“I am not like anyone else,” he said firmly. “I have traveled through time and space from Gehenna, a vile realm of fire and destruction, of complete chaos and waste, where I was sentenced to stay for much of my existence. Asus and Agnon cast me there because I did not share their view of the future, of what would become of humanity.”
At mention of Agnon, Arianna’s ears pricked at attention. She found herself awaiting his next words with bated breath. He paused for several tortured beats of her splintered heart. His slid his tongue over his plump lips with deliberateness that bordered on attempted seduction. She did not know why, but the small act irked her. “That’s the truth? What does that have to do with me?” she asked and hoped it would prompt him to elaborate.
“Yes, that is the truth,” he stared into an unseen oblivion pensively. “I needed to find you. You are my destiny. I had been searching for you since escaping from Gehenna without luck, until tonight.”
His words rang with sincerity. Arianna’s bones vibrated with their echo. She did not doubt he had searched for her, but why? The question at the forefront of her thoughts remained. And if she asked him, would he answer truthfully? Would she believe him regardless? The days of trusting mysterious men who emerged from the shadows and posed as her savior had effectively ended. No one was her guardian. Only she held that charge. Alone always, and loathing what that ultimately boiled down to, Arianna realized that her place in the world, her role as Sola, had been forced upon her against her will, a birthright woven into the fabric of her DNA from which there was neither an escape nor an end in sight. She needed to steel herself, harden her heart to stone. She needed to safeguard herself against everyone, for everyone was a potential threat. Desmond was living proof of that.
Before becoming aware of her powers, before her function had manifested itself, she thought she’d known what true challenges were, what terror was. She’d thought staring into the many eyes of a fuzzy spider in whatever godforsaken trailer she lived in with her mother was frightening. Now she knew otherwise. She knew her life teetered on the fine tip of an enormous barb, where standing still was every bit as painful as falling off. She refused to do either. She would not accept remaining stationary and she would not allow herself to fall.
“Arianna, are you okay?” he asked, his voice silken but concerned.
“How did you find me?” she asked and did not surrender to his lilt.
“Earlier tonight, I was struck by a feeling of impending doom so powerful, it staggered me.” His hand pressed the center of his muscular chest. Whether he’d done it for dramatic effect or genuinely, she did not know and would not know. She did not intend to allow him close enough to her to find out.
“Oh yeah?” she commented with disinterest.
“I knew that if I didn’t find you, you would perish. Thankfully, I was drawn to you just in time to save you and your friends.”
“Not all of my friends were saved,” she snapped and reminded him of Lance, Ewan and Clint. “Three were killed.”
Darius lowered his eyes to his feet. “I am sorry I was too late to save them all. It was your brush with death that led me to you.”
“So, what, to hell with the others, they were collateral damage?” she asked bitterly.
“No! Not at all,” he replied quickly and reached out a hand. He placed it lightly on her forearm. His touch was as heated as a ray of direct sunlight in summer. She looked to where their skin contacted then to his face. He withdrew his hand and shifted uncomfortably. “But my primary concern was and is you.”
His words quivered in the air, pulling her with unseen magnetic force. She opposed the pull and said, “That’s all well and good as long as you’re not here to marry me in some ancient warlock version of an arranged marriage.”
“No,” he chuckled softly. “No ancient arranged marriages, I promise.” He stood and stretched, towering over her. Cords of sinewy muscles entwined and rippled down the length of his arms. He hadn’t looked dangerous before, but he did now.
Arianna scuttled to the foot of the bed then sprang from it and tried to gather her wits. She was alone with a powerful being. She did not know who this Darius was, did not know if he was who he claimed to be. Friend or foe, she was not about to find out too late. Her fingertips tingled with power, coiled and ready to strike.
“What’s wrong?” Darius asked and his sun-kissed forehead wrinkled.
“You stood so I stood,” she said warily.
