Darker Side of Worlds (Guardians Book 2) (The Guardians Series)

by Lexi Ostrow

  “You’re a fucking idiot if you do that, Dale. A grade A fucking asshole.”

  The last time he’d played around with Breena’s power, he’d killed someone and ran off. There was no way in hell he would take from Breena. Even if she had double-crossed him, he wouldn’t risk killing her.

  Does that mean you’re willing to risk anyone else down here simply because you don’t know them?

  The question weighed heavily on his mind. He’d ran so hard, and yet, there he was, right back in a situation that placed who he wanted to be against who he apparently was. Except, he didn’t feel like someone only interested in power for power’s sake. Not anymore. He’d had friends and a relationship, and he’d felt how much better things had been that way. Nothing was black and white. Breena wasn’t, and it stood to reason that he wasn’t either.

  If he could just take what he needed, not get power drunk like the last time, maybe it wouldn’t count as a black mark on his soul. Things were done in war, he knew that. Perhaps it would simply be one of those things that, if he felt guilty enough, he could retain the path of goodness he was desperately clinging to with both hands, and yet only hanging on by a fingertip.

  Eldan was power hungry, he might want the war to end to usher in peace, but somehow, Dale doubted that. Any man that could use his daughter for sex and murder had more going on behind the scenes. Moreover, if Eldan had ordered him captured, he didn’t want to help the king after all. Dale forced himself to take a deep breath, ignored the sharp sting of pain that caused his vision to black out for a brief moment and closed his eyes.

  You can control this, Dale. Every other gift you’ve gotten, you control. Don’t let this be any different. You don’t need to actually be invincible to feel invincible.

  His hands shook, almost as if he were flinging something away, but he had no idea he’d done it. He was too focused on his own mind, on making sure he understood too much energy would kill whomever he took it from. Then he closed his eyes.

  Breena’s stream wasn’t there anymore, perhaps she’d felt him and had awakened, frightened. Another bright golden path flicked gently over his consciousness, and he followed it. Six shimmering strands were in front of him, and even focusing on the task at hand, he could feel his entire body shake as he mentally cut the first chord. A rush of power filled his body, and Dale could feel some of the wounds hurting less. He doubted they would close, but if he could muster up enough energy and power to control his other gifts and get the fuck out, that would be enough.

  He only cut the one chord and forced his mind to latch onto another path. Three more times, he repeated the course of action until his eyes snapped open on their own accord. Power buzzed through his entire body so loudly, he could almost hear it. A quick look down at his hands showed an intricate dance of flames and electricity hovering just over his skin. If he wasn’t careful, he could probably bring the whole castle down, and he made a conscious effort to control his mind’s wishes to shake the ground and test out how strong it would be.

  Little paths of blood trickled down his arms, and yet, he felt nothing except power. Standing up was the easiest thing he’d ever done and even his vision came alive. Things were so clear that he might as well have been looking through high definition glasses. Everything was sharp, crystal, and the prison wasn’t as bad as he had thought.

  It was cold, as any prison was likely to be, but it was clean. He had a bowl of water near the door he hadn’t known about, and there wasn’t a speck of blood anywhere he could see outside his cell. The walls were concrete, and he couldn’t see into the next cells, but he could feel the buzz of life from within. All it would take was a few small snips, and he’d have even more power.

  “Stop. It,” Dale growled to himself through clenched teeth.

  He had all the power he needed. He just needed to focus on that. Every step he took toward the cell door felt as if he were walking on air. When he touched the blackish gray bars, the electricity didn’t jolt through them, but the fire did start to melt things. He focused on the fire growing, from mere licks of flames to large ones as he pulled at the bars. They gave way with a harsh cry of their own, but he was able to fit his body through the gap if he turned sideways.

  “Time to find my Guardian.” Dale let the power in his hands slam into the wall.

  If Breena was stuck down there as well, he would know it hadn’t been her fault. If she wasn’t, he would deal with that later.

