Dark Reign

by Rachel Jonas

  Julian scanned me with a thoughtful gaze and lifted his hand halfway into the air. Again, he hesitated, and there was yet another false start before moving his fingers to my hair, smoothing it gently before bringing the length of it around my shoulders. Close, I stared up at him as he made a fuss over me. As volatile as our first meeting had been, as much trouble as I was sure I’d been to him, there was still an unmistakable gentleness beneath every touch as he handled me.

  “You um … your lipstick,” he breathed, gesturing toward my mouth. “It’s a bit smudged.”

  His chest heaved as his gaze stayed trained on me.

  I brushed the top of my lip, trying to fix the red blotches, but that proved difficult without a mirror.

  “Did I miss?” I asked, feeling my stomach churn as I caught a glimpse of the crowd still gathered up front. Yes, Julian had spared me from the sentinels, but we were still not out of the woods. The hundreds of prying eyes pouring into and out of the palace still posed a potential threat.

  It would only take one to realize something was amiss, and already, I walked a fine line.

  “Here, I’ll just … I’ll get it.”

  Before I could react, the length of Julian’s cool fingers stretched beneath my chin to brace it, followed by his thumb lightly brushing the corner of my mouth. I blinked hard, nearly letting his charm lull me into that dangerous space again—the one where I lost myself. However, it was easy to snap out of it this time. All it took was a brief moment to recall what he’d shown me on that balcony.

  That humans were nothing to him.

  That, in his eyes, his life would always be of greater value than mine.

  At the thought of it, I recoiled from his touch, turning my face away from his.

  We said nothing, but I watched as he withdrew his hand, letting it fall to his side once again. I wouldn’t be fooled by him like before. I knew where I stood and it’d be best not to blur the lines.

  A sharp breath laced with frustration puffed from his lips.

  “They’ll be watching. All of them,” he warned, his tone stern as he addressed me, then let out a sigh. “Are you ready for that?”

  It didn’t matter how I answered, didn’t matter how I felt. The cold, hard truth was that we had to step out to face this crowd in a moment, and with Julian being who he was, their attention would be focused intently on us.

  It wouldn’t change things to procrastinate, so I gave a nod.

  “Speak to no one. Keep your eyes to the ground,” he instructed next, telling me to do things I already planned.

  When I nodded for a second time, we stepped out from behind the wall that concealed us, and it was like a zoo.

  Cameras swooped in from all angles. Using the lapel of the borrowed tux jacket, I hid from them as Julian guided me along, keeping a firm hand planted against my back.

  “Leaving so soon, Your Highness?”

  “We saw you arrive with Cecelia. How does she feel about being left behind for another woman?”

  “Is it true this was all a ruse?”

  Voices came from all directions and we said nothing, not even when one asked the million-dollar question as the scent of my blood in the air gave away the one secret we both hoped to keep.

  “Is she … human?”

  Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.

  They were relentless.

  Had it not been for Julian’s security detail noticing how they swarmed us, it might have turned into a full-on ambush. Instead, they took control, warning the reporters to keep their distance from the prince before they’d be forced to take action. Bryson and Embry’s role as our escorts were relieved and the questions subsided, but the bright flashes surrounding us continued.

  “We’re almost there,” came Julian’s reassuring words, sounding far more certain than I was that I wouldn’t be eaten alive before making it to his car.

  The soft grass beneath my feet was replaced with cement and our steps quickened. I heard the distinct sound of a car door opening and only then did I glance up. Awaiting us just beyond the curb, was a sleek, black sportscar that I knew for sure to be two things—super pricy and imported from halfway around the world.

  Felix was not only a tech buff, but he had a penchant for fine vehicles we only ever had the luxury of admiring from a distance. It was due to his love of cars that I knew this particular model was only available by special order and the manufacturer was incredibly exclusive, reserving the right to refuse a sale for any reason at their discretion.

  My guess? Julian’s status had made him worthy in the manufacturer’s eyes. His had even been customized—windows and rims completely blacked out with matte-finish paint.

  I counted twenty guards that lined the walkway. They parted the crowd, creating a barrier between the ravenous reporters and us. We were ushered along quickly and Julian’s hand never left me until I climbed inside, scooting across the black, leather seating, feeling the contrasting roughness of red stitching beneath my palms.

  Julian eased in behind me, coming to rest dangerously close in the small space. The side of his hand grazed mine and I pulled away quickly, linking my fingers together in my lap.

  The instant the door slammed behind us, the noise disappeared almost completely, and Julian and I were left within a cone of silence. More flashes went off outside the dark tinted windows, but there was no way they could see us inside. Still, I continued to hold his jacket tight around my shoulders for comfort. Tonight had been one close call after another.

  “You’re safe now,” his deep, breathy voice assured.

  My attention lingered on that word a moment—safe. It was such a relative term, subject to an individual’s interpretation of being locked inside a car with an Ianite.

  A piercing gaze locked with mine, and I breathed deep.

  “You’re okay?”

  ‘Like you care,’ I thought to myself, but, “I’m fine,” was the answer I gave aloud.

