The Dark Princess (The Balance Series Book 3)

by Janelle Stalder

  I didn’t give a damn about their stupid rules, or my father. My heart was racing so quickly I was afraid I’d throw up. I turned back to Cillian, feeling tears burn the back of my throat and eyes.

  “He’s my only way home. Please just let him go, I will make you another deal. Anything, anything you want if you spare him this.”

  Cillian was practically shouting at me now to shut up, his eyes bulging from his head.

  Alexej clicked his tongue. “Be careful what you offer, and to whom. This time, I’ll have to decline, regretfully. It’s been some time since I’ve wanted an excuse to punish Mr. Black, and now I have it. Someone else will bring you home. Luis,” he called out, waving two fingers forward.

  My head was shaking again as I stepped away from the other vampire. He didn’t stop his approach, reaching for me with a blank face. I looked to Cillian just as the hooded man raised the whip high, the crowd of vampires closing in to get a better look at the show.

  I was going to be sick.

  Then Luis’ hand was on my arm, and I felt the strange feeling that had happened when Cillian shifted me the first time.

  “Cillian!” I yelled, just as the throne room disappeared. “No!” I squeezed my eyes shut, falling to my knees. Hard, aching sobs filled my chest as I shook my head back and forth.

  “Hope?”

  Was that - my mom?

  My eyes snapped open, taking in my surroundings. I was back in my kitchen. The sun was still setting outside, the late evening crickets singing their song as though all was normal in the world.

  “Where are you?” She called out.

  I wiped at my face, scrambling to my feet. I needed to get back to Cillian. I needed to help him.

  “There you are.”

  I spun around to see my mom standing in the kitchen doorway, a smile lighting up her face. And behind her was - Gabe?

  His eyes raked over me, narrowing as he took in my dishevelled clothes and hair. I wasn’t sure if I had hound blood on me, and I was too afraid to look. My eyes were probably red from crying.

  “I met your friend outside,” Mom was saying as Gabe and I looked at one another. She stepped fully in, going to the stove to get her kettle. Gabe placed her luggage just inside the doorway, finally looking away from me. “He said he was coming by to check on you. You missed school today? Are you sick? You look awful.” She walked around to feel my forehead as I tried to make sense of what she was saying.

  What day was it? Had I missed an entire night and day while we’d been gone?

  “Uh, yeah, I think I’m coming down with something,” I lied.

  Gabe cleared his throat as I glanced at him. “I’ll let you get some rest then,” he gave us both a smile. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but since your mom is here now, I know you’re being looked after.”

  “That’s very sweet of you, Gabe, was it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Mom hated being called that, except you wouldn’t know it from the way her cheeks blushed when he smiled at her.

  “I’ll see you at school, Hope,” he said.

  I nodded, offering a weak smile. As soon as we heard the front door shut, Mom turned to me with raised brows and a face-splitting grin.

  “I need you to take me to see my dad,” I said before she could speak.

  Her smile melted as the colour drained from her cheeks.

  “Now.”

  Fourteen

  First Meetings

  Caleb walked into the penthouse, his steps slow and tired. He’d been down at his stronghold in the demon realm for longer than he had anticipated, and was actually thankful to be back amongst the humans. At least their incessant fighting wasn’t his responsibility to handle. Down in the demon realm on the other hand, he’d been riddled with problem after problem.

  “You’re back,” Collin said, glancing up from the book he’d been reading. With his feet propped up, and a glass of whisky beside him, he was the picture of relaxation.

  “I am,” Caleb said, heading to the sideboard to pour himself a drink.

  “That bad?”

  “Worse,” he muttered, downing the glass before pouring another one. He walked to one of the chairs and collapsed into it.

  “You look exhausted,” Collin said, putting the book down.

  Caleb grunted, this time sipping the ridiculously expensive alcohol his brother insisted on buying. “What about you? Anything to tell me?”

  His older brother leaned back, his hands hooked behind his head. “It’s been unusually quiet, actually.”

  “Where’s C?”

  “I haven’t seen him in a few of days. Has Cain been with you?”

  Caleb chuckled humourlessly. “He has, thankfully. I don’t think I could have dealt with some of the punishments myself by the end, but Cain is always up for - “

  Vivian was in trouble.

  The glass slipped from his hand as a plea for help was shot down their mating bond as if she were right in the room yelling at him. Caleb stood, ignoring the broken glass around him as he bolted for the door.

  “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Collin shouted, right on his heels.

  “I don’t know,” he said. Vivian had never used their bond to call for him before, probably didn’t even know she could. Whatever was happening, it had to be serious if she was using it now. “Call Cillian,” he said. “I need him to shift me.”

