Gasping for air, I quickly sit up. It takes a moment to remember I was born blind, and that as punishment for what he believes I’ve done to him, Darius has sentenced me to the very darkness his father rescued me from. I haven’t been blind for so long that it takes me a moment to remember how I used to survive without sight.
Using my hands, I feel my way around the room. My sense of smell has dulled since I last used it, which renders it useless for me, but my hearing is amplified. The walls encasing me rumble with the faint sound of an engine. I’m in a vehicle. Judging by the bed I woke up on and the distance between the walls, it’s a large vehicle. An RV perhaps.
I have no idea where I am, but I can hear muffled voices in the distance. It’s Lucas and Eliza…but there’s someone else. Feeling my way around the room I find a door and gently tug at the handle. As I feel my way down what feels like a long hall with beds on each side I realize I’m on my father’s campaign bus. Now I remember from the days spent on the road with him as a child.
“Where’s Darius?” I ask.
I’m greeted with a few moments of silence and then my father finally speaks, “He and the others went ahead. We should be there within the hour.” Went ahead?
“And he left me with you?”
Again there is silence, but I understand all too well why I’m here. Darius is angry with me and wants nothing to do with me at the moment. He’s discarded me like trash knowing exactly how much that sentiment would hurt me, but like the savage he is, he couldn’t control himself.
Only I don’t blame him for being angry with me. I know how it looked between Asher and I. He planned it that way because he knew what it would do to me…to us. Lucas placed his hand over mine and guided me to a seat next to him and Eliza.
Within the hour, as promised, we pulled up to our next destination. We checked in and I pretended to see as best I could with Lucas’ help. The last thing I want is for the media to catch wind of the fact that on top of being human I’m also blind unless fed the blood of a night-dweller. One in particular I can’t stand right now.
The concierge gave us each a key and we made our way to the elevators. Eliza twirled herself around my hand as we walked and ran to the elevator to push the buttons before anyone else could.
I can’t see him, but I can feel my fathers gaze upon me, watching me like he’s waiting for me to fall apart. I refuse to. No matter what happened between us, I won’t give Darius the satisfaction of falling apart. No matter what he does to me, I will not let him see me grovel. I did nothing wrong.
The elevator opens and Lucas guides me from the elevator to my room. I can hear Asher and his brothers talking politics nearby. Asher stopped talking the moment I stepped out of the elevator, but I can’t risk him seeing me like this.
“Where is he?” I ask Lucas, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lucas takes me down a carpeted walkway, looking inside every room that isn’t locked until he finally finds him. From the sounds of things, Darius is with his brothers. The room went silent in anticipation of what I was going to do, but I’m not in the mood to cause a scene.
Right now, all I want is to shower and get into some clean clothes. Without so much as an inquisition into Darius’ whereabouts, I had Lucas take me to my bathroom, only instead of a shower I settled for a nice hot steaming bath.
A half hour into my bath the bathroom door creaks open. I don’t need to see to know who it is. I can feel him…and the fact that his footsteps are audibly undetectable further proves my suspicions.
“It was really shitty of you to do what you did,” I speak first, “If you were trying to hurt me you did a damn good job.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy what?” I glare in his general direction.
“Kissing him.”
“What do you care? I mean nothing to you anyway, right?”
I’m skating on thin ice, and I should care, but I don’t. He hurt me. He did the one thing he promised me he wouldn’t do.
“Is that an omission?”
I scoff, shaking my head in disbelief, “Is that what you want? Do you want me to say I wanted to kiss him? That I enjoyed kissing him?” I ask.
“Did you?”
“Did you enjoy screwing Aria?”
There’s a slight giveaway in his otherwise preternatural resolve, but he quickly recovers. “What made you go out to the guesthouse?”
“I wasn’t really given a choice. Asher told me to come with him and then I couldn’t move anything. He did all of the moving for me. Next thing I know we’re outside the guesthouse and…and he made me watch,” I tried to scrub the images from my memory by clenching my eyes shut, “I didn’t want to because I knew what I would see. And while part of me wanted to know the truth, the other part of me was willing to live with never knowing. Now I can’t unsee what I’ve seen.”
“And the kiss?”
“It doesn’t matter what I tell you. You believe what you want to believe,” I shake my head.
“Humor me.”
