Light flickered in and out as I opened my eyes. The world beyond, just a haze, a blur and then slowly like a windshield being defrosted, everything came into view. The room was large enough to be at least three rooms, if not four, and very rich, dark, espresso wood furniture was littered throughout. The chaise nestled underneath the large window, the large heavy looking armoire, the larger than life dresser and ten-drawer chests stationed all about the room all complimented each other. The seating area with Victorian sofa’s and armchairs were adorned in cream-colored upholstery. The silver serving trays and decorations were carefully placed all around the room like the person who placed them suffered from OCD or serious case of being a control freak. The very white and fluffy bare-skin rug I’d felt between my toes whenever I ventured onto that side of the room lay on the floor of the seating area.
The bed I lay upon was dressed in gold silk sheets, a heavy jacquard gold and crimson blanket and more pillows than I’ve ever seen. All in odd shapes and varying sizes. All were gold and crimson in color. The wood, an espresso color like the rest of the furniture, with posts that stretched high above my head supporting a heavy canopy with drapery that matched the gold and crimson colors of the blanket I lay under.
Wait a minute…I can see…DARIUS!
Springing from the bed, I stormed out into the hall, not caring at all that I was still in my nightclothes. I had one mission right now. KILL DARIUS. Or at least try to. I wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands, until his immortal soul came oozing out through whatever orifice it saw fit.
“WHERE IS HE?” I shouted as I stalked through the halls of his home. He had no right.
Cara rushed out into the hall to see what was wrong, “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you need my help?” She asked.
“Where is Darius? I’m going to kill him,” I seethed.
“In the dining hall,” she gaped at me, “But you’re not dressed for breakfast Giselle.”
“Do I look like I care?” I cut my eyes at her.
Cara raised her hands in the air and simply point in the direction of the dining hall. I pushed open the white, heavy, hand-carved wooden doors and was greeted with a long dining table adorned with so many flowers I could hardly see who sat at the other end of the table.
I could only hear voices. None of them belonged to Darius. Jackson, William and Viktor sat at the end of the table, all eyeballing me as I stormed up to them. Good God they were handsome. All three of them were. They each had flawless, perfectly smooth tan skin, and those eyes. All had piercing blue eyes, a strong jaw line and dark wavy hair.
“Shouldn’t you be wearing clothes?” Jackson spoke as they all quickly averted their eyes from me.
“Where is Darius?” I demanded to know.
“I’m right here,” A voice filtered in behind some flowers, obscuring my view of him.
I shoved the large vase at him and he rose to his feet, catching it in his hands with ease. How dare he go behind my back and give me injections I never asked for? I started to yell at him when I looked into his eyes and froze. All the anger and the foul words I’d saved up just for him died in my throat. Devastatingly handsome didn’t even begin to describe this prick. Of course God would spite me by arming him with unnatural beauty. They all had it. No wonder he was such a jerk. He’d been blessed and he knew it.
“Good God,” I betrayed myself by gasping as I beheld him.
“You stormed all the way from your room to flatter me?” His lips tugged to the side in one of the sexiest smirks. I couldn’t think.
Think Giselle…think! What did I come in here to do? Gawk at him? No…devour those sinful lips and that come hither look in his bedroom eyes? No…God, save me…
“That’s twice now you’ve called me God.”
And there was the push I needed, “What? No. I didn’t…you…I, why did you give me my sight back?” I shouted at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he barely batted an eye. Liar! He’s an immortal…lethal…sexy liar! “Do go on. Your thoughts flatter me.”
“Take it back!” I shouted.
“It can’t be taken back,” Viktor chimed in, “The affects will wear off at some point, in which I will give the order for you to have another.”
Viktor? Had he done this to me? Oh God. Don’t tell me I’ll be dreaming about him too.
“Whose blood? Are you aware of what your blood does to us? The kind of dreams we have?” I asked, “Who am I to dream about next?”
“The blood is Darius’.”
Darius’ head whipped in his father’s direction, “You have my blood? Where?”