“Arianna, you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised and splayed his hands in front of him, each word was a velvet caress. He seated himself in the wicker chair once again. “I know you’ve been hurt. I know of your heartache,” he stunned her by saying.
“What?” she asked in a strangled whisper.
Seething anger cropped up unexpectedly. Arianna felt her insides heat. Tiny beads of sweat broke out all over her body and scorching flames licked beneath the surface of her skin. As if the supernatural reactions storming inside her were not enough, a very human one had decided to tag along. Hot tears burned behind her eyelids. She was actually going to cry for the first time since the she’d caught Desmond bedding Amitt, and in front of a complete stranger whose intentions were as yet unknown, no less.
She balled her fists tightly and blinked. She inhaled long and slow through her nose and hoped he did not see that her eyes brimmed with tears that yearned to spill. She dug deep, burrowing to a reserve of strength she did not know existed and made a conscious choice. She did not know how it happened, and doubted she could ever do it again, but she chose. She chose not to crumble in front of Darius. She chose not to let the hurt and anger of betrayal weaken her. She would not allow the first tear to fall, for if it fell, it would initiate a veritable monsoon of gloom that would drown her. She realized that beneath the layers of gnawing, raw emotion, the urge to fight and preserve a shred of dignity prevailed. She pushed out a steady breath.
“Yes, I’ve experienced tremendous heartache,” she admitted stiffly. “I have lost many people who were close to me.”
“But this was not a death that caused your heart to beak.” Translucent emerald danced with deeper flecks of hunter that seemed to twirl around his pupils, seeking to mesmerize.
“That is true,” she said and felt her throat tighten. Her eyes remained dry, though, a small miracle as far as she was concerned.
“You were betrayed by the person closest to you.” He dealt her another disconcerting blow.
“H-how do you know that?” she asked and did not bother to hide her utter bewilderment. Panic seized every cell in her body, setting them abuzz at once.
“Please, relax Arianna. I can feel your energy teeming with confusion, with shock,” he said in his deep, honeyed voice. “Why don’t you sit down so we can talk?”
Arianna folded her arms across her chest and said, “I am fine where I am.” She knew she’d sounded like a willful child but did not care. She was in control, not him.
“Very well, then stand if you like.”
“I will, and I don’t need your permission,” she snipped argumentatively.
“Arianna, I am not here to fight you. Oppose me all you want, I am not leaving you and I will not betray you.”
His words stung. She’d heard them before. They’d been untrue then and she was fairly certain they were untrue now. He would not get the benefit of the doubt. He was a liar and a snake until proven otherwise.
“Huh,” she snickered.
“I have felt your pain. I felt your heart shatter into a million pieces when you saw him with that woman.” He spat that woman with the same level of disdain Arianna felt. “He did not deserve you. He disgraced himself and you, and everything you had together.”
Tears threatened anew. “Stop it, okay,” she warned.
“He violated the most sacred of bonds: the bond between a man and woman, the sacred covenant of intimacy.”
Why was he torturing her? Didn’t he know she’d been
through enough, been bent perilously close to her breaking point? Her insides trembled uncontrollably and pressure mounted throughout her body. “Just stop it okay! I know what happened!” she finally vented. “I was there, not you! It was my life that fell to pieces. Not yours!”
“But don’t you understand? You are my life. Your pain is my pain.” Darius did not raise his voice. His tone remained calm and mellifluous, tender even. His mesmeric eyes gleamed, filled with tears. A single stream overflowed and slipped from his left eye. He seemed so convinced of what he was saying, Arianna found herself tempted to allow herself to be sucked in by his hypnotic conviction. “I am your guardian and friend. I will help you. I will heal you.” His posture, his words, his mannerism, everything about him down to the pitch of his voice, beseeched her trust. “I am here for you.”
