Dark Starlight: Archaic Races Book One

by Hannah West

  ‘He injured you,’ Aric answers. ‘Such an act is punishable by death.’

  I look from the kneeling fae to Aric, not quite believing what I’m hearing. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

  ‘His life is yours to take, Primrose.’

  ‘I’m not taking his life,’ I hiss unable to mask the incredulous edge to my voice. ‘He thought he was protecting you,’ I point out solidifying my point. ‘Why would I want to kill him for that?’

  ‘Your princess offers you mercy, General Denlyr,’ Aric murmurs to the fae bent at my feet.

  Denlyr lifts his face, vibrant orange gaze meeting mine. His skin is mocha, long, black hair tinged with orange highlights that match his eyes. When he smiles I see a flash of fangs. They remind me of Zephyr’s, like the kind I’ve seen on wolves in nature programmes.

  Feral.

  The word whispers through my mind and I find it fitting. The Fae I’ve met have a regal elegance to them, but it’s an illusion to hide the feral side they’re masking. It fills the air around them, reminding me of the wild, green things I like to surround myself with – Like the untamed creature that lives in my middle.

  ‘You honour me,’ Denlyr says.

  He’s beautiful, like every other fae I’ve witnessed. But danger pours from him even as he smiles at me. His orange eyes glow like hot coals, unblinking, and I feel like I’m being threatened. Outwardly he’s not doing anything, but there’s an invisible presence, like when Zephyr touches me. Denlyr’s using it to push a great weight into my chest, until it’s difficult to breathe. My darkness rushes to the surface in response, and I feel my eyes bleed to black. My fingertips tingle and onyx swirls dance over my hands. Denlyr’s eyes widen at the sight and he drops his gaze, the weight lifting from my chest.

  ‘Forgive me,’ he murmurs.

  ‘Get out,’ Aric snarls.

  The fae blink away in flashes of brilliant light. Tension drains from my shoulders but the darkness remains on my skin, and my eyes stay black. Too many things have threatened me in too short a time, and my darkness is staying ready.

  ‘What was that?’ I demand.

  ‘My sentinels,’ Aric answers. ‘They-’

  ‘No,’ I cut in. ‘What did Denlyr just do to me?’

  ‘He challenged you,’ Aric says in a tone that’s calm yet radiating menace.

  ‘What the hell does that even mean? Stop speaking to me like I know anything about anything here!’

  ‘I’ve never spoken of an heir because I didn’t know I had one,’ Aric explains not even blinking at my outburst. ‘I think Denlyr thought you a fraud,’ he muses. ‘Especially because you showed him mercy.’

  ‘So he was testing me to make sure I am who I say I am?’ I scoff.

  Aric shakes his head. ‘He was proving you a fake, so he’d have the right to kill you.’ Aric smirks. ‘But your light stopped his challenge before it even began.’

  Whoa, back up. Kill me?

  The fading numbness in my body strains against the great well of emotion, threatening to take me over. Anger is already slipping out, but fear isn’t far behind it. I’ve been in Aric’s realm less than an hour and already somebody wants to kill me. I’ve had enough.

  ‘Majesty,’ Malak murmurs from the doorway leading back into the throne room. His gaze flicks to the broken mirror then back to his king. ‘I have the reports you ordered.’

  Aric turns his attention to Malak and my gaze slides to the broken mirror. Chunks are missing from the reflective surface, but parts of it remain. I inch backwards, until I’m level with a part that’s big enough to view my reflection. I stare at myself in shock. My eyes are onyx pools against pale skin. Blonde hair is a nested frame around my face, looking like I’ve never used a brush. My pyjamas have long sleeves and legs, but the bare skin of my hands and feet are laced with black filigree, adding to the otherworldly effect of my image.

  I glance at where Aric’s moved to the doorway to speak with Malak in lowered tones. How long will it take before another fae tries to prove me a fake, so they can take my life? Dark Realm. Light Realm. Human Realm. They’re all the same. I’m not safe anywhere, so I’ll take this chance to say goodbye to the ones I love while I can.