  “Hey! How the fuck did you get —” the guard didn’t get to finish his sentence.

  Dale spun and sent a mixed wave of fire and electricity out at the man. The guard dropped to the floor, writhing in pain but alive. He’d made sure to only hit his arm.

  Dales’ eyes took in the surroundings, and he realized there was only a small hallway and then stairs up, which meant he didn’t have far to look for Breena. There were no other guards to attack, and his body was alive with power he had nowhere to direct it.

  He didn’t let his focus on his powers dwindle though. He didn’t know what he would be up against when he opened the door at the top of the stairs, and he was done being someone’s bitch. He was getting the hell out of there, but not until he knew what side Breena was on.

  There were eight cells, all identical to his own. A bowl of water, a tiny bed and no windows to speak off. All were filled, and not one of them held his Guardian, which meant he had been duped. He sucked in a breath of air through his nose so deeply, he sent his head reeling for a second. Good sense warred with his hurt as he fought the urge to find Breena. Her energy strings weren’t glowing as he closed his eyes, but he could still sense her somehow. At least he thought it was her. Whatever he was feeling was stirring his lust and it mirrored her energy strings from a few minutes before.

  He pushed open the large door without having to struggle with its weight. Something he could thank Breena’s little party trick for, he was certain. The door opened up into the lavishly decorated hallways he was used too. The first person, who almost looked like a centaur, rushed at him, and Dale let loose a firestorm of lightning in the small hall. The creature dropped to the floor with a thunk, and had Dale been without the amped up power, he probably would have been disgusted at his actions. But he wasn’t.

  The trail of energy that felt like Breena took him past six more Fae creatures. He did his best to shove them out of the way or burn them in a small spot; anything he could do to hold onto a little more of his humanity in the situation.

  The pull toward a room on the fourth set of stairs tugged him through the landing, and he stopped face to face with Tanyan. The sprite’s eyes widened and Dale focused all his thoughts on shaking the floor beneath them. Tanyan’s foot slipped as he tried to lunge at Dale, and the man’s head hit the floor on the way down, knocking him out. Bending down, Dale fisted his hands in the man’s shirt and slugged him just for good measure. Tanyan’s head bounced off the floor when Dale dropped his grip, and he stepped around him.

  Voices at the end of the hall reached his ears. A man with a crown on his head and a regal blue robe stood shouting into a room, the last room. He’d bet anything that it was the king, and he owed him a visit. Dale’s body crackled and popped with power as he casually walked down the hall, but what he heard, froze him in his tracks.

  “I told you, nothing has been done to me. I’m sorry that man attacked you. The deal had been for me and Dale alone. I can’t help that he is as power hungry as you and sought to drag you into it. I had nothing to do with it.”

  Breena’s voice.

  “Yes, well, did the man tell you to betray your father’s orders in light of following his? Do you even realize that you whored yourself out for that man? He told you to convince Dale to fall for you, to seduce him. He threatened Megara to get you to and tried to strike a deal with me. You’re not just my warrior whore, you’re Demus’ too. You manipulated Dale and got him exactly where he was supposed to be.”

  The words were like ice running through his veins. He’d been
able to forgive her if she had simply been following her father’s orders. He could understand based on who she had been. But to hear that she’d been following Demus’ too? The knife of pain slipped into his heart and twisted so abruptly, he barely managed to stay upright.

  “I will see to it that you are no longer in power, Father. I’ll make certain of it. You are not fit to rule.” Breena spoke as her father unlocked the door that held her behind it. She stepped out and her eyes locked on Dale’s just before he spoke.

  Dale’s voice was a deep timbre that rolled across the small space when he reached the end of the hall. “It would be my pleasure to help you with that, Guardian.” The title was sneered, and he couldn’t get a good look at her face as he punched out his fist at her father.

  Eldan stumbled back, a trickle of blood seeping from his nose, and glared at Dale. “You! You’re supposed to be imprisoned.”

