by Stacy Reid
She flashed to stand beside Drac. “You did this?”
“I thought you would enjoy seeing the castle. I know the dark can be overwhelming.”
“Thank you.” She tipped and pressed a soft kiss at the corner of his lips.
“Keep your lips to yourself, Princess.”
Saieke laughed and he grunted. Then she flashed from point to point, inhaling the wildness and beauty of the place. An animal slink up a tree and swing from vine to vine. It had several tentacles and had a mixture of green, red and blue colors. It was beautiful.
“He is harmless; he will allow you to touch him.”
As if mocking Drac’s word, the creature bared his upper lips to reveal a row of pointed teeth.
“I will certainly not touch him.”
He chuckled, and she grinned. “How far have you lighted?”
“The entire castle.”
Excitement raced within her. “Is there a lake on the grounds? I am not sensing any.”
She shrieked as her world tilted and she was flowing in his arms. Shadows and light blended, her breath caught, and her vision tunneled as he moved with unparalleled speed. She pressed her face into his neck and held on. As Amagarians, they were fast and could flash for thousands of miles in just a few hours, but Darkans’ speed defied everything she had ever witnessed.
They came to a stop in front of a massive river. Power rippled across her skin as she connected with her element. The darkness there was overpowering, and the one great torch that he had travelled with barely dispelled the dark. “The darkness is unrelenting.”
He placed her gently on her feet and drew her into the curve of his arms. She relaxed into the safe haven of his embrace.
“This is our great river. It spans from the western border, and runs for thousands of miles to the northern Darkage. Its depth is more than a thousand feet and it feeds the waterfalls of the Darkage. There is a fall about a hundred miles from here that runs through caves and leads to an island which is uninhabited except by our native fauna. Some very dangerous animals dwell there and are only disturbed once a year when the king takes a hunting party to keep down the numbers of the larger predators.”
“Your realm is beyond beautiful.”
Where the torch light moved across the landscape she could briefly pick out Birds perched high in the branches of massive trees. Not only birds, but other winged animals rested on the limbs. There was chirping and rustling from the various animals that she had yet to see. Lower down vines ran and dipped, creating formations like tentacles. The flowers were vivid in their colorings and bountiful. She could only imagine what lay beyond as it stretched out into the endless darkness.
The power in the water beckoned. She swayed gently to a rhythm that she felt from its ripples.
He appraised her lazily. “You are of the water.”
“Yes.”
“And the wind?”
“Most assuredly.”
“A curious combination, Princess.”
“Saieke.”
He stiffened.
“My name is Saieke.” She looked at him expectantly and blinked when he observed her almost coldly. She instinctively realized he saw it as a danger, the intimacy of her name without titles.
“I have you been calling you Drac,” she pointed out.
The insufferable man only grew icier.
With a light laugh, she flicked her finger, pulling water from the river and doused him.
Surprise chased his features.
“Do you ever play?” She flashed behind him, tipped on her toes and pressed a wet kiss behind his neck. She smiled, he could have moved away long before she repositioned at his back. “I ache to know all of you,” she whispered, “do not go cold on me.”
He inhaled and his chakra pulsed with desire. Her smile widened, and she knew he could feel the curves of her lips against his neck.
“What is that you want to know?” he asked silkily.
She inhaled his scent. “I feel your need for me. Why do you not take what I offer so willingly?”
“You do not comprehend what you invite, Princess. Freely ask me anything except of the desire that exists between us.” The coldness that rasped from him caused her to shiver.
Saieke flashed toward the embankment of the river and sat on the stone edge that rose above the waters. She kicked off her sandals and dipped her feet into the water without thinking and recoiled. “It’s freezing!”
Saieke held her breath when he appeared beside her and cradled her feet and started a deep rub and massage. She moaned and leaned against the massive tree trunk behind her. “How is it that you can exist in the sunlight? Your healers said that you can bend the shadows wherever you are even in the sun.”
“Why would you think that we cannot exist in the sunlight? Our world is simply without suns.”
Saieke mused on that briefly. “I think all other kingdoms believe that you can only exist in the dark. Other realms call your people demons and vampyres.”
“Yes.”
Saieke leaned back further resting against the tree, sighing as his hands glided up and down her instep. Heat trailed wherever he touched, and hunger unfurled inside of her. She forced herself to focus on assuaging the need to learn about him. “But in those dimensions, the sun is detrimental to your kind. Legend holds that for vampyres to be in the sun is painful and in extreme cases cause death.”
His lips twitched. “Legend also says that we consume blood for sustenance. And you have dined with us, so you know that is not factual.”
Saieke’s hands flew to her neck as the memory of the many times his fangs had pierced her, made her limbs grow heavy in arousal. His hands tightened on her knees and she witnessed the control he fought for.
“Do not take me to task for the smell of my need.” She slid her legs against his very obvious hardness. “You are as aroused as I am at the memory.”
“I have only ever taken your blood.”
How curious. Memory of pleasure curled around her and sensual tension filled the air.
