Rise of Heroes

Chapter 28 - Dangerous Desire

Jaden squeezed her hand and pulled her into the house, urgently closing the door behind them. She tripped on the remains of an old chair that lay scattered on the floor along with the overturned table, clinging to his arm until she regained her balance. The signs of struggle and destruction were everywhere, and the stench of blood and decay was even more overwhelming inside. That was exactly what Jaden was counting on or they were as good as dead.

“What’s that smell?” she asked, and he turned to look at her just as she was wrinkling her nose. He hesitated for a second, then dropped her hand and cupped her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes. The moment his fingers touched her soft cheeks, the warm, pleasant sensation crawled under his palms again. He had sensed it before when he offered her his hand the first time, but he had thought that he had imagined it. Now he was sure it was real — it started in his fingers and spread through his body like a merciless fire, raising every hair on his body up until the tension in his groin was about to drive him insane.

He prided himself on being a man who could control his urges and think clearly in any situation, but for some reason, when he was close to that woman he barely knew, all he wanted to do was throw caution to the wind and devour her.

What was worse, it wasn’t just any woman.

It was her, the red-haired girl from his dream.

She was real.

Jaden pulled back his hands, stopping a sigh of relief as the feeling faded away.

“You have to do exactly as I say, or we are both going to die!” he said, trying to sound as firm as possible. She seemed stupefied for a moment, staring at him with wide eyes and a startled expression. “We’re going to hide in the basement and whatever you see in there, you must not make a sound!”

“What is in the basement?” she whispered, her voice trembling. Her expression, however, despite its growing paleness and the shaking of her body, remained calm. “What…”

Another howl sounded outside, closer this time.

“Not a sound, do you understand?” he mouthed, pulling her toward the door leading to the basement. He had led them to the tavern, or what was left of it, since that was the place he knew best and he knew how to use it. After the attack on Naysa, they had gathered the bodies they could find and he could clearly remember what they had stumbled upon in the tavern. Just like the underground basement in Jamie’s house, the tavern had become the hiding place for many of the villagers. Unfortunately for them, at least one demon had found its way in and torn apart anything with a pulse.

Jaden wrapped his hand around the handle, pushing the door open. The stench hit him almost immediately, making his eyes sting, but he continued down the creaking stairway, hoping that his companion would be able to do the same and hold the contents of her stomach in.

He let her go in front of him so that he could close the door and by the time he did it, she was already at the bottom step. The basement was dark. The only light came from the cracks in the wooden ceiling above them.

Jaden climbed down the half-rotting stairs, trying to make as little sound as possible. By the time he was walking on solid ground, his eyes had adjusted to the shadows, giving him some comprehension of his surroundings.

A surprised gasp made his head snap to where the girl had fallen down on the ground. She had almost reached the far end of the small room, as far away from the door as possible. She didn’t move for a moment, making Jaden fear that she might have knocked herself out, when a movement finally caught his attention, sending him running forward to where she lay. She was now creeping back quickly, hands covering her mouth firmly, making sure that no sound came out. As if sensing him next to her, she turned around, an expression of pure horror painted over her face.

“There is a dead body,” she whimpered, taking in a sharp breath as she removed her hands from her face only to touch something sticky on the ground. “By the gods, this is…”

“...blood.” Jaden finished instead.

Her gaze darted around the dark basement, looking for even more signs of what Jaden already knew was there. She was panting heavily, but now she kept her hands far away from her body, as if spreading the blood may cause something worse than what happened to the poor souls in that basement.

Jaden’s men had gathered most of the bodies they had found, but apparently missed the one Isabelle had stumbled upon in the corner. The stench that came from the corpse was so suffocating that Jaden instinctively raised his hand to cover his nose. And as much as he hated himself for this, he was actually glad that the body was there at the moment. That was the only thing that could hide them from the demons unless, of course, they came down for a snack.

Goosebumps crept down Jaden’s spine. He helped the girl to her feet, ushering her even further into the darkness, pressing a hand over her mouth to make sure she didn’t make a sound. She tried to push it away, but he tightened his hold, despite what her closeness was doing to his mind. He couldn’t risk being discovered — there was more than one demon outside and he couldn’t fight them and keep her safe at the same time.

He could feel her glaring at him even without looking at her, but his mind was too occupied with the sound of steps, the boards above them creaking under the weight of the demon. Jaden couldn’t tell what kind it was, but he knew that any sound could betray their presence.

His eyes diverted back to check on the girl. He hadn’t realized until now how close they were standing, their bodies huddled in the corner like a pair of lovers hungry for each other’s touch.

The steps on the upper floor paused, making both of them tense in the darkness. Nobody moved, nobody spoke, and he couldn’t even sense her breathing. Seconds turned into a minute, two, five, ten. The familiar feeling of dread and danger lingered in Jaden’s mind and he knew the demons weren’t gone. They were still near, watching, listening, waiting.

The steps suddenly reappeared, heavy and slow, sending gusts of dust flying in the air, only now they were drifting away. The demon howled, sending shivers all over Jaden’s body and making his head throb. The girl next to him started shivering even harder.

The howl trailed off and the steps finally left the house. Jaden waited for a few more minutes before pulling his hand away from her mouth. She didn’t move, her eyes remained on the door that, fortunately for them, remained closed.

