Dark Secrets Box Set

by Angela M Hudson

  “Uh-uh. No way. David and I are nowhere near as close as you two.”

  I wanted to scream out, Well, at least Mike and I don’t share blood!

  “What do you expect, Emily?” Mike said gently. “I was gonna marry her.”

  “So you keep saying.” She looked down at her lap. “And that means I have to come second for the rest of my li—well, for the rest of eternity.”

  “You know that’s silly, Emily, and I’m sorry you feel that way, but what more can I do?”

  “Nothing,” she said, defeated.

  I took a few inching steps toward the exit, wishing I’d followed Morgaine.

  “It’s okay, Mike,” she added. “It’s not your fault, really. We just… I just think maybe we aren’t meant for each other.”

  What!” The word burst out of him. “Why?”

  I stopped by the wall and made myself small, unable to walk away now, not when my two best friends were taking a one-way roller-cart to disaster.

  “All I wanted was for you to love me. That’s it.” Her voice quavered. “But you can’t even do that.”

  “What makes you think I don’t love you?”

  “You never say it, never laugh with me, have fun with me. All you ever talk about is Ara and her cool new powers.”

  “Emily, I”—he glanced at me over his shoulder, facing her again with his hand to his chest—“I love Ara. I absolutely love her with all of my heart—”

  Oh, boy. Things Guys Shouldn’t Say, For Dummies. I rolled my brow down to my fingertips.

  “But you”—he touched her face—“I love you with both my heart and my soul. There is no comparison. Don’t you know that?”

  “You never say it,” she whispered, almost inaudibly.

  “Can you not feel it when I touch you, when we make love, when I hold you?” He brushed his fingertips along her jaw, capturing the essence of his affections in a single touch. “Actions speak louder than words, Em.”

  She shook her head. “Not when it comes to I love you.”

  Mike’s breath stopped short of his next word. He let it out with a long sigh. “You’re right. You’re right, Em. I’m sorry. I just didn’t realize, but.” He dried her tears with his thumbs and said with a laugh, “But I love you, okay? I love you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. You silly girl.” Mike pressed her delicate little face into his giant chest. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

  She wiped her nose with the back of her finger. “I just… you’ve just been so busy lately. I thought maybe you—”

  Some cue, some touch or whispered word he spoke made her stop talking; he pressed his brow to hers and his shoulders lifted slowly.

  “I am never too busy for you. But you’ve got to tell me what you’re feeling, Em. I’m not David; I’m not a mind reader. If you’re worried I’m ignoring you or mad at you or don’t have time for you, just tell me, because it’s not the case. Got it?”

  She nodded and smiled at me over Mike’s shoulder when he hugged her. I gave a little wave and a smile, then headed off to sit by David—near enough to cause me pain for not being able to hug him, but far enough to keep my pain from spreading.

  30

  By the time mid-spring set in with the warm sun, and the sparkle of green leaves filled out the trees, David could finally open his mouth. I flooded his lips with my blood every hour, trying to make him heal faster.

  “How is he?” Emily closed the door behind her.

  “He’s good. He’s breathing again—every day now, and he can close his eyes, too.” I pointed to his face. “Look, see? He has eyelids.”

  “Good. And it’s good to see him in clothes again.” She smiled, sitting down on the floor beside the bed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around much lately.”

  “It’s okay. How are renovations on the manor going?”

  “Good. I picked the curtains for your room.”

  I smiled. “Then I’m sure it’ll look great. And how’s Mike, did you meet any of the knights?”

  “Yep. They’re great. He’s great. Actually, he came home with me this time.”

  “Really?” My tone lilted up with interest. “Mike? Home? On a weekday?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You mean, you managed to prize him away from swords and sparring?”

  “Miracle, huh?”

  “He must be missing you,” I noted.

  Emily nodded, tucking her hands under her bottom. “You look tired, Ara. Have you slept since you were rescued?”

  “A little.”

  She sighed. “Look, I know you care about David, but you can’t keep going on like this. You’re not doing him any favors by running yourself into the ground.”

  “It’s only been three weeks, Em. I’m fine. I don’t really need sleep like I used to.” Because every time I closed my eyes, I dreamed about Jason and the things we used to talk about in the mind-links—or maybe I remembered them—then, I’d wake up in a cold sweat, believing I was still in that chair. “And besides, it seems the more I coat him in blood, the faster he heals. Look at his hand: the one that was stripped to the bone.”

  She knelt up a little and looked over David. “Yeah. Hey, that grew back in four days.”

  “I know.” I nodded. “I spilled most of my blood on that one spot. It’s just a bit pink, as you can see, but no worse than sunburn.”

  “Can he talk yet?”

  I sat back down and shook my head. Emily sat too. “Morgaine says that once his hair grows back he’ll heal rapidly from that point. That’s when I’ll get some rest.”

  “Yeah, but you look kind of scary. You’re all blue and pale.”

  “I know. But I’m not as scary-looking as David.” I shrugged, and David’s chest lifted like he was laughing, a sound I’d give anything to hear.

  “Well”—Emily shuffled closer—“do you wanna know why Mike came home this week?”