Rolling my eyes I say, “Fine. After he made me watch you and Aria…he released me and I ran. He caught up to me and asked me to help him destroy you and your family. I refused and then we heard you coming. That’s when he kissed me and I lost control of my body. That’s what you saw,” I explained.
Again there was silence and then I felt Darius’ wrist at my lips. I started to push it away, but he knew I wouldn’t. How could I, when the success of my political agenda rested on me being seen as something other than an invalid?
Taking mouthfuls of his blood into my mouth, I cringed on the inside. This is a demonstration of just how at his mercy I am. Its exactly what he intended. I slowly met his gaze and he smirked. Checkmate. Darius held my gaze for a moment then buried himself in thought. “Did he say how he wants you to destroy us?” He asked.
“No. I didn’t give him a chance to, I just refused.”
“The next time he offers, don’t refuse. Then I want you to come to me.”
“Does this mean you believe me now?”
“I don’t know what I believe, but I’m willing to let you prove your loyalty to me.”
“I have nothing to prove to you. Either you believe me, or you don’t. And if not, there’s the door...I hope you remember your way out.”
“Someone’s cranky,” he smirks.
“You bled me dry until I lost consciousness, blinded me, and dumped me on my family like unwanted trash,” I pointed out, “I don’t think they’ve invented a word to accurately describe how I feel right now.”
“I have a temper…and I overreacted. I’m sorry.”
“If you ever do that to me again, I’ll find a way to kill you myself,” I warn him.
Darius roars with laughter and seats himself on the edge of the tub. “I love your spirit,” he tells me, gently caressing the side of my face with his knuckles, “And for what its worth, I regretted my actions, my…lack of control,” that was close to an apology I guess, “You have my word that I won’t do anything like that to you again. As a matter of fact, I won’t touch you, unless…”
“I don’t want you anywhere near me right now,” I quickly shut down his train of thought.
“I have needs Giselle,” he sighs.
“And you also have a second wife,” I point out, “Look, I don’t blame you for not believing me and I don’t blame you for how you handled what you thought happened between Asher and I, but what I saw…what you said to her…Darius, I need time.”
Disappointment shone in his eyes, but he respected my honesty and said, “It’s nothing you didn’t know or suspect already.”
“I know, but…seeing it…it was…heartbreaking.”
Understanding and a little frustration shone on his face, “For how long?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged.
Reluctantly, Darius left the bathroom and allowed me to finish bathing in private. I have no idea when I’ll want to be intimate with him again. All I know is he made it very clear I meant nothing to him, not that it’s a surprise or anything, but I want more than that. I want romance and chivalry and the feelings that come along with them.
After getting dressed, I strode out to the kitchen where Ethan was making something that smelled quite delicious. “Mm. What is that?” I inhaled deeply.
“It’s a little concoction my mom used to make me for lunch. You want some?”
“Yes I do,” I took a seat at the counter and watched him cook, “I wish I knew how to cook.”
“I can teach you if you want,” he offered.
Before I could answer, Darius answered for me, “No thank you. If she wants to learn how to cook I’ll hire an actual chef to teach her,” He sat down beside me.
“Or…Ethan can teach me,” I bugged my eyes out at him, “now isn’t the time for your territorial, big bad night-dweller bullshit Darius. It’s just cooking lessons.”
Without taking his eyes away from Ethan he says, “For you maybe…but not for him.”
I can tell by his laser focus that Darius is cycling through Ethan’s thoughts. My eyes shift to Ethan’s and he looks visibly shaken, “Maybe I’ll take him on as a second husband and the four of us can have an orgy,” I suggested, hoping to get a rise out of Darius.
It works. He pulls his gaze from Ethan and pins me with an icy stare. “That luxury doesn’t extend to you,” Darius informs me, “But you, Aria and I can discuss the latter part of that statement.”
“You and Aria can drop dead. I’m thinking maybe we should start a new trend. Besides, its only fair, don’t you think?”
I’m only teasing, but he doesn’t know that. Getting up from my seat I walk over to Ethan’s side of the counter and he’s so afraid of Darius’ reaction that he’s practically shaking. He can barely turn over his food without spilling it. I place my hand over his to steady it and his eyes quickly shoot over to where Darius is sitting.
“Ignore him,” I turn his attention back to me. Ethan’s eyes meet mine then he looks back over at Darius. “If you stop staring at him he’ll go away. Besides, the food is burning.”
