The Dark Princess (The Balance Series Book 3)

by Janelle Stalder

  “I’ll drink your blood.”

  Somebody call the press - Miracles do exist. Cillian Black actually looked surprised, as if I’d finally done something he hadn’t expected.

  “If I drink your blood, will I have the strength to help you fight then?”

  He nodded. “For a time.”

  “Then let’s do it. We’re not going back. I want out of here. And there’s no way you’re going out there alone. The two of us can do it. Together.”

  He pressed his lips together, straightening.

  “Partners, remember?” I said. His eyes narrowed a fraction. I was starting to think he was going to refuse me now, when he said, “fine.” Then he turned and headed back down the tunnel again. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but I followed anyway, preparing myself for the most disgusting thing I had ever agreed to do.

  So much for that line.

  Aaron lifted the table she had been on with a growl, flipping it onto its side.

  Where was she?

  There was no way that freak bitch had gotten far in the shape she was in. He was going to find her, and cut her demon head off with the sword hanging by his side. She wouldn’t be able to survive that. And being what the blade was, he had no doubt it would slice through her neck cleanly.

  “What a mess,” he heard a flat voice say behind him. The lack of emotion always set him on edge. It had since their first meeting when he’d been tasked the job of tracking and eventually killing Hope French if she became a concern.

  Which she had, eventually. He’d had to watch her for years first before her real powers started to show themselves. There were many, many times before that point that he had wanted to kill her and be done with it.

  “I didn’t know you were coming,” Aaron said, smoothing his hair and shirt in quick, jerky movements.

  “I felt it was time, seeing as you have failed at your attempts to rid us of this problem yet again.”

  Aaron opened his mouth to defend himself, but the other man lifted a hand, silencing him.

  “I don’t need your excuses. You have had opportunity after opportunity, and yet this child always seems to outwit you.”

  Aaron flinched as if the other man had struck him. “That’s not fair, you –”

  “Shh, shh, shhhhh,” he shushed, one finger to his lips. That finger pointed around the room. “Even the rocks have ears down here.” He walked around, picking up some of his torture instruments and letting them drop with a frown. “Did you not think that we would monitor you?” He stopped, facing him. “It does seem like it was a smart decision, all things considered.”

  “I will get her back,” he promised, fighting to keep his anger in check. “This will be righted.”

  “You’re right, it will,” he said, “because I have laid a trap for her that she cannot possibly get by.”

  He’d gone and gotten reinforcements? Aaron couldn’t believe it. This was his kill. His.

  The other man held out a waiting hand. Aaron eyed it. “The sword, Aaron,” he said calmly. Aaron gripped the handle. “You won’t need it now, boy. Hand it over.”

  Boy.

  Anyone else, and Aaron would have killed them where they stood for such an insult. Unfortunately, this one was too important. Reluctantly, Aaron pulled the sword from the sheath, and passed it to him, grinding his teeth together, less he say something to get himself in even more trouble.

  “We thank you for your efforts,” he said.

  Aaron bowed his head.

  The other man turned to head back out. Aaron watched as he spun in one quick move, the sword flashing above his head before the blade sank into the flesh of Aaron’s own neck. He blinked, his brain taking a moment to catch up with what had just happened. He looked with wide eyes at the other man until his body gave out beneath him, and everything went black.

  Cillian had us hidden in another alcove, not far from the tunnel that led to the opening. I was pressed against the rock wall, trying my best to breathe deeply so I didn’t gag. Across from me, Cillian was pulling a blade from his boot. Straightening, he eyed me. “Are you sure about this?”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice.

  Sighing, he stepped back, bringing the knife up to the side of his neck. I watched as he slid it across his skin, a line of dark red instantly following. I breathed out slowly. I could do this. I had to do this. I needed to get out of here, as far away as possible.

  Steeling myself, I crossed the space between us. “H-how much do I have to...”

  “I’ll tell you when to stop,” he said, his voice hoarse. Those black eyes watched me like a hawk, an unreadable emotion in them.

  “Okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I rose onto my tip toes breathing in deeply. Cillian’s body was unmoving beneath my touch. I wasn’t sure he was even breathing. His scent was all around me, and suddenly I realized my mouth was watering from the sight of that thin line of blood.

  Inching forward, I ran my tongue along the seam to get used to the taste. As soon as it hit me, I moaned, closing my mouth around the cut. He tasted amazing. Sweet and spicy, not like iron like normal blood.

  I pressed against him as I sucked in more, swallowing it into my body. Almost instantly I could feel it working its way through me. My body was reacting, as though every cell had been sleeping and was stretching awake now.

