Devour, A Paranormal Romance (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 3) Read Online Free
Author: Megan Duncan
darkness.
I followed behind Arrick as the procession wound deeper and deeper into the forest. The vegetation grew thicker the farther we got. Moist leaves slapped against my bare legs, but I didn’t mind. I was too distracted by the beauty of the forest to care. Fireflies glimmered around us, dancing closer and closer, somehow mesmerized by our own sparkling cloaks each time we moved through a moonbeam.
My instincts told me we’d arrived before my eyes unveiled the truth. Silver light glowed powerfully before us, and I lifted my head, ready to cast my eyes toward a starry sky, but the canopy overhead was as thick as ever. Even the tree trunks grew wider. I peered around Arrick to find that the luminosity radiated not from the night sky or the vast moon, but from the ground. What was making the earth glow? I’d never seen anything like it, but I couldn’t mistake the sensation it gave me. Nyx definitely had a part in this. It was achingly beautiful, just like the moon was when the night began. I wanted to cry and smile at the same time.
Every step closer toward the exquisite light made my heart throb in pain. There was so much sorrow here. I could feel it in the air, filling my lungs with every breath.
The line of mourners slowed as we approached the funeral site. Two hooded vampires stood at the edge of the ring of light. They each carried a woven basket filled with something that carried the same silvery glow as the ground before us. Seeing it this close made something stir in my memories. I’d seen something that looked like this before, but where?
One of the figures handed Arrick a single glowing orb and he took it in his hand before bowing deeply. I watched his back as he strode away and toward the gathering of vampires in the center of the light. My eyes adjusted quickly to the brightness and the details became clearer. The earth looked to be covered in a low fog that was filled with the shiny glow. It swirled, and shifted as the cloaked figures waded through it. Orbs of light clung to the ground, and I was drawn to reach down and touch one; to pluck it from the earth and hold it to me like a newborn child.
A growl rumbled angrily behind me and I shifted my body back toward the figure beside me. A glowing light lay idly in their hand as they offered it to me. Even with their head cast down, I could tell who they were. The radiant light from her basket bathed her face in a gorgeous hue of silver and white.
Evilyn.
She hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since I returned. I’d wanted desperately to talk to her, but she refused everyone who requested entrance to her chambers. Arrick mentioned she wouldn’t even allow Nicolae in, that even after I’d run away with him after Ana attacked me, she fell into a deep depression. I never once thought that Evilyn might have been innocent in the whole scheme. I didn’t stop to think how much my absence would hurt her. I felt guilty for not trying harder to get her to speak with me.
I bent down, trying to connect with her. If only she would look at me I could convey my love toward her. I wasn’t angry with her, she had to know that. I still cared about her and I would never forget the moments we shared. If she would just let me apologize for leaving. If I could simply talk to her and tell her everything that had happened, maybe she would understand. Maybe then she wouldn’t be in so much pain and she could begin to heal.
She lowered her head even more, dropping the glowing orb back into her basket. My heart sank. I’d been so focused on the agony that Baal had caused that I didn’t stop to think about the heartache I had caused myself. I swore that when this nightmare was over I would make it right. I’d try to speak to her, and keep trying until she let me in. Just because I wasn’t her daughter didn’t mean I didn’t want her in my life. Vowing inwardly to keep my promise, I reached out and grasped an orb from her basket before moving forward. The grumpy
I followed behind Arrick as the procession wound deeper and deeper into the forest. The vegetation grew thicker the farther we got. Moist leaves slapped against my bare legs, but I didn’t mind. I was too distracted by the beauty of the forest to care. Fireflies glimmered around us, dancing closer and closer, somehow mesmerized by our own sparkling cloaks each time we moved through a moonbeam.
My instincts told me we’d arrived before my eyes unveiled the truth. Silver light glowed powerfully before us, and I lifted my head, ready to cast my eyes toward a starry sky, but the canopy overhead was as thick as ever. Even the tree trunks grew wider. I peered around Arrick to find that the luminosity radiated not from the night sky or the vast moon, but from the ground. What was making the earth glow? I’d never seen anything like it, but I couldn’t mistake the sensation it gave me. Nyx definitely had a part in this. It was achingly beautiful, just like the moon was when the night began. I wanted to cry and smile at the same time.
Every step closer toward the exquisite light made my heart throb in pain. There was so much sorrow here. I could feel it in the air, filling my lungs with every breath.
The line of mourners slowed as we approached the funeral site. Two hooded vampires stood at the edge of the ring of light. They each carried a woven basket filled with something that carried the same silvery glow as the ground before us. Seeing it this close made something stir in my memories. I’d seen something that looked like this before, but where?
One of the figures handed Arrick a single glowing orb and he took it in his hand before bowing deeply. I watched his back as he strode away and toward the gathering of vampires in the center of the light. My eyes adjusted quickly to the brightness and the details became clearer. The earth looked to be covered in a low fog that was filled with the shiny glow. It swirled, and shifted as the cloaked figures waded through it. Orbs of light clung to the ground, and I was drawn to reach down and touch one; to pluck it from the earth and hold it to me like a newborn child.
A growl rumbled angrily behind me and I shifted my body back toward the figure beside me. A glowing light lay idly in their hand as they offered it to me. Even with their head cast down, I could tell who they were. The radiant light from her basket bathed her face in a gorgeous hue of silver and white.
Evilyn.
She hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since I returned. I’d wanted desperately to talk to her, but she refused everyone who requested entrance to her chambers. Arrick mentioned she wouldn’t even allow Nicolae in, that even after I’d run away with him after Ana attacked me, she fell into a deep depression. I never once thought that Evilyn might have been innocent in the whole scheme. I didn’t stop to think how much my absence would hurt her. I felt guilty for not trying harder to get her to speak with me.
I bent down, trying to connect with her. If only she would look at me I could convey my love toward her. I wasn’t angry with her, she had to know that. I still cared about her and I would never forget the moments we shared. If she would just let me apologize for leaving. If I could simply talk to her and tell her everything that had happened, maybe she would understand. Maybe then she wouldn’t be in so much pain and she could begin to heal.
She lowered her head even more, dropping the glowing orb back into her basket. My heart sank. I’d been so focused on the agony that Baal had caused that I didn’t stop to think about the heartache I had caused myself. I swore that when this nightmare was over I would make it right. I’d try to speak to her, and keep trying until she let me in. Just because I wasn’t her daughter didn’t mean I didn’t want her in my life. Vowing inwardly to keep my promise, I reached out and grasped an orb from her basket before moving forward. The grumpy
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