Arianna took her head in her hands, dizzied by the rush of emotion, by confusion and shock, by fear and constantly having her questions answered with more riddles. How many in the world waited to serve her? There seemed to be a bullpen of people waiting in the wings. Beth, Dane, and Jason, and now Darius, were a few among the known ranks supposedly at her disposal. The entire camp had sworn allegiance to her, as well. Why should she believe he was more loyal, more devoted than they were?
She was about to dismiss him when a final question wormed its way into her mind. How could he have possibly known about Desmond? Even if he were clairvoyant, he could not have penetrated her defenses, and she had not sensed an additional presence in the room when she’d confronted Desmond and Amitt, so Darius could not have witnessed it firsthand. None of it made sense, least of all, the nagging unease that stewed subtly around the notion of Darius having direct, personal contact with the situation. She could not accurately pinpoint the uneasiness, but felt it linger in the air like dust that refused to settle.
When she dropped her hands to her sides, she saw that Darius studied her with a weird air of worship.
“I will go,” he said. I see I have upset you.” His voice was quiet and sad. He rose to his feet and brushed past her. His scent filled her nostrils. He smelled of sunshine and fresh, sweet grass. She did not know why, but she’d expected him to smell like brown sugar, perhaps because that was the exact color of his skin. He opened the door and stepped out into the night.
She crossed the room and went to the bathroom. When she returned, a pang of bizarre guilt compelled her to peek out the window.
“What the hell?” she muttered when she saw Darius standing sentinel at her door.
She twisted the doorknob and yanked it toward her. “Darius, just what the hell do you think you are doing?” she asked him heatedly.
“I am guarding you,” he answered simply.
“I do not need guarding!” she countered.
“Yes, you do. Tonight wasn’t proof enough for you?”
“I was drugged.” She growled through clenched teeth.
“And I was there to save you,” he refuted without the slightest trace of arrogance. “I will always save you, Arianna.”
She wanted to scream and curse at him, to shoo him away. But it was hard to remain angry with someone who seemed to have decent intentions. “Do whatever you want,” she finally said.
“I will stay here and protect you,” he said as she closed the door.
Arianna did not know why, but a deep-seated presentiment warned that Darius would be difficult to get rid of. She could not identify it just yet, but knew she would need to keep a close eye on him in the future.
Chapter 13
The first rays of sunlight struggled against gray, angry-looking clouds that blanketed the dusky sky. Random beams perforated them in places and Darius could practically hear the excited squeals feeble-minded humans invariably made about such occurrences, how they were spotlights from heaven kissing the earth. He’d heard it so many times throughout the course of his existence. The notion made him nearly gag. Such drivel! It was no wonder the time for their extinction had come.
Shafts of light did not hold his interest. Neither did humans. Little did, in fact. His current undertaking was not an exception. But the end result was what he forced himself to focus on. The end would justify all that he had and would endure, when the world was finally his.
Standing outside Arianna’s small cottage on the edge of a dank, musty mess of jungle-like growth, Darius’ legs ached and he needed to relieve himself. Playing the role of her night watchman had proved tedious and exhausting. But it had been a key component in his plan to win her over. So had sitting vigil at her bedside while she’d slept off the lethal dose of belladonna and Hellfire she’d been given. Only supernatural beings could survive that much poison. And only the Sola could wake after just a brief spell of unconsciousness caused by the Hellfire.
A slow smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when he remembered her initial reaction to seeing him sitting there in the ridiculous wicker chair. Her eyelids had fluttered and a dopey grin had spread her cheeks right before rousing, as if she’d been having a pleasant dream. But the smile had melted from her full lips, lips he wouldn’t mind sucking and licking, as soon as she’d opened her eyes and saw him. The shock and fear that had etched in her features had been priceless. The moment had been one he would never forget.
