and waved his hand on what looked like a fireplace. The fire roared as he went to open the door.

Lyrah heard the clanging of glass-ware and her stomach betrayed her. She bit into her lower lip and hoped that Rhol didn’t hear the growling mess. The aroma of food filled the air and she looked away quickly as he placed the tray on one of the stylish tables.

“You shouldn’t thank me yet since my plan to take you back to the Realm of Spells still stands.” He turned to her and frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Lyrah’s heart stuttered when he looked at her even though he was being very mean to her at the moment. “You never came for the conference--”

Rhol sighed irritably. “I sent my reasons why—and it’s a good thing I didn’t attend it.”

Lyrah inhaled sharply. “We would have stood a better chance against the dragons if you came.”

Rhol’s eyebrow arched up tauntingly. “So, you believe in your mate’s abilities to come to your rescue?”

Could a man be more infuriating? Lyrah narrowed her eyes at him. “It wasn’t me who needed the rescuing, it was the entire Realm. I think you forgot that I’m a royal blood Mage.” She wasn’t gloating but she hated the fact that he was belittling her abilities to defend herself.

“I had more pressing matters right here than play who was most feared with people who don’t even give a damn of what is happening around them.” Rhol said softly and cursed out then asked. “Why was Tyran so careless!”

“If you were in his position, you would have done the same thing.” Lyrah found out that she always had the need to defend her brother’s actions because she had been there all the time he struggled alone. She had seen him in the worst of states trying to figure out what he could do so that everyone believed him. “The only wrong thing my brother did was to try and defend his Realm, defend his people and what he got from everyone else was nothing but blame, scorn and distrust.”

“And so you decided to travel all the way here to what—persuade me to align with him?” Rhol asked incredulously. “Take a look around, dirani peeta! I think I have enough problems of my own.”

“This is not just about the dragons or Ron.” Lyrah assured him. He must have noticed it too. “I thought it was just about greed and power and there is something else here. You know that too, don’t you?”

Rhol walked to the large window on the other side of the room and looked blankly out. He was never going to answer her but Lyrah understood his silence. He knew this was more than just a meaningless war.

Rhol couldn’t bring himself to admit it but his little mate was much more intelligent that he thought. He heard the rumors that she could sense things others couldn’t and bring back to life what was once thought dead. She was most powerful, as powerful as her brother yet to him she was the most infuriating female he had ever met. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that she almost died braving the forests of the Realms of the Dark. He couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to her if Herik and his brothers hadn’t found her in time.

Holding her in his arms only showed how small and fragile she was. It was like holding a baby, afraid that there were so many things around that could harm her. Why did he get such a mate? They were so incompatible. Where she was light and compassionate he was dark and ruthless. What he needed was a dragon or a phoenix female but not a royal Mage!

His tattoos hissed in protest and he heard the loud gasp that escaped Lyrah’s lips. When he turned to her, he noted the terrified look she had and realized he had unleashed his tattoos through his fury. The large black tentacles solidified and scaled the walls around him like snakes moaning eerily and slithering around him like something straight out of a horror movie. He calmed down and his skin rippled as they re-attached themselves on him again.

The tattoos were a Jinn’s greatest weapon against an enemy. They were as part of them as an arm or a leg. They were poisonous or soothing when the need arose. When his tattoos went out to comfort Lyrah while she cried, Rhol felt the gesture right to the core. They reflected the purest of emotion and Rhol was terrified when they tried to sooth her. Was that what he felt deep inside?

“It’s dangerous for you to be here.” Rhol muttered as he walked to the other side of the room to put some space between them. As he did so, he took in her beauty.

She had a delicate ivory and cream complexion. Her eyes were large and black as the starless midnight sky. Her face was oval and her lips were full, pink and moist. Her silvery-white hair cascaded down her slender shoulders in waves like silk in the moonlight. She was small and delicately boned female but she was curvaceous in all the right places. Her breasts were full and high and he could see the tight nipples underneath the thin scooped-neck blouse she had on.

Rhol clenched tight fists against him. He could not deny the allure of her but he didn’t want her. He didn’t want such a weakling as a mate. The faster she healed, the faster she left the fortress.

You could always poof her back home. A voice taunted inside his head. Just like the most powerful Mage, the Jinns could flash from one place to the other. It was a faster and safer way to move around. He could take Lyrah back within a split second but he still had a lot of questions for her....something ticked inside his head.

“You are a royal Mage—why didn’t you just flash here? Why take the long way?”