That was enough to snap Ethan out of it. Darius never moved from his spot on the other side of the counter, but Ethan eventually learned to tolerate his presence without fearing for his life. As a peace offering he made Darius a plate and the three of us ate together. Well…Ethan and I ate and rehashed our childhood together while Darius spent most of his time making Ethan as uncomfortable as possible.
Thankfully, Jackson and William came to get him for an important conference call with their father. It was then that I realized just how much Darius’ presence affected Ethan. He exhaled deeply and the color in his face returned.
“He scares the shit out f me,” Ethan exhales.
“His bark is worse than his bite,” I roll my eyes.
“Gizzy do you want to come to the park with Lucas and I?” Eliza asks.
“I’d love to,” I smiled, and then extended an invitation to Ethan, “Care to join us?”
Ethan wasted no time accepting and the four of us gave our security guards the slip and left the Hotel before anyone could stop us. The park was only a few blocks away. Eliza ran to the swings and I pushed her while Ethan and Lucas took the swings next to us.
“Now that we’re away from your husbands spies, how’s married life?” Lucas asks me.
“You mean when I’m not locked in my room like a prisoner because Darius is afraid someone will break his fragile human wife, or when he’s not sleeping with his second wife?” I scoff, “its peachy.”
“I didn’t know he could have a second wife.”
“Neither did I, but he does.”
“Are you happy?” Ethan chimes in.
“Let’s see…our father basically sold me to the Draven’s to pay off Elizabeth’s debts, I’m in love with my husband but he’s in love with his other wife, and if that’s not bad enough, I’m a political puppet. Neither the Draven’s nor our father have any intention on actually doing something to help the human population, and once the world figures this out they’re probably going to hang me out to dry. So no…I’m not happy.”
That was a test to see where Ethan and Lucas fell in the scheme of things. Neither of them looked surprised at what our father and the Draven’s were up to. They knew.
“Then what was all that earlier?” Ethan asks. “If he’s in love with his other wife, why behave the way he did when all I wanted to do was show you how to cook?”
“Because Darius doesn’t like to share his things. He doesn’t love me, but that doesn’t mean he wants anyone else to have me either, especially other men. And he can read your thoughts. I’m sure yours were very entertaining,” I teased.
Ethan blushed, “What’s the sex like?” A bold question for someone in his position. Darius would think it disrespectful to me as a lady, but I knew Ethan had other reasons for asking. He wasn’t trying to insult me.
I’m a little caught by surprise, but I know where this is going. So ripe for the picking he is. I can’t help but tease him. “Why, are you considering dating one of them?”
“No, I’m wondering what my chances are of stealing you away from him,” he flirts with me. Ethan definitely has a death wish, but his attention is flattering. After what I saw between Darius and Aria, I’m determined to find happiness of my own. Maybe Ethan can help with that.
Or die a slow, horrible death because I’m leading him on…I’m angry with Darius and flirting with Ethan serves two purposes…he makes me feel wanted, desired even…loved…
His boldness intrigues me, but then again, he’s always been this way. “There’s no way out of my marriage, so I’d say your chances are pretty slim.”
“Well I do love a challenge,” he smirks.
Lucas rolls his eyes, “Then you’re either stupid or you have a death wish. He’ll kill you.”
“Something tells me death would be worth it,” Ethan’s eyes rake over my entire body.
“Nothing is worth the kind of death that awaits anyone who’s dumb enough to touch my sister. Haven’t you ever wondered why his own people fear him?”
“Mrs. Draven?” An unfamiliar voice calls my name.
The voice comes from a group of teenage girls. By the way they move I can tell they’re all night-dwellers. They giggle amongst each other and the brunette steps forward to greet me. Her friends quickly follow. Pretty soon I’m surrounded by no less than ten night-dwellers. Fearful, Lucas grabs Eliza off the swing and pushes her behind him.
The three teenage girls don’t alarm me. All they want is my autograph. But there are three adult males and four adult women who all seem to be closing in on me. Ethan steps in front of me after the three teenage girls leave and Lucas flanks him on the right side.
“Can we help you?” Ethan asks.
One of the adult males smile revealing bloodstained teeth. Blood stained his clothing, his dirty blonde hair and there are specs of blood splattered all over his paper white skin at his neck. I quickly realize getting my autograph is the last thing on his mind. “We’d like a word with Mrs. Draven,” he drawls, licking his teeth.