  I press my hand to the mirror and Drew’s room appears. Drew’s been the only real comfort in my life lately, and I can’t let him wake up to discover me gone. I push through the mirror, into the dark space of Drew’s bedroom. Light paints my back, and I turn to the image of Aric and Malak through the glass. Neither has noticed my absence, and I watch their fading figures replaced by my reflection.

  I rummage around the small desk in Drew’s bedroom until I find a pen. I turn his notepad to a clean page then write him a note, so he won’t worry in the morning. Drew’s still snoring on the air mattress as I pack my things. I kneel on the floor beside him and brush blond hair from his face, to press a kiss to his forehead.

  ‘I love you,’ I whisper and push to my feet.

  I press my palm to Drew’s mirror and think of home. My bedroom comes into view and I step through the glass. I look over my shoulder in time to see Drew’s bedroom fade. I drop my case onto the bed and make it into the bathroom in time to throw up. The numbness continues to disintegrate, allowing the well of emotion to come crashing in. My body heaves, like it’s trying to expel everything I can’t handle. I’m not human. Heave. I’m Zephyr’s chosen. Heave. I’m the daughter of the Dark Fae King, and there are fae who’ll want me dead. Heave. Why else would Aric have a compliment of sentinels following him around? Heave.

  I killed Mum.

  I heave again, tears streaking my face. The emotion is suffocating, like a great wave crashing over my head, crushing me into the floor. And I’ll do the same to every human I love, until I learn to control my light.

  Light. My Darkness is a form of light, but it feels like a curse.

  I wash my face and brush my teeth, before going back to the bedroom to pull on clean socks. Keeping my feet covered is a priority from now on, so I don’t get caught out again. I dress in warm clothes, making sure to cover as much of my skin as possible. The less skin on skin contact I have with people, the less likely my light will leech from them. It’s been syphoning emotion from the air around people since Zephyr changed me, but I don’t think it hurts them unless I touch them. At least I’m hoping that’s the case.

  I pack a small bag then fish my boots from the wardrobe and pull them on. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I take a minute to text Katherine and tell her I’m going away for a few weeks. It’s the middle of the night, so she won’t get it until morning, giving me enough time to make it somewhere far from here before she phones. She’ll either be happy I’m getting away or she’ll freak out because I’m leaving the village.

  I look up from my phone when something bangs downstairs. It sounds extra loud in the quiet of the night, and the hairs on my nape rise in response. I push from the bed and creep out onto the landing. I peer down the stairs but can’t hear anything else. I move slowly, tiptoeing around the creaky steps on the staircase. I glance back when I’m nearly at the bottom, wondering if I should go back up and break the mirror in my bedroom as planned. Knowing that anyone with the ability to open a portal could trace my path makes me vulnerable.

  Another noise sounds from the kitchen and my attention snaps back to the path before me. I take the final few steps and edge along the hallway. The kitchen is empty when I get there, standing in the doorway to scan the room. It occurs to me that I’m standing in the dark and can see, the space as visible as if it were the middle of the day. There’s nobody here, not a dish out of place.

  Movement catches my eye and I look straight into a pair of glowing, purple eyes through the kitchen window. Zephyr smirks at me and I raise my middle finger at him. He quirks an eyebrow, like the gesture confuses him and I huff. The idiot doesn’t even know I’m insulting him.

  I turn and bolt for the stairs. Something crashes upstairs, making me pause. Quiet cursing reaches me in femin
ine tones, and I freeze on the bottom step. I race for the front door instead and run for Mr Windle’s garden. He has a security light in his garden that lights the greenhouse up and turns it reflective at night. I can use it to open a doorway.

  Violet light blinds me and I crash into a wall of muscle. The Light fades as Zephyr’s arms band around my middle. I struggle against him but he’s too strong.

  ‘Let go!’

  ‘Never,’ he hisses.

  I know I’m trapped and so does Zephyr, so I decide to play dumb. He can’t know I’ve met my father, which means Zephyr probably still thinks I don’t know what he is – or what I am. The less he thinks I know, the more chance I have of escaping. My fingers tingle with the urge to summon an essence orb, but Zephyr has me pinned, my arms trapped between us. Even if I summon an orb I won’t be able to lift my arms to use it. And would it even be enough to stop him? Aric said my orbs would hurt Zephyr, but I need to disable him enough to get away. I need the element of surprise.

