West (A Darkness Series Novel)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  Forget the dreams, this woman had to be here to cruelly torment me. She might be the reason I’d fling myself off the cliff.

  I spent most of the day playing with my diving gear while talking over a generic plan with Rez. She sat at the table making a checklist. Of what I had no idea, but I knew it made her feel better.

  The walkie-talkie buzzed when Rez was in the bathroom. I knew I should have answered it, told Lars what we were up to, but my fingers wouldn’t click on the button. The memory of my mouth hungrily on Rez’s scrambled my mind like a snare. A tangle of guilt...and need.

  I’ll call him after we go down. Might have something more substantial to tell him. I convinced myself this made sense, letting the call go unanswered, and shoved it under some papers on the table. Out of sight, out of mind.

  If only this were true.

  We didn’t want to head down to the area until after sunset. There weren’t a lot of tourists this time of year, but a few milled around the bluffs. We needed to sneak unseen to the strip of rocky beach below the cliffs, which was far off the trails and not permitted, especially at night in the dead of winter.

  Rez’s legs were bouncing by the time we headed over.

  “You are so ready to go, aren’t you?” I laughed, watching her fidget behind me.

  “Yeah.” She pulled on her coat. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in the water. I miss it. I don’t feel right when I’ve been away too long.”

  I nodded and glanced away, grief flaming the loss of my beast I experienced on a daily basis.

  “I’m sorry. That was extremely insensitive.” She touched my arm. “You’d know more than anyone.”

  “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” I shrugged and stepped into the bitterly cold night, the tank on my back.

  Rez huddled close to me, using me as a shield against the robust winter wind as we hiked the trail and descended the steep cliff to the beach. There was only one trail with access to get down; the other side was a mile of sheer rock cliff poking out into the wild sea.

  My body prickled with goosebumps, the wind spraying water so cold it burned on my exposed skin. The water crashed against the rocks like a child having a tantrum. Everything in me wanted to retreat from the brutal water, while Rez gobbled up the distance to the sea like she was ravenous for it.

  Here was another reason to stay away from her. She was water; I was earth. We were never meant to become friends, let alone lovers. Back in the old days of the Otherworld we wouldn’t have associated at all. Maybe times had changed, but how much?

  Rez ripped off her boots and socks the instant we hit the bottom. Her toes were eager to caress the water. She tossed the articles at the rock face and began to undo her pants.

  Uh… My brain went dead as she bent over, pulling her legs out from the fabric. My eyes bugged out at the sight of her tiny white silk panties, her legs lean and toned. And her ass… I gripped a boulder to keep myself standing.

  “Darlin’?” I choked.

  She looked over her shoulder, ripping off her jacket. “Can’t go in with my clothes, can I?” She smiled coyly, her eyes gleaming under the moonlight.

  Damn. She was even more breathtaking while stripping and full of life. Buzzing, glowing, and vibrant. She was home. When her sweater came off, I was thankful it was so freakin’ cold. Although it didn’t help all that much. She could overshadow below-freezing temperatures.

  In the dark I could still make out each curve and her hair skating over the middle of her back. My hands were desperate to follow every arch of her body.

  She turned around, tossing her clothes to me. “Put them over by my boots,” she ordered, then moved toward the water.

  No one ordered Dark Dwellers around. No. One. But damn if I didn’t waggle like an obedient puppy. No doubt she could demand anything from me and I would comply, which scared the hell out of me. But seeing Rez in only her bra and underwear…yeah, I was so screwed.

  “Let me go down, see if I can find anything first.”

  My eyes finally tore from her figure and went to her eyes. “Rez…”

  “I’ll come back and get you, I swear.” Her feet touched the foamy water cresting the shore. It was like someone turned the light on inside. A hazy glow illuminated from her, pulsing with energy. It slammed into me with the force of a club to the head.

  My feet moved to her. The need to follow her wasn’t even a question anymore. My heart thumped in my chest, understanding the magnetic draw, but it didn’t stop me from inching to her. I was more than an obedient puppy. I was her slave.

