When Darkness Reigns Read online

  I was airborne, until I wasn’t. A crash landing against the thankfully cool fireplace dropped me down in the broken glass on the hearth. Tiny shards sliced my palms as I flung my hands out to catch myself.

  Falon came off the couch in a blink, but before he could come to my aid, Lilah trapped him in a circle. The room reeked of sulphur in the wake of her power. It burned my nostrils.

  With Falon watching, Lilah advanced on me. Her shoes crunched on the glass that glittered in the carpet. Black wings flared wide, she came to stand over me, nudging me with a toe. “I hope you enjoyed your time together, lovers. It’s about to get interesting.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something had greatly pissed Lilah off in her absence. She barked at her demons to watch the perimeter. Which left her alone with us.

  “I did not survive a millennium of entrapment and enslavement to be brought down by a damn vampire queen.” Lilah dragged me to my feet, lifted me right off them, and pasted me against the mantle. “There’s nothing I won’t do to you and everyone you love to get what I want.”

  “You’re terrified, aren’t you?” Through the smashing headache that seared my vision, I called her out. “That I might be more than you can handle. Why else would you be afraid to face me one on one? Confident people don’t have to power strip with a sucker punch.”

  “You’ve been spending too much time with this asshole.” She jerked her chin toward Falon. “I bet he’s been filling your head with all kinds of lies and manipulation. It’s what he does, you know? He’s a traitor. Maybe I should bash some clarity into you.”

  Lilah made to grab for my head, to smash it against the stone mantle. She left her throat open, something my true predator noticed immediately. With a hand tipped in claws, I slashed across the creamy smooth skin of her neck, watching it split open.

  Only long enough to startle her. Due to her immortal healing, my satisfaction was short lived. I used that brief second to slash her again, straight across the torso. Blood soaked through the fibers of her purple robe.

  “You’re everything they say you are,” I growled. “A washed-up queen without a crown. Without a throne. Because I destroyed the key. Because you’ll never see Shya again. I made sure of it.”

  Now I was talking out my ass, but she didn’t know that. I could’ve sent Shya’s stone to Australia and had it flushed down a toilet for all she knew. It could literally be anywhere and nowhere. She could weaken and abuse me, but I still held the power.

  And we both knew it.

  “You’re lying.” Her fist bashed my jaw hard enough to knock a few teeth loose. Luckily the roots held.

  She let me go and I hit the floor. On my hands and knees, I braced for the next hit. Lilah paused, turning to Falon who stood stone still, watching like an angry god. “Feel free to stop this at any time by telling me where to find Shya. Otherwise, enjoy watching me kick the shit out of your girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend? No, no, no. That wouldn’t do. It was a ridiculous thing for my brain to latch onto, but I couldn’t let it go.

  I spat blood onto the carpet, trying to refocus my line of vision. “That’s not, I mean, we’re not… We’re not like that. You don’t know shit.”

  In my mind I tried to reach for Arys, for Willow, for anyone who could tell me how close backup was to arriving. But I couldn’t. Maintaining an open line of contact took energy, and I was running on empty.

  “You bear his mark and that’s enough for me. Despite his emotionless front, it’s killing him to see this.” A snap of her fingers and Lilah followed with a black magic attack.

  A suffocating black cloud struck me, forced its way inside me despite my pathetic attempts at resistance. Slowly my insides scalded. Not enough to kill me, the boiling heat brought me ever closer to my final death.

  As it intensified, I willed Gabriel and Willow to hurry.

  “It really isn’t,” Falon interjected, looking bored. “I marked her because I find her useful. When that ends, the mark disappears. You should know better than to assume I feel anything for this beast. She’s a means to an end, as were you.”

  A means to an end? Falon had said that about Winter, the night he’d gotten on his knees for me. He’d also said it about me.

  I risked a glance at him. His face was a cold mask of indifference.

  “So you say,” she replied with a roguish grin. “I guess you won’t mind if I kill her then.”

  Falon stared right through me, like I wasn’t even there. “Not at all. It still won’t bring Shya back though, because killing Alexa will only leave you with one person who knows his whereabouts, and I’ll never tell you shit.”

