Frailty: The Darkshine

by Snow, Jenika

  “No. It’s where you live, now.”

  “What?” She turned and looked at him, not even trying to hide her surprise at his words. “What are you talking about?” He got out of the car and walked around to open her door. Helping her out, he led them, hand in hand, toward the front door of the cabin.

  “I can’t stand to have you living in that cave. This is safe and secure, I promise you. No one will ever find you here.”

  He walked in front of her and opened the door. He held his hand out for her to enter first. Helina was a little apprehensive as she eyed him and then the dark room beyond the door.

  “Why are you scared? You should know by now I would never harm you.”

  “I trust you.” And Helina did, with everything inside of her, but still it was the unknown. She let him take her hand again as he walked in first, leading the way.

  “I promise you this is a safe place.”

  He switched on the light and a soft glow illuminated the room. She let go of his hand and felt her eyes grow big. From the outside the cabin looked so quaint and small, but as she walked into the center of the room it was as if she stood in a king’s quarters.

  The kitchen sat off to the side, all natural hardwood covering the flooring and counters. The countertops shone brightly under the lighting, and every appliance from big to small reeked of brand new. Stainless steel and chrome showed her reflection as she walked into the kitchen and let her fingers run over everything. Opening the cupboards, she saw every single one of them was filled with food, plates, and cups. She walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room that held a loveseat and couch, both of them soft leather and the color of snow. Off to the left stood a Chinese style screen, also snow white in color, with delicate pink flowers stitched into the screen. Behind that sat a huge bed, petal pink silk sheets and a matching comforter atop it. Everything from the paintings on the walls to the thick rug in the center of the room screamed feminine sophistication. “What is all of this?”

  “This is yours, where you live now.”

  Helina looked at Gaijryc, not knowing what to say. “I can’t stay here.” The smile on his face fell and she instantly felt bad for saying anything, but there was no way she could stay at the cabin. He turned around and walked to the picture window.

  “I’ve made this place safe for you, I promise you that. If you’re worried or frightened about staying here, don’t be. Nothing will harm you; I won’t allow it.”

  Helina didn’t move, not knowing what to do or say. She felt weird staying at this place. She was experiencing two completely different creatures. Two beings that acted totally different.

  There was the monster that had killed her sister, and then there was Gaijryc—the vampire, the DarkShine creature that had shown her nothing but compassion. She stared at his back, his muscles bunching under his shirt and standing out.

  Arousal washed through her at the sight of him. Running her now sweaty hands on her thighs, she willed herself to be calm. The longer she stared at him, the more she felt herself get wet, and the harder her nipples became under the lace of her shirt. As if he knew, as if he had sensed her arousal, he turned toward her, head tilted to the ground, eyes on her. Helina swallowed again and felt her throat tighten with dryness. He walked toward her, stalked her like the predator he was.

  “What are you thinking about, Helina?”

  Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She couldn’t explain what she was feeling, had never felt the way Gaijryc was making her feel. Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her, so close she could smell the cologne on his body, or maybe it was just his smell.

  They stood toe to toe, their body heat mixing together and warming the room to a scorching level. She could hear his accelerated breathing, could see his chest rising and falling rapidly. Looking into his eyes, she felt off balanced from her wild emotions. “What’s happening to me, Gaijryc?”

  “You know.”

  “I don’t. You make me feel something I’ve never felt before.” She said the last words on a whisper, not caring that she had just admitted her feelings to him, to her vampire.

  “At least I’m not the only one.”

  His admission about his feelings warmed her. She closed her eyes as his fingers skimmed along her bare arm, ran along her shoulder, and cupped the side of her neck. Leaning into his caress, she didn’t care about what was going on, or what this might lead to. Opening her eyes, she watched as Gaijryc slowly started to lower his head toward her. She should have stepped away, should have moved to the other side of the cabin, but as Gaijryc pressed his firm lips to hers, all common sense went out of her mind.

  Helina let herself sink into the kiss. His mouth moved tentatively over hers as if he wasn’t sure what to do. His tongue stroked over the seam of her lips, not forcing its way in, but coaxing her to participate. Opening her mouth, she instantly tasted the very male essence of him. Their tongues touched, moved against each other as his other hand went to her waist and gripped it gently. She moved her hands to his chest—the first time she had willingly taken the initiative to touch him. Helina didn’t realize it until right then, but she had been terrified of him, terrified of the emotions he invoked in her.

  The muscles under his shirt were defined and hard. They flexed beneath her fingers as he moved his hand up her hip and over her rib cage to cover her aching breast. Gasping, she absorbed the delicious feeling he was causing within her. His kiss intensified and his other hand went to her other breast. She moaned again into his mouth and let him take the lead; let him show her what he wanted. He moved her backwards, never once breaking their mouths apart. The edge of the bed hit the back of her knees and she blindly sat down, letting Gaijryc move his body over hers as he pushed her back.

  “Helina.”