“We store the blood of every night-dweller in existence,” Viktor confided, “Including myself.”
“So you did this to me?” I asked.
“Me, no…I had one of the servants do it. Your father and I talked about it and Darius is right. In order to command the respect of our subjects, we need to give them strong rulers. Which means you must be seen as an equal, strong, not weak. Your impairment is a weakness we cannot afford.”
“But the dreams. Is there any way to stop the dreams?”
“No, but its your own mind that determines what you dream about. Your dreams are glimpses into your own desires.”
I looked to Darius whose eyes raked over me from head to toe. He smiled wickedly and said, “Good morning lady Draven.” UGH! I’d still like to punch him in the face, “Perhaps you should put some clothes on before the men within these walls forget their manners.”
“One. I’m not your damn lady,” I spat, “Two. My last name is still Mason. And three, you’re an ass for locking me in that broom closet. Once I figure out your weakness I’m coming for you.”
“Promise?”
Don’t think…don’t think about that wickedly handsome smile or how pale his blue eyes are, or…he’s reading my mind right now…
“Indeed I am,” he replied to my thought.
Glaring at him, I turned on my heel and stormed back to my room. Cara already had a bath waiting for me, and a fresh pair of clothing lying on my bed. I didn’t say a word. I just climbed into the tub and bathed myself. It wasn’t until I was tugging on my clothes that I realized Cara hadn’t offered to help me in any way.
“You were the one who gave me the injection, weren’t you?”
“Viktor’s order,” she nodded.
I guess I can’t blame her. She’s only doing as she was told. Darius walked into the room and Cara immediately bowed her head to him. He motioned for her to leave and she did.
“That was a one-thousand year old vase you almost butchered earlier.”
“So.”
“Don’t you think you owe me an apology?” He leaned against the large espresso wood dresser and folded his arms, “And for the record, I like you better blind. You’re probably the first girl I can honestly say wanted me because of me and not the package I come in.”
“Who said I wanted you?” I snapped at him.
“Your very vivid, very imaginative and detailed dreams, that’s who.”
“You did something to me,” I accused.
“I fed on you while having sex with my girlfriend. Is that what turned you on?”
I hurled a lamp at his head and he caught it effortlessly, setting it down on the dresser next to him. He narrowed his eyes at me and suddenly I couldn’t move.
“What did you…let go of me!”
“Its just a precaution to make sure you don’t try and destroy any more of my things.”
“I won’t,” I promised, “Let me go.”
Darius released his hold on me and I made myself calm down. He approached me, sitting down beside me and glanced over at me. I met his glance and took the rest of him in slowly. He had a broad chest and strong arms. He was tall and he had a certain grace about him. It was almost ethereal.
“You’re very handsome,” I swallowed my pride to tell him. Speaking those words were the equivalent of dirty rusty nails clawing their way from my throat.
“A compliment,” he smirked, “This is new. I was beginning to think jerk, prick and ass were my new names.”
“They are when you act like one.”
“Ah, is that what it is?” He undressed me with those eyes of his. Damn those eyes. I’d give anything to be blind right now. To never have seen his handsome face. My dreams hadn’t done him justice. Not even close, “Have you looked in the mirror?”
“No. Why?” I cut my eyes at him, “So I can see how ugly I am?”
Unwanted. Ugly. Street trash. Abandoned. Appalling. That’s what I am. Why else would my parents throw me away the way they did?
Darius studied me, then grabbed me by the hand and pulled me over to the mirror. I couldn’t look. Standing next to what is probably the most breathtaking man alive, I can’t look. Ugly. Undeserving of someone like Darius. Appalling. Someone Darius would never want to marry let along have children with. I don’t deserve him. An offering. Unfit to be his equal…his Queen.
He forced me to turn towards the mirror and I shut my eyes, clenching them shut. Growing impatient he whispered to me, “If you don’t open your eyes and look at yourself, I will bend you over and take you right here, right now.”