  There was a strained moment of agonizing silence as the two immortals engaged in a silent stare down. Lilah broke first. “Then I guess I’ll have to beat it out of your wolf.”

  The raging heat storming my insides fell away. She shoved me face down on the floor, jerked my arm out to one side, and pressed my fingers flat. When a small knife appeared in her hand, panic gripped me.

  “Oh, I’m not going to hack your fingers off,” she seethed, leaning in close. “I’m going to take the whole hand. Slowly. One shallow slice of the blade at a time.”

  I willed myself not to scream when she set the blade on the back of my wrist. A tiny bead of blood welled up where it touched. Would I really let her cut my hand off to keep Shya hidden? And then what body part would she move on to? Where would it end?

  Doubt obliterated all thought. I couldn’t do this.

  “Here we go again. Let’s make sure Falon has a good view.” Repositioning herself so as not to block me from his sight, Lilah quaked with an eagerness I could feel. The crazy demon got a rush from my torment. She wanted me screaming.

  Falon’s disinterest hadn’t changed. With one wing hanging awkwardly he managed a shrug. “This entire ordeal is solely for your own benefit. Nothing you do will prove your worth to me. To anyone. Least of all tormenting a helpless werewolf.”

  It always warmed my dark little heart when Falon referred to me that way. Despite being tied to me because I was a succubus vampire, he always saw me as the wolf first. He’d called it my origin. The emotional surge that broke through my fear felt kind of warm and squishy. There might even be a name for that kind of feeling, though I’d deny it until my dying day.

  “Helpless?” Lilah repeated, frozen in fury, blade pressing tight to my skin. “Explain to me then, how this helpless creature got so deep inside your head.”

  Now he allowed her a glimpse of a reaction. Amusement. “You can’t take her one on one. Why else would you strip her power? That’s a coward’s tactic and you know it. If you truly wanted to prove your worth as queen, you’d never show such weakness.”

  If Falon kept talking, he’d goad her into focusing her attention on him. As if she had her suspicions as well, Lilah pressed the knife into my flesh. Pressing my lips tight together, I bit back the building shriek.

  “You might be right about one thing.” She spoke to Falon but never took her eyes off me. “I don’t have anything left to lose. So if I were either of you, I’d think very carefully about keeping Shya from me. All I have is time to make you sorry.”

  The blade bit deeper and the blood flowed. So slowly she pressed it down and then dragged it through my flesh.

  A yelp broke free. I couldn’t contain it anymore.

  She didn’t stop though. No more dramatic pauses or threats, she was all business. Deeper the cold metal bit until it hit bone.

  Then I screamed.

  “Suck it up, wolf,” Falon snapped. “It’s hardly a broken wing.”

  Either he was keeping up the front that he didn’t care what she did to me, or our vicious banter had resumed. I couldn’t tell which. All I knew was pain. Desperation gripped me, and I knew that I had to make this stop. Nothing else mattered but making the agony end.

  “I’ll tell you,” I wailed, my entire arm trembling. “I’ll tell you where Shya
is. Just stop. Please, stop.”

  Lilah held the knife down a few more seconds before pulling it away. “Talk. Now. All of it.”

  “Don’t you dare give in, wolf. Say a word and I’ll kill you myself.”

  Falon’s anger was background noise to the pounding in my head and the throbbing in my wrist. With the demon queen hovering over me, poised to cut my damn hand off, I didn’t see a choice anymore. She would never stop taking pieces until she got Shya. I had to give him up.

  The large picture window that looked onto the back patio shattered in an explosion of glass. Willow stood on the other side, hands raised. Next to him Gabriel worked a spell, his lips moving in a quiet chant. He opened a palm and a small spark of light floated out, like a magical firefly.

  The tiny spark darted at Lilah, encircling her faster and faster until it appeared to be many tiny sparks. Then it was. They danced and darted around her, all in the same direction at first and then frantically, all over the place. She slapped at them to no avail, using dark magic to combat the tiny lights would not stop them.

