Toma (The Dark Shadows #2)

by Ariel Marie

  The door burst open and in walked Nicu. His eyes, the mirror image of his mothers, were cold and distant causing a shiver to slide down Anika’s back.

  “We need to talk—”

  “Manners!” the queen exclaimed. “Nicu Olaru, I don’t care if you are the commander of the Shadows, you will show Anika some respect!” she snapped, standing up to face her oldest son. “She literally just woke up not even five minutes ago.”

  Nicu’s eyes softened slightly as he looked from his mother to Anika. “Please accept my apology,” he began. “But I have some dire questions that I need to ask you.”

  “Oh my God, Selena!” she screamed suddenly, remembering Xalak threatening her sister. She scrambled to get out of the bed but Nicu held her down with one hand.

  “Your sister is fine. We’ve been keeping tabs on her and she hasn’t the slightest clue about what happened to you,” Nicu said calmly pushing her back into the bed.

  “Is everything okay in here?” a nurse asked from the door. She looked familiar to Anika. She must have seen her around the hospital at some point since they brought her to the hospital she is currently on leave from. “Her heart rate jumped up and I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

  “She’s fine. Just a little worried,” the queen said sitting back in her chair. “Please let the doctor know that Miss Massey has awakened.”

  “Yes, your grace,” the nurse nodded before leaving the doorway.

  “Where’s Toma?” she asked wearily looking at Nicu and the queen. “Where’s Nadira?” she frowned, knowing that her best friend would never leave her in the hospital alone.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Nicu said, standing at the foot of the bed. “They both were taken that night in the cemetery.”

  “What?!” she exclaimed. “How long have I been unconscious?”

  “Three days,” the queen answered quietly. “It might have been longer. We had to call in someone who is familiar with mind torture. The fae are just as strong as the necromancers, if not stronger. If it wasn’t for them, you would still be in the dream like state that you were in.”

  Tears welled up in Anika’s eyes as she thought of the torture that she had endured. She knew that Toma and Nadira were both vampires and would heal quicker than a human.

  “He’s going to kill Toma!” she cried out as tears flowed down her face. Alin climbed into the bed, gathering Anika into her arms as she sobbed.

  “Anika, I know this must be hard, but you need to tell us everything you know,” Nicu said quietly, moving to the end of the bed.

  “I don’t know much,” she said sniffling. “It’s hard to distinguish what was real and what was part of the mind torture he put me through but I do know that he needs Nadira. According to Xalak, Nadira knows the location of a powerful witch,” she said looking at both of them. “He said she was very old and once he got his hands on her, he would be able to end all vampires.”

  “Did he say who she was?” Nicu demanded to know, his eyes beginning to morph into his vampiric crimson.

  “Nicu,” the queen murmured.

  “Um... He said that it was someone that Nadira met when she was young and would know her location,” Anika rushed, frantic in trying to remember all the details. “I can’t remember!”

  “You need to remember. This is life or death for Nadira and Toma,” Nicu demanded, pushing Anika.

  “I know!” she screamed, tears flowing down her face. She thought feverishly back to all of Xalak’s rants on ending the vampires. She had to remember. She couldn’t let anything happen to Toma or Nadira. The love of her life and best friend depended on her.

  “Just think back—”

  “Nicu!” the queen’s voice was sharp, as she squeezed Anika. “You need to call your father.”

  “Mother, she just needs to –”

  “Call your father,” she snapped, cutting him off. “I know of who she speaks and if it is who I think it is, then we must keep the necromancers from discovering her. She is the most dangerous black magic witch to ever exist and she hates all vampires with a passion that you could not even begin to imagine.”

  “Who is she?” Nicu asked, his eyes narrowing on his mother. Anika held her breath as she waited for the answer.

  “Rowena Frost,” the queen breathed, turning away from Anika and Nicu. She stood up and made her way to the window, staring off into the night.