He broke the enthrallment by talking, “We have been crossing over to other dimensions for hundreds of years now, and legends have evolved over time. We are referred to as blood drinkers, werewolves, skin walkers, and demons.”
“So the weakness of the sun is not true?” Saieke asked skeptically. “Reports in Amagarie indicate no one have ever seen a Darkan in the sunlight.”
He stilled and her neck prickled in warning.
“Have I said something?”
“Your curiosity in the face of how reviled we are, is almost refreshing.”
Almost. For the first time since he had kissed her, awareness of what he was reared its head. The pitiless gaze that settled on her face threatened her composure. “You do not trust me?”
Cunning gleamed in his eyes. “Is there cause for mistrust?”
Her heart lurched, fear squeezed her throat, and it was telling that he did not offer reassurance. “Of course not. I would never even think to betray your confidence.”
The silence lingered, then he spoke, “We cannot call upon our beast power in the sunlight.”
This was a secret. The fact he trusted her with the knowledge was alarming…and intriguing. “Why?”
“Each Darkan possess a beast inside that is pure chakra. Our beast’s origins are from the Demonage realm, and their essence is passed on through the generations. The Demons are malevolent, filled with rage, blood-thirst and evil. That chakra lives in us, however its evil cannot be manifested in the purity of sunlight.”
“So Darkans are without powers in the sunlight? Vulnerable?” Saieke shifted on the boulder, and tried to find comfort.
“Not vulnerable. Possibly equal to all other Amagarians who have fighting skills. The manipulation of shadows and darkness is our natural ability. It is only the
powers of our beast that we cannot use under the sun.”
That really was not common knowledge.
“Lachlan believes that my kingdom’s healing elixir can help with the madness that sometimes affects your people?” She questioned tentatively.
Drac gaze went flat. “Lachlan mentioned this to you?”
Anger rose that he was able to inspire such nervousness in her with a simple question. “I don’t think he meant to, but I asked him a lot of questions and that was all he told me. When I probed for more, he deflected me rather skillfully.”
“The chakra we house can consume us completely. We feed our beasts on rage, fear and pain, and whatever that is dark and unholy gives it the most satisfaction. Even though it is part of us, our beast has its own intelligence, cunning, and deceptiveness. The more it feeds, the stronger it becomes, and if the Darkan is not strong enough, the beast can become the dominant being and then madness, rage, and mayhem normally ensue.”
She shivered. “But how can the elixir help?”
He had stopped massaging her feet, but he held them cradled in his palms, lightly circling his thumb against her instep in a smooth circular motion. Needed warmth pervaded her limbs relaxing her more.
“The connection we have with our beast is psychic. We determine how much of their chakra we consume, and how we use their powers by lowering the psychic shield between our essences. Using too much of their power gives the darkness and evil more control. When the beast takes charge, there is a psychic crack that the wielder cannot close anymore to subdue his beast. The elixir has proven to heal this crack and help us regain control. ”
She pulled her cloak tighter as the chilled air of the Darkage raise bumps on her skin. Saieke remembered the violent chakra that had rolled around him when he came to her rescue. The darkness, the rage and lust for blood, had been overwhelming.
“Are you close to this madness?”
His hands ran from her calf, slowly raising her caftan revealing her shin. “Far from it. I am fully bonded with my beast.”
“Fully bonded?” Warmth rippled along her skin, and Saieke purred deep in her throat.
There was the slightest of hesitation. “We fought for dominance and I won. I can access all the powers my beast has to offer and still retain control.”
“Can everyone do that?”
“Many have tried; those who lose to their beast descend into rage and madness.”
She wriggled closer to him. “What kind of madness?”
“The evil kind. The kind that kills and rampages indiscriminately,” he said.
“What happens when someone loses control and there is no elixir?”
“We have hunters. Whether they travel to other kingdoms, Earth or the realm of Serange, we have to hunt them to protect others.”
They actually had hunters of their own kind to protect the world that reviled them. “How is it that our kingdoms are ignorant of this?”
“You are not ignorant. Other kingdoms have encountered Senjis— Darkans who are controlled by the demon inside of them. It is merely assumed that that is our true nature.”
A thoughtful frown marred her features. “If you do not have the elixir, how are they contained by the hunters?’
“They are killed.”
Decisive and merciless.
Her eyes roamed the paleness of his face, the beauty that blended so well with cruelty. “It must be horrible to fight a constant battle to be in control.”
“Many of our civilians keep the psychic leash tight on their beast and do not use their power at all; however it is there for them to tap into at any time. It is a decision made by the individual of how far they want to go and how much power they want to harness. Lachlan, for example, suppresses his beast completely.”
“So you willingly merged with your beast?”
He grabbed her as she drew the cloak tighter, placing her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her, cocooning her in his warmth.
“Yes.”
Saieke wondered if she should pounce on the fact that she was seated in his lap, in his embrace.
His fingers nudged her chin to meet his gaze. “Your curiosity seems unending, Princess.”