A few more minutes passed before Jaden decided they couldn’t stay down there for much longer. He was trying not to gag from the stench, his stomach turning uncomfortably. In his mind, he couldn’t even imagine what the girl was feeling and how, to his surprise, she hadn’t thrown up already. Maybe it was the fear of being discovered or the idea of standing on the verge of their deaths. Either way, they had to find a better hiding place.

“I’m going to check if they really left,” he whispered to her. He knew they were gone, or at least he felt so, but he couldn’t just tell her he was relying on a hunch. She would probably think he was out of his mind.

She grabbed him by the sleeve just before he had the chance to walk away.

“You are not leaving me down here alone!” she commanded, straightening up. He was rather impressed by her stoic act, but it was hard to take her seriously when she was covered in blood and dirt, shaking like a leaf. Her face tensed and she lowered her voice, sounding almost like pleading. “Please.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Stay behind me.”

They went up the stairs and paused by the door. Jaden listened in, trying to catch any sound, but there was none apart from their heavy breathing. He pushed the door leading to the tavern hall, stepping carefully out as his eyes darted in all directions. His senses were telling him they were alone; he could not even sense any of the demons nearby, but considering he had another life to think about, he decided to be extra cautious. He let her at the base of the stairs while she clung to his sleeve, checking all windows and what was left of the kitchen for any unwanted presence. When he finally stopped, she closed her eyes, letting out a relieved sigh.

“We should go upstairs. It would give me a better chance of spotting anything from there,” Jaden said, looking at the staircase leading upstairs. It seemed so long ago when he was walking that same staircase after they had killed the two demons threatening the village. After the m******e they found later, he had thought he would never set foot in that place. On the good side, the tavern seemed to be one of the few buildings that were not fully destroyed by the fire or the demons — if you didn’t count the kitchen that was missing its roof and two of its walls.

“But if we go up, wouldn’t we be trapped if they come back?” she asked, following nonetheless.

‘If they come back we’ll die anyway,’ he thought but stopped himself from voicing those dark thoughts.

“Trust me, I know what I am doing,” he said instead. They made their way up and she waited patiently until he checked all the rooms in a search of the best hiding place. He found one of the rooms completely intact and waved for her to follow him. She quickly did, and he closed the door behind her.

“What were those creatures?” she asked as he tossed his scabbard on the bed, wincing as the pain from the wound on his chest reminded him of his recklessness. He ignored it, leaning closer to the window to check the streets outside. Everything seemed quiet.

“Demons,” he replied after a long pause. “Vile, bloodthirsty creatures that exist with only one purpose — to cause death and destruction in their wake.” He turned around to look at her, only to find her still standing by the door. Her dress was smeared with dirt and demon blood, hands covered in mixed red and black. She hardly resembled the beautiful vision he had of her, but she still took his breath away. It was silly, really, to feel so drawn to a complete stranger, but just looking at her woke something inside him, a feeling he had never felt before.

“Why haven’t we heard of this?” she insisted, her perfect brows arching in disbelief. “Why haven’t you asked for aid?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Jaden said pointedly as he returned to the bed and pulled the cover, tearing it with one swift movement. “There are many reasons why the world does not know of their existence and none of them are by our choice. They may be our problem for now, but that soon will change, whether they like it or not.”

“What do you mean?” She frowned, watching him as he picked up one of the torn cloths and stepped toward her. She took a sharp breath, her body tensing as if she considered pulling away, but in the end, she didn’t. Jaden stopped next to her, both of them staring at each other for a few long seconds.

“You’re hurt,” he said, nodding toward her hand where bright crimson blood kept dripping from her fingers. “Demons can smell blood.” He opened his hand, waiting for her to bring her own up so he could have a look at the wound. “Please.” She hesitated but eventually offered him her hand, opening her palm to reveal a deep cut that almost reached the bone. Blood smeared the raw pink skin mixed with dirt and whatnot.

Jaden pursed his lips, looking around until his eyes fell on an old vase with a bouquet of dried wildflowers hanging low in anticipation to die. He grabbed the vase, discarding the flowers on the floor, and pulled her hand so he could pour the water over the wound. She hissed as the liquid touched the damaged skin but voiced no complaint. Jaden bandaged her hand carefully, glancing at her every time he tightened the cloth. She had bitten her lower lip to stop the moans of pain, but her face was pale and she could hardly hide the ache she felt.

“I’m sorry,” he said when he was making the last knot on the bandage. When he looked at her, she was staring at him with her delicate eyebrows knitted together. “For letting any harm come to you and your sister. Elaine, I would die before I let any more harm come to you.”

“You’re Prince Jaden Driennon,” she said with a hint of surprise as he released her hand. She let it fall next to her body, too focused on him to notice.

“Yes, I am,” he nodded, smiling for the first time that day. They were alive and they would survive that day — he could feel it. And his betrothed, his future wife, turned out to be what he never thought possible. Someone he could love, someone he desperately wanted to have. “We didn’t get the chance to get properly introduced.”

“Indeed,” she nodded, a sad smile appearing on her face. “It is nice to finally meet you, Your Highness,” she said quietly, raising her head and straightening her back as if she was presenting herself in front of a king. “My name is Isabelle Niabard.”

Jaden stared at her with wide eyes, waiting, praying for her to laugh and say she was joking. But she didn’t and he felt like a demon had crawled into the room and torn his chest apart.