Lock and Key (Nocturne Academy 1)

Then Winifred made it worse.

“Seal it up,” she said, frowning at her daughter Nancy and a few of the other witches who had helped her transport Griffin to the Hallowed Glade in the first place. “Seal up the snare—he needs to smell her scent in order to strike. The little fools have marked each other—he must be lost to the blood madness before he’ll kill her.”

Blood madness? That sounded really bad. But of course I couldn’t say anything in protest and then the witches around us were pulling up the long, hanging sides of the hammock and fitting them together somehow. I heard the long, low sound of a zipper being pulled up and realized they were zipping the sides together, creating an enclosure where Griffin and I were trapped together.

“No!” he shouted as the zipper closed the canvas over our heads. “Goddess Bright, no!”

But then we were locked in—pressed together in the canvas cocoon with his mouth very, very close to my unprotected neck.

We were stuck and there was no escape.

73

“No. No, no, no,” I heard Griffin muttering and I knew he was fighting with himself—fighting with the terrible, relentless thirst that had been tormenting him for the past fifteen years.

He had his face turned away from me but slowly…inevitably, I saw him turn towards me. His eyes were glowing so brightly in the canvas cocoon we now shared I could see his face plainly. He leaned towards me and I tried not to flinch away when I saw how long and sharp his fangs had become.

“I don’t want to do this.” His voice was low and hopeless. “The Goddess knows I don’t. Megan, I love you!”

I loved him too—so much I ached inside. And it occurred to me then, that I didn’t want his last memory of me to be cowering away from him, my face contorted with fright as I fought to get free of him. If he was going to give in to his thirst and drink from me—probably killing me in the process—I didn’t want him to think I hated him for it.

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I tried to calm my racing heart. I felt the same way I had when I had cut for my mom and taken her pain into myself. I didn’t want to die, of course, but I told myself I could be brave—that I could ease Griffin’s pain the same way I had eased hers. And enduring pain for someone I loved wasn’t so bad, was it?

No, I told myself firmly. No, it’s not so bad. I love him—this is the last thing I can do for him so I’m going to do it right.

Looking him directly in his lightning and pitch eyes, I turned my head to the side, offering him my throat freely.

Griffin’s eyes widened.

“Megan, what are you doing?” he asked in a hoarse, low voice. “Don’t tempt me this way! The thirst is too great and your scent is too enticing. You must guard yourself—not invite me to bite you!”

But I was determined on my course of action. I felt a little steadier now that I’d made up my mind—a little calmer. I looked at him and nodded firmly. Then I offered him my throat again.

Yes—go ahead. Do it.

“Goddess Bright,” he muttered. “I cannot help it—I am losing myself in your scent…in the thirst…Megan…my little witch…”

As he spoke the last words, I felt the warmth of his breath on the bare side of my throat.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply.

It’s all right—it’s going to be all right, I told myself firmly. It’s all right—it will be over soon.

And then Griffin struck, driving away every other thought in my head.

74

I felt his fangs, long and sharp, pierce the vulnerable flesh of my throat, sinking right into the thick vein that pulsed there. And it hurt—I’m not going to lie—but the pain was only for an instant. After that, I felt a deep, overwhelming pleasure pulsing through me. It made me moan behind the gag and arch my back, pulling against the ropes that bound my wrists and ankles.

Was this what it always felt like to be bitten by a Nocturne? No wonder it was part of their love making ritual!

I moaned again and writhed against him, unable to help myself. The feeling of pleasure was like a big, warm hand caressing my entire body, moving over me and setting every single nerve alight. I felt like a light bulb being switched on for the first time, like an empty glass suddenly filled to overflowing with water, like…well, I could go on but let me just say it was amazing—better than anything I’d ever felt in my life and completely, instantly addictive. I was going to want more of this in the near future…if this first bite didn’t kill me, that was.