  Dale raised a hand and electrical energy bounced in sparks off it. “One thing it seems Demus and your daughter didn’t tell you, I can use the powers of my Guardian. I can steal sleeping energy bands just like Breena over there.” His hand jerked toward Breena, and he flinched as a bolt streaked toward her, barely missing as she stepped away.

  He advanced on the king, who had picked himself up off the floor and was slowly beginning to channel his own elemental powers in a small glow of red around him. Dale had too much power, too much strength, and his own fireball formed and shot off his hand, slamming into the king’s stomach. The man groaned, and Breena shouted. Whether it was for what he had done or against it, Dale couldn’t tell.

  “I don’t think anyone has ever told you. But pissing off a Word Speaker, especially when they’re me, is a very stupid idea. I’m going to make that little tummy burn seem like a fucking dream.”

  The sparks that jumped off his hands burned brighter, and he didn’t think about his actions as he wrapped his hands around Eldan’s neck. The feeling as the amped up electricity poured off him and into Eldan was a rush unlike anything he’d ever felt. The body jerked and twitched under his hands, but he didn’t let up. There was so much extra power in him, he needed to burn it off before he hurt someone who didn’t deserve it.

  He heard Breena’s cry of shock but didn’t stop. Wave after wave of magic slipped from his hands into the king’s dead body. He only let go when a burst of nausea settled over him. Eldan was hardly more than a charred corpse. The crown clattered to the floor at Breena’s feet, and for the first time, he looked at her and truly saw her.

  “Dale, how could you?” No tears ran down her face, but her hazel eyes were wide with alarm.

  “He had it coming. I know he was the one who ordered I be captured and kept here like some kind of trick pony. Your little guard,” he looked down the hall at the still out cold Tanyan, “told me everything. He deserved what happened, had it coming. He wasn’t the leader your people need, he was selfish and power hungry. I know firsthand how dangerous that could be.

  Breena nodded slowly at him, her eyes still huge saucers filled with alarm. She did something that shocked him then, she took a step closer, not down the hall or back into the room her father had had her locked in.

  “My father might not have deserved to die that way, but you were doing what you felt you had to. You protected your Guardian when she failed to protect you, and now you’ve given me people a chance at ending this war through the peaceful negotiations Megara has always wanted.” She took another step closer. “I’m not mad at you, Dale. I should be, but a part of me has always hated him and knew that his life would end because of his devotion, his madness, with the war.”

  Lust raced through him. He tried to stifle it, to push it away, but nothing worked. His dick was hardening just listening to her speak. Her mouth was saying all the right words, but her body language and expression appeared to be terrified of him. Her father’s words swirled in his mind, about Demus and her, but he pushed them back. The power in his body was like an aphrodisiac, and all he could think of was Breena.

  “You’re not afraid of me then? Angry with me?” his voice was husky with power and need.

  “I’m not thrilled with you right now. But I’m angry with myself as well.”

  Her eyes dipped down to his dick, and he swallowed hard, waiting for the rejection.

  “Oh.”

  The one word was a breathy gasp, and it slammed through Dale with more seductive energy than he thought possible.

  “I’m going to touch you, Breena. fuck I think I have too. I must have taken too much energy. I don’t know. I was so angry, and I knew I had to save you, and now that I have, I have to have you.”

  She didn’t do anything except give a slow nod of her head, and he took that as all the approval he needed. In a swift motion, he scooped her up and took her inside the room she’d come out of, his body jack hammering at the touch of her on him. He set her down as gently as he could and pinned her against the wall. She moaned low and needy, and his hips bucked against her.

  “Tell me it’s okay, Breena. Tell me what we have isn’t fake.”

  She groaned and pressed her lips against his, her tongue swirled past his lips and took hold of the kiss, setting his body on fire. If she didn’t tell him to stop in the next few seconds, he wasn’t going to be able too.