  ‘Why are you doing this?’ I demand.

  ‘Because you’re mine,’ he snarls.

  His eyes glow and I force mine wide, like the sight is new. I’ve grown good at lying over the years, and fear fuels my acting skills. He’s so damn beautiful it stings my eyes looking at him. He’s too perfect; with that wild edge all fae have. I don’t trust it.

  ‘What are you?’ I whimper, giving myself a mental pat on the back at how convincing it sounds.

  His eyes narrow into shining slits. ‘Who removed my Mark from you?’

  ‘Your what?’ I squeak. ‘Y-you mean the purple thing on my wrist? You put that there?’

  Zephyr unwinds an arm from my waist and grabs my left arm. He lifts my wrist level with his face, and I watch in fascination as my sleeve pushes back from my hand. I don’t have to fake the shock painting my face, at the feel of his psychic fingers sliding the fabric back. The glowing design banding my wrist is revealed and Zephyr makes a growling sound at the sight. Is he purring?

  ‘Mine.’

  His voice has turned animalistic, calling to the caged, wild entity in my middle. It claws my insides wanting out, and I swallow hard and regain my focus.

  ‘What are you?’ I whisper.

  Zephyr’s eyes narrow back on me. ‘Tell me who removed my mark,’ he demands.

  I shake my head and push all the fear I’m feeling into my voice. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  Amethyst eyes bore into me and I stare right back. Zephyr inhales a deep breath through his nose then snarls. He holds a splayed hand an inch above my chest, right over my racing heart. Heat washes over my skin, and I squirm, scared of what he’s doing. I freeze when a faint, amber dust rises from my skin. It mists the air between us, until Zephyr does something that pulses energy through the air. The amber mist draws together, forming into a ball of amber light in the centre of Zephyr’s waiting palm. His expression is feral as he grips the light then squeezes his fist tight around it. The amber orb crackles under the pressure and fizzles away.

  ‘Mine,’ Zephyr snarls into my face, baring his teeth.

  I stare at his hand, unable to push the image of the amber orb from my brain. Dots are connecting and I don’t like where they’re leading me. When Darrack removed Zephyr’s Mark, it manifested as an amethyst orb of light. What Zephyr just removed from my skin looked like Darrack’s version of Zephyr’s Mark. Did Darrack remove Zephyr’s claim, to then put his own on me?

  ‘What was that?’ I ask, bewildered.

  ‘It was another, trying to claim what is mine.’

  Well crap.

  I was hoping I was wrong, and Darrack hadn’t tried to claim me. Anger flares bright in my middle at this latest revelation. If I ever see Darrack again his nose will have the indent of my knuckles across it.

  ‘The man with the amber eyes did this to me?’ I ask, blinking, like I’m only just figuring stuff out.

  I’m angry, not stupid. If I want to escape Zephyr then I have an act to play. His frown deepens and his glare turns muted, confusion creasing his features.

  ‘You know what you are?’ he says.

  ‘I’m a human being.’

  Zephyr stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. ‘But how can you not know?’

  ‘Know what?’ I huff. ‘What are you talking about?’

  He shakes his head. ‘Your light was strong enough to draw me from my realm,’ he murmurs confirming Aric’s theory that Zephyr was drawn to me. ‘What colour is it?’

  I don’t need to fake my confusion this time. ‘What colour is what?’

  ‘Your light,’ he answers. ‘It feels powerful and smells sweet, but I’m yet to witness the shade.’

  So Zephyr doesn’t know my light is black, meaning he didn’t pick me because he recognised me as a royal fae. If I were planning on stopping with him then he’d get serious points for that. But he’s still the creepy guy that showed up in my garden, messing with my head when I’m grieving my mother. Then he declared I was his and almost killed me with his Mating Mark. To top it off, he hasn’t once asked my opinion in the matter. I think of what my father said, and wonder if I matter at all to Zephyr, or if I’m just a means to an end. He’s found a compatible match and there’s a time limit until he has to get mated.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I tell Zephyr, looking him straight in the eyes.

  He studies me, as if viewing something rare and unusual. ‘Impossible,’ he whispers.

  ‘Please let me go,’ I whisper back. ‘I won’t tell anyone about you.’