  Her orange eyes flashed with rising panic. Using the immortal language she uttered a curse, directing it at Gabriel and Willow. Palm raised, Willow caught the directed magic and neutralized it, like snuffing out a candle.

  The light continued to grow until it was a bright beam surrounding her. Lilah’s shrieks took the place of mine, filling the house. Melting like a wicked witch she collapsed in on herself. A puddle of limbs and wings spilled across the floor next to me. I struggled to scramble away. In a bright burst of power, the light filled the entire house. I had to shield my eyes. Then it was gone and so was Lilah.

  My lungs heaved as I tried to find my voice. Every last ounce of strength I had in me went to managing my pain load. Pushing myself up wasn’t even an option.

  Falon reached me first, no longer trapped by Lilah’s circle. Crouched, he sat me upright and pulled me against his chest. He shoved the hair out of my face before gingerly taking my aching wrist in a hand. After a quick examination Falon tore a strip of material off his pricey brand name shirt and wrapped my bleeding wound.

  I must have been gawking at him in wide eyed wonder because without taking his eyes off his task he said, “Don’t get used to it. The next time I wrap your wrist, it will be secured to the headboard of the hotel bed.”

  As hard as it was to muster the energy, I simply couldn’t let that one slip by. “Promise?”

  Falon finished tying the strip of soft fabric and tapped the tip of my nose. “For you I would promise just about anything.” Then he rose and addressed Willow. “Get her back to Arys. You’ll have to carry her out. She’s been power stripped. Don’t leave her side, Willow. Not even when the sun rises. You’re the only other person who stands a chance against Lilah.”

  Sudden panic fluttered in my chest. Falon had to leave me, to go back to the other side to heal. Voice breathy and cracking, I managed to say, “Be careful.”

  Lilah could be anywhere. If she found him on the other side, I wouldn’t even know. The thought struck a chord deep in my psyche. That soul-deep ache reminded me that we were from two different worlds. Literally.

  Unable to lift me with that bad wing, Falon knelt beside me. He caught my lips in a wretched kiss that tasted of blood and pain. His fingers danced over the mark on my neck. “Take the feather with you.”

  Then he was gone.

  Willow hurried to gather me in his strong arms. “Take from me, Alexa. Blood, power, anything you need.”

  My head flopped against his chest, and I sank gratefully into his protective embrace. “Not until we’re all safe. You need to stay strong.” Sort of pointing in that general direction, I added, “There’s a feather under the couch cushions.”

  After Gabriel fetched the feather, he went ahead to check for wards or demons, leading the way out the front door. His used Honda Civic sat next to my car. We piled into my Charger, Willow sitting with me in the back while Gabriel drove. Falon’s feather sat on the seat beside me.

  “How did you do that, Gabriel? With the light.” Despite it being a warm spring night, I shivered against Willow. Now that the immediate danger was over, I wanted only to sate the growing hunger and banish this pathetically human weakness.

  Willow slid an arm around me, and my growing bloodlust took notice. Power rolled off him like steady bursts of warmth to banish the chill. It felt like something I needed to wrap myself in.

  But Willow wouldn’t be enough. It was Falon’s immortal essence that I usually turned to when so drastically drained. Since that was not an option, the next best thing would be taking from my most powerful vampires. A few of them.

  “I worked a light manifestation spell using Willow’s blood,” Gabriel explained as we drove back into the city. “Elements of your light remains in him. Lilah’s pure dark so the light is her weakness.”

  I glanced at Willow in the shadowy confines of the car. “I’ve tasted it in your blood. I don’t think it’s just me.”

  Willow nodded. “I know. I feel it. Every goddamn night.” His brow furrowed and he glanced away, out the window.

  Even though moving my tongue and forcing words out felt like shoveling shit in a swimming pool, I pushed on. “Isn’t that a good thing? A divine spark in you. It’s angelic.”

  “It feels like punishment,” he murmured softly. “A constant reminder of what I’ve lost.”

  It took a few attempts to convey that Falon saw his aura shimmer into the shape of wings in Las Vegas. “Has to mean something. It’s good.” Letting my head drop onto his shoulder, I gave his thigh a pat.