  “Why does she hate all vampires,” Anika asked, fidgeting, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

  “Rowena is an old witch, who some say has discovered a way to live a long life, much longer than witches normally do. But you asked why she hates all vampires,” Alin paused, not turning around. “Rowena and Vladimir were engaged to be married a long time ago. He broke off their engagement and married me.”

  23

  ~Toma~

  Toma hissed in pain again as a restraint was tightened on his wrist. The past few days he had been kept strapped to a table in a room that held a large skylight, allowing sunlight to grace his skin.

  On a normal day, the sunlight wouldn’t bother Toma as much. He would feel weaker but it wouldn’t kill him, however, Xalak had ordered his necromancers to bleed Toma, weakening him further, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded from the blood loss.

  Today, he knew what was coming. In his weakened state, the sun would rise, shining down on him, causing tingling sensations to ripple across his body causing slight pain. It was like an army of fire ants lining up along his body, feasting on him as if he was a mid-afternoon snack. The more days that passed without fresh blood, the worse the pain would get until finally, he would literally burn to death from the sunlight.

  Since his capture, Xalak had taken great pleasure in starving Toma. The craving for blood had begun to consume him. His fangs refused to withdraw into his gums. His anger was mounting as he watched the necromancer walk around to the other side of the table, tightening the restraint on his other wrist. He hissed sensing the necromancer’s fresh blood coursing through his veins.

  “Need blood?” he asked Toma with a slight chuckle.

  The blood lust grew stronger as the necromancer moved around him. His stomach cramped from starving. He needed to get blood fast.

  “You have plenty. Why don’t you share?” Toma growled around his fangs.

  He wiggled his wrist testing the tightness of the restraints. If he got loose, he would bleed the fucking necromancer dry before bringing hell down on this place. They had kept him and Nadira separated. He was the stronger vampire and he wasn’t sure Nadira would be able to withstand this form of torture.

  “Your kind is an abomination,” the necromancer hissed, his amber eyes glowing. “We will rid the world of your kind.”

  “Say that to my face while I’m not tied down to this fucking table,” Toma bit out around his fangs, straining to get loose from the straps. His eyes locked on the necromancer, praying for just one of his hands to get loose.

  The door opened and in walked Xalak with his long black robe flowing around his feet. He had his long dark hair pulled back from his face and his amber eyes glowed in the low light.

  “I hope my guest is comfortable,” he said with a smirk.

  “Fuck you,” Toma growled, his attention now on Xalak.

  He swore, if one hair had been harmed on Nadira’s head, he would personally hunt down and kill this necromancer. Cooper wouldn’t get the chance because Toma would die hunting this necromancer down.

  “Hmm,” Xalak murmured, collapsing his hands in front of him. “That’s funny, that’s exactly what I’m going to do to your human mate in front of you before I kill you.”

  “You won’t lay a hand on Anika!” Toma roared, his last bit of control snapped. He fought the restraints, twisting trying to get free.

  “Fighting those are useless,” Xalak said, rolling his eyes as he made his way closer to Toma. “You know the mind is a wonderful organ. To me, it’s like a playground.”

  He stopped by the ta
ble; his glowing eyes boring into Toma. Toma flashed his fangs, praying for a chance to be free; if he were to get free he would rip out the necromancer Prince’s throat.

  “You are going to die, Xalak!” Toma promised, his chest heaving.

  He would make sure that the necromancer prince’s death was slow, drawn out and painful.

  “As I said, the mind is my playground. I love playing around in someone’s mind. It can almost make them go crazy.” Xalak’s voice drifted off as he lifted his hand, pointing towards the door.

  Toma turned his head as far as he could to look where Xalak pointed. He instantly stopped struggling as the bottom of his stomach fell away.

  Anika stood by the door, tears flowing down her beautiful cheeks with the other necromancer behind her. He blinked in disbelief. She looked perfect, her skin flawless with her dark hair cascading down her back, her large brown tear filled eyes locked on Toma.