  “We’re in my world now.” She glanced over her shoulder at me. “This sea is extremely powerful. Whatever you do, keep your distance. Stay put until I come right back to this spot and get you. All right?” It was not a question but a mandate. She waded farther out and then dived into the sea, the waves devouring her underneath their hungry currents.

  The desire to trail her ebbed when she disappeared, letting me breathe. Hell. Never having a run-in with sirens before, I didn’t know what kind of power they had. Shit. This was the first time I had really experienced her power. No wonder thousands of human sailors, swimmers, or surfers would willingly go to their deaths.

  I climbed over the rocks to where her shoes were and set down her clothes and the air tank, tucking them in a crevice to keep them dry.

  Time ticked by as I waited for Rez to return. I paced the beach, anticipating her return and about to lose my mind when the most beautiful song carried over the wind, jerking my head to a cluster of boulders sticking out of the sea.

  It was pitch dark with only a sliver of moonlight breaking through the clouds, but I spotted a female figure coming up from the water, climbing on one of the protruding rocks. The water hit the rocks around her and sprayed in the air like a fountain. The white cloth she wore absorbed light, displaying how it clung to every curve of her body like a second skin. It was a Grecian one-sleeve dress and transparent in tantalizing areas. Dark hair hung to her waist, curtaining her figure. Deep brown eyes caught the moonlight, glinting with a beckoning entreaty.

  I knew those eyes.

  Rez.

  I knew she didn’t go under wearing the white cloth, but my thoughts didn’t care to analyze it. The image before me was so breathtaking, so exquisite, my chest clenched. My mind only longed to follow her. My body wanted to drop to my knees in reverence. But all of me wanted to worship her—in every way possible.

  As a fae, I was mostly immune to another fae’s glamour but not entirely. Compared to a human, it was like receiving only a half dose of strong medicine. If this was only a little dose of what Rez’s kind was capable of, I had severely underestimated her capacity as a siren. I should have known better. I struggled to keep away from Rez in her everyday clothes, with no glamour.

  “Come, dweller, I have something to show you.” Her voice floated seductively over to me. The call twisted so beautifully with the sound of the crashing water it was almost as if she spoke through the waves. Every break against the rocks was a song in itself. “Follow me, dark beast.”

  Dark beast? Hmmm…can’t deny it kind of turned me on even more.

  As my feet moved to the water, a tiny bell tugged at my gut. The warning went through my brain but landed on marshy land and sank. I hopped on a large, slimy boulder, my boots slipping over the moss, and my gaze locked on every curve in the distance.

  Rez…

  Why was my heart thumping at the thought of her naked body fitting against mine? Stop. Now. You can’t touch her. She is not yours, nor can she ever be. Instinct had already taken hold, though. My beast moved and thought for me, locking on its target.

  She turned, glancing over her shoulder. “Come, dark one. Let me show what you covet.” Then she dived into the water.

  I clambered after her, poised to jump into the roiling sea. West, man, you’re a Dark Dweller, so you don’t swim especially well, nor can you breathe underwater. I ignored these thoughts, took a deep breath, and submerged beneath
the dark water. The salt of the sea stung for a moment when I opened my eyes but was gone as soon as I saw her underwater. My lids locked open.

  A glow of light emanated off her skin, casting an even more ethereal beauty around her. “Follow me below, to a world you have never known,” she sang, wrapping around me like the softest warmth I’d ever felt. Her voice brought tears to my eyes.

  Oh gods, don’t ever stop talking to me. The pleasure of her voice was so complete, I craved nothing else. She was far enough in the distance I couldn’t make out her features exactly, but I needed to be with her, the girl who shocked me so many times, made me laugh and strive to fight my demons and still want to come out the other side. I would trail this woman to the depths and beyond.

  Her legs kicked together like a fish’s tail as she swam lower to the seabed. My lungs already constricted, seeking air, but I ignored them, pushing my arms faster through the water to get to her. She stayed just out of reach so I couldn’t touch her, her song luring me farther.