  His hand covered mine, so warm and thrumming with vibrance. “Maybe you’re right.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The ride was a blur of being jostled about, in and out of sleep, finally arriving at home an hour before sunrise. Arys’s familiar touch lifted me from the car and carried me into the house.

  “Son of a bitch.” Shaz’s startled shout roused me. “They raided the house too.”

  The house had been ransacked. Furniture was shoved about, cushions torn open. Cupboard and drawer contents fell into piles on the floor. Nothing had been left untouched but nothing had been taken.

  My bedroom had suffered the same treatment. The contents of my dresser and closet were all over. My house had been warded. She’d sent humans to do this job. The stink of them lingered in the air.

  Arys placed me on the bed and gently stripped my clothes off until I sat in my bra and underwear. He then took off his shirt and got onto the bed behind me, pulling me back against his chest. The skin to skin contact was exactly what I needed. The deep-rooted hungers within me rose with a fierce demanding need to be sated.

  Shaz and Willow joined us while Gabriel remained downstairs reinforcing Falon’s wards with some he’d tailored to humans. Following Arys’s lead, Shaz disrobed but took it further, leaving only his boxer shorts on. Good. I’d need more of him. He took his place on the bed in front of me but left room for Willow next to him.

  The three of them formed a tight triangle around me. On every side I was cloaked in the heady weight of their power. My senses sparked back to life, lighting up until I was ablaze with hunger.

  The bloodlust stormed me, and I reached for Shaz’s living energy. A hand on his neck, I jerked him close and bit deep. In survival mode, there was no time for a playful lead up, no concern for his pleasure. Right then he offered himself as my victim in whatever capacity I needed, and I readily accepted.

  Despite my ravenous bite, Shaz’s aura was immediately drenched in lust. The wolf was a badass, always down for some rough play despite his softer side. When his potent blood hit my tongue, I moaned.

  Behind me Arys stayed close, always touching. Starting at my shoulders he massaged slow, gentle circles down my back and sides. He brushed my tangled hair aside to press soft kisses to the back of my neck. The growing erection pressed against my ass tempted the darker parts of me. Wrapping a hand around my wounded wrist, he pushed
healing energy into me, knitting together my wounded parts.

  I thought of Falon, wherever he was on the other side. Who did he have to put him back together? It should have been me. I hated that I couldn’t be with him.

  I reached my healed hand out to Willow who took it and brought it to his lips. With my mouth on Shaz’s wounded neck, I slid my other hand down his chest to the thin patch of hair on his taut lower abs. All I could feel was their masculine presence on every side of me.

  Drawing on the growing swell of desire and vampire power, I almost felt like myself again. With each touch and every drop of blood I grew stronger.

  When I’d taken as much from Shaz as I safely could, the bloodlust urged me to keep going, to take all he had to give. I wanted to listen to its dark demand. Tuned in to me as he was, Arys reached around to grasp my throat from behind, forcing me to stop.

  “That’s enough wolf for you, my love.” Arys’s husky whisper had me quivering. The heat of his mouth on my neck and jaw had a healing power all its own. “Don’t you want to taste your hybrid?”

  My gaze darted to Willow who turned my wrist over, dragging his tongue along my vein. Oh yeah, I definitely wanted to taste him. Arys’s subtle manipulation spoke right to my darkness. To the hunger.

  Eyeing Willow’s jugular, I gravitated toward him. Shaz’s blood scratched my basic vampire hunger, but that was just the start. Power dwelled within my guardian, and I needed to taste it.

  But I didn’t forget about Shaz. I let my hand drop lower to tease him through the thin material of his boxers. My eyes were on Willow though as I drew him in for a kiss. The taste of Shaz’s heady shifter blood in my mouth excited him as he kissed me harder.

  The power level in the room grew steadily, surrounding me in the constant flow I needed. I wanted to feel Willow as well. With one hand I sought out the hard-on I knew he had. The other I slipped inside Shaz’s shorts. A few strokes and the two of them bathed me in the arousal I so badly craved.