  “Help me,” she mouthed to him, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “No,” Toma whispered, stunned into silence. Xalak stalked towards her, grabbing her arm. “No!” he roared, fighting again to get free from the table. The last time Xalak held Anika captive, she almost didn’t survive. “Anika!”

  He felt helpless watching as Xalak stood next to her, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. “She’s beautiful,” Xalak murmured. “I see why you would go crazy over her.”

  She whimpered as he moved closer to her. A deep snarl escaped him as he watched Xalak sniff the crook of her neck.

  “I’m going to kill you!” Toma roared. “Gut you like a fucking pig.”

  “I have an idea,” Xalak said suddenly with a sick and twisted smile spreading across his face. The wicked gleam in his eye didn’t sit well with Toma. “How long has it been since you’ve had blood Toma?”

  Toma shook his head slightly, his eyes not leaving Anika’s form. Her body racked with sobs as Xalak grabbed her by the back of her neck.

  “You animals need blood to survive, don’t you?” Xalak snarled, dragging a screaming Anika towards Toma. “The blood lust should be consuming you by now. How much of her blood would calm down that craving?”

  Fear crept into Toma as he watched Anika fight Xalak. He would never harm her or take her blood. Only in his dreams, had he taken her blood to claim her but never would he bleed her dry.

  “A drop?” Xalak sneered. “A pint? How about all of her blood?” A blade appeared in his hand as Anika struggled to get away from him.

  “No,” Toma moaned as the craving for blood hit him.

  He squeezed his eyes shut as sweat ran down his face as he tried to gain control of his body but he was losing. In all of his four hundred and twelve years, he had never lost control to the blood lust.

  The smell of blood hit his nostrils as Anika cried out. His eyes popped open just as Xalak forced her arm over his head, causing her blood to drip on his face. He fought the other necromancer who held his head still, forcing his mouth open as a drop of blood hit his lips, sliding onto his tongue.

  In his frenzy, the blood slid down his throat, feeding his blood crazed lust causing a thundering roar to rise from deep within him.

  24

  ~Anika~

  “Anika, here, you need to eat something,” Alin said, sitting a plate filled with little sandwiches and chips, on the table next to Anika. “Tabitha insisted on making you something. Please eat it, before she hunts you down and forces you to,” the queen said with a small smile.

  “I can’t, “Anika said, shaking her head slightly staring at the food. “My stomach is queasy knowing that Nadira and Toma are with that monster.”

  “My children are strong, they are Olaru’s, they will make it,” the queen said fiercely. “Just eat a little, it will give you the strength you need to heal. Your bruises are going to take some time to heal.”

  A small smile came to Anika’s face. “I probably look horrible,” she said softly, taking a small bite out of a small ham and cheese sandwich.

  She really didn’t have an appetite but she knew that Tabitha would hunt her down and force-feed her if she didn’t at least try.

  “You are a survivor, you are strong, even for a human,” the queen said, grasping Anika’s hand. “I am proud that fate has chosen you as Toma’s mate. I couldn’t have wished for a better daughter in law.”

  “How is it, that everyone knew but me? Why didn’t he tell me?” Anika cried out as tears formed in her eyes. “If I’m his mate, why didn’t he want me to know? Is he ashamed of me because I’m not a vampire?”

  “I’m sure he wanted to, but you have to understand vampirian society,” Alin said quietly, leaning forward. “My boys have been groomed since they were born to mate with a vampire. It is just the way of the vampires to ensure that there is always an Olaru on the throne.”

  “So basically, he can’t be with me even if he wanted to,” Anika said softly, dropping her sandwich back onto the plate. “Something that is supposed to be destined by fate has to be ignored because of rules someone selfishly made.”

