Broken Slumber: A Darkhills Romance

by Elizabeth Greene

  He tilted his head and gazed upon her shining and playful eyes, warmth spreading throughout his body from the centre of his chest.

  “With pleasure,” he closed his lips over hers and vowed to reaffirm their bond until thoughts of the city were forgotten and she was left in no doubt that she belonged with him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Brianna

  The mansion was huge.

  Brianna stared up at it, craning her neck back. The shuffling sound from behind told her Etienne was pulling on his clothes after his shift. It was early evening, so the sky was still light enough to be able to see her surroundings clearly.

  She’d asked to arrive early so that she could scope the place out a little, hoping something might jog her memory. It also allowed her time to recover should she suffer another panic attack. There was no way of knowing how she would react, so she wanted to be prepared.

  She gazed up at the building and cocked her head to the side. She felt nothing. She remembered nothing. As far as she was concerned this was the first time she had been there, and while the building was a little grand and foreboding in a gothic kind of way, it didn’t make her feel anxious.

  “How are you feeling, Little One?” Etienne asked from beside her.

  “OK, I think,” she replied before turning to look at the tall pines that loomed at the edge of the estate, “I’m not so keen on those.”

  She swallowed back the immediate feeling of dread that swept over her as she continued to stare at the dark depths of the forest.

  “We need not confront the forest tonight,” Etienne reassured her, “Meeting with Lucian and Katherine is brave enough.”

  Regardless of his words, she took a step forward. “Will you come with me, please?” She asked quietly.

  She wanted to face her fears, but doing it alone was too much. Etienne was there in an instant, taking her hand in his, lending her his strength.

  Having him there with her made Brianna feel like she was surrounded by a warm safety blanket. While he may have been overprotective by not telling her about Lucian’s request to meet with her, she could understand why he had done it. She owed Etienne so much, and while she wanted to get back to normality, back to her job- if she still had one- back to her family and friends, she didn’t want to leave Etienne behind.

  She had developed strong feelings towards him in such a short space of time and from the things he said, the feeling was mutual. Making a relationship work, however, when he wanted nothing to do with the human world, was not going to be easy.

  She sucked in a breath and squeezed his hand as she stepped forward. She walked steadily towards the trees and pushed against the rising panic.

  They are just trees, it is just a forest, you are walking into them, not running… Brianna reassured herself. You are not alone, Etienne is here, there is nothing bigger or scarier in those trees than him.

  “I will not let any harm come to you, Little One,” his voice filled her mind like a warm embrace.

  “Out of my head please, B. I need to have my thoughts to myself for this,” Brianna replied.

  She wasn’t mad with him; he couldn’t help it and his intentions were to reassure and calm her. It was just that she needed to know she could walk among the trees and be able to quell her inner panic herself.

  Physically, however, she was more than happy to have his hand to hold. Reaffirming that she wasn’t alone.

  As she stepped behind the first line of trees, it was like her senses were on high alert. Her eyes flitted in every direction; she took deliberate care with her foot placement so she could have as much silence as possible to notice the sounds of the forest.

  Steeling herself, she inhaled a shallow breath and was bombarded with the scent of musty dying leaves, dirt and damp moss. Memories of falling headfirst onto the forest floor filled her mind like short, sharp flashes of a camera, and her heart began to race.

  Just a forest. Just trees. You’re fine.

  She forced herself to close her eyes and take more breaths, letting herself get used to the smell. It was OK. She was safe. Brianna stepped forward again, a little more certain this time and reached her free hand out to touch the rough bark of a nearby tree. It was fine. Just a tree.

  She let go of Etienne’s hand and walked a few more trees into the forest, before stopping to take in her surroundings. There was nothing there that could harm her, no reason to run. When she considered what lay beyond her immediate circle of trees, what could be waiting for her in the shadows that she couldn’t see, her heart rate kicked up and her body began to tremble.

  “OK, I’m done for today,” she said, walking forward to take Etienne’s hand once again.

  Together they walked out from the tree line and back to the large driveway of the vampire’s mansion.

  “Thanks for doing that with me, B,” she blew out a breath and tucked herself into his chest, demanding a hug. “How did I do? Did we actually go in any further than just a few yards?”

  “You were incredible, my love. We didn’t go far but what you just overcame was astounding,” he pulled her in tightly and kissed the top of her head, “I will gladly accompany you should you wish to try that again sometime.”

  “Thank you, for everything,” Brianna pulled back and looked into his captivating violet eyes, so soft and earnest, “I couldn’t do any of this without you, B,” she leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his lips gently.

  “You could, Brianna, your spirit is brave despite the challenges you face, but I am thankful that you are allowing me to be by your side,” he murmured back, against her lips.

  “I don’t think I want to do anything without you by my side ever again, I think I’d like you to stick around. If that would be something you’d also be into?” She said shyly.

  She was a grown woman in her thirties and yet she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to officially be her guy. Boyfriend was not the right term for Etienne. She doubted a dragon had ever been referred to as a ‘boyfriend’, but she didn’t know how else to ask him without sounding ridiculous.

