Dark Secrets Box Set

by Angela M Hudson

  “Go upstairs”—David shoved me softly—“get changed. Be quick.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it, Ara!”

  My limbs chilled. “Why are you yelling at me?”

  “Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” David stepped in and wrapped me tightly in his arms. “I didn’t mean to, but they’re coming for us—the Council. They approved the order half an hour ago, and BWs are on the way.”

  “BWs?”

  “It’s an acronym—the modern name for our soldiers.”

  “Where are they?” I searched the yard frantically.

  “Jason says they’ll be here within the hour. We have to go.”

  “Forget getting changed then.” I went to run but stopped. “Wait, what about my dad?”

  “They won’t touch him. Emily will stay here to make sure.”

  “But they’ll find out about her!”

  “And she’s willing to risk that, Ara.”

  “But—”

  “Look.” He placed a hand on my back. “They’ll just request that she reports, that’s all. She’ll need to join a Set for a few months until we return from Paris.”

  “And Jason, where’s he?”

  David nodded to a car parked sideways on the verge. “He’s waiting to take us somewhere safe.”

  “And you trust him?” I asked.

  “He would have no reason to warn us and then turn us in.”

  True. But for some reason the sounds ringing in my head were not wedding bells, but alarm ones. “Take this for me, then? Just in case.” I slipped off my sliver bangle.

  “Ara, you’re not supposed to take—”

  “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to it.”

  He accepted it hesitantly, placing it inside his jacket, but his soul sunk into a bloodied vat of heartache that projected the pain out through his eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”

  It wasn’t necessary, but I understood his sudden authoritative vampire need to protect me, so dragging me along by my arm was an acceptable method of moving me faster. I’d slap him for it later.

  “Hop in.” He opened the car door, practically shoved me in then slid in the backseat beside me.

  “We clear?” Jason said.

  David glanced over his shoulder, slamming the door. “Clear.”

  “Ready then?” Jason asked, revving the engine.

  “Jason, just go!”

  “What will they do?” I asked, feeling my stomach connect with my ribs at force of the car’s sudden speed. “When they get there, will they hurt anyone?”

  “No,” Jason stated. “It’s not your family they’re after. They won’t make a scene.”

  “Won’t they kill them to get to us?”

  “No.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked, sitting forward.

  “Stop worrying about that now, Ara.” Jason looked me right in the eye through the rear-view mirror, making my heart jump. “David, buckle her in. If we crash—”

  “I can take care of my own girl, Jason,” David said, but grabbed the seatbelt and strapped me into place anyway.

  Jason winked at me. I laughed under my breath, looking away from the mirror.

  “What’s the plan then?” David said.

  “We need to call Arthur. Do you have a phone?”

  “No.” David patted his pockets then looked out the back window. “I must’ve left it behind.”

  “There’s a pay phone.”

  “Pull over.” David grabbed the shoulders of the front seats. “Quick.”

  “Okay, I’m trying.” Jason checked his blind spot then swerved left, bringing the car to a very abrupt halt by the side of the road. “Tell him to meet us at your New York apartment.”

  “Right.” David swung the door open but stopped as his foot touched the ground, turning to take my hand. “Ara, my love. I’m so sorry about this.”

  I tried to smile as he kissed the lone silver wedding band, knowing the anguish in my soul was evident on my face, but that same pain looked worse in David’s eyes, so I swallowed and nodded to reassure him. “We’re together, David, that’s all that matters, right?”

  His answering smile warmed my heart. “I love you. I’ll just be a sec.”

  “Okay.”

  The door clunked shut and the cool of spring disappeared behind the glass.

  The car idled quietly.

  “Are you okay?” Jason asked, smiling softly when I looked at him.

  “Not really.”

  “Here.”

  I reached for the white tissue in his hand and dabbed it along my lower lashes. “Thanks.”

  “No worries.”

  We both looked across to where David stood in the phone booth, hanging up and dialing again, getting increasingly agitated.

  “Ara.”

  I looked up at Jason again.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For this.” The tires squealed as the car kicked into gear, throwing me back in my seat.

  “What are you doing!” I unlatched my seatbelt.

  “What am I doing? What are you doing?” He reached out for me, trying to keep the car straight without watching the road. “Sit back in your seat.”

  “No.” I spun onto my knees, bashing my hands against the rear windshield. “David!”

  He was already running, catching up as we swerved around the corner, but as he bent to make a leap toward us, a man on the sidewalk crouched suddenly and then pounced through the air like a cat on a mouse, pinning David to the bitumen.

  “No,” I screamed, seeing nothing but a blur of color and thrashing limbs until David shot up out of the hold.

  “Run. David, run!” I slapped the glass.

  He charged forward, the man flanking his heels, coming up fast behind him. David cupped his hands around his mouth, screaming some command I couldn’t hear.

  “Ara, I’m not kidding,” Jason said. “Sit down.”

  “No.” I looked back at David as he reached for the fender, our eyes locking for one second before several men came up out of nowhere and tackled David to the ground again, the huddle becoming smaller as we drove farther and farther away.

  “Stop the car!” I kicked the back of Jason’s seat, making my teeth vibrate in my head with the force.