  Cillian’s hand came up to grip my hip in a bruising hold. I could sense his pleasure at having me drink from him as if I were inside his head. I groaned against his skin when I felt the physical reaction of his excitement against my stomach. It was hard to miss. My body tightened, a ball of fire burning in the pit of my stomach. Everything inside me screamed that I needed Cillian, more than just his blood. I just needed - him.

  Only him.

  I broke away, pulling back to look up into hungry eyes that had me sucking in a breath.

  His mouth was on mine before I could think. I crushed myself against him, our tongues twining together as I all but climbed up his body in order to try to get closer. My hands gripped the back of his neck as his wound into my hair.

  We spun, my back suddenly pressed against the wall as Cillian pinned me there. Without hesitating, I wound my legs around his waist, bringing our hips closer. The hard length of him met my core, driving me out of my mind with need. I moaned into his mouth just as he growled when I rotated my hips, rubbing our bodies against each other.

  He broke away, a whimper escaping from me at the distance. Our chests rose and fell, in sync. I knew my eyes were pleading with him not to stop, even as I watched him struggle for control.

  His voice was guttural when he said, “I almost lost you.”

  I licked my lips, his eyes tracking the movement. Our hips were still pressed together, and the pressure was making it impossible for me not to move against him. There was an indescribable ache inside me that I knew only Cillian could fix.

  “Please,” I said, moving slightly so that he pressed against me a fraction harder.

  His gaze turned molten and then his lips were back on mine. I almost wanted to laugh in relief. I sucked his tongue into my mouth, grinding against him. His hands were suddenly on mine, pulling my arms to pin them above my head. He pushed his hips against mine, driving my need up impossibly higher. Rotating them in a slow circle, I could feel my body right on the edge of some precipice, about to fall into pieces.

  Slipping my hands out of his hold, I fit them between us, gripping the hem of his pants, trying to push them down.

  He pulled away again, sucking in air as he leaned his forehead against mine. “We have to stop, Hope.”

  “No,” I said, tugging at the material. We were too close for it to budge, but I didn’t want to move from him. “I need you.”

  He shook his head. “It’s just my blood and this place that’s making you feel this way.”

  “Not it’s not,” I argued.

  He lifted his hea
d away from mine, his hands letting go of my ass, where they had been gripping me only seconds before, to reach back and unwind my legs. I groaned in protest. “The second plain can play tricks on your mind, as can sharing blood. We need to get control of ourselves and focus back on our task.”

  Ugh. He sounded so put together and sensible. It was pissing me right off. I knew in my gut and chest that whatever this passion, this need for him was, it wasn’t because of where we were. But I didn’t argue. He was right about one thing, and that was that we needed to focus on getting out. Bracing my hands on my knees, I took in deep breaths to try and cool the heat coursing through my veins.

  When I felt fractionally better, I straightened, my gaze instantly going to him on the opposite side of the small space. He seemed his usual impassive self.

  “How do you feel?” He asked, his voice holding a note of something that threatened to light my blood on fire again.

  I stretched my limbs, rolling my neck. I felt - pretty damn good. Sexually frustrated, but other than that, I wasn’t in the least bit tired or weak.

  “Good,” I said, hopping on the balls of my feet. “Really good, actually.”

  He rubbed his chin, watching me calculatingly. Holding up a hand, he said, “punch me.”

  I did. Hard.

  His eyes widened in surprise.

  “Well?” I asked, grinning.

  “You’re strong. We should go.”

  “Let’s go kick some demon ass,” I said.

  He raised his brows at me, shaking his head as he headed back toward the opening, not bothering to check and see if I followed. As we walked, I tried not to watch the way the muscles in his back and shoulders bunched, or the way his butt looked from back here. It was a nice butt, to be honest.

  “Focus,” Cillian growled without looking.

  I snapped my eyes up.

  Twenty-One

  Erebus

  I’d never felt more invincible.

  Cillian and I had watched the demons below, discussing our plan of attack, before Cillian swooped down, grabbing their attention while I rushed in, only my hands as weapons.

  We’d argued about this the most. Cillian had wanted to give me his sword, saying he could do just as well with his dagger, but there was no way I was taking his only sword. Not when I felt as strong as I did.

  Then he’d tried to shove the dagger in my hand, which again I had refused. It would only slow me down. And what could a tiny dagger do to a room full of creatures like this? I asked him as much, earning his usual eye roll and head shake. Power pulsed beneath my skin. I knew without a doubt I could wield it better than any weapon.

  I was a weapon.

  As he descended on the oblivious forces, I charged at the ones closest to me, sending out a blast of power that had them flying through the air as though a bomb had gone off.

