Dark Souls: Box Set: Books 1-5

by E. J. King

  I’m here! Don’t give up on me.

  Sometimes, when I was especially lucid, I could feel things. The coolness in the room and the warmth of the blankets wrapped around me. Soft gusts of air as the door to the room opened and closed. And Rafe. I could always feel him.

  He would sit and hold my hand for hours. Brush his fingertips down my cheeks. Gently kiss my lips.

  But then I felt a different touch, a harder squeezing of my hand, and I knew that it was Lincoln. When Lincoln and I were in our teens, just about a year before our family was killed, we got stranded in the woods. We had taken a drive to a nearby town to see a movie, and the weather had gotten bad while we were inside. The road was icy, and our car careened into a tree. We had just moved to town and hadn’t picked up our new cellphones yet. Our parents insisted we get new ones in every town, just one of the many annoyances of being a constant nomad.

  The accident had actually been rather mild, but the car was stuck in the snow. We had no choice but to walk. We were ten miles from home and it was below freezing. When we hit the eight mile mark, I thought I couldn’t go on. My legs were numb and I had long since lost feeling in my fingers and toes. But Lincoln stayed right by my side, urging me forward. He wouldn’t let me give up. Ever. He had never been a quiet presence in my life and he wasn’t about to start now.

  “You need to wake up, Kale. I can’t take this much longer. Hope won’t stop crying. Ethan hasn’t spoken in days. I even caught Olivia with tears in her eyes. She feels responsible.”

  A loud sigh.

  “And Rafe.”

  Lincoln got so quiet that if he hadn’t kept holding my hand, I would’ve thought that he had left the room.

  “You can’t do this to him, Kaylie. If you don’t make it… he’ll never forgive himself. Look, I know I haven’t been the biggest fan of him. He’s older than you, has a wild side, plus that whole Lost Soul thing. But he hasn’t left your side for more than a minute since this happened. Except for right now, when I forced him to leave. He loves you. I can’t deny that. And I think you love him, too. I also think that you are in there, listening to all of this. So do us all a favor, and just open your eyes. Come back to us. Please.”

  I would like to say that I did just that- opened my eyes. But as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t get them to open. In fact, the darkness came back instead.

  In this darkness, I saw my parents. Not my biological parents, but the man and woman that had raised me.

  Open your eyes, Dad said.

  Fight, said Mom.

  And then I heard another voice, this one real.

  “Come back to me, Kaylie. Please. I don’t want to live without you. I can’t. I need you. I love you more than anything. Just come back to me.”

  James.

  My eyes fluttered, just a bit, but it was enough.

  “Kaylie.” He held my face between his hands. “Keep fighting, love.”

  My eyes opened a slit and this time I kept them open. Rafe’s face was just a foot above mine, and his formerly golden eyes now burned a brilliant shade of blue. The same blue they had been the night he saved my life.

  “James.” It was less than a whisper, more like a croak, but it made him smile.

  “There’s my girl.”

  He dropped a kiss on my forehead and then held me against his body. I could feel his heart beating strongly in his chest. He said, “I’ve got you.”

  “Are you…better?” My brain was still foggy and I couldn’t think of the right word.

  “I’m cured, Kaylie.” He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes again. “You saved me.”

  “Just returning the favor,” I joked in a rough voice.

  Rafe couldn’t stop smiling. “I’ll get you some water.”

  “Don’t.” I clutched desperately at his arm. “Stay with me.”

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, starting to laugh, but then seeing the stricken look on my face. “Never mind. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good.” I fell back against the pillows. “Lay with me.”

  Silently, Rafe settled next to me on the bed and I curled into his warm, strong body, letting my eyes drift closed.

  “I love you, James,” I said, just on the edge of unconsciousness. It pulled me under before I could hear his reply.

  The next couple of days were more of the same- brief periods of consciousness surrounded by overwhelming periods of unconsciousness. But I was able to