  “Let me rid you of the pain, come out of the rain, where you will find freedom from the chains.” She turned around to face me, still slipping lower to where rocks and sea life were entrenched into the ground.

  Strange thing for Rez to say, I thought, but still it was only a fleeting thought. Black dots impeded my vision, but I followed her song like a nomad spotting an oasis in the desert.

  It’s an illusion. Wake up! A desperate call screamed into my head. Blackness began to seep around the edges of my vision, my lungs clawing for oxygen. I blinked a few times and saw the woman before me was still stunningly beautiful, but there were little things I noticed now. Her nose was slightly longer, her face rounder, her eyes a different shape.

  It wasn’t Rez.

  Certainty slammed into me, and I automatically sucked in. Water flooded my lungs, driving more air out of my lungs. Panic took over like a kitten thrown in a bucket of water. My legs and arms flayed around as I choked. My hands went to my neck, knowing there was no point. I was going to drown, the surface of the ocean too far up to reach in time.

  “Let go, dark beast, stay with me beneath the sea,” the siren sang. My lids drifted closed to the lure of her voice and the lack of oxygen. “Here is your grave, under the wave. Forever mine.”

  My body went limp, giving up the struggle, my mind a murky mess. I could have sworn I heard my name being screamed, piercing my head in pain before I let go.

  The ocean digested another victim in its belly.

  A swell burned up my lungs and spilled out, tearing at my throat as I purged the ocean, drawing me out of the depths of death. My ears rang with a strange noise, but I couldn’t decipher any particular sound. Syrup clogged my brain, swirling it with confusion and exhaustion. I wanted to keep sleeping, but as each noise became clearer, I was tugged from the darkness. The voice crystalized till I wanted nothing more than to follow it wherever it wanted me to go.

  “Dammit. Wake up, West.”

  Rez. I tried to say her name, but no sound ventured out.

  “I swear to the gods, if you hurt him in any way, I will kill you,” I heard Rez almost growl. Before I could wonder who she was talking to, another voice spoke.

  “We both know you will never do that.” I recognized the woman’s voice. It came from the one who lured me under. Now hearing them together, I wondered how I let myself believe the other siren had been Rez. Their voices were similar, both deep and sultry, but the other siren had an older, more confident tone. She spoke slower, less emotionally. Also, Rez teased me, but she would never have called me dark one or dark beast.

  “Don’t underestimate me.” Rez’s words were full of hate.

  “Wow, you really care for this one. Sirens don’t let ourselves love. You know that.”

  “Who said anything about love?”

  “Please, you can’t fool me. You never have. Look what happened last time,” the other woman responded. “You have the ideal situation with the Unseelie King. Oh yes, I know all about your life now. You are provided everything, without the nuisance and hassle of love. Don’t be a fool. Do not give it up for something you know will only end in tragedy.”

  “I’m not giving up anything.” Rez’s voice tightened at the end.

  “You better not.”

  There was a moment before I felt breath tickling my face. “West, please. Wake up.” Rez’s fingers lightly touched either side of my face, her contact giving my eyes the burst of energy they needed to open.

  I blinked a few times, and her features came into focus above me. “Rez,” I forced the word out and instantly regretted it. Fire burned my esophagus like someone poured acid down my pipes, and it sent me into a fit of gagging coughs.

  Rez helped me sit and twist so I could evacuate more water from my lungs. When the spasms lessened, I rotated back, curling my arms loosely around my knees. I leaned between my legs, grappling for more breath without stirring my lungs so I wouldn’t start hacking again.

  Rez’s hand slid up the back of my neck, softly rubbing. “Are you all right?”

  I looked at her, hair still soaked and clinging to her bare arms, still nearly naked. The freezing air dimpled her flesh. She had told me her body adjusted to whatever temperature the water was but couldn’t adapt as fast to the element of air. The impulse to put my arms around her and protect her from the unforgiving environment was hard to ignore, but I could not cross that line. Not that my own saturated clothing would help warm her.