My eyes flew open. I studied the tan skinned girl with a slender nose, full bottom lip and piercing blue eyes. Beautiful. I was beautiful. Not ugly, not unwanted or undeserving…beautiful. Medium brown hair fell in chocolate waves down past my shoulders hovering just below my breasts.
“I’m beautiful,” I smiled.
Darius came closer, pressing his body against mine and rested his chin on my left shoulder. With a seductive smile he said, “Breathtaking.”
His close proximity made my heart race. Almost as if he sensed the fact that it made me uncomfortable, he backed away from me to give me some space. I let out a long shuddering breath.
“Are you going with your hair like that or is Cara planning on doing something to it?”
“Going where?” I frowned.
“You and I are to make an appearance at the Capital with your father. It appears our charade starts today. Right now to be in fact. We’re late.”
As if being summoned, Cara appeared and worked her magic on my hair. It still fell in waves past my shoulders, but it was more tamed and less I just climbed out of bed. Quickly we hurried out to the car waiting for us and climbed into it.
The driver whisked us away as fast as he could while I soaked in sights I hadn’t seen before. There were beautiful, large homes with lush green grass sprawled across manicured lawns, and trees of varying kinds, shading the streets. There were no kids on the streets though. Growing up, I remembered there were always kids outside playing.
“Where are the kids?” I asked.
“This is night-dweller territory. Kids are usually kept in home to prevent others for mistaking them for Kieran’s. Especially during daylight,” Darius answered.
“What’s a Kieran?”
“It means little dark one. A child changeling.”
“Would our children become Kieran?”
“No. Kieran are children who have been turned by the venom of a night-dweller and will therefore never age. Our children would grow from babies until they peak at about age twenty-five and then stop aging.”
The view from outside went from beautiful homes to old, worn down, dilapidated buildings. The streets were littered with garbage, broken down cars, homes with charred sides and broken souls. Its people were in rags, clinging to one another with utter devastation in their eyes. So much suffering and despair.
“Who are these people?” I asked.
“These are your people.”
“Humans?”
Darius confirmed with a head nod. My heart ached for them. As our trip went on and we ventured towards the capital I began to notice a trend. While my people suffered in squalor, night-dwellers, Darius’ people, they lived the good life. I didn’t want to make assumptions, but I planned to get to the bottom of this.
Upon arriving at the capital we were taken to a large conference room where my father and his team were gathered. So many people surrounded us, assessing, poking, prodding and asking us questions. I looked to Darius mostly since he was used to this sort of thing. I had no clue what my father did outside of our home. I wasn’t privy to this part of my father’s life.
A microphone was strapped to both Darius and I. One of my father’s assistants, Jules Santini, glossed over speaking points for me so fast that I couldn’t remember one single solitary point.
“There are only two things you need to remember,” Darius coached me, “Don’t undermine me, and don’t undermine your father. If anyone asks you a question, refer to us if you don’t know how to answer.”
“I’m to be a parrot then?”
He winced at the word and my father whipped his head in my direction. His eyes pleaded with me not to screw this up.
“You’re to be my future wife,” Darius cast me a stern glance, “Poised, submissive, and likeable.”
Before I could protest we were all dragged out of the room and shoved into a large hall where camera flashes went off in rapid succession. I could barely see an inch in front of me, let along at the many people packed into the room.
“When’s the wedding?” A reporter shouted from the sea of what I knew were people, but they’d somehow melded together into one large blur beyond the flashing lights.
“Soon,” Darius flashed them a seductive smile.
“What’s it like being with a night-dweller?” Another reporter shouted.
Don’t answer that…
I looked to Darius in wide-eyed shock. Did he just communicate with me from inside my head? He nodded towards the reporters.
Smile. Don’t let them see you sweat. We are a united front. Remember that…
Plastering a smile on my face, I let Darius and my father do all the talking. The press gobbled Darius up like he was a movie star. Everything he did sent them into frenzy. They LOVED him.
“What do you have to say about the humans that are suffering while you and your family live in the lap of luxury?” A reporter called out.