  “There was a reason, other than missing you?”

  She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers.

  “Oh my God!” I jumped to my knees and threw my arms around her neck. “I’m so happy for you—when did he propose?”

  “Just now. He asked me to come for a walk with him by the lake across the road, and he got down on one knee.” She grinned, holding her hand so I could see the heart-shaped diamond. “He said that he gave me his heart”—she tapped the stone—“so I never forget that it always belongs to me.”

  “Wow. He’s just so damn sweet sometimes.”

  “Yeah. He said he tried to propose all week at the manor, but he couldn’t get the guts up.”

  I laughed. “So where is he now?”

  “Well, that’s why I came in. He wants you to eat, then he wants to talk to you alone.”

  “Alone?” I frowned, taking Emily’s wrist.

  “Yes.” She winced as I bit into her skin. “Ow. Your venom really hurts.”

  “Sorry,” I muttered with my mouth full. Her blood tasted fruity and sweet, as if I’d warmed a peach in a pot of cream then bitten into it. As I swallowed the nourishment, Emily reached over and took David’s near-healed hand, and I noticed a pair of dull green eyes staring at me from within the corpse. I pulled back from my lunch. “Is he okay?”

  Emily nodded and smiled, as if her eyes were talking to him, her voice to me. “He’s fine.”

  “So”—I wiped my mouth on my sleeve—“why does Mike want to see me alone?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Okay, just take care of David.” I stood up, pointing to my husband.

  “I always do.”

  * * *

  “Mike?” I called across to the broad-shouldered man throwing his troubled gaze upon the lake at his feet.

  “Hey baby,” he said as I stopped beside him.

  “Hey. You never told me you were planning to propose.”

  “Couldn’t. Emily would’ve heard.”

  “Uh, of course.” I raised the index finger of realization. “Didn’t think
of that.”

  Mike breathed out through his nose, his troubles looming. “Ara?”

  “Just say it,” I prompted. “Whatever it is, Mike. I can take it.”

  “I love you.”

  “Except that.”

  He laughed and placed his arm around my lower back. “You still make me weak in the knees when I look at you, and I wish every day that you’d married me, that none of this ever happened.”

  “Hm.”

  “Let me finish.” He smiled warmly.

  “Okay, so there was a but?”

  “Yes.” He looked at the lake again. “But… I love Emily too much to wish it with all of my heart. Does that make me a bad guy?”

  I pressed my lips together, snorting out a laugh. “No, Mike. Things are never that simple. Life isn’t always just one or the other. If all of this happened only so that you and Em could find each other, that’s a fate I’m willing to accept.” I pulled his arm around me a little tighter. “I’m okay. David will be okay, one day, and you have Emily. Everything’s perfect.”

  “Except we have a Set of blood-lusting psychopaths after us?”

  I waved a dismissive hand. “Meh, mozzies, if you ask me.”

  “Yes, but these mozzies are huge and powerful.”

  “Well, we’ll deal with that in time. For now”—I wrapped both arms around my best friend—“I’m just so happy you asked her to marry you. She was always meant to be yours.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah, remember? I was gonna set you up with her.”

  “She was the blonde?”

  “Yeah. Told you you’d like her.”

  “You were right.” He chuckled lightly, his eyes reflecting on the past. “But, are you really okay with this? With me marrying Em?”

  I let out a deep sigh, tucking my hair behind my ear as looked up at him. “We’re two parts of one whole, you and me. The absolute bestest of friends. And I think, in a way, David and Emily make up the other half of us. Like, none of us could exist if one of us were missing.”

  “You know.” Mike nodded, digesting my words long enough to agree with them. “I think I know exactly what you mean.”

  “A love quartet.” I smiled.

  “So are you saying you love Emily?”

  “Not like that.” I slapped his chest with the back of my hand. “But yes, I do love Em. And she loves me, and David.”

  “Yeah, she’s always loved David.” Mike rolled his eyes.

  “I know.”

  “David knows how she feels.” He stared out across the water.

  “Does he? He denies it to me—that she feels anything.”

  “I know. He doesn’t want you to know. He says you’ll only worry more if he acknowledges it.”

  “Really? He told you that?”

  “We’re closer than you think, Ar.”

  I chuckled. “Got a little bromance goin’ on, huh?”

  “Nah, we’re just mates. But I really care about the guy. I, uh”—he shuffled his feet, looking down—“I think I’d risk my life to save him.”

  With a warmed heart, I hugged Mike tight. “You’re a good man, Mike. I’m glad you’re marrying Emily.”

  Mike nodded, and we stood quietly for a moment, watching a new family of ducks paddle across the lake.

  “It means a lot to me, you saying that,” he said.

  “It means a lot to me that you’re staying with me forever—to be my knight.”

  “Head Knight,” he corrected.

  “Right.” I nodded. “Of course.”

  “I can’t wait to take you out to Loslilian, Ara.” His voice took on the excitement of a child. “You’re going to love it there.”

  “Am I?” I asked, unconvinced.

  “Yeah. Give it a chance, baby. Just pretend to want this for a while, and you never know, you might start to believe it.”