  “No.”

  “Yes,” I squealed.

  “Just sit down, please. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  I sat on my butt, tugging at the door handle, but it seemed disconnected—unresponsive. So I smashed my elbow against the window repeatedly, trying to break it. “Let me outta here!”

  “Stop doing that, you’ll hurt yourself.”

  “Let me out! Let me go.”

  “No,” he said, and the car screeched around another corner, knocking me onto my side.

  “Why are you doing this?” I sobbed, my voice deep and shaky.

  “I’m saving you.”

  “No you’re not. You’re kidnapping me!”

  “No. It’s him they’re after. Not you. He’ll thank me later when you’re still alive.”

  “But you let them take him, Jason.” I sat up and wiped my face. “They’ll hurt him.”

  “Yes.” Jason looked down.

  “How could you? He’s your brother.”

  “And you are the most precious thing in his world, Ara. If he had to choose, you know he’d approve of this.”

  “But you didn’t let him choose. You just gave him up.”

  “Believe it or not, girl, I didn’t. I had a choice to make. I chose you.”

  “But—” I cried into my hands for a second, helpless to change any of this. “What will they do to him?”

  “He’ll be taken before the Council to stand trial.”

  “Then what?”

  “He’s bound for Loslilian Manor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s where the American Order of Lilithians reside.”

  “No!” I gasped, grabbing my lock
et. “Not the Lilithians. They’ll torture him. I know what they do to vampires, Jason. Please.”

  “I’m sorry, Ara. But he’ll be free one day. Until then, I have to keep you safe.”

  “No. Let me out.” I tugged the door handle again. “Please, Jason, let me go.”

  “Ara, trust me. Okay,” he said kindly. “Look at me—”

  I snapped the handle off with my incessant yanking, then burst into tears.

  “Ara, look at me!”

  “Why?” I threw the broken door handle on the floor and hugged my knees.

  “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t have time to think. Just… please stop breaking my car. That handle’s rigged to only open once from the inside. You won’t get out.”

  “I hate you!” I kicked the door again and tucked my fists under my arms.

  “Ara, I just wanted to save you, that’s all I could think of. You can’t help him now. You have to let me help you.”

  “How do I even know you’re telling the truth?” I asked in a wavering song, warm tears raining over my cheeks.

  “You don’t.” He flicked his indicator on.

  “Where’re we going?”

  “Far away.”

  “What are you gonna do with me?”

  “See that bag?”

  “No.”

  “There’s a bag under the seat. Grab it.”

  I reached down and hooked my fingers under the brown strap of the old leather case.

  “Open it. There’s a passport and… Hang on,” he said distractedly, lifting his phone from his pocket. “Shit. I have to answer this, okay.”

  I hugged the bag, dropping my head against the window and watched the world go by.

  “Jason Knight speaking,” he said, and the car made a sudden, violent swerve onto the verge. Jason cursed, dropping his phone to take the wheel with both hands, while my fingers dug into the leather seat, my eyes fusing together until the wheels under us sung with the gentle hum of the freeway again. “Damn it!”

  “What was that all about?” I screeched.

  He sat tall, rubbing his forearm. “Where’s the phone?”

  “It’s here.” I inched forward, grabbed his phone off the floor of the backseat and handed it to him. “What just happened, Jason? And why did you just go past our turn?”

  “Change of plan,” he said, ditching his phone onto the passenger seat.

  “What change?”

  “Just sit tight. We have a long drive.”

  “Where are we going now?”

  “Le Château de la Mort.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “No more questions.”

  “Why?”

  He shook his head and said nothing more.

  22

  My ears pricked to the thud of a car door being shut. I didn’t want to wake, though. Didn’t want to open my heavy eyes. Even as a dewy chill brushed my legs and a pair of strong arms circled my body, lifting me from the backseat, I kept them closed, knowing I was safe with Jase.

  “Where are we?” I wrapped my arms gently around his neck, snuggling my brow under his chin. “Jase?”

  “Shh, it’s okay. I’ll take you to David’s old room.” He kissed the tip of my nose, squeezing me gently. “Just sleep, pretty girl.”

  “Okay,” I whispered back, and in the dead silence of this place, the only sounds then were the crunching of his shoes over gravel, the scuff of them on cement as he stepped up, and a creaky door as the night closed in around us, sheathing us in a cool stony world. I felt oddly safe in his arms, with the warmth of his steady breath falling onto my face, setting my heart at ease.

  Time seemed to pass like the beat of a heart, taking me easily along the wistful realm of sleep until I felt the soft, cool caress of cotton sheets under the length of my body. “Jason?” I forced one eye open as he positioned my arms and legs comfortably under a blanket. “Are you doing that to me—are you making me sleepy?”

  “Yes. You need rest.”

  I couldn’t fight it. I just wanted to sleep. “Am I going to be okay?”

  Wet lips lingered on my brow for a second, his breath coming through them as he spoke. “Just sleep.”

  “Okay. Goodnight.” I rolled over, tucking my hand under my cheek.

  Gentle tingles trickled down my neck as Jason stroked my hair back and carefully unlatched my silver chain. “I’ll keep this safe for you,” he whispered as it came free.

  I reached out. “Jason, don’t lose th—”

  “Shh. Sleep,” he said, and everything went black.

  * * *

  Sunlight never came. As my mind escaped the veil of exhaustion, allowing my eyes to open, I quietly took short breaths, unsure where I was or if I was alone. I could feel my heart just below the hollow of my collarbones, beating like a hundred edgy little butterflies, making everything spin.

  This room was so dark and so cold, for a second I thought I was at the base of dirt hole. All I could make out as my eyes scanned the floor, rising along the stone walls and to the ceiling, was a kind of wet glaze over every surface. Even the lungful of air I drew was laced with a murky kind of dryness, like damp clothes left in a basket too long.

  I pushed up on my elbows and looked beside me to the sleeping vampire—his hand across his belly, his whole body shadowed in the dim light. Only his sweet, familiar scent distinguished him as Jason. But for all the comfort that gave me, my stomach also sunk a little.

  Jason slept with me. Stayed beside me all night. Why on earth would he do that? Unless, maybe he was protecting me because I was a live human sleeping in a castle, or chateau, with who knew how many hungry vampires.

  He barely stirred as I rolled off the bed and slipped my toes onto the slimy stone, wincing with each step, balancing my hands over the empty space in case the dizziness sent me to the ground. I tried to make out the lines of a chest of drawers or picture frame, anything to give this room an identity, but couldn’t see a thing, and despite several steps, hadn’t found anything at my fingertips. It didn’t seem to be an overly threatening room, though. A little cold and empty maybe, but at least Jase was here.

  I stopped worrying and stretched out my limbs then, yawning, but as I crossed my arms over my body, a sticky substance switched my brain on high alert. I peeled my fingertips away and looked down at the dark muck across them. My whole arm was covered in a long line of it, the sleeve of my dress torn, hanging like a weeping willow over a lake.

  “What the hell?” I whispered to myself, glancing quickly back at Jase. He was still sleeping soundly, and for some reason a deep, burning voice in my gut warned me not to wake him. Not to stir him, but to run. Right now.

  I spun on my heel and hurried forward in search of a door, a window, anything. And a tiny orange light filtered through from the roof then, as if the sun were rising outside, following my fingertips up what my touch recognized first as cold iron.

  I drew a tight breath and spun around to look at Jason. He was gone.

  “Feeling better?” he asked, suddenly on the other side of the bars.

  “Jason! What’s going on?”

  “Right now, nothing.”

  “What am I doing in here?”

  His silhouetted outline looked down and toed a white foam box.

  “What is that?” I asked nervously.

  “Look closer.”

  I squinted, jutting my neck, and just made out the squishy frame of a fat, liquid-filled bag. “Blood bags?”

  “Yes.” He looked at my arm then. “And it seems you’ve reopened the wound.”

  I didn’t feel any pain, but as I held my arm out, saw the gush of liquid flow down my skin, discoloring my fingertips as it dripped off the ends. My head spun, widening the world around me for a second before taking all the air.

  Jason wrapped his fingers around mine as I grabbed the bar to steady myself. “No passing out on me, Amara.”

  “What happened to me?” I swallowed the bile in my throat, steadying my stomach with a few breaths.
r />   He pressed his face between the bars. “I drained you.”

  “Why?”

  “I needed you to be weak.”

  “Why, Jason, what’s going on?”

  “Sit tight, girl. The King will arrive soon and then I will take you to see him.”

  “The what?”

  “Honestly, Ara, don’t you know anything? The King—the head of the World Council; ruler of all vampires,” he said, as though he was reciting presidents. “He wishes to meet you.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you’re special.”

  “Special?” I grabbed the cold, gritty bar with my other hand. “Jason, what have you done?”

  “I told him what you are.”

  “And what exactly is that?”

  “You’re a Lilithian Pure Blood.”

  “What? No, I’m not.” I tried to shake my cage, remembering how Eric told me they’d all been wiped out. It wasn’t possible. “Why would you do that? Why would you tell them that? Don’t you know what they’ll do to me?”

  “Yes. They’ll kill you—after they experiment on you.” His smile trickled with malevolence.

  “They won’t believe you, Jason. I’m a human, not Li—”

  “Do you see how much blood I drained from you?” He looked down at the box. “I cut through your entire arm, and you’re not dead,” he said each word slowly, with detest. “So if you’re not a Lilithian, then what are you?”

  “They… they didn’t change me yet. I—”

  “No, exactly, and you didn’t change when I bit you. But you didn’t die either, and you heal fast, you crave blood, you—”

  “No.” I backed away from the cell door and fell against the bed.

  “Yes. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  “I—” I reached up to touch my locket, feeling only flesh where it should be. “When you kidnapped me last year, it was never about revenge, was it? You were setting me up to look Lilithian.”

  “Not everything is about you, Ara. But did it ever occur to you that maybe I was testing you—to see if you were human?” he snickered. “Oh, it’s bittersweet. The revenge I sought on my brother is so much greater now he’s accused of harboring an enemy.”

  “Wait! No!” I ran for the bars and grabbed them. “He didn’t know.”