“Whatever you have to say to her you can say to us,” Lucas told him.
Like predators stalking prey they began to form a circle around us. I pushed Eliza between us, shielding her with my body. After the last attack on my life, Darius had silver stakes equipped in all my clothing. Unfortunately, when I got dressed I opted not to wear anything he bought me. What a mistake that turned out to be.
“Oh you don’t want what we have in store for the human whore,” he laughs wryly. The other’s join in. He’s obviously the leader, which means if I can get to him the others will follow his command.
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
“Your life.”
“If you harm me or my family, my husband will come after you,” I warn him.
“I’m okay with that as long as you’re dead.”
“Why? Why do you all want me dead?”
One of the women answers this time. Like her leader, she has dirty blonde hair, and dark crimson eyes, but she’s not covered in blood. “We don’t want peace between humans and night-dwellers. We want you all dead or hanging down in the supply room at the blood bank.”
“Why? My sister has never harmed any of your kind,” Lucas defends me.
“Maybe not, but humans killed my family. Burned them alive,” the woman explained.
“Your kind killed women, children and a great deal of our men. Now here you are, plastered all over our television screens with talk of peace, married to our eastern high lord.”
They despise what I’m working so hard for and they despise me for marrying their high lord. Normally I could talk my way out of a situation like this but I’m drawing blanks here. I’m not well versed in the ways and traditions of night-dwellers. Everything I know in the art of negotiation is human.
The sound of Lucas gurgling for air and Ethan grunting caught my attention. I whirl around in time to watch them fall to the ground, struck by two men.
“Eliza run!” I tell her.
She takes off running and they don’t bother going after her. They close in around me, raking their hands through my hair and touching me in places I shouldn’t be touched, circling me like vultures.
The women began shoving me back and forth between them. If this was the worst I’d endure then I’d gladly suffer it for my people, but it wasn’t. Faster than I could register where it came from, my back was slashed open. I whirled around to face those at my back and felt sharp nails dig into my back. It was a quick jab, but painful nonetheless. Moments later I could feel warm liquid trickle down my back. A metallic smell filled the air. Blood…my blood.
Their fangs descended in response to the smell of my blood. Another quick jab to my back and I dropped to my knees. Smiling, one of the women walked up to me and slid a single nail across my throat. Blood spilled from my neck and my eyes went wide with fright as I clamped down on my neck with my hands to stop the flow of blood. I fell backwards onto the grass. I was free for an hour at least before I died. That’s how long I’d survive in the outside world without Darius and his guards.
The leader stood over me laughing, looking down on me, “Your kind doesn’t deserve to live. You all should be put to death or farmed.”
Tears filled my eyes. Partly because I’m about to die, but mostly because I’m about to die and my worst fears have come true. I’m dying never having known love. Resigned to my fate, I let go of my neck. I’m ready to die. I just hope Darius finds each one of these bastards and makes them pay.
No sooner had I accepted my fate did a hand burst through the leaders chest, spraying his blood everywhere, gripping his dead heart. He gasped, but it would be the last sound he’d ever make as his head was ripped clean off his neck and tossed to the others. His body was tossed to the side revealing a very angry, very deadly Darius.
“Shit! She’s in bad shape!” Helena shouts to him, inspecting the wound on my neck. Her own fangs descended at the smell of my blood.
“Give me five seconds,” he told her, his arm dripping with the blood of the now dead leader of the pack.
Helena nods, biting into her own wrist and squeezing her blood over every wound she could find, frantically trying to save my life.
“Lucas and Ethan?” I ask.
“They’re fine. William is helping them.”
“My back,” I roll over onto my side to show her the wounds on my back. My neck is now healed and slowly I can feel my back healing, but that’s not what grabs my attention.
Darius has a hold on the rest of my attackers. They look like they want to run but they can’t. I watch as he interrogates the men, but they give nothing up. As a result and warning to the others, he executes every single one of them without hesitation. He barely even bats an eye as he decapitates one of the males, leaving one left. The last male he tortures in front of the four remaining women, tearing his limbs from his body first and then decapitating him. Seeing him in action is far worse than I ever could’ve imagined. I promptly rolled over vomited on the grass.
The cold, merciless, brutal nature with which he kills is enough to give you nightmares for years to come. The way his eyes glimmered with pleasure as he killed them. It’s a look I will never forget. He was enjoying himself. The perfect killing machine…that’s what he is.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