  They were already in the elevator on the way down. He couldn’t just stand still while they waited, he had to move.

  “He’s not answering,” Collin said. “What about Cain?”

  He cursed, shaking his head. “I can’t risk her seeing him.”

  “What do we do then?”

  “Drive like hell.”

  My mother sat down on the stool, her eyes staring at me as if she’d never really seen me before.

  I stood in front of her, grabbing her arms gently, but firmly. I needed her to listen, I needed her to see the importance of getting to my father so he could help me save Cillian. The longer I was here, the longer they were back in that castle, whipping him with those...I swallowed at the memory of those lethal blades. There was no doubt they would tear through the skin of his back as though it were nothing - and his wings. God, his wings. I couldn’t let that happen to him.

  “Mom,” I said, forcing her to look back up at me now that her eyes had lowered, glazed and distant. “Listen to me. I know you’re in shock. I know that was the last thing that you ever expected to come out of my mouth. I know you never wanted me to find out what he is, and his world.”

  Her eyes widened in horror.

  “I know,” I said gently. “I can even understand it. You were trying to keep me safe, even if that meant keeping my father away from me. But right now,” I said, crouching so we were eye level. “Right now, I need his help. Desperately. My friend, he’s in trouble, and I need to get to him before they kill him.”

  Her mouth dropped open slightly. “Who’s going to kill him?”

  I licked my lips. “The vampire king and his court.”

  Her eyes were quite possibly going to pop right out of her head.

  “V-v-vampires?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I can explain it all - later. Right now, Cillian needs me.”

  “Cillian? Cillian Black?”

  “Yes! Yes, mom, Cillian. He’s there because of me, and we - I - need to get back there. So we have to go get my father.”

  “He’s already here.”

  My head snapped back in surprise.

  “What? How?”

  She tapped her head, as if that explained it. I didn’t understand, but I was moving before my next breath. I could sense something other outside, now that she’d said that. Grabbing the handle of the front door, I hesitated for a moment taking a deep breath.

  This was it. I was going to meet my dad.

  Mom was suddenly there, a hesitant hand on my shoulder. I didn’t hav
e to say why I’d paused, I could see her understanding in her eyes. There was an apology there too, one that I wanted - and yet, felt bad asking for. I’d seen the world she was protecting me from, and I could see why she’d done it. I swallowed past the lump in my throat before inhaling and exhaling slowly. Mom nodded her head once at me.

  The door exploded inward.

  Mom’s scream filled my ear as I crashed into the stairs, debris falling on and around me. My back and arms screamed in pain from the impact, my eyes stinging as I tried to see through the dust.

  “Mom?” I called out, rubbing at my eyes. She moaned somewhere to my left so I headed that way, crawling through bits of wood and glass. “Mom,” I gasped, my hands roaming over her frantically. Blood dripped down her forehead from somewhere beneath her hairline. “Are you Okay? Say something,” I begged.

  She blinked, lifting a shaking hand to touch her head. “What hap...” Her eyes widened in abject horror, the colour draining from her face.

  I looked over my shoulder, every muscle in my body stiffening. Inside the now destroyed doorway to our home was a creature that left my blood chilled. Naked, and clearly male, deep, russet skin was stretched tightly over large muscles. Thick thighs narrowed down into shins that were covered in thick, black hair, and ended in hooves. Black hair covered the middle of his chest, and a thin layer ran down each arm and hands, where sharp claws curled at the ends. Those hands looked as though they could easily crush my skull with little effort. He had to duck to get into the house, rising over seven feet when you included the horns on the top of his head. A head that had the shape and face of what appeared to be an evil, overgrown goat. Black, beady, listless eyes stared at us, the nostrils on the end of his long snout flaring as he breathed in our scents.

  “Dear God,” I heard Mom whisper.

  If his sheer physical impact wasn’t enough, held in one hand was a long, curved sword that was no doubt as sharp as it looked.

  “Don’t panic,” I said to her, shifting so my body was between them. Her hand gripped my arm, her fear palpable in the air.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Protecting us,” I said.

  I didn’t wait for her protest as I stood, facing the thing in our house - our home – who had undoubtedly come to finish what the hounds couldn’t.

  “Get out,” I said.

  He opened his mouth, and a deep, guttural laugh came out that was completely contrary to the goat-like head making the sound. “You dare to give me orders, puny girl? I will eat your flesh for breakfast, and then pick the remains of it from my teeth with your bones. And then I will do the same to your mother, after I have enjoyed her body first.” The grotesquely large manhood hanging between his legs hardened, and I was almost sick. Hot anger spiked through my veins. It only made him appear pleased. From his other hand, a large blade dropped where I hadn’t noticed it, attached to a long chain. He began to spin it slowly at his side.

