The Dark Princess (The Balance Series Book 3)

by Janelle Stalder

  “Did you see what she did to me?” She said, her voice frantic as she swung around to show the other two.

  “There’s...nothing there, Li,” Tiffany said, glancing from her to me.

  Lila looked back down, her body stiffening before she whipped around to face me again with narrowed eyes.

  I smiled slowly. “Something wrong? What’s the matter, Li, you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”

  Her eyes watched me, but she wisely kept her mouth shut.

  “I should be going, Gabe’s waiting.” I started toward the door when I heard her mutter “bitch” under her breath. Suddenly the pipe beneath the sink burst, blasting water on the three of them. They shrieked. I turned, catching Lila’s stunned look as the other two ran to get away from the water.

  “A little something to cool you off,” I said with a wink, walking out. As soon as the door shut behind me, I laughed. I’d never felt so good in the entire time I’d gone to school with those girls. I had a feeling they’d bullied me for the last time.

  I was half demon. From now on, I wasn’t going to let any of them mess with me or Emily. It was time we fought back.

  I headed outside to find Gabe waiting in the parking lot, his eyes on the school where the washroom just happened to be. He gave me a searching look as I approached, and suddenly my high plummeted. There was no way he could know what I’d done, but there was such a sense of judgement in his gaze that I think I shrank three sizes right there.

  “Everything okay?” He asked.

  “Everything’s fine,” I said, trying to smile.

  His gaze went over my shoulder and I turned to look. The three girls had just exited the school, soaked. I quickly turned back to find him looking at me now with raised brows.

  “A pipe burst in the girl’s washroom, apparently,” I explained.

  He nodded slowly. “Bummer.”

  I rocked back and forth on my heels. “Yup.”

  He jerked his head. “Come on, let’s go.” He opened my side and as I settled into the seat, he braced himself on the open door and said, “You know, even when people are cruel to you, you should always take the high road. Never sink to their level.”

  I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. He didn’t wait for a response as he slammed the door shut and walked around to his side, getting in without further comment. He turned the radio up high, and I settled back, letting the music fill up the thick silence between us as we sped away.

  What would Gabe think if he knew I was half demon? I wondered as I stared out the window. He’d probably scream and think I was evil.

  God, was I - evil?

  I pictured the prints I’d left on Lila and how satisfied I’d felt when I’d spotted them, and thought, maybe I was? But I’d also gotten rid of them, I argued. That must count for something, right?

  Did being part demon mean I was innately evil and I’d have no other choice? I thought about my mom, the other half of me, and how good and loving she was, and knew there was no way I could be completely evil. I didn’t feel evil. I didn’t go around doing bad things or wishing others ill will.

  I did like hurting Lila though.

  But she’d been so mean to me our whole lives almost.

  The car suddenly stopped and I realize we weren’t at my house. The ocean lay in front of me, soft waves glittering in the late afternoon sun. The smell of sand and salt filled the air as I inhaled deeply. I looked to Gabe, who was watching me with an unreadable expression.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked.

  He shut off the car. “You looked like you needed some cheering up, and I have just the thing for that.” He was out of the car in the next breath, forcing me to follow suit.

  “What exactly is that?” I asked, squinting against the sun.

  “Follow me,” he said, taking off down a beaten path in the sand.

  Biting my lip, I debated on whether I should just demand he take me home. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d be good company. Not only did I feel like crap now for what had happened at school, but I was exhausted from last night’s shenanigans. All I wanted to do was go home, grab the cookie dough ice cream in our freezer, get Cat, and huddle up on the sofa while I binge-watched Midsummer Murders.

  “Stop thinking and come on,” he shouted.

  Taking a deep breath, I started after him. The ice cream and British murder mysteries could wait. For now.

  ***

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  He smiled. “Nope. Everyone must experience at least once in their lifetime what it’s like to surf.”

  He held two seriously large surfboards on either side of him, a playful grin split across his face.

  “I’m not even that great of a swimmer,” I argued. “And I don’t have my swimsuit.”

  He shook his head as if I were being ridiculous. “We won’t go too far out, and I’ll be there to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. And we need to wear wetsuits anyway. Just wear your under garments.”

  “Under garments?” I said with a cocked brow, my lips twitching.

  He laughed. “Come on. Please. For me?” Those bronze eyes grew wide and pleading, and I suddenly got the impression that not many people would be able to say no to this man.

  “Fine,” I said with a sigh.