  She just couldn’t eat another bite. Her stomach was tied up into too many knots. Her heart broke even more as she thought of the torment that Toma must have gone through, knowing that he couldn’t be with her forever. Here she was sitting at the Olaru kitchen table unable to do anything to help save the love of her life and her best friend. She knew that no matter what happened, she would always love Toma.

  “He’s mine,” she whispered, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

  “Just know that the king is the king for a reason,” Alin squeezed her hand again as Watson, their butler walked into the kitchen.

  “Your grace, Prince Nicu asked me to inform you that they are about to leave,” he said bowing slightly. Anika looked to the queen, watching as worry crept into her eyes before disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

  “Where are they, Watson?”

  “They are leaving the armory as we speak and are headed to the garage.”

  “Thank you,” she said, motioning for Anika to follow her.

  They made their way to the garage as fast as they could. Anika was still sore and couldn’t move as fast. She was discharged from the hospital to the Olaru’s care. The royal physician had been checking in on her ever since she moved back into the vampire’s mansion.

  They had her old room ready for her the night she was discharged, but she insisted on staying in Toma’s room. The queen and king didn’t argue with her. They quickly had all of her things moved into his room. Each night her dreams have been plagued with nightmares of her capture and holding onto Toma’s pillow at night, smelling his scent, helped calm her down when she woke up.

  They made it to the large attached garage just as Nicu, his vampire warriors and Cooper walked into the garage. They were all dressed in black and decked out with weapons all over their bodies. All of them had a dangerous vibe to them and Anika wouldn’t want to be on any of their bad sides.

  There were some vampires that Anika didn’t recognize loading the SUV’s with equipment and weapons. Only one female vampire, Phaelyn, tall for a human woman, with a strikingly beautiful face was part of the team. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a long braid that ran down her back. Anika recognized her from the stories that Nadira would tell her.

  The air in the room was thick with tension as they quickly moved, getting ready for a battle. She didn’t want to get in the way so she stayed by the door. Her eyes connected with Cooper’s eyes for a brief second. Without exchanging a word, she felt assured that he would do everything in his power to bring Nadira home.

  Her eyes followed the queen as she marched into the room, instantly taking control. “The necros have our family members,” she snapped looking at each vampire. “They think that they will rid the world of our kind. They have underestimated us vampires! Remind them why they ran before when they met us in battle! I want my son and daughter back,” the queen growled around her descending fangs. “Take care of them,” s
he said, her voice dropping as she turned to her eldest child, Nicu.

  Anika wrapped her arms around herself as shivers slid down her spine. She had never seen the queen be so vicious.

  “Eradicate them,” the queen hissed.

  “Have no doubt, mother. This is war,” Nicu promised. “Xalak will pay with his life for kidnapping Toma and Nadira.”

  “Your father is meeting with the council members as we speak. Vampires from around the world will be arriving tonight. Send word once you have pinpointed where they are,” Alin looked around the room before coming to stand next to Anika. “We will crush them.”

  The queen gathered Anika into her arms as they watched the members of the Dark Shadows divided up into three different dark SUV’s before they drove off, disappearing into the night.

  25

  ~Toma~

  Anika’s cries could be heard from across the room. Toma stared at the figure curled up in a ball in the corner. He didn’t mean to hurt her. Xalak had forced her blood into his mouth. He shook his head as if the figure would automatically disappear.

  She couldn’t really be here.

  He had to know if it was really Anika. Bile rose up in his throat at the thought of if it were.

  She kept her body turned away from him as she huddled in that corner crying softly. Why would Xalak keep her if he had Nadira? He wouldn’t have any need for Anika now.

  “You’re not real,” he said out loud as he tried the restraints again. They didn’t budge. “Turn and look at me,” he demanded, but she didn’t turn. Her body continued to shake as sobbing echoed throughout the room.

  Those few drops of blood had awakened the beast in him. He craved more blood. He needed to get loose. He could still smell the blood in the room. Xalak had only given him a few drops, leaving the thirst for blood unquenched.