“I have never been to the Realm of the Dark before.” Lyrah assured him.

Rhol hummed lightly and crossed his hands on his chest. Every instinct told to scoop her off his bed and flash her back home but looking down at her fragile body, she looked much better on his bed than anywhere else. “If the Aryan brothers didn’t find you--”

“But they did.” Lyrah cut him short then paused for a moment and Rhol knew what was to come. “How did you protect four Nosferatu for centuries without others finding out?”

He heard the subtle admiration behind her words and wasn’t prepared for the warmth they brought into his body. Rhol remembered the first time he found Herik and his siblings living in the caves like the ghouls.

He took his warriors to scout out the caves closest to the cities to make sure the ghouls didn’t bring trouble and he heard a cry like that of a baby. He still remembered the cold terror he felt when he found the baby alone inside a cave that could as well be infested with ghouls. With the way the baby cried it was only a matter of time until the ghouls sniffed her out.

Rhol remembered holding the squirming baby in his arms, her eyes locking with his and her shock and curiosity silencing her wails as she eyed him. For the longest time they stared at each other and at the moment, Rhol was dumb-founded to discovered that it was not a Jinn baby. Herik and his brothers attacked shortly after; Leon using his telepathy to cripple them with high pitch sound waves while Stef bombarded them with emotions of terror and dread. Rhol was disoriented and for a while he wouldn’t do anything until he saw Herik’s black claws and the white saber-incisors gleaming in the sun as he came in for the kill. They were quite young but their strength was that of a horned warrior. They were no match for an ancient though and Rhol battled the young Nosferatu while he carried the baby in his arms. He wore them out until they couldn’t fight anymore then rounded them up and threw them in the dungeon.

He remembered sitting for the longest hours with Eva in his arms. When she cried, one of the helpers fed her or cleaned her but they always returned her to him. She fell asleep several times in his arms and even then he didn’t want to put her down. She mesmerized him with her purity and innocence and when she opened her eyes, he saw all the way to her soul and there was nothing more pure to him than this baby. Reluctantly, he had to deal with her brothers. The threat to the king’s life was punishable by death. Neither of them knew who he was and when he laid his eyes on them once they realized that, Rhol had never seen so much fear in a living-breathing being. He saw what happened to the Nosferatu when they were captured and knew that the youngsters believed he was going use them for their blood.

He wanted to let them go so that he never had to see that terror in their eyes again but he knew it was only a matter of time until they were discovered and slaughtered. Instead, Rhol kept them in one of the underground quarters. He fed them and worked slowly to earn their trust. The Nosferatu stayed there for several weeks being taken care of by the helpers. Everyone was sworn to secrecy about their existence.

Instinctively, the Nosferatu thought about running away and hiding from the world but instead, Rhol made a deal with them. He assured them they were free to go but that they would never find a safer place than his fortress especially since everyone feared entering the Realm of the Dark. He gave them a choice to brave into the world which was foolish or align with him in turn earning his protection.

It wasn’t a hard choice for them especially with Eva being so young.

Rhol had never asked anything from them throughout their existence in his Realm and they were comfortably settled in the Shalarian District once Eva was old enough not to need a caretaker. She still maintained her purity even when she was grown. She still mesmerized him and he was ready to fight the entire world to keep her that way.

“Who would dare to tread into the dark forests of the Realm of the Dark to discover such secrets?” He arched his eyebrow at her. She, of course, did but it was by dumb luck that she survived.

Lyrah’s lips twitched even in the situation that she was in. “There are rumors of what creeps in the dark forests.”

“And every one of those rumors is true.” Rhol assured her then sighed. “Eat and get some rest. I have business to take of. I wish that you don’t roam around the fortress alone. I have guardians that are not—pleasant to unfamiliar faces.”

Rhol saw the spark of terror enter Lyrah’s eyes and bit back a laugh. Since everyone thought him dark and dangerous, it was only fair to exploit the traits and use them to his advantage. Lyrah was very safe to roam his fortress but he didn’t want her lost. He wanted to know where she was at all times. “Keep the doors locked.” As he spoke, he let dark tendrils of smoke escape around his arms and legs. “I’ll see you later, dirani peeta maiyan.”

Lyrah’s eyes widened as he disappeared in a whirlwind of black smoke—but not after he managed a wink at her.