  “Shall we see if the prophecy is true?” He sneered.

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but I did know that not only had he invaded our home and threatened me, he’d threatened my mom, and that was going too far. A wicked laughed came out of his mouth, along with spittle; sharp pointed teeth glaring at me as he swung the chain with the blade toward my head. I ducked, before quickly jumping as it came back around, slicing at my ankles.

  “You’ll have to do better than that,” I said.

  “Oh, I will.” He whipped out the blade again, the chain slicing through the air. I jumped back, the tip of the knife a handbreadth away from my chest. This time he spun forward, swinging the curved blade at my head. I moved with preternatural speed, throwing my arm up to block it, the impact reverberating up my entire arm, making my teeth clang.

  He growled, pivoting back to strike again. I lunged forward, grabbing the chain and pulling him toward me, something he clearly had not expected. I slammed my palm into his chest, and a pained, enraged howl came from him as he was thrown back.

  His skin sizzled where I had touched him. We both looked at it, unsure which one of us was more surprised. Those soulless eyes glared at me.

  “What’s the matter, goat boy? Not used to getting beaten by a girl?” I taunted. Mom sucked in a breath behind me, but I didn’t spare her a look.

  “You’re dead, human,” he said, rearing to his feet.

  “You’re wrong,” I said, bracing my feet.

  “About what?”

  I smiled wickedly, and somehow I knew my eyes glowed in a way that I hadn’t known possible. I could see them reflected in his. “I’m not human,” I said, lifting a hand. “I’m part demon.”

  A shot flew from my hand, a similar feeling to when I’d attacked the hound in the front yard, except this time I could actually see an arc of power emanate from me, hitting him full in the chest. He flew back, right out the door, crashing onto our front porch. I could hear the wood cracking under the impact.

  “What the hell?” A man’s voice said from outside.

  Suddenly there were hurried footsteps, and there in the doorway stood a man I had never seen, but somehow instinctively recognized. Blues eyes identical to my own swept over the destruction around me, finding my mom and then landing on me. Another man appeared behind him, looking over his shoulder with a mixture of curiosity and unease. He too finally found me, and to my surprise, he smiled broadly.

  “Not bad, little niece,” he said.

  “What happened here?” My father said, unmoving.

  The sound of my mom trying to get up was what finally had me snapping out of it and rushing to her. She gripped my arm as I lifted her up,

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m fine, honestly. Just shaken up.” Her eyes went over my shoulder, and I could see a multitude of emotions swimming in their depths. Pain, sorrow, regret, relief, wariness, love, loss. It was hard to look at. I turned slowly, her hand still gripping mine as though I were a lifeline.

  “Vivian?” my father said, his eyes glancing between the two of us with the same emotions as hers. My heart ached just feeling the sense of longing that was strung taut between them.

  “We were attacked,” she said, her voice hoarse as she motioned around to the debris everywhere. “Hope saved us.”

  His eyes went to me, surprise now mixed in with all the rest.

  “Hope,” Mom said, “I’d like you to meet your father, Caleb Banks.”

  He opened his mouth to say – what – I don’t not know. I didn’t wait to hear whatever awkward greeting he’d offer up, or some attempt to excuse as to his absence. I knew most of it, and all that mattered was that he was here now. I ran to him without any hesitation, wrapping my arms around his waist as I buried my face into his finely pressed suit jacket. His arms banded around me instantly, shaking slightly as he held on to me. I didn’t know what Mom was thinking, or how she looked watching us, and I didn’t care. I just needed this moment.

  There was so much I didn’t know about him, so much that I needed to learn, but now I’d have the chance. He was every bit the image I had pictured for the man who had stolen my mother’s heart. She was so loving and caring, and beautiful, that she could only be swept away by someone as equally special. Caleb Banks looked every bit the human, so much of his features similar to mine. I could have stared at his face all night if I wasn’t burying myself in his embrace. It was strange to see the other half of what made you. Despite his appearance though, there was no mistaking him for human. He gave off an otherworldly, dangerous vibe that I didn’t think even non-demons could miss. It was a different kind of dangerous than Cillian -

  Cillian!

  My head snapped up, my hands moving to grip his arms. “Cillian!” I said, his brows furrowing in confusion. “We have to go save him.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  I growled in frustration. This was taking too much time! “Cillian is with King Alexej, who is
currently punishing him for trespassing, even though we were only there - ”

  “You were there?” He said, the room turning suddenly hot. “In the vampire lands?”

  “Yes,” I said, exasperated.

  He and the other man shared an unhappy look.

  “But we were only there because we had followed a portal from the seventh plain, where someone had taken the hounds that attacked me - ”