  He shocks me when he releases me, but before I have chance to run he cups my face in his hands. ‘I cannot.’

  Amethyst light floods my vision and everything fades to black.

  CHAPTER 8

  I crack an eye open then hiss and roll my face into the bedcovers. How much did Drew let me drink last night? My brain is throbbing, and it takes a moment for it to catch up with the situation. I roll onto my back again and stare at the luminescent ceiling.

  Luminescent.

  Ceiling.

  Crap.

  I sit up and look around, the large room unlike anything I’ve seen. The walls are similar to the ceiling, like mother of pearl, highly polished with an ethereal gleam. The floor looks the same, though a shade darker. A large set of glass doors are opposite, light shining in through stained glass. I’m sitting in the middle of a huge bed, white-silk sheets tangled around my legs. My eyes widen and I rip the sheets away, breathing a sigh of relief when I find I’m still wearing the jeans and top I put on before Zephyr found me.

  Zephyr.

  I scramble from the bed, my boots silent against the shiny floor. I look like a silhouette against the bright space, a dark spot in the centre of all this light. It hits me that I’m in the Light Realm as I reach the ornate glass doors, searching for an escape. They open with a snick and I blink at the space beyond. It’s a bathroom, though unlike any I’ve seen. I go to what I assume is the sink and hold my hand under a looping structure made from glass. Warm water gushes from the open end to wet my fingers and my lips tip into a smile. If I hadn’t been abducted I’d think the glowing water kind of cool.

  The smile falls from my lips and I turn back into the bedroom. Glowing water means I can’t fill the bathtub and create a reflective surface to escape through. The only other doors are the glass doors opposite the bed. I go to them and push white voile aside. The double doors are beautiful, made from small pieces of glass, slotted together in an intricate pattern of coloured swirls. The light streaming through paints a rainbow on my skin, and I stare at it in wonder.

  The doors make no sound when I push them open, stepping out onto a large balcony. There’s no wall surrounding the balcony and I stare at the vista in disbelief. I thought the light shining in was daylight, but it looks close to dusk. Countless lights sparkle across the horizon, like fallen stars.

  I force my gaze from the dazzling view to peer over the edge of the balcony. I’ve never
been afraid of heights, but I’m so high up I can’t see the ground. I drop to my knees and grip the edge of the balcony, leaning forward to get a better look. The tower I’m in gleams in the twilight, like the glow sticks you can buy at the funfair. Hundreds of crescents stick out from the main body of the tower below me; balconies, like the one I’m kneeling on.

  ‘You’re awake,’ a female voice comments from beside me.

  I squeal in surprise and shove back from the edge, spinning to face the fae behind me. She’s beautiful, like all the fae I’ve seen. At first I think she’s the female who stopped Zephyr from sending an essence orb Drew’s way in the club. She has the same violet eyes, dark hair and willowy frame. But her eyes are sadder.

  She studies me, as I study her, gaze sweeping my frame. Her expression is unreadable at the end of her perusal then she turns and walks into the bedroom. I stare at her bare back, gaze fixed on the intricate design on her skin. It looks like the design on my back, except hers is silver to my black. She pauses in the doorway when I don’t follow and peers down at me.

  ‘Come, Primrose,’ she orders, tone soft but demanding. ‘There’s little time and much for you to learn, before you unite with my son.’

  So this is Zephyr’s Mum.

  I push to my feet. ‘I’m not marrying Zephyr.’

  ‘Of course not,’ she agrees confusing me. ‘You and Zephyr will be mated on the equinox. Your lights will be united and bound until death.’

  ‘I’m not mating your son,’ I grit out.

  She raises a perfect eyebrow. ‘You have no choice, Primrose. Zephyr chose you for his mate and your lights are compatible. He’ll accept no other.’

  ‘But there are others,’ I argue.

  ‘They are weaker choices,’ she states.

  ‘But they want this,’ I press, tone pleading. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘Your wants are irrelevant,’ she says and turns back to the bedroom.

  Anger burns through me and my fingers tingle. I bite my tongue to curb the urge to blast an orb at the back of her head. Blood paints my tongue helping to cool my rage. The only way I can see out of this room is via the balcony, and I don’t have a death wish. If I want to escape I need to play the game I started.