Despite her momentary shock and fear, she had not lost her footing. She’d remained guarded and suspicious. He’d known then that she would not be as easy to sway as he’d originally thought. Her dark eyes had been alert as she’d drilled him with them. Perhaps she’d penetrated defenses in the past with her eyes alone. She wouldn’t have such luck with him, though. His defenses were impenetrable, naturally, for he was the most powerful being of any realm. True, he needed the Sola, but not in the capacity some believed. She was a tool that would help him complete the puzzle of his destiny, nothing more. And even though she was an instrument he would use, he could not use brute force to break her. His task was not that simple. He needed to use his charm to bend her to his will slowly. And bend her he would.
A disturbance in the energy around him made his skin prickle. The air shifted and a warm scent was diffused behind him. Arianna. He could smell the notes of vanilla and caramel mingle with the musk of her skin. The sweet scent billowed in the atmosphere like silk and he could feel her presence as readily as he could his own. The sensation he was experiencing was not the first of its kind. He’d felt it several times during the night. She’d drifted to the window and hovered there as her sensuous scent drifted out to him like the milky fingers of a wraith, teasing and tantalizing his senses, alerting him of her company. She had checked on him because he had infiltrated her resistance. Whether she was fully aware of it, he had gained access.
Now, she stood behind him at the window again. He turned his head to catch sight of her in his periphery and she slid behind offensive curtains that looked like little more than burlap sacks cut to fit the pane of glass. She seemed to be playing a bit of peekaboo with him. Fortunately for her, he loved games, particularly cat-and-mouse.
When he glimpsed a bare arm pulling the curtain, he decided to step into character and begin his day’s work. He allowed his shoulders to slump so she could see then made a point of rolling them forward and massaging the back of his neck with one hand. He then shook his head and righted his posture with exaggerated effort. He knew she’d seen him. He could feel her gaze at his back; practically hear her heart breaking for him. Foolish Sola!
A rattle at her door confirmed what he believed.
“Hey,” she called to him but did not use his name, a detail that annoyed him, though he did not know why exactly.
“Oh, Arianna,” he turned with feigned surprise. “How are you? How did you sleep?” He knitted his brow with syrupy concern. “Were you able to sleep after the troubling ordeal you’ve been through?”
She narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms beneath her breasts. They jiggled invitingly and he fought to keep from gawking at them. “A little,” she answered and shrugged disinterestedly
.
Her lack of appreciation for his overnight protection stoked the hot embers that burned just beneath his skin’s surface. He’d spent hours standing on her doorstep and she did not even ask him how he was or if he’d like a glass of water or to use her bathroom. He wanted to shout at her and call her an ungrateful bitch, but he knew he could not. That would not garner her allegiance. So he reigned in the heat budding in his core and plastered a witless smile across his face. “Good. I am glad to hear it.” He nodded submissively.
She watched him unflinchingly, her eyes boring into his brain as if reading his thoughts. A droplet of sweat trickled between his shoulder blades and slid down his back. Finally, she heaved a sigh and said, “Want to come in or something? I have instant coffee. It sucks but it has caffeine.” She did not wait for his answer and turned from him, leaving the door slightly ajar, and went inside.
Darius’ upper lip curled and stretched tightly over his teeth into a snarl. She was ungrateful and rude. He was not used to dealing with females of any sort who did not gravitate to his magnetic lure, much less a being such as Arianna who was acting immune to it. He ran his tongue over his teeth and filled his lungs. After a long exhale, he walked inside Arianna’s cabin. She stood at a small countertop in front of a hotplate atop which an ancient kettle sat. “I hope you like your coffee black. I don’t have any milk or sugar on hand,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Black is fine,” he replied and flashed the sincerest smile he could conjure.
She poured steaming water into a pair of dented tin mugs that were as ugly as the curtains then scooped espresso colored pellets in and stirred. She handed him one cup and kept the other for herself. He brought it to his lips and sipped the bitter brew.
“So what do you want from me?” she asked him unexpectedly.
Her directness caught him off guard. He hacked on his coffee but managed to not spit any out. “What?” he bought time by answering her question with a question.
The Arrival: Arianna Rose, #4 Page 14