  He said her name on a moan, breaking their kiss and moving his mouth to her collarbone, where he sucked and laved at it. She tilted her head back, felt him grab her wrists and bring them over her head. The position stretched out in front of him, made her vulnerable to whatever he deemed. Shivering at the feel of him sliding his hands down the sides of her breasts, she sucked in air. He continued to work his hands over her body, over the sides of her ribcage, and across her hips.

  “Is this okay, Helina? Does this feel good?”

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed out, shaking from the intensity of his light touches. He slowly slid his hand under the hem of her shirt and skimmed his fingers over her skin. Slowly opening her eye, she watched him, surprised that his attention was on her face, his eyes on her.

  “Wait.”

  He instantly stopped and looked at her with concern. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she moved the hair out of her face. Her heart was beating like a freight train—so hard she could feel it slamming against her sternum.

  “What is it, Helina? Did I hurt you?” He ran his hands over her body, looking at her with an almost critical eye.

  “You didn’t hurt me.”

  He stopped checking her over and sat on his heels.

  “It’s just that, well.” She was embarrassed to even say it, but she knew he would find out eventually. Sitting up, she leaned against the headboard. “I’m a virgin.” She said it so quickly she didn’t even know if he had understood her.

  “What?”

  She felt her ears and face become hot and refused to look at him. “I said I’m a virgin. Surely your kind knows what that is.” She looked at him as they sat there in silence for a moment.

  “Helina, look at me.”

  She waited until the heat in her face subsided before she lifted her head.

  “I know you are.”

  Confusion coursed through her at his comment. “I don’t understand. How could you know such a thing?”

  “Sweet Helina. From the moment I saw you, sensed you, I knew you were the purest thing I had ever encountered. I knew you were completely innocent before I ever saw your lovely face.”

  Her throat was dry, no words forming in her brain.
She didn’t know what to say.

  “I shouldn’t have gone so far with you. I went too fast, and for that I am sorry. I must go now, but I will return in the morning.”

  Everything had ended as abruptly as it had started and she felt a little empty. She didn’t fight him on it, though, knowing this was the best thing to do right now. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  “I wouldn’t leave you here if it wasn’t.”

  She nodded at his comment. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and then got up and walked toward the door. When he opened it he didn’t leave right away, but stopped and looked at her again. Helina trusted Gaijryc, but she hoped her trust wouldn’t end up getting her killed.

  Undoing

  Gaijryc walked through the mansion’s main doors and made his way to the stairs.

  “Gaijryc? Is that you, my son?”

  His mother’s voice rang across the first floor like nails on a chalkboard. She knew it was him, had probably sensed him a mile away, yet she called out to him as if she didn’t know—it irritated him.

  He didn’t bother answering her back, just made his way into the ballroom. He stood in the entrance, the double oak doors wide open and brightly lit from the chandelier hanging in the center of the room. His mother sat at a marble-top table. She wore an evening gown encrusted with jewels, her chignon perfectly placed with every hair set just right. He swore inside as he saw the female sitting beside his mother. She looked right into his eyes and he felt chills race through his body. Iena was the spitting image of his mother’s true nature. She was cruel and heartless, bringing even the strongest of DarkShine males to their knees.

  “Ah, there you are, my son.”

  It amazed him that his mother could act so sweet and loving when she was the complete opposite.

  “Hello, Mother.” He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. Swatches of fabric covered the table and sketches of dance floor layouts were scattered among them. He stepped back and looked at Iena. “Hello. How are you this evening?”

  She smiled suggestively. When he showed no reaction, her face became a scowl that matched her true personality. If his mother had her way, Iena and he would be wed and already have a slew of offspring.

  “Sit, please. Iena and I have a lot to ask you about the upcoming ball.”

  Castalia patted Iena on the hand as they both looked at each other and smiled. Both of them evil spawns of the same demon.

  “Oh, yes. Look at the beautiful sketches we have.”

  Iena slid the papers over, her hand purposely brushing against his as he reached for them.

  “Which one do you prefer, Gaijryc?”

  Iena tapped a perfectly red manicured nail on a swatch of silk fabric with gold inlaid throughout it. He looked at her before glancing at the two fabrics, a burgundy one and then the black velvet with silver vines embossed within the fabric. He could care less which one they picked, could care less about the damn ball that they were planning. All he could think about was Helina.

  “I suppose this one.” He slid over the black velvet to his mother, looking between the two females. His mother gave a big smile before patting him on the hand. He’d told them what they wanted to hear, his words only meaning to placate them for the time being.

  “I told you he would like this one, Iena. Gaijryc, I would like you to speak with the class this week. They need the explanation about the transition period and what they are to expect.”

  He looked at his mother with disinterest as she went back to sorting through different fabrics. His mother really didn’t care if the DarkShine fledglings learned about what their life was to become. She was only making him do this as a punishment for not yet taking a mate. She knew how much he loathed speaking with the children, how little patience he had when it came teaching them.

  They were no more than one hundred years old, mere teenagers when it came to DarkShine years. When they were that young, they had no control over their emotions, had no attention spans. They were more interested in the opposite sex, in how they were going to woo them for when their transition period arrived.