  The chill in my tone was obvious. When Julian cut his eyes away from me, I was certain he hadn’t missed it either.

  I eyed my purse in his hand, wondering if by some small miracle, I could convince him to return it. It held my spare bracelet—identical to the one Embry had just broken. It concerned me that the stress of tonight’s ordeal might trigger a seizure, and from what I knew of Ianite culture, they made no allowances for imperfections. My condition would certainly be perceived that way, expediting whatever punishment Julian planned for me.

  He turned, peering out the window as he muttered a soft curse to himself, running long fingers through his hair. I wasn’t sure what the repercussions of tonight would be for him, but from the furious expression he wore, I imagined there to be at least some small fallout.

  “Good evening.”

  The disembodied voice startled me from my thoughts and rendered Liv and Felix silent in my ear. I glanced around the vehicle, only now remembering that its dreaded A.I. tech spoke, as if my life being in its hands wasn’t bad enough.

  “Evening, Ellenore,” Julian grumbled.

  Ellenore? This thing had a freakin’ name?

  “I expected the others would be joining you,” it stated, I assumed speaking of the three princes we’d left behind to do damage control.

  Another frustrated sigh left Julian’s mouth before giving a short answer. “Not tonight.”

  “Hm,” it said, as if analyzing his response. The idea of it … thinking … gave me the creeps.

  “Will I be taking you straight home?” it asked next.

  “Yes, and quickly.”

  “Of course,” the oddly human, feminine voice replied as we inched forward.

  My brow quirked, but not because I was weirded out by the A.I. What confused me was Julian’s response to its question. He instructed the car to take us to … his home?

  My mind whirled until coming up with a reasonable explanation. I’d heard some royals built prison towers on the grounds. They were reserved specifically for criminals who’d comm
itted crimes against the family.

  That had to be where I was headed.

  It was strange being driven while the front two seats remained vacant. The steering wheel turned smoothly, moving as if controlled by a ghost. There were glittering lights and gadgets all around and I wondered what purpose they served. While our team’s van had none of these perks, these things still wouldn’t have been familiar if it did. If it wasn’t on two wheels and didn’t require a helmet, I wanted nothing to do with it.

  We picked up speed near Lord Wilford’s gate and I was glued to my seat. It was easy for Ianites to entrust a machine with their lives, being immortal and all. I, on the other hand, was not.

  Almost as soon as the thought entered my mind, a gentle, rolling vibration made my seat rumble. Shocked and even more uncomfortable, I nearly jumped out of my own skin.

  “What the …”

  “I’m sorry, Miss. Did I frighten you?” the car asked.

  Panting, I didn’t answer as I used both hands to hover in the air and away from the seat, doing my best to balance as we moved out onto the street.

  “I’ve activated my massage function,” the car announced. “My sensors detected an unusually rapid heartrate. Even for a human,” she added, creeping me out even further.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught Julian staring.

  “If you don’t like it just … ask her to stop,” he pointed out, still carrying so much tension in his tone, his shoulders.

  It also wasn’t lost on me that he said ‘ask’ and not ‘tell’. Meaning, he expected me to ask his car politely to stop groping me. Adding insult to injury, I noted this hunk of metal was officially more well-respected than us humans.

  Slowly, I lowered into the seat again, ignoring Julian’s suggestion, and also ignoring what felt like a hundred actual fingers beneath the fabric of the seat. Instead, I turned to stare out the window.

  I had only a vague idea of where his family’s palace was, but knew it was quite the elaborate compound. From footage of annual events hosted there, I recalled it being nearly twice the size of Lord Wilford’s residence, and situated a considerable distance from the fast life of the Capitol.

  Julian had given no clue as to what would happen next. He’d woven quite the elaborate lie tonight. We both had, but for two starkly different reasons. The end result had been that two sentinels now believed their prince had taken a Doll.

  Me.

  “Did you enjoy the gala, Your Highness?” the car asked.

  Julian was slow to respond, but when he did, his tone was solemn. “For a while, yes, I suppose you could say it was enjoyable.”

  I blinked up at a building that towered so high it nearly reached the clouds. Like many of the other structures in the city, it was a feat in the advancement of Ianite architecture. The array of twinkling lights was both beautiful and breathtaking and I stared in awe. An elaborate system of tracks several stories off the ground wound between buildings, connecting to transit stations that floated high above.

  Yes, I focused on these things—the breathtaking frame of winding steel and glass, the unfathomable speed of a skytrain as it rocketed from a transit station—instead of focusing on the answer Julian had just given.

  Instead of acknowledging that I was certain the part of his evening he’d found enjoyable was likely the time we spent together before all hell broke loose.

  Instead of acknowledging that … I foolishly enjoyed it, too.

  The streets were alive and festive despite the late hour. The Quincentennial celebration existed beyond the gala thrown for the elite. It was telling of the pride they felt for their accomplishments, their ability to crush an entire civilization beneath their boot.

  Yeah … big congrats, guys.

  “And you, miss? Did you enjoy your evening?”

  This time, I was certain Ellenore was speaking to me. However, unlike Julian, I wouldn’t indulge her with a reply. She didn’t seem to mind.