  “Trust me, whatever has been bugging you today will be forgotten once we get out there.”

  And he was right, I’ll admit. Even just sitting on the board as we looked out into the ocean had me feeling a million times lighter. I hadn’t realized just how much stress I’d been carrying around until then. Not that I was at all surprised, considering I’d found out I was being targeted by someone who wanted me dead, I was half demon, my father was alive, oh - and also a demon, there were things like vampires that really existed, which begged the question, what else did? And the list could go on.

  We were out on the water for hours. I never quite got the hang of it, but I had fun trying. Not just because Gabe was there to make me laugh and to make my heart race whenever he’d give me a particularly intimate smile, or when he’d lift me easily from the water, his big hands warm against my body, but also because he was right, everything just flew to the back of my mind and I only focused on trying to do as he instructed.

  After I complained I was exhausted, he agreed to call it a day. We headed back in, returning the boards to the little shop on the beach that seemed to know him well, and headed to grab some ice cream from a vendor just a bit further down. We lay side by side on the hood of his car, eating our ice cream as the sky blended into shades of pinks and oranges, purples and light blue. I simply sat there and enjoyed watching the sunset with him.

  “Better now?” he asked. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t turn to meet them.

  “Actually, I do,” I admitted. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

  “My pleasure.”

  We sat in companionable silence a while longer while we finished our treats before I asked, “Do you think people are born evil?”

  He was silent for a moment, so I turned to look at him. He stared off at the sky, his brows furrowed in thought. “Some people, yes.”

  My shoulders slumped.

  “But some, no. I think there are those that can turn evil, and there are those that are just born that way, and there’s nothing you can do to save them.”

  “Would they be worth saving, if they were born evil?”

  “No. What would be the point? They wouldn’t change.”

  I swallowed the taste of regret in my mouth, looking away from him.

  “Those who actually want to be saved? I think they have to prove themselves first. If they want it, then it’s worth trying.”

  “How do they prove it?”

  “By being good. Being kind and generous, and forgiving. By being loyal and honest. By exhibiting all the virtues, and by not accepting evil.”

  Not accepting evil. I thought of my dad, and o
f Cillian. Did that mean not accepting them? Not knowing them or being around them? Could I go back to not knowing Cillian or never meeting my father?

  Fingers laced with mine. I glanced down at where he’d grabbed my hand, the two of them resting in my lap.

  “You are so many of those things, Hope. Remember that. Never let anyone lead you astray.”

  I nodded, looking up at him with a smile. I knew right then, if he ever discovered what I truly was, he’d never think that way about me. He wouldn’t want anything to do with me.

  ***

  “Where have you been?”

  I dropped my keys on the island, my heart barely jumping at the presence of Cillian in my kitchen. “Hello to you too,” I said dryly, heading to the freezer.

  There was a pause before he said, “hello.” Another pause. “Now, where have you been?”

  I sighed as I got the ice cream out, grabbing a spoon on my way by, and plopping down on one of the stools. Popping open the lid, I dug in, shoving a big spoonful in my mouth. “Out,” I said around the mouthful.

  He lips pressed into line. Uh oh, Cillian was mad with me. What else was new? He was also wearing big, black, combat looking boots, with two swords criss-crossed on his back between his wings, another sheathed at his waist. He looked ready for battle. And sort of hot. Not that I would admit it.

  “What’s the matter with you?” He barked.

  I rolled my eyes. “What do you mean?”

  He waved a hand in my direction, walking to the other side of the island as he kept his focus on me. “You’re acting all - mopey. Is this a teenager thing, or are you bleeding?”

  My spoon froze on its way to my mouth. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

  “Then what’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” I lied. “Why don’t you just tell me why you’re here?”

  For a second he didn’t look like he was going to answer, but then he huffed, and said, “I got a lead on who is responsible for the hounds’ attack. I thought you could come with me.”

  I frowned into my ice cream. “I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what’s the matter so we can move past it and get some work done,” he ordered.

  I looked up with narrowed eyes. “Do you have one gentle, compassionate bone in your body, or are you always just an ass?”

  He bared his teeth. “Sweetheart, I don’t have time to sugar coat shit. Now spit it out.”

  I growled. “You’re impossible.”

  He crossed his arms, waiting.

  “Do you...” I sighed. “Do you think I’m evil?”

  His brows came together. “Why would you say that?”

  I slumped forward. “I just...I don’t know. I might have burned someone at school and then sprayed them with water afterward.”

  His lips twitched.