  His mother picked up a gold bell and rang the dainty thing gently. Despite the miniscule size, the sound was loud as it echoed off the cathedral style ceiling. Within the next second a servant walked through the doors, a silver platter in her arms and three glasses filled with thick red liquid atop it.

  “Ah, Lucie. Come, dear.”

  Castalia cleared off a small space as the servant set a glass in front of each of them. Gaijryc looked up at Lucie and thanked her. Lucie had been a servant of the family for hundreds of years and had earned his mother’s trust. He looked up at her and smiled, and her cheeks got pink from his attention. She bowed her head, her blond hair in a perfect bun at the nape of her neck.

  “Thank you, Lucie.”

  The servant bowed her head again, gave a small glance at him, and walked out of the room briskly.

  “Such a sweet child she is. Gaijryc, what do you think about the guests wearing masks at the ball? I personally think it would add a little flare of mystery to the evening, don’t you?”

  He looked at his mother, knowing very well that she wasn’t asking him her opinion, but rather telling him what they would be doing. He nodded, not bothering to answer her second question, just replying to the first. “Yes, she is a sweet child.”

  “You know, Gaijryc, if you had just mated with Iena, then we wouldn’t even have to go along with this silly ball.”

  He glanced at Iena, who in turn gave him a smile as she leaned back against her chair. The dress she wore was cut impossibly low, her breasts practically spilling out of the nearly transparent fabric. Her nipples were prominent through the whit material, the deep red of her areolas clearly visible. If he didn’t know how she was, the nature of her very soul, then he might have been inclined to follow his mother’s wishes. She was a striking creature, but the fact that her heart was black made his cock shrivel up in distaste. She noticed him examining her and no doubt thought it was because he found her attractive. In all reality he was thinking what DarkShine would be crazy to be associated with such a female. She ran her hand up her neck, her blood red nail polish glinting off lighting.

  “Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?”

  He looked into her amber colored eyes, eyes that showed no emotion. He knew what she wanted, knew she wanted to sit next to him on the throne and rule over their kind. She was too cruel to be queen of the DarkShine, too heartless when it came to their people. He needed, wanted a queen that shared his compassion, shared his empathy for all creatures. What he wanted was Helina, for himself as well as sitting in the throne next to him. He knew that could never happen. His kind would never allow a human to rule over them.

  He could just leave with her; take her away to a place where they could spend their time alone together. Even though that was the ideal thing he would love to do, he knew he would never be able to escape. Any of his kin could find him, their blood matching his own and making the hunting and tracking easy.

  “What are you thinking about, Gaijryc?”

  He brought his attention back to Iena and realized that he had been thinking so deeply that his eyesight had been trained on her breasts. He hadn’t even realized the fact, but Iena hadn’t missed that little detail and had taken it the wrong way. He looked over at his mother’s now empty chair. “Where is my mother?”

  “She said she had something to do, said she wanted to give us some alone time.”

  Iena stood up and smoothed a hand down her breasts and over her mound. Her pussy stood out through the fabric, the hairless slit clear even from where he was sitting. Her dress was so short he wondered why she even bothered to wear it. It barley skimmed the bottom of her pussy as she walked toward him.

  “You know, Gaijryc, all you would have to do is mate me and we wouldn’t have to go through this whole female selection at the ball.”

  She sat on the table in front of him, squeezing her way through
so he was forced to lean back. She placed her feet on the arms of his chair, her dress sliding up her thighs and presenting her bald pussy to him. He looked at it momentarily before looking back at her face, disgust overwhelming him. She did this every time they were alone—attempted to offer herself to him even though he made it clear he wasn’t interested.

  “You should really stop this, Iena.”

  She pulled her pussy lips farther apart and leaned back on the table. “Try a taste, Gaijryc.”

  He pushed his chair back and stood. Her eyes dropped to his pants, her face becoming the dark mask as she realized he wasn’t aroused.

  “Is there another, Gaijryc? What female could possibly compete with this?” She made her point by spreading her legs as wide as they could go.

  “There will never be anything between us, Iena.”

  “You weren’t saying that when you were fucking me.” She smiled at him, all teeth and fangs as she sat back up.

  “That was over a hundred years ago. My tastes have changed.”

  She jumped off the table so fast if he had been a lesser being he might have been intimidated. As it was, he was just bored of her actions to try and manipulate him.

  “Your mother loves me, Gaijryc. You would please her if you just mated me and we gave her grandchildren.”

  He laughed at her comment. There was no way he would ever have children with her. She was much too cruel to take care of his young, to be a mother to his offspring. When he did have children, it would be with a female that he loved, with a female that he would give his life for. He wanted that woman to be Helina, and the fact that he knew he could never have that with her made him feel despair and defeat. He didn’t bother replying to Iena, just left the ballroom and headed to the basement.

  He took the steps two at a time until he reached the marble tiled floor. Antique style candelabras lined the pristine ivory walls as well as oil paintings from the old world. He could hear deep male laughs as he pushed open the double doors that led to a large room. Wine racks lined the walls, every bottle ages old. Several tables were sporadically placed, several DarkShine males seated at them and playing poker. Near-empty bottles of vodka and whiskey sat by their sides.