The rasp of his voice did things to Saieke insides. “I am but fascinated by you and your people.” She leaned in the crook of his arm. “What does it mean to be fully bonded?”
“As we train and tap darker into the chakra present in us, our powers and ability grow. Many of our elders, if not all, are fully bonded. The older you are, the less strenuous it is to control the sheer rage that comes from the beasts, and the more opportunity to bond without descending into evil.”
Saieke swallowed as his thumb caressed the fullness of her lips.
His voice sank even lower as he continued, “There are three levels to the power of the beast that each Darkan can access with training and the consumption of negative chakra. Until we reach one century in age, we use power that is common to all Darkans— the ability to manipulate darkness and shadows. We then learn and use our beast chakra, and if we bond, we can then summon the beast to a corporeal form. To be fully bonded is to control all the power of our beast and to dominate it.”
Saieke met his eyes at the darkness of his tone. “How old are you, Drac?”
“Three hundred years.”
She arched a brow. “Why are you fully bonded? You are not even close to being an elder.”
“I was curious as to what my beast had to offer,” he drawled darkly.
“That’s it? Curiosity?” He had willingly embraced the full essence of his beast, knowing the magnitude of the risk he was taking simply for power. She would never have been able to do that, but apparently almost all of their citizens had the compulsion to merge with their beast for the power and darkness it offered.
“Power whispers seductively, and it is there for the claiming,” he said.
“How long did it take you to gain control?”
“Years,” a flat response that discouraged questions.
Saieke paused, unsure if she should press. She recalled he’d revealed he had been broken as well. “Is it because you had been hurt?”
His face closed, and a deep coldness pricked her skin from his chakra. She really resented the uncertainty that he could cause within her.
“Yes.”
“Would you like to tell me?”
There was stillness to his frame for a few seconds before he responded, “I embraced the malignity of my beast so that I would never be weak again.”
It amazed her there had even been a time he had been weak. It was not a word she could associate with him at all. “Did you not fear you might have turned into a Senjis?”
“No.”
A strange kind of darkness lurked from him, and before he reined in his emotions Saieke sensed the pain hidden deep. “I can feel the pain you try to bury. It is one of loss.”
He tilted his head, gazing into the starless sky. “Because we were weak, we lost those we held dear. Gidon lost more than I, as most of his family was slaughtered as warriors sworn to protect his family turned against them in a bid to annihilate the Al Shra bloodline.”
Saieke hands reflexively gripped his.
“We fought relentlessly to protect his sisters, brothers and mother. Many fell. We triumphed against more than seventy warriors, yet our losses were insurmountable. Gidon and I vowed never to be weak again. He lost all three of his sisters, and I…lost a brother. This was one hundred years past. Then a few months ago, Gidon lost his father to an assassin’s blade.”
She felt the cold fire of his torment and flinched. “I am deeply sorry.”
He grunted. “My brother betrayed Gidon…and he would have died if not for his will to live.”
Saieke stiffened, tasting the betrayal. “And you are alive? In my kingdom, if someone betrays the king
to his detriment, the entire family is put to death.”
“We would not senselessly kill a family for the action of one man.”
The irony did not escape her. “And your brother…he was killed?”
The burning pain slid along her sense once more, before it was replaced…by nothing. His emotions were tightly contained.
“No. It is suspected he fled to Earth or Serange.”
Oh
“Why did he—”
Drac’s fingers tightened on her legs to the point of pain. She remained silent until the tension stole from his frame.
“His mate was taken by Gidon’s enemies. My brother bargained for her rescue. He gave up his loyalty to the realm to save her, but the enemy still took her life.” Drac’s voice had gone flat, hiding a wealth of emotions.
And somehow she knew this experience had shaped him, just as her grandmother’s betrayal had defined much of Saieke’s life. She felt a curious kinship with him in that moment. “And what have you vowed?”
A cool brush of fingers against her cheeks. “Vowed?”
She nodded. “In the last Great War my grandmother chose to save her consort instead of coming to the aid of our people. She was the High Duchess of Kryll and instead of protecting her domain…protecting me, protecting my…my younger sister, she raced to save her consort on the battlefield. Many died…because she chose the wrong love. I was only twenty years old at the time, but the memory is still sharp as the day the Mevians invaded her courtyard. I can still see the blood pooling at my feet.”
She fell silent, lost in the cries and pleading that had ripped from her throat while she held Sunnia’s crushed body. The crippling fear Saieke had felt as she’d awakened her powers for the first time and had battled to save her sister…while the woman she’d loved with such intensity ran away, crying for her love.
Drac pressed his nose into her throat. “What happened?”
“Mevians attacked my grandmother’s home. The few warriors at the keep could not hold the power of their sound waves at bay. Grandmother left,” Saieke spat. “She saved her consort, and she was imprisoned in a tower deep in our mountains. My sister died before we could administer the elixir, and dozens of our people perished. I learnt from Grandmother, duty above all other desires.”
