Princess of Darkness (The Dark Prince #3)

by Autumn Winchester

  There were a few things Gabriel did that he refused to talk about. And this thing, whatever it was, was one of those things. It was better that way, for himself and whoever he withheld information from. He knew what could happen if he said things that were not meant to be spoken of.

  The man had taken a shower, leaving his wet hair down to dry in waves. He now wore jeans and a fitted long sleeved shirt, looking a little more like himself, or at least the man that Summer knew for the most part. He was just as much a stranger as Sebastian was to her.

  “There has been no body found, so, therefore, he has to be alive,” Gabriel said, not saying anything else about what happened back home. Obviously, he was there, but he was tight-lipped on that.

  Sebastian knew that he had something to do with it, just from the way he held his stiff form on the subject, but wasn’t sure how to place his brother in this. If it was John, the Marcel family would be no longer. But this was Gabriel, and he was smart, and on their side.

  After that, Sebastian caught the other unimpressed man up to speed on what was going on. At the same time, he was happy that Summer was learning a number of things, and at such a fast rate, too.

  Gabriel also made sure to have a few words with his older brother about pushing her too far with her being pregnant, and to tone it down. All it achieved was making Sebastian glare at his brother. Sebastian knew what he was doing.

  After a few tense moments of silence, Gabriel demanded to take Summer’s heart rate and blood pressure, just to make sure everything was okay, given the stress she had been through. To do so, he demanded everyone to leave them alone, taking over the other room that was upstairs.

  “Any spotting?” Gabriel asked after taking her blood pressure, finding it to be right where it should be. He was actually surprised by that fact. He had gotten a hold of the medical files from her visit to the hospital, along with the files he could find about her overall health. The fake doctor that she had seen a few times was a worthless piece of scum. A scum that was no longer alive.

  “Nope,” she said with a shake of her head. Her hair moved around her neck in the process.

  “Good,” he replied, stepping back a few paces. “I have a book that will hopefully help you to understand what is going on. But because of the whole hiding thing, we can’t risk you going to an actual OBGYN, at least not yet. I am more than capable of keeping an eye on you for the time being. If I see anything amiss, I will get you in with someone here in town that can be trusted.”

  “Okay,” Summer said, lost for words. She seemed to be lost for any sort of words more than she could ever remember before.

  “Don’t look . . . like a deer caught in the headlights,” Gabriel laughed, his posture relaxed. “I would like you to see someone that knows more than I do about this,” he motioned at Summer’s form. “But to keep you safe, I’d rather not risk it. I can’t have the Prince killing me for letting you be found so easily.”

  “He’s alive?” Summer asked, her voice quiet. She looked at the man pleadingly.

  “I really shouldn’t say anything,” Gabriel said, even quieter with a muffled voice, running his hand down his face. Summer pretended to not hear that, looking at him with a half pout, begging him to tell her. “Yeah.” He spoke louder, refusing to take his hand down. After a moment of thought, he felt like the Princess should know, and with stress high for her already, he didn’t want to add to that.

  “What was that?” Summer asked, not letting hope build. Her blue eyes stared at the man across from her as she sat in the chair, Gabriel leaning against the black desk. She refused to let any sort of hope lay over her heart, knowing it could be taken away just as fast. Her heart skipped a beat, waiting.

  Summer hadn’t been in this room yet, as most of the time, she was too tired to do much after her sessions, preferring to take a small nap before moving onto another session with Sebastian. She had taken a few pictures here and there, most of the scenery outside or of Sophie. But otherwise, she hadn’t really done much to figure out who she was yet.

  “He is . . . alive,” Gabriel said, almost like it was being pulled out of him. His eyes spoke the truth, even as he struggled to say the words. Louder and stronger, he explained more.

  “He is okay, for the most part. But like you, he can’t be found. I dropped him off someplace else, at a car that is under another name. He won’t be found until he wants to be.”

  Summer desperately wanted more information, as she had a million and one questions.

  Was he really okay? What happened to make him go into hiding? What would Clare think? Would anything ever be back to normal? Where did he go? When would he be back? When could she see him? Would he be gone for months? Or just weeks?

  “Just give us a few months. You will get to see him again,” he added on after a few minutes. “The Marcel’s know what they are doing, and you will need to do your part.”

  “Which is?” Summer asked, not really sure what she was meant to do here. She squinted at him, demanding answers.

  “Stay safe, for one,” Gabriel said with a smirk. To him, it was the most obvious thing for her to do. It was the entire reason he had gone through so much trouble already. He wasn’t getting paid this time for his work, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

  “Number two. Become someone that John will fear. I want to see my half-brother hurt for what he has done. I can’t wait to see what his expression is when he sees how powerful the Princess can be.”

  “I’m not powerful, Gabriel,” Summer said, ducking her head. She felt stronger, knowing a number of ways to knock someone down, but not powerful enough to do so.

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit, child,” Gabriel said, looking at her dead in the eye. “With the way Sebastian has taught you so far, I can already see the changes. With my wife and I helping, you will be powerful. Chase will be amazed when he can see you again.”

  “He won’t know me as it is,” Summer joked, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

  “Not at first glance, no,” Gabriel said. “But he’s your husband, and he will know you just as well as you will know him. You two have always been able to feel each other in the same room, even though a million of people separate you.”

  Summer smiled at the man, knowing how right he was. They always found each other, no matter what happened. She felt lighter knowing that Chase was alive, and that was all that counted.

  “Now, I really don’t recommend keeping up with what my brother has in store for you,” Gabriel began, getting back to the main topic on why he was checking Summer over privately, knowing his brother would not approve of what he was going to say.

  “But, for you to not fear men, I think keeping up with your training will do more good than harm. But please, Grace,” he said, lowering his voice and letting her name roll off his tongue. “Be careful; don’t push yourself too hard.”

  “I won’t,” Summer promised with a smile. “Sebastian makes sure not to let me, and I take a lot of breaks.”

  “Good,” Gabriel said, pushing himself off the desk. “You do look . . . .” he trailed off.

  “Happy?” Sebastian asked, pushing the door opened.

  How long had he been there? Summer thought, quickly looking at him.

  “Not quite,” Gabriel said, not taking his eyes off the girl. “But getting there. No, you look full of life.”

  “I have a reason to live,” Summer said with a blush. “Well, more than one, but you get my point.” She waved her hand in front of her.

  “You’ll be happy again one day,” Gabriel said before taking his leave and exiting the room.

  “You okay?” Sebastian asked, still halfway in the doorway, just inside the room. He had worried about her, not sure what his brother was up to.

  “Yeah,” Summer said, feeling relieved. Chase was okay, and she could hang on until they met again. Then, remembering about Fayth, and the offer, he asked Sebastian what he thought.

  “Although I’d like to pick up spee
d somewhat on the sessions, we can work around what you want to do. With Gabriel here, he won’t let me push you as far as I have been, but I will be adding a few different things to keep things mixed up. So, yes, you can volunteer if you’d like,” he answered.

  “Someone will still take you, and stay close.”

  “Of course,” Summer said, letting her tense shoulders relaxed. “It would be good to have a few people from the town know me more anyways.”

  “Always so smart,” Sebastian joked with a tender smile, glad she thought of benefits on every decision. She really was destined to be the Princess. “There’s a storm coming through tonight, and I don’t expect us to be able to get out of the driveway unless we absolutely have to tomorrow. So you can start maybe on Saturday?”

  “Saturday is perfect,” Summer said. “Thank you, Sebastian. For everything.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, Grace,” he said, although he felt something different with such words. He had never been thanked before, least of all for keeping someone safe.

  “Yes I do,” Summer said, standing and walking to him, staying back a few inches. “You are a good guy. You have done what you had to, to survive. I can see the sweet guy you want to be underneath all that hard skin you wear. You are tough as shit, but you are changing as much as I am these last few weeks. I think you’re not as dark as you want people to believe.”

  Summer could see him changing. He wasn’t so stressed and worried, and he was opening up to her slowly. Just like her. She was letting Sebastian into her life a little bit at a time. He was no longer a complete stranger to her. Maybe, in time, they would have a strong relationship. She wasn’t going to give up on him, either. Just like she wasn’t about to give up on a life she was walking towards.

  If she had her way, Sebastian would remain in her life, even after all this was settled and she and Chase had found their way back to each other.

  Chapter 13

  “Okay, girly,” Fayth said, turning her full attention to the girl she considered a friend; not that she had many of those as it was. “Spill. Now.” She sat on the white and blue speckled counter, not caring who saw her. It wasn’t like they were busy or anything. Heck, this place was never busy unless it was a field trip coming in from the school nearby.

  “What?” Summer asked, surprised. Her eyes widened slightly, not sure what Fayth was asking of her.

  Sebastian had driven her to the animal shelter, not staying like he had planned, only because someone was in the parking lot, and Summer could only guess it was the same man from a few days before that was asking around for the whereabouts of the Princess. He muttered something about needing some things at a few stores.

  The roads had been cleared off of the snow, although there were still a few side roads that needed more work.

  They had been stuck inside for two days, watching the swirling snow float down from the sky, causing drifts against the house and trees. Summer had taken out her camera, snapping pictures of everything. Somehow, she was able to get a couple of Sebastian and Gabriel cleaning some snow to make a path towards the garage, although it really hadn’t done much good. By the time the two men made it back to the house, the wind blew more snow into the pathway.

  The few pictures she had snapped showed that they worked well together, while both men hid their secrets deep. Summer could see that there was more to their reason to live and reason to fight, one just as deep and strong as the others.

  She realized they were both protecting her, and would make sure she came out alive in the end. Summer didn’t want anyone to die on her behalf but knew she had no chance of changing their minds on that.

  Summer couldn’t wait to play around with the pictures on the Surface Pro 4, as the software programs for photo edits were much better than the ones she had on her iPad back home. Hopefully, when she could go back home, she’d be able to take everything she had gotten so far with her.

  After making sure Summer would be okay on her own, Sebastian left her with Fayth. He knew that the man wouldn’t do anything but observe for now, so it was a good enough time to go get Summer something that should have already been bought.

  “Something’s up,” Fayth said, eyeing the girl head to toe, taking time in doing so. Fayth couldn’t help but admire the smaller framed girl with her trim body. “You’re different from the last time I saw you.” Her hair was up in a high ponytail, the red curls dangling down her back.

  “Is that good or bad?” Summer asked with a laugh, leaning back in the chair she sat on, crossing her arms softly over her flat stomach. Today, her own hair was down with a slight curl to the ends. She did feel pretty without having to try.

  “Haven’t decided yet,” Fayth said, cocking her head to the side. “Not to mention, you have a stalker, it appears.”

  Summer shrugged one shoulder, her face a blank mask. She did have a stalker, but only when she was in town. This was the second time Summer had seen that man around, although unnerving, it wasn’t something she was too concerned about.

  During the two days stuck in the house, Heidi had worked with Summer and the airsoft gun they were using for training. She felt more comfortable and surprisingly picked up on the technic of it easily enough. It had helped that it was another woman that was helping her instead of Sebastian. Yesterday, she finally got the whole aiming thing down, hitting the target of cardboard boxes that had been set up. She was proud of herself, too.

  “What does he want anyway? Does it have something to do with why you have a chaperone?” Fayth fired off, tilting her head to the side slightly.

  “Do you really want to know?” Summer said, turning serious. At Fayth’s nonresponse, Summer slowly nodded her head, but didn’t expand on why. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it, knowing it would be just as hard to hear it as it was to talk about it.

  “I’m here, Grace,” Fayth said, pushing herself off the counter and taking a seat next to Summer instead. “I can listen, and keep secrets.”

  Summer looked at the girl next to her, a look of unspoken promises and sincerity upon her face. Her green eyes were wide opened, pleading to be let in, to help lift the burden that Summer carried.

  She did want someone on her side, someone she could talk to and have another opinion on things. Heidi was slightly biased because she was married to Gabriel. Summer would enjoy having Fayth on her side, of course, but also someone to complain to, share with, and just enjoy life with.

  “I’m pregnant,” Summer blurted out. It was one of the easier things to say, as she wasn’t sure Sebastian would want anyone knowing where she had come from. The less, people that knew that, the better.

  “W-what?” Fayth stuttered, not expecting that to be what she was hiding. Her eyes widened.

  “Pregnant,” Summer repeated with a blink.

  Fayth’s shocked face morphed into a happy brilliant smile before she flung her arms around the girl, pulling her into a tight bone crushing hug.

  “Congrats!” Fayth said after pulling back. “How far along?”

  “Two months. Almost three,” Summer answered with a small smile. It had felt nice to share that news, and now having someone to share the whole experience with. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be here for, but she wasn’t going to leave Fayth behind either way if she could help it.

  “Wow,” Fayth said. “Who’s the daddy?”

  “A guy,” Summer replied with a wink. She wasn’t willing to let that information out yet, if at all.

  “Dah!” Fayth rolled her eyes. “Thought it was a duck there for a minute.”

  “Glad we got that cleared up,” Summer joked back, taking a sip of her water that she had brought in with her.

  “But seriously, who’s the father? You haven’t really said more than a long-distance relationship,” she prompted.

  “It is long distance. I have no idea where he is right now,” Summer said, refusing that thought to darken her mood. It was hard not sharing this time with her husband, and she missed having her ri
ngs too. She wasn’t sure where they went, either.

  “Was he a one-night stand, turned friend?” Fayth asked, her eyes thoughtful, and maybe just slightly hopeful, too.

  “No,” Summer laughed. “Far from it. He’s . . . he works a lot. We don’t get to see each other too often, more so as of late.”

  “Hmm,” Fayth said, knowing things were being left out. Important things. “I’d like to give this man a piece of my mind. No woman, even you, should be treated like this. He should be here to help you out. I’ve seen how upset you have been, as it’s written all over you.”

  “He’s doing what needs to be done,” Summer said, knowing how true that was. “I’m here to do what I need to do.”

  “Which is?” Fayth shot back, jumping down from the counter, her emotions taking control.