  “I love you, Dale. Telling you here, like this, probably isn’t the best way. Even if you don’t want me to be your Guardian, you need to know, I love you.”

  Her words sprung him over the edge faster than a falling boulder. “I love you, Breena.” His mouth crashed back down over hers, even as his hands worked at pushing the thin pants down off of her body.

  His words sent her body soaring. He loved her. She should be terrified of him, or at least angry. Instead, she felt protected. Safe. Free.

  Loved.

  She was as lost in the passion as if her body had ignited before his. One touch after he’d said those words was all it took for a pool of liquid heat to form between her legs. When he pulled her pants down, she nipped at his lower lip and tugged before pulling back.

  “You’re too slow, human,” she said breathlessly and used her nails to slice the underwear off her body. “Yours.” The word was all she could manage as her body was being driven by pure need. A need so strong, it almost alarmed her, but she didn’t question it, just went with it.

  His pants slipped to the floor, and his mouth latched onto her breast through the shirt. His hot breath sent jolts of pleasure through her. When his mouth bit down ever so slightly on her nipple, she cried out and arched against him, rubbing her core against his dick without meaning to.

  “Fuck, Breena. I didn’t want for things to be like this. So rushed. So primal.”

  His mouth was back on her breast again, and she felt one hand come off the wall near her head.

  “But I want you too badly. I need to feel you and know what I just heard was the lie. I need to know it wasn’t an act to save your own people.”

  Her body tightened at his words, and she forced herself to not think about them now. They could talk later. Right then, she would make her betrayal up to him in the way of his choosing, happily.

  She felt the head of his dick as he nudged it along her folds. Her head fell back, and she raked her hands down his back as he put his other hand under her ass. Without a word, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he gently pushed her into the wall, all while rubbing against her to the point where her eyes were beginning to water from the pleasure.

  “I love you, Breena.”

  He slammed inside of her body with the words, and she almost came undone at the action. His slender form fit between her legs, and she urged his hips to thrust faster and deeper by gently digging her ankles into his backside. “Dale, Dale, oh spirits, Dale!”

  She was chanting his name, and her head spun with each and every thrust. His body stroked hers to perfection, and then his mouth claimed hers. Their tongues tangled and thrust in synchronization with their bodies, and she wasn’t entirely cert
ain who whimpered in pleasure. Tiny spasms of pleasure began to spark and play throughout her. Without warning, her release crashed over her so hard, she screamed into their kiss. Tremors pulsed and moved through her as she milked and rode him while he continued thrusting until his own hoarse growl was audible from their kiss.

  Dale pulled back almost as instantly as he’d begun. She felt the loss throughout her entire body. It had been too quick, he was gone too fast, and yet, the waves of sensations still rippled through her, pulling a shudder from her. Dale kissed her again, hot and harder than before, and her head swam in it. She had never felt anything like it. If that was what sex in love was like, she was going to lock them away in a room, once they left her world behind, and play with it a hell of a lot more.

  They were panting hard by the time he broke the kiss and stepped completely away from her. His face was a mix of satisfaction and anger. Her eyes dipped to his balled fists, and she couldn’t ignore the bob of his penis as she did so. Her whole body lit on fire, and she wanted to push him across the room onto the bed and take him again, but the anger she saw stopped her.

  “Tell me it isn’t true, Breena. Tell me Demus didn’t tell you to use and seduce me to get me back on his side.”

  It felt as if he’d punched her. All the air in the world wasn’t enough and wasn’t reaching her lungs as she stood there and tried to fight to breathe. His eyes burned into hers, and she wanted to lie, wanted to tell him of course it wasn’t and get back to where they had just been. She hadn’t been certain if Demus was the man in leather, but after her Dale and her father had spoken of the man, she knew he had to be.

  “I can’t remember if he used those exact words. But yes, he told me to make you fall in love with me so that you would be basically controlled by the darkness in me and be his warrior, not his brother’s.”