  Etienne's lips softly brushed hers, “Brianna, I have every intention of-”

  “Hi, Etienne, good to see you with some clothes on this time,”

  Brianna snapped her head back in the direction of the mansion. Standing by the doors was a beautiful, slender, blonde woman, dressed in an elegant floor-length dress. Clothes on this time? What did that mean?

  “And welcome, Brianna, thank you for agreeing to join us. I think we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  Brianna stepped forward, very aware of Etienne’s arm snaked around her waist like an immovable band of steel, telling her he would keep her safe.

  “Katherine, I presume?” She asked, as confidently as she could.

  “That’s right, Lucian is inside preparing dinner,” she smiled kindly, and offered her hand out for Brianna to shake, Brianna took it awkwardly not feeling as though she could refuse the contact, “when Etienne told Lucian you were vegan, he spent the whole morning scouring his recipe books. He’s never cooked anything vegan before, you gave him a challenge, and he loves a challenge,” she beamed happily, her light brown eyes shining with affection.

  “Lucian cooks?” Etienne asked from beside her,

  “I’m sorry, if I’ve made things difficult, I’ll be fine with just some vegetables or some pasta-”

  “Are you kidding me? He’s been shut away in the kitchen all day, it’s been wonderful,” Katherine laughed, “Don’t get me wrong, I love my guy, but sometimes it can be hard to get anything done with him around, if you know what I mean?” She smirked at Brianna and continued ushering them inside.

  The smell of aromatic spices wafted around them as they entered a huge and grand hall. Brianna’s stomach groaned in anticipation.

  “Tell me about it,” Katherine smiled, “I’ve been smelling that Moroccan tagine all afternoon and I’m starving,”

  “It smells amazing,” Brianna agreed, “so you’ll be eating with us?” she v
entured, she just assumed that vampire’s only consumed blood.

  “I will, Lucian won’t,” Katherine clarified, “he’s not turned me yet, but it's only a matter of time.”

  “He intends to transform you?” Etienne asked incredulously.

  Brianna agreed, she couldn’t see the appeal of becoming a creature of darkness.

  “Not any time soon,” a crisp British accent that Brianna recognised from her Dictaphone, called out to them. “Not if I have any say in the matter, at least.”

  Brianna looked over Etienne’s shoulder and saw a dark and handsome man prowl towards them, wearing a perfect white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and smart tailored pants.

  “Etienne, glad you could join us, Old Sport, glad to see you brought clothes with you this time,” he smirked and patted Etienne on the shoulder jovially. “Brianna, thank you for agreeing to meet with us, I’m sure you understand we have some concerns in regard to safeguarding the paranormal world.”

  He reached out to shake her hand only to freeze midway as Etienne let out a low warning growl.

  Lucian cocked a brow at him and then merely shrugged.

  “Welcome, my dear, please come in, be seated,” he gestured to the elegantly dressed table, “your diet is intriguing, I must say I’ve enjoyed exploring the concept however, I may have gotten carried away and cooked a little too much.”

  “Thank you for offering me a chance to find out a little more about what happened to me,” Brianna said politely as she took her seat, Etienne stood behind her chair protectively, “Before we begin, I’d like to apologise for the hurt and damage I caused you both. I didn’t know I was capable of becoming involved in something so immoral.”

  Lucian and Katherine shared a look briefly, “What exactly are you referring to, my dear?” Lucian asked, his voice smooth and calm.

  “The exposé, the blackmail, going along with your father, Katherine, I’m not sure why I would’ve even agreed to any of it in the first place, the last thing I remember was feeling worried that I’d lose my job if I didn’t turn in a good story to my editor, then my mind just goes blank.” Brianna explained, “I know you wiped my memory, Lucian, and in truth, although the fact that you can do that is frightening, I can understand why you did. If the rest of the world knew about people with your abilities, I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of witch hunt that would take place.”

  “I see our friend Etienne has filled you in on some of the details,” Lucian said calmly, his dark eyes fixed on where her dragon stood protectively behind her chair.

  “I heard it all on this,” Brianna slid her Dictaphone across the table towards her hosts, “I always carry it with me if I’m on a job, the whole thing was recorded but, B, what’s he saying? Did you know? Before I listened to that?”

  Brianna spun round in her chair to look at him, a dangerous stab of betrayal stuck in her heart. His eyes were resigned and gazed back at hers seemingly unfazed.

  “I did.”

  “Yes, Etienne agreed to keep a close watch on you to see if you were still intending on writing your exposé after he had not so helpfully, shone the spotlight back on the paranormal world by showing you his dragon form,” the vampire confirmed.

  Brianna kept her eyes on the man whom she thought she could trust.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” She whispered to him, wishing none of it was true.

  “I did not know whether you would remember, I was hoping to be able to judge your intentions based solely on your exposure to myself and my kind.”

  “And how did I do? What was your judgement?” Brianna grit out between clenched teeth,

  “You know I do not believe you to be the kind of person capable of such misdeeds, we have already established that,” Etienne replied, in a clipped tone.

  Brianna pushed on her chair, forcing him to step back and allow her to stand.

  “Sorry, I just needed clarification, see, up until now I thought you had my back, I thought you trusted me and that I could trust you, but apparently everything we have shared has been a lie because you were just scoping me out all along,” she glared at him, her voice rising and becoming filled with anger.