  “Yeah. I’m okay.” I nodded. Her shoulders relaxed, a small smile hinted on her mouth. That damn mouth. My gaze couldn’t seem to pull away, her lips only a few inches from mine. The beast stirred in my chest and rubbed against my ribs. She didn’t move, her gaze dropping to mine, her chest rising and lowering. I don’t think she realized she did it, but her nails dug lightly into the back of my neck. My dick and the beast both came alive, growling with need as they seemed to do at awkward times.

  Life-and-death situations always excited the beast, coiling extra energy and demanding release. It was just that. Would happen with any beautiful woman. Right?

  “See, he’s perfectly fine. All the fuss was for nothing.” A voice broke my trance on Rez, the beast switching quickly to defense, and I jumped to my feet. My muscles lit with pain. My beast wanted out, to be let free, but agony compressed it in a corner.

  Rez held on to my arm as I wobbled a little, but I quickly found my equilibrium and curled my shoulders forward, a rumble of warning directed at the other siren.

  “Easy, dark one. I am not here to hurt you.” The other woman held up her hands, her tone lulling me into a calmer state. I fought against it and snarled at the woman. She was as beautiful as I remembered. So similar to Rez in stature and features it was a little disturbing. Her white dress was still sheer and wet and clung to her hourglass body, taunting any red-blooded man. Her long hair was pulled to one side, hanging over a shoulder to her waist. She watched me with her dark eyes.

  “You didn’t feel the same earlier,” I snapped.

  “I was only doing what was in my nature. You should understand that, Dark Dweller,” she replied, tugging at her flimsy covering, like she was trying to straighten it, which only drew my attention to the curve of her hips. It was subtle, but I knew what she was doing. Sirens understood seduction better than anyone. It wasn’t about sex with them. They seduced with their song or their sensual movements, touching their hair or licking their lips. It was crafty and cunning.

  But now I was aware of it. I was a man, so of course I noticed, but she did nothing for the beast inside.

  “I won’t deny you would have been one of my greatest kills. The energy off you is unfathomable. There’s two of you in there, fighting, and so full of power I would have been satisfied for months.” She sighed softly, her lashes fluttering at the thought. “Oh, it would have been exceptional to be so thoroughly gratified. But Mareza seems ardent on keeping you alive.”

  Mareza? My head snapped to Rez. Okay, they clearly had a p
ast.

  “Don’t call me that.” Rez folded her arms, her chin rising.

  “Why? It is your given name.”

  “It is not who I am anymore, Morweena.”

  “Morweena? When did—”

  “I stopped being that girl the moment I walked away from you.” The muscles along Rez’s neck tightened as anger smoldered her words. “What are you even doing here?”

  “You know why I’m here. Why I had to leave. You broke a contract. I was ostracized, and I came here soon after you left.” Morweena’s brown eyes narrowed on Rez as she scoffed. “You take so much after him.”

  Rez inhaled sharply, her arms coiling with tension.

  “What I did was for your own good. I wanted you to have the best in life.” Morweena took a step closer. “You were so naïve and childish in your dreams. You needed to see the truth. What your nature truly was. I saved that boy from a worse fate.”

  “Saved him? You killed him!” Rez screamed, rage and sadness cutting at the beauty of her voice.

  “I saved him from eventually being killed by you. You don’t think being betrayed by his love would have destroyed him even more? I also protected you from being the one who took his life. You would have never forgiven yourself,” Morweena rallied back. “You can’t fight your nature, who you are. The moment you met him, the boy’s life was doomed. You held on to those young whimsical ideals far too long.”

  “You can pretend you murdered my love as a teaching session, but I know the truth. Killing him made the path clear to the ruler of the selkies, who happened to be looking for a new wife.”

  “He was a king. Rich, powerful, and would have given you a great life.”

  “No. He would have given you a great life,” Rez hissed. “Did you not care he hit women for fun? He was a cruel, evil man...but none of that mattered. You only wanted the money and power my marriage would have brought you.”

  Jesus. I marveled at the depths of Rez’s past and the loss and cruelty she had experienced. Instead of folding under it, she rose higher. The incredible, strong woman next to me blew me away with every new discovery.