Lyrah touched her hot cheeks and breathed in hard. She moved from the large bed and limped over to the door. She clicked the door closed and turned to the untouched tray of food. She was terribly hungry and her bruised leg started aching again. Eva wasn’t there to look at it in case she needed to change of bandages and she couldn’t go out to look for someone to help her after Rhol’s strong warning. With a sigh she settled back on the large bed and pulled the tray over. She could perform a healing session on herself but she would pass out before she even finished it because the energy flow, not only did it suck out the life in her but also sedated the person who it was performed on. She wasn’t strong enough to do it so she just had to do with the normal and agonizingly slow process of healing naturally. Lyrah pouted as she bit into the succulent fish fillet. She was strong and neither Rhol nor Tyran could say otherwise.

Tyran shielded her for the most of her life. He protected her and made sure that there was nothing that was out of her reach. At times she tried to understand him because it was just the two of them and like him, she didn’t think she could live if something happened to him but Lyrah trusted in her brother’s abilities and powers. She believed that he would always find a way out of a tight situation. They were a lot alike yet because she was female and had a smaller body, very little was expected of her.

She got into a lot of trouble and it was one of the reasons why Tyran sent her to the Great Hall but now with conflicts erupting in all parts of the enchanted world, it was dangerous to return there.

Lyrah wondered if he had already found out that she was gone? He must have. Like her, he always sensed when something was wrong though the sense was much stronger in her. Was he already looking for her? She had to work fast if she wanted to be successful with Rhol. He was a difficult male and she didn’t have the patience to deal with him but he was the only one who truly believed and understood what was happening. Though it wasn’t the best idea to go to him and get him all angry with her, she thought it was the right thing.

After finishing her meal, Lyrah limped around in search for the bathroom and finally found it. It had the biggest bathtub she had ever seen and it was clean and sparkling as if it had never been used. She reached for a clean towel and locked the door behind her. She couldn’t resist the temptation of a nice long bath especially after her attack in the woods. Though Eva had cleaned her up and she had a change of clothes, the nauseating smell of evil-tainted blood and flesh still lingered on her like a second skin. She could still hear the horrid screams and the cracking of bones. She could still feel the cold claws raking down her leg. As if in protest, her wound ached to the beating of her heart.

She sighed and pushed the terrifying thoughts aside. She was alive and safe in the Black Fortress. That was all that mattered.

Shedding her clothes, Lyrah ran the taps until the water was just right then stepped into the hot, frothy water and let it work its way into all the aching parts of her body, soothing and relaxing the taut muscles.

The water caressed every part of her body and it reminded her of the warm violet tattoos that sought out to comfort her when she was in distress earlier. Her face reddened when she remembered the tight grip she had around Rhol’s thick neck. His skin was warm and comforting and his scent was pure sin, wicked to the core. He brought out emotions she had never had before, the primal instincts of a mate.

She didn’t want to have those feelings for him especially when he made it very clear that he didn’t want her there. She too didn’t want to be around him. She only came all this way to try and get him to help Tyran.

How could she live with such an overbearing and infuriating male. He looked down upon her and saw her weak and fragile. He forgot that like him, she was of royal blood and that she was the next in line for the Realm of Spells throne. Did he also ridicule Queen Malenna and the dead Queen Seranis? Lyrah was going to show him that she was as good as the rest of them if not better.

Rhol flashed to his office and felt the presence of his second in command before he even saw her. Zafrina was leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Her dark hair came down her head in a right braid that she had curled around her neck like a deadly whip. Her coffee brown eyes bore at him and Rhol saw the amusement dancing in them. Her caramel skin glowed in the dim light of his office and her tattoos slithered around her arms lazily.

“Don’t even start.” He warned her.

Zafrina pushed off the wall and approached her king. “I wasn’t going to say anything, my king.”

Rhol eyed her for moment then asked. “What do you want?”

“Permission to for more re-enforcements up in Quegal Cliffs Sector. The city of Garon is very much disadvantaged if the Ghouls make it there. They will have nowhere to run but to the human realm with one part entirely overlooking the cliffs and the gateway.” Zafrina stated.

“Can we afford taking any more males out of Karah? As it is, the Ghouls are more prone to Karah than any other sector in the Realm.” Rhol settled himself on his chair and leaned back.

“But Garon is a trade city, my king. It had over two hundred thousand citizens. It also has the largest the most stable gateway to the human world. Imagine what would happen if somehow the Ghouls found a way into the human world? It is much bigger and more scattered than the enchanted world and we are weak there.”

“Alright, get as many warriors as we can afford there.” He sighed and closed his eyes. It seemed as if the entire world was closing up around him. He was doing all he could to make sure his people were safe. He had all his concentration there but now the female he planned to avoid for as long as possible was somewhere in his quarters, her scent filling up every alcove of that room.