  “You don’t look familiar, and I’m pretty good with names and faces,” she shared. “Have we met before?”

  I couldn’t help myself. Maybe it was fatigue, maybe I was delirious from certainty that I’d failed my team permanently tonight, but … I laughed. The sound had Julian’s attention, too.

  “Have we met before?” I echoed, aware of how cynical I came across. “No, Elle, I can say with certainty that this is a first for me.”

  My answer seemed to leave the thing speechless for a moment.

  “Elle,” she quipped, surprising the heck out of me when a girlish giggle came next. “I like it! From now on, I shall be called Elle.”

  I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw my own brainstem.

  “Whatever floats your boat,” I mumbled, reading neon signs and billboards to pass the time.

  I’d only been this deep into the densely populated city once. My team—humans in general—tended to stay on the outskirts, in the wilderness. Much like the roamers were known for doing. Maybe they, too, preferred to steer clear of Ianite territory.

  Nothing ever closed because they didn’t need sleep. Sometimes they rested out of boredom, I heard, but sleep was not a metabolic need for them like it was for humans. If their way of life weren’t terrifying, a night on the town would have been … amazing.

  I’d never known anything other than existing in the shadows. It was all they left us when they took over, when they stole our freedom in every manner of the word. We’d been reduced to hiding out underground to escape bondage. Those were our only options—hiding or bondage. Meanwhile, they had it all and then some.

  I took it all in again—grand hotels, shopping centers, theaters.

  In books written before the fall, the world was one big adventure waiting to happen. Humans could venture anywhere they wanted and the sky truly was the limit, but those things were gone now, only living on between the pages of forbidden books.

  For a moment, I got it; I thought I might have actually understood why Dolls had chosen their path. It was a twisted way to regain some semblance of the old life. No, I still didn’t agree with the choice, but I could see how the weak-minded might fall for the shine and ease of the lifestyle.

  The chime of Julian’s phone brought me out of my thoughts and I glanced at the screen discreetly. He read a short message that had come through from Silas, cursing quietly to himself as he scanned the words. From what I caught, things weren’t going well in terms of damage control. Tonight’s fiasco would likely be the hot topic of social media and valid news outlets alike.

  His head fell back against the headrest and I sat rigid in my seat, realizing things had gone about as bad as they could have. I breathed in, and before having the chance to exhale …

  “I think I deserve to know who you are,” Julian demanded. “I mean, who you really are.”

  The question carried tones of frustration, yes, but … something else. Disappointment maybe.

  Hurt.

  The breath left me, but I still didn’t say a word.

  When I stayed silent, he scoffed. “So, I put my reputation on the line for you, my life,” he amended, “and you won’t even give me your name?”

  My chest heaved beneath my now tattered dress, noting that a trace of the connection we shared still lingered. However, I was sober now, no longer entranced by his charm. I knew it was nothing more than a mirage.

  “Well?” he pressed.

  “I already told you my name. It’s Corina,” I answered him, sighing.

  This time, an incredulous laugh slipped from his mouth. “Again with the games,” he muttered under his breath.

  My eyes darted toward him. “That part was true,” I insisted, inadvertently acknowledging that not much else had been.

  His gaze drifted out to the open road again and he said nothing. It was safe to guess he didn’t believe me, and probably wouldn’t from now until whenever he got rid of me.

  The density of tall structures thinned as we neared the edge of the Capitol, concrete roadways submitting t
o rolling hills and narrow passages, much like the one that brought us to a gate—polished brass that extended to a brick border wall. It didn’t take long to realize it was heavily guarded, and once it dawned on me where we were, I knew that added measure of security had been put in place to protect the royal family.

  The entire property, based on my team’s research, had been designed to keep intruders out, and away.

  Designed to keep those allowed inside held prisoner, until they were permitted to leave by a member of the royal family.

  My heart lurched inside my chest. The longer this debacle continued, the more certain I became there’d be no way to escape, no way to wriggle out of these unsavory circumstances.

  Elle came to a complete stop.

  “The guards will make her roll down her windows once they detect two lifeforms inside the vehicle instead of one,” Julian informed callously, and within seconds, that was exactly the way things played out—all four tinted windows disappeared inside the thin slots of the doors and one guard approached from the booth. He didn’t say a word, just looked to Julian to give the all-clear, letting him know I was in fact a guest of his.

  But I was no guest. I had not been brought here of my own will.

  With Julian’s short nod, the windows rose again, sealing us inside before the massive gates parted. I’d just been granted access to the one place I never, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined myself visiting—an Ianite emperor’s palace.

  Despite my certainty that being here meant I was as good as dead, a smile nearly broke free. It was at the thought of how their kind would respond if they knew who I was, if they knew who they’d just allowed to infiltrate. Emperor Westower had put a hefty bounty on my head three years ago and with each new mission, that amount only increased.

  There was no mistaking he wanted me dead. Perhaps even more than the Butcher.

  The driveway was more like a private avenue—long and winding, lined at either side by trees as old as the property, and lit by mounted lanterns encased in glass with flames that danced inside. Eventually, much further off the road than expected, a sprawling estate came into view.