The room grew quiet. Darius and my father exchanged glances, before my father smiled and said, “Next person with a real question?”
The room erupted into laughter and I watched as two security guards prepared to drag that man out of the room. He tossed something towards the stage and all hell broke loose. My father’s security tackled him to the ground, reporters ducked for cover, and I was so caught off guard that I hadn’t moved. A balloon. He’d tossed a balloon and it hit me square in the chest exploding on impact. Red liquid covered me from head to toe. No. Not liquid…blood.
“You’re killing us!” The man shouted as he was dragged towards the door, “You’re killing your own kind while these creatures live a life of luxury!”
A low growl rumbled the room. Oh no. Darius. He took a step forward and I placed myself between him and the man being dragged out of the room. “Don’t,” I pleaded with him.
Our eyes locked and he clenched his fists together, trying to calm himself down. Darius closed his eyes and sighed. “Distract me.”
I gently grasped his face between my hands and brought his forehead down to mine. I closed my eyes too and steadied my breathing. Before long, both our breathing was steady. The predator I saw in his eyes seconds ago was no longer present. His eyes were calm with less rage.
My father made a brief speech about the coming of a new world, where humans and night-dwellers coexisted equally, using my relationship with Darius as an example. He received a standing ovation and then we were quickly rushed off stage. Darius wouldn’t let anyone touch him. His main priority seemed to be getting me back to the home we now shared to make sure I was safe.
He drew me some bathwater and summoned Cara to help me bathe the blood off of me. Then he burned the clothes I wore in the fireplace centered in our bedroom.
When I emerged from the bathroom, dressed in something more comfortable, I looked to Darius who stood gazing into the fireplace. I didn’t want to think about what he would have done had he have gotten his hands on that man.
“Who was he?”
“A member of the resistance.”
“He was telling the truth. Why did we dismiss him like that?” I asked, “If we’re really trying to make things better and build bridges, why are we ignoring him?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
None of my concern…
“Darius, my people are suffering out there.”
“Those are not your people,” he glanced in my direction, “We’re your people. My family and I. Your father and his family are your people. Beyond us, everyone else is your subject. Do not grow attached to them, do not relate to them and do not give their crusades credence. Those people are not your friends. They will use you and when they’re done, they’ll slit your throat.”
“I didn’t know you cared so much.”
“I don’t. But since our father’s have dumped you in my lap, if anything ever happens to you, the world will hold me responsible.”
“Why do you care? You don’t want this union any more than I do. My death would free you from having to marry me.”
“And drive an even bigger wedge between our people.”
“Again, what do you care? You’re content with my people suffering.”
“I care Giselle.”
“Then why are we ignoring that mans pleas?”
“Because to acknowledge them would give them credence. Giving the resistance credence is a very dangerous thing.”
“Well we need to do something Darius.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but we can start by removing the garbage and debris from the human territories. Assemble a group of night-dweller’s in every territory to do it. They’re faster and more efficient. Having them come to the aid of humans will also promote my father’s message about equality and alliance. When we’re done cleaning their streets, we rebuild their homes, and revive their lawns.”
“A movement like that costs money Giselle.”
“I’m eighteen now. I’ll pay for it myself. How much does something like that cost?”
Darius cocked his head to the side and his eyes washed over me. My bleeding heart probably goes against those savage instincts hidden behind his eyes, but I refuse to be a political puppet. If my father wants to promote equality and an alliance, then we will do so with our actions.
“Your father doesn’t share the same sentiment towards your people,” Darius studied me.
“My father covets politics and wealth. The more the better.”
“And you?”
“I don’t want to be a traitor to my people. I don’t want to sell them out for a quick buck. I want to help them. I don’t care if it drains every last penny from my bank account…we have to help them.”
“If you really want to help them, keep your ideas to yourself and your compassion in check,” he glared at me, “Your kindness is a weakness we can’t afford right now.”
Narrowing my eyes at him I quipped, “Spoken like a true savage.”
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