He was used to female presence every once in a while when the need arose. He shared his bed with them, specific ones that were brought for his use. Just the previous evening he had an erotic dancer spent the night with him. She was still around there somewhere. The feelings that were playing in him felt alien. He wasn’t the type to consider what others thought of what he did and no one dared to voice it out but now having Lyrah there made his heart tighten in his chest.

“One more thing, my king.” Zafrina added.

“Yes?” Rhol answered without looking at her. To him Zafrina was his most trusted commander. She was strong, witty and very composed. She had a unique fighting strategy and when one took a quick glimpse of her, they would not believe that she was a deadly assassin. She was much taller than most females and had a better body build.

“Are you going to take the High Lady back to the Realm of Spells?” She asked quietly.

Rhol’s eyebrow corked up as he stared at her. Did he need to explain himself to his commander? But she was the only one who actually listened to him and gave him advice which he rarely used. “Yes, as soon as she is fit to travel. I will not have her life in danger.”

“So, you actually care for her?” Zafrina sank onto the chair opposite him and clasped her hands on the desk.

“I’m doing this for her own safety. I don’t care about her. I no have the time for that with everything that is happening. She’s a distraction and she needs to go.” He hoped he was quite clear about his intentions.

A smile quirked on Zafrina’s lips. “For a moment there, you had me convinced.”

Rhol jerked up his chair and snarled at her. “Get. Out.”

Zafrina pushed off the chair and bowed lightly. “She’s your mate. It’s useless to want to run away from her. Sooner or the later, the mate pull between you will be intolerable.”

Rhol tilted his head and regarded the commander for a long time then quietly said, “I didn’t tell you that information so that you could rub it in my face.”

Zafrina’s eyes narrowed as a sly smile appeared on her face. “And I’ll rub it on with every chance that a get, my king.” She turned around and walked out.

Zafrina was one commander that was not afraid of him. The other was Darius, the smart-mouthed captain of his special ops team. At that moment, Darius was seeking information around the lands for the Thyest Bow. Stories of that specific Mortal Lock was that it was corrupted by the Dark Energy and had the last king throw it in the ocean before committing suicide was utter non-sense. Rhol killed his own father after the Dark Energy was locked away because he was one of the followers of Aidan and he planned on taking over the Ghoul Army and continue the war. Uzrel already had the Thyest Bow hidden somewhere and when Rhol killed him, the secret died with him.

So far, there was no information about it whereabouts and Rhol knew he had to find it before the rogues did.

“My King!” one of his warriors burst into his office without knocking and bowed low. He was breathing rapidly as if he had been running. “We have caught...I have no idea what it is but I think you should come and see this.”

Rhol narrowed his eyes at the warrior. “It better be something worth my time or I’ll have your head.”

“It is, my King.”

Rhol shifted from his chair and followed the warrior through the maze of hallways and passages until they finally ended up in the dungeons. A couple of his warriors were there too and their faces were pale and their dark eyes shocked. “What happened?”

“You are...the one they call the...Dark King?” a raspy voice came from one of the dark cells.

Rhol’s hand immediately went to his dagger as he scanned the empty space in front of him. His tattoos expanded from him to seek out the malevolent presence.

“Who wants to know?” Rhol asked.

“Someone who knows...the real Dark King.” As the male said he moved to the dim light and glared at Rhol.

Rhol was stunned when he saw who he was talking to. The last time he checked, Ghouls couldn’t talk. They were mindless beings that only fed and caused havoc in their lands yet here was one talking to him!

“Boo.” He chuckled softly and ended up choking and whizzing.

Rhol narrowed his eyes and approached the cell cautiously. All his warriors stood on standby, their tattoos slithering from their skins, ready to attack and kill the Ghoul if anything went wrong.

“How is it that you can talk? Are you a new changeling?” Rhol asked curiously.

“A new changeling!” The Ghoul snorted in disgust. “New changelings are being born alright but I’m not one of them. I have been around for a as long as time itself. I have seen it all.” he turned to Rhol and eyed him from head to toe. “I have seen you.”

Rhol didn’t have time to play that mind game with the Ghoul. “Give me a name.”

“Marcus.” The Ghoul hissed in contempt. “Remember now, Rhol of Uzrel?”

Rhol’s eyes widened in shock as he recalled the Ghoul standing in front of him. “Marcus of Hawk.”

“Bingo.” Marcus’ red eyes glowed and his pale white skin stretched around his scaly lips as he grinned revealing the razor sharp teeth inside his mouth.

