Tempting Darkness

Eventually, the pain rippling through me eased enough that I could stand without wanting to double over. Darius quickly washed while I grabbed my towel. Despite being mortified at the situation I found myself in, Darius didn't seem as horrified as I would have expected. He wrapped a towel around his waist before removing his briefs and tossing them in the hamper. Kalen had set out some clothes for me on the counter, and I moved toward them while Darius looked below the counter, rummaging around before pulling out a face washer. He tore it in half before folding it. "Not ideal, but it will do until I can get you to town or maybe rolled-up toilet paper?" he said, holding up the torn face washer. I nodded, my cheeks flaming. Hey, at least he was resourceful.

"Get changed. I will meet you in the room," Darius said before walking out.

It felt like I was wearing a diaper. I was paranoid that I looked like I was walking like a cowboy who'd spent the last week riding bareback across the country. Yet it worked and held in place, but I definitely wouldn't be doing any strenuous exercise with this thing stuck between my legs.

Opening the door, I froze. Tobias was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace. Ryze was lying on his chest while Tobias stroked his tummy feathers. His long tail feathers ran down his legs to the floor.

"I'm fine, Aleera. You just caught me off guard. I won't hurt you," Tobias said. Ryze, hearing him speak, rolled onto his tummy.

"I swear he thinks he is a lap cat," Tobias chuckled, and Ryze puffed out his feathers before flying over to me and perching on my shoulder. He played with my hair using his beak and made a cooing noise. Lycus and Kalen were sitting on the bed just staring at Ryze while I scratched his feathers. Darius walked out of the closet dressed in jeans and a black shirt. Ryze hissed at him as he drew closer, and Tobias tossed Darius a set of car keys.

"I don't get it. For years, you have been our keeper and never went through a shredding," Kalen murmured. Darius stopped in his tracks and blinked before raising an eyebrow at him.

"I am male and technically not your keeper. She is," Darius said, pointing to me. Ryze snapped at his pointed finger and hissed at him while I tried not to giggle at Kalen's question. "I'm checking," Lycus said, pulling out his phone while Kalen looked over his shoulder.

"You can't be that stupid. How many times in the last six years have you seen me bleeding every six months?" Darius said with a shake of his head.

"Well, it's roughly every six months when you lock us in the room and f**k us every which way from Sunday," Lycus said.

"Ah, yeah, last time, I couldn't sit properly for a week," Kalen mumbled, earning a laugh from me. Tobias snickered before appearing thoughtful.

"Huh, that is true. He does have a point," Tobias laughed. Darius shook his head when Kalen pouted, looking over his shoulder, reading whatever Lycus was looking at.

"So it should only last a day, then you shred power. Did you know that the power shared can last a year and is at its strongest for the mates during the shredding? That it amplifies threefold?" Lycus told us. I chewed the inside of my lip when Kalen spoke. "Shouldn't you have been keeping track of that sort of stuff?" Kalen asked, and my face flushed.

"She has never gone through it before. I was wrong the other day when I said she ran. Aleera was trying to find some devil's bane," Darius admitted, rubbing his thumb across his lip and looking at me.

Lycus nodded before looking up at him. "Yes, it says here that the root will stop the shredding if brewed and ingested." His brows furrowed before he continued. "Aleera, that stuff is still poisonous. It could have killed you if you drank too much and it has severe side effects, like delirium, vomiting, hallucinations, and a whole list of them."

"Wait, she was looking for the devil's bane? Did we hear that right? Did Darius just admit he was wrong? Shit, get your phones. We need him to repeat that so we have evidence," Lycus taunted. Darius growled before walking over to me and stopping in front of me. Ryze hissed at him.

"Stop it. I am not hurting her. Now off, so I can take her into town," Darius said, holding his arm out for Ryze to climb off. Ryze hissed, his long tongue snaking out and flicking at Darius's face, but I caressed his tummy feathers. He turned his head, pressing his beak to my lips before climbing onto Darius's arm, which surprised me.

Darius gulped and walked very stiffly toward Tobias, where Ryze jumped off him and back onto Tobias's chest. Tobias huffed at his weight landing on him. At the same time, Ryze shook himself before rubbing his feathery head all over Tobias's shirt. When Tobias didn't scratch his feathers, he bit him, making Tobias hiss.

"Okay, bloody bird, I will scratch your damn tummy. Roll over," Tobias hissed, rubbing the spot Ryze had bitten. Darius shook his head at Ryze before walking toward me.

"Even the bloody bird gets kissed before me," Lycus mumbled, making me look over at him. Darius growled at him before his eyes moved to mine.

"Can you just kiss that idiot so he stops pouting and getting jealous of a damn bird?" Darius growled.

"I don't want no sympathy kiss, Darius. F**k off," Lycus snarled at him, and Darius shrugged, unperturbed by Lycus's whining.

"Come on," Darius said, coming to take my elbow when Ryze shrieked, flying over to me again.

"Bird, you can't come," Darius snapped at him.

"How come we don't just portal? Wouldn't it be quicker?" I asked him, trying to get Ryze to go back to Tobias.

"Quicker, yes, but we also need to grab a few things, and I am not a pack mule. Besides, we will need to keep our reserves strong for when you shred tomorrow," Darius answered. I gasped and took a step back. "Pardon?" I asked, and Darius stopped looking over at me.

"You will need our power to shred, Aleera."

"You will give me power?" I asked, and everyone stared at Darius, shocked. Darius said nothing, just looked between us all before raking his hand down his face.

"Can we just go?" Darius said. However, I now had something else to worry about. If Darius allowed me to shred, there was no way I would be able to hide what I was. That scared me the most. My mother always told me to keep what I was hidden, and shredding would be doing the opposite.

"Ryze, you can't come," Darius told him, and Ryze hissed at him, refusing to get off. I tried passing him to the others, but Lycus and Kalen nearly jumped out of their skin when I offered Ryze to them. Darius shook his head, and Tobias got up and walked over to me. "Come, I will take him downstairs. He probably wants to go fly," Tobias said, following us out. Kalen and Lycus also followed but kept their distance from Ryze, who was quite antsy inside the castle. He flew off my shoulder and out of a window, and I sighed. We made our way downstairs when I heard screeching, and my eyes widened. I took off running for the doors, missing a few steps in my haste