  “It has not been a lie, what we have shared has not changed, it is all true, the only difference is that I knew about your actions before you did,”

  “Would you have ever told me?” Brianna asked, “If I hadn’t found that recording, would you have told me or would you have let me carry on with the pain of having a three-day gap in my memory?”

  “I cannot know that,” he muttered uncertainly.

  “How can you not know?”

  “It does not just affect me, I would be exposing others who had already chosen to remove all knowledge of themselves from your mind,”

  “So, that’s it then,” Brianna hurt deep down, “you would rather side with others than be truthful with me, even when you know how much it hurts me not knowing what I’ve done?”

  “I would never hurt you, Brianna-”

  “You have Etienne, can’t you see that?”

  “Lucian, I think we had better go check on dinner,” Katherine said quietly from behind them.

  “I have protected you, cared for you, supported you, loved you and you accuse me of hurting you?” Etienne bit back, smoke curling from his mouth and nose, his eyes brightening.

  “You also kept things from me, scoped me out and seduced me!” She snapped,

  “Yes, I think it would be best if we-”

  Lucian was cut off by Etienne’s harsh bark of laughter.

  “I seduced you? The seduction was mutual, Little One, do not try to deny that you-”

  “How was I, B, huh? Was I a good fuck? Was that part of your rigorous test of my character? Did I pass?” Brianna shouted at him, angry tears forming in her eyes. “Am I free to go now you’ve had your fun?”

  “I will not have you devalue what we shared, our mating was exquisite, I would not have marked you as mine, Brianna, if I did not intend to keep you,” Etienne snarled.

  “Keep me?” Brianna laughed bitterly, “You think that you can keep me locked up in your lair like I’m a god damn hunk of treasure? You don’t own me, Etienne, and I am not yours,”

  “Yes, you damn well are!” He roared, making the room shake with the intensity of his voice. Brianna flinched from his outburst, turning her head away and screwing her eyes shut. When she opened them again Etienne was hidden from view by Lucian and the slender figure of Katherine, who stood protectively in front of her.

  “You need to leave, Etienne, now,” Katherine said firmly.

  “I’m not going anywhere without my mate,” his voice was like rocks being ground together, Brianna peered past Katherine to see his eyes ablaze around two dark slits for pupils, his skin was becoming overrun with dark, oil slick scales and smoke surrounded him where he stood.

  “Yes, you are,” Brianna said softly, “I’m not yours to command and I will not accept your claim on me, I want you to leave,” she said in a shuddering breath.

  “Little One, you cannot mean-” his face seemed to crumple in pain,

  “I do. Please, B, please leave. I can’t be with you like this.”

  “Brianna, I-”

  “Go.”

  She watched as he sucked in harsh pained breaths and stumbled towards the doors, they flew open with a thud and a momentary flash of purple lit up the hall before the thumping of his wings could be heard overhead.

  The heart ripping roar of pain from his dragon tore at her as she fell to her knees and sucked in air desperately. It was like she was feeling both of their pain at once, and though she tried, no matter how hard she fought for breath, her vision blurred, and darkness claimed her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Etienne

  Etienne fell upon the ledge to his cave with a heavy and resounding thud. Everything ached, everything hurt, he had flown home, but he couldn’t remember the journey, he wasn’t even sure how his wings had found the strength to carry him. A ti
ngling numbness had begun to spread from the edges of his wings and the very tip of his tail. With a concerted effort, he forced his wings to fold in, the movement feeling stiff and foreign to him.

  He slowly dragged his lumbering body inside the cave, his belly scraping along the rough and rocky ground, but he didn’t care, he barely felt the discomfort. He rolled onto his side and stared up at the stalactites that hung down, as though examining him with mocking sneers as he lay there. He would break them down if he could find the energy, but there was little point in trying. There was little point in anything anymore.

  Brianna had refused their bond. She had refused him and demanded he leave her. A dragon couldn’t refuse his mate, he had no choice but to go. Brianna would not have been able to deny their bond had she been a dragon, but she was human. She didn’t understand how the bonding worked, what it would mean for them both. She didn’t know because he hadn’t told her.

  He thought he had more time to teach her the ways of being a dragon, to explain to her how she might begin to possess some of his abilities, to tell her that their mating was for life. A long and nigh-immortal life. She would be scared without him there to guide her and he did not want her frightened. He never wanted her to fear anything ever again.

  It does not matter. Our mate rejected us. His dragon said despondently in his mind.

  A wave of resigned despair flooded Etienne’s emotions and he closed his eyes as he allowed the onslaught to wash over him.

  She did not know she was rejecting us; Brianna didn’t know what that would mean. He tried to reason with his dragon.

  It is of no consequence, we are rejected. She does not want us.

  She is hurt and confused, we deceived her, and she is questioning the truth of our love, Etienne argued, we can talk to her, we can apologise and explain. Show her she can trust us.

  She cannot trust her mate, his dragon said with increasing lethargy.

  We can gain her trust again, Etienne argued, we must try.

  Our mate rejected us, it repeated.