Rhol ground his teeth. The fucking traitor was still alive! “You unbelievable son-of-a-bitch!”

Marcus laughed again and started choking again but this time it was so severe that he was spitting out black blood from his mouth. He was wounded and Rhol knew it was only a matter of time before he died. It was not everyday that they captured a talking Ghoul. Most of them growled and snapped at them. Rhol needed Marcus alive for as long as possible. He needed information on what was happening.

Lyrah sat down on the large king sized bed and treated her wounds with as little energy as possible. She didn’t want to pass out and let Rhol find her sprawled on his bed unconscious. The flesh was stitching itself agonizingly slow and her body heat had increased because her body was still fighting off the poison that was in her system. She wanted to go out in search of Tatiana but remembered Rhol’s warning plus it was late in the evening.

There was a knock on the door and Lyrah jerked up thinking Rhol was back.

“Wh...who is it?” She asked nervously. He made her very nervous and not in the scared kind-of-way but that her body recognized him as her mate.

“Zafrina, my lady.” A sure voice came from the other side and before she could do anything, black smoke sipped in from the crack under the door.

Lyrah rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. How was she going to keep anything out if it could slither its way into the quarters under the door?

Body female bodies solidified in front of her. One of them was taller than her. She had a lean body like that of a warrior with black lynak vest and pants. Her black hair was long and braided then coiled around her long neck. She had piercing icy-blue eyes and she was very beautiful. There was a hint of a smile on her lips and curiosity in her eyes. The other female was smaller. She had her head bowed down and was wearing a pale blue lynak sarong-like skirt and a tight camisole-like top. She was bare footed and Lyrah noticed the anklets on both her legs. In her hands, she had several blood-red fabrics and what looked like jewelry.

“Pardon us for our intrusion, my lady, but The Dark King has asked that we take care of you.” The taller female said. “My name is Zafrina and this is Leah. She will be your helper for the period that you will be here.”

“How do you do, my lady.” Leah bobbed down but didn’t lift her head to acknowledge her.

Lyrah didn’t know the last time she had a personal helper. “I don’t need a helper.”

“You will as long as you are here.” Zafrina stated turning to the petite female beside her.

Lyrah notes the sinew muscles on her and the slithering tattoos against them. She also noted that the female was packing a gun on the small of her back. She was definitely a warrior. So, Rhol planned to get her a bodyguard?

“These are for you.” Zafrina placed the fabrics on the bed. “If there is anything else that you might need, Leah will be right outside your door.”

Lyrah’s eyes widened. “It’s in the middle of the night. I will not need anything and I will not feel comfortable if Leah spends the entire night standing outside my door.”

Zafrina frowned at her as if she didn’t understand her then smiled lightly. “Jinns hardly sleep. We keep beds and sleeping chambers out of habit but we hardly use them. Leah will be alright.”

Still, Lyrah wasn’t at all happy with the arrangement. “That is not how we do things back home.”

Zafrina nodded. “Alright. If it makes you that much uncomfortable then she’ll sleep next door.”

Though Lyrah was still not satisfied by the arrangement it was better than having her standing in the corridor. “That’s much better.”

Zafrina smiled softly and stepped back. “We better get going to leave you to rest, my lady.” she inclined her head lightly while Leah bobbed and they shimmered until they were smoke once more and passed out of the door-crack.

Lyrah sighed and settled back on the bed. She touched the fabrics and they were as cool as still waters. She was indeed exhausted because she used a bit more energy to try and heal herself while she was running low on it. She couldn’t chance drawing energy from her surrounding because the dark aura was much more conspicuous in that Realm which meant the chances of getting corrupted drawing in tainted energy was high.

Lyrah collected the fabrics and limped to one of the chairs in the room then placed them there and went back to the tempting bed. She could see Rhol spending several hours resting on that bed even though Jinns hardly slept. He was a large male, towering over her like she was some baby. He would take up most of the space on the bed.

Lyrah crawled into the cool sheets and closed her eyes and sighed in content. She was glad her wounds prevent Rhol from taking her back home. She wasn’t ready to face her brother yet especially when the aim of the trip wasn’t yet achieved. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. Was he dealing with the Ghouls somewhere, or maybe he was conducting business in his office. Whatever the case, she was glad he wasn’t there with her because he made her feel uneasy. She couldn’t believe he was her mate. With a sigh, Lyrah closed her eyes and drifted right to sleep, barely noticing the Dark King standing in the corner, watching her intently.