  It was mayhem after that. No one knew what was happening as we wreaked our havoc on them. I shot wind and fire, bolts of lightning and what looked like shards of ice that pierced right through chests. I hesitated after that one, surprised. My abilities were like roulette. I never really knew what was going to come out when I aimed at someone. The lizard like demon looked down at the shard sticking out of his chest, and back up at me, and I wasn’t quite sure who was more surprised out of the two of us.

  “Hope!”

  I spun just in time to find one behind me, his axe raised high to cleave my skull, when the point of a dagger exited through the front of his neck, splattering me. He toppled forward, the hilt of Cillian’s knife sticking out the back. I looked up at him.

  “Daggers,” he said, splaying his hands before turning to kill another demon.

  “You just always have to be right,” I muttered.

  By the time we were done, we were the only ones left standing. The two of us panting, smeared in all sorts of fluids I didn’t care to think about. My blanket/make-shift toga was no longer white, and was so heavy, I had to tie it even tighter around me before it fell off completely. Cillian had already ripped more than half of it off at the bottom so I could move more easily.

  “Look at us, eh?” I said, surveying the room. Normally I might have felt bad, but I knew each and every one of these things had been sent here to kill me. And I had survived. Again.

  “I’d love to watch you gloat,” he said dryly, totally bursting my victory party, “but we need to get out of here before anymore show up.”

  We ran this time, the power from his blood still pulsing in my veins. It wasn’t long before we exited the network of caves into a dark sky full of stars. I skidded to a stop, staring up in wonder.

  “Is this...my sky?” I asked. I had never seen it look so beautiful.

  “If you mean the human’s, then no. This is the first plain, the centre of the demon world, Erebus. Your father’s stronghold isn’t far from here. Should take us half a day.”

  He kept walking, and I hurried to keep up.

  “Half a day as in twelve normal hours? Or half a day as in some other form of time?”

  He cocked a brow, glancing over at me. “Should I even ask what you’re talking about?”

  I huffed at his condescending tone. “When we went to the vampire land, I thought we had only been gone a few hours. When Luis brought me home, I’d lost an entire night and day in my world.”

  He smirked.

  “You could have warned me,” I said.

  “I guess I forgot the emphasis you humans put on time,” he said with a shrug.

  “You humans? May I remind you that I’m your Demon Princess.”

  “No need. It’s hard to forget,” he said, eyeing my hands. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have said I made Cillian nervous with my powers. That had me grinning like an idiot as we walked side by side, until suddenly Cillian was withdrawing his sword and pushing me behind him a second before something, or someone, dropped in front of us.

  Cillian growled, his chest rattling. I peeked over his shoulder, my fear disappearing.

  “Gabriel,” I said, darting past the wall named Cillian.

  His arms opened as I ran into them, wrapping around me.

  “You’re okay,” he said, his voice filled with surprise.

  “Of course she is,” Cillian remarked.

  I let go, stepping back. It was a relief to see him. When I’d been on that table, I wasn’t sure if I would see anyone again.

  “What happened? Who took you?” Gabriel asked, ignoring Cillian.

  “Aaron,” I said, his name tasting foul on my tongue.

  Golden brows drew “From your school?”

  I nodded.

  A fire lit in his eyes, and I actually took a step back. Angry Gabriel was scary. The avenging angel kind of scary.

  “We need to keep moving,” Cillian said, pulling me along. “Your father is waiting for us.”

  Gabriel fell in step, his white wings looking out of place in this world that I had a feeling was permanently night. Cillian eyed him as Gabriel turned and looked back.

  “What?”

  “Why are you here, feathers?”

  “To make sure Hope is safe,” he said plainly.

  I walked between them, my head down as they had their little testosterone fiesta.

  “I’ve got that covered. Don’t you have clouds to fluff or something?”

  I bit back a smile, turning my head to hide it, but Cillian caught me, his eyes bright when they met mine. I didn’t condone him making fun of Gabriel, but I also knew Gabriel could handle it.

  “Funny.”

  His deadpan response had me snorting, which made Cillian frown at me before looking ahead.

  Men.

  ***

  We walked for hours, and bit by bit, my energy drained until I felt just as crappy as I had before. There was no way I was going to ask to drink from Cillian again though, especially not now that I knew the side effects. Being back in my normal frame of mind, I could see how maybe we’
d gotten carried away because of external circumstances. At least, that’s what I had convinced myself of.

  I was about to ask to stop, when two large statues appeared up ahead, forming a gate to pass through. My mouth dropped open when we got closer, and I could make out the twin serpents carved into the black rock, their bodies twisting upward, their faces looking outward as though daring people to enter. Rubies sparkled in their eyes, so big I imagined they’d be bigger than my head.