  “That’s like saying I’ll become a butterfly if I wish for it long enough.”

  “Anything’s possible.”

  “Yeah, I suppose. If vampires exist, why shouldn’t hopes and dreams?”

  * * *

  “Give it back!” a child called.

  Lifting my face from the edge of David’s bed, I pushed up on my hands, coming to rest on my knees in the middle of a grassy clearing—no longer in the room where I fell asleep.

  A dewy breeze brushed my hair gently around my face in the darkness, the stars by the millions looking down on me from above. I knew this place but wasn’t really sure how I got here.

  “I said give it back,” someone called again, and my eyes moved quickly to a beam of light center-field, shining down on two small boys.

  “Make me.” One boy laughed, holding his hand high in the air.

  They hadn't seen me yet, whoever they were, and as I got to my feet, dusting my hands off on my jeans, I quietly hoped they wouldn’t—in case this was another Immortal Damned dream.

  I walked forward with fairy footfalls and stood on the cusp of the light.

  The two boys were no older than about ten, flummoxing around like puppies chasing a bone.

  “You can’t win against me, brother,” one boy said, pushing the other to the ground.

  “I just want her ribbon back.”

  “Well, it’s mine now.” The boy tucked it into his pocket.

  “Give it back.” The smaller boy shot to his feet and charged after his brother.

  “Hey! Stop that!” I stomped over, reaching out to push them apart at the chest but fell through them, landing on the ground.

  “She’s my friend. You stay away from her.”

  I rolled over and sat up, looking at my hands, wondering if I was a ghost or if they were.

  “She likes me, David!” said the boy on the ground beside me.

  “She doesn’t like you.” David pointed down, and my mouth dropped as my eyes followed his finger to the other boy’s face. They were exactly the same. The twins. Just twenty years younger. And so adorable! “She told me she’s just using you to get cookies from the kitchen, because Chef likes you.”

  “No. She kissed me. She…” Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper, then held it up. “She gave me her heart.”

  David snatched it, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the heart-shaped cut-out. “Dearest Jason,” he read. “You smell like a dog, and I hate you.”

  “It doesn’t say that.” Jason launched to his feet and shoved David, who barely shuffled back.

  “I am writing you this note,” David continued, laughing, “to tell you I like your brother more than you.”

  As Jason reached for it again, David held it above his head.

  “Give it back, David.” Jason jumped for it, stretching himself tall, but David was too quick. “Give it to me.”

  “No. Not unless you promise to stay away from her.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she doesn’t like you. She says you’re the demon child. She wants me to keep you away.”

  “That’s not true,” Jason said to his feet, fists falling loose.

  “Promise to stay away from her, and you can have your forged note back.”

  “It’s not forged.”

  “Promise.” David pinched the edges of the note, making a small rip.

  “No!” Jason edged forward, reaching. “Please. Don’t.”

  “Promise to stay away from her.”

  “Okay,” Jason said in earnest, stepping closer.

  “Promise.” David made another very small tear.

  “Okay. I—I promise.”

  “Good,” he said, offering the note. But just as Jason’s fingers touched it, David drew it away and ripped it in half.

  “No!” Jason cried.

  “Stay away from her,” David barked coldly, making confetti of the heart, then sprinkled the remains at Jason’s feet. “She’s mine!”

  The little boy watched his brother walk away, anger becoming sadness in his round eyes. He dropped to his knees and picked up
each tiny square of his note, holding them in open palms.

  “Aw, Jason.” I closed my eyes and…

  …they opened again to Mike’s room, but the burn of pity in my soul stayed hot in my blood.

  “Hey,” said a raspy voice.

  I jumped to my knees, crawling toward David. “Hey? You talked!”

  “Had to… say… something.”

  “You don’t sound like you. Are you okay, do you feel okay, can I get you anything?”

  With his chin now separated from the infusion of skin that held it down a few days ago, he shook his head. “Tell me”—he wheezed—“something.”

  “Anything.”

  “How do you…” He coughed, rolling his face away for a second. “How do you… feel… about Jason?”

  “Jason?”

  David waited. I had no idea what he meant, and couldn’t really expect him to elaborate, considering how much agony those few words put him through.

  “Did you… did you see my dream just now?” I asked.

  His eyes narrowed, confusion within.

  “Then, I don’t really know what you mean. Um.” I looked down at my hands on the sheets just beside his arm. “Do you mean how do I feel about him hurting me, or about how Arthur said Jason was actually doing it to save me?”

  David nodded.

  “Both?”

  He nodded again.

  “To be honest, David, I haven’t had time to think about it. I mean, you should know, you’re always listening to my head.”

  He shook his.

  “What?”

  “Can’t hear.”

  “What, at all now?”

  He shook his head again.

  Can you now?

  David didn’t move to acknowledge my voice in his head.

  “Is that because I’m becoming stronger—my vampirism?”

  His eyes warmed.

  “But I—” When I thought about it… “I want you to hear my thoughts. I’ll miss it if you can’t.”

  He reached across, and I softly wrapped my fingers around his—the fingers that had been left untouched by flames. The healing had spread out around that hand, more resembling a human than any other part of his body.