  “It’s not funny.”

  He stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Tell me what happened.” So, I did. “Let me get this straight, the person who has been picking on you for years, finally got what was coming to her, and you’re now sitting here beating yourself up about it?”

  “How do you know she’s been picking on me?”

  He just gave me a look like that was a stupid question, and said, “the fact that you’re even feeling bad about it should tell you that you’re not, evil.” He shook his head. “Just because you’re part demon, Hope, doesn’t mean you’re evil, or even all bad. There’s no such thing as all good or all bad. I’ve known plenty of beings that were supposed to be good and they were far from it. There will always be a grey area. Most importantly, you need to be whoever you want to be, and if hurting this Lila girl really upsets you that much, you know what your limit is now.”

  “It doesn’t really upset me that much,” I admitted. “I guess I just...felt judged for it, and it got me thinking that maybe I wasn’t - what, or who, I thought I was.”

  “Don’t let other people have that kind of hold on you. The only person’s opinion you should care about is your own.”

  I nodded.

  “So, now can we go check this out? I need someone to watch my back.”

  “You trust me to watch your back?” I wrinkled my nose.

  “Do you trust yourself to watch my back?”

  I thought about it, my eyes going to the wings there, and then to those dark eyes watching me patiently. I knew if I said no, he’d be fine with that and go on without me. I also knew if I said yes, he really would take me with him and put his faith in me while we were together. I didn’t know why he had so much trust in my abilities, but his confidence in me had me jumping off the stool.

  “Okay, let’s do this.”

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  Twelve

  The Blood Forest

  I bent over to dry heave.

  “You’ll get used to it,” he said, his gaze sweeping the area around us, not bothering to look at me. I glared at him, even though he couldn’t see.

  When he’d said “let’s go”, I hadn’t expected him to wrap an arm around my waist and then a dropping sensation flood my belly, followed by that floating feeling, the ground disappearing beneath my feet, before it was suddenly there again. It was like being in an elevator, times a hundred. I’d instantly felt sick to my stomach.

  “What the heck was that?” I asked, bracing my hands on my knees, not trusting myself to stand up straight just yet.

  “It’s shifting.”

  “Shifting?”

  “Think of it as me breaking down your body into fine molecules, and then rebuilding them in another location.”

  “I don’t want to think about it like that at all,” I said, slightly horrified.

  He shrugged, finally looking down at me. “You good now?”

  I stood, placing a hand on my stomach. “I don’t know,” I admitted.

  “We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s move. I don’t want to stay in one spot too long, in case we draw the attention of creatures I’d prefer to avoid.”

  “What?” I finally took in our surroundings. The first indication we weren’t in my world anymore was the sky. It was red. Red. The ground was dry and cracked, as if the place hadn’t seen water in decades. But there were also trees there. Trees I didn’t recognize, trunks of black, and no leaves covering the twisted branches that seemed to reach out toward me as though they’d grab hold of me if I got too close.

  “Where are we?” I asked, stepping closer to Cillian.

  “The seventh plain, or realm, of the demon world.”

  I muttered a curse. “This is where you said those beasts - hounds - came from.”

  “It is,” he nodded.

  “Does that mean, there’s more here?”

  “Yes, which is why I’d like to get moving.”

  Why had I agreed to do this? This was a suicide mission!

  “Hope,” he barked.

  “What?” I asked, slowly prying my eyes from the alien world around me to look at him.

  “You’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen.”

  I nodded firmly.

  It felt like we walked for miles. Eventually, Cillian brought us into the cover of another forest, this one with tress larger than any I had seen before, and with leaves, so at least we were shaded. Not that there was even a sun to explain the dry heat of this place. It was as though the sky itself was burning down on us. Under the shade of the trees, I was able to cool off slightly.

  I hadn’t seen any other creature or being of any kind, but I’d heard plenty. Mostly wails and growls from far off, and then more times than I liked, there would be the sound of a twig snapping close by, or a rustle of leaves from above. There was no doubt in my mind we were being watched by a number of things.

  However, nothing approached us. I had a feeling it was once again due to the man I was with, so I stayed as close as I could. The last thing I needed was to be attacked by something, and be com
pletely defenceless. I said as much to Cillian in another one of my attempts to start a conversation, anything to take my mind off of where we were.

  He stopped suddenly, sending me crashing into his back.

  I cursed, stumbling back, catching myself before I sprawled on my butt. “Why must you always do that?” I complained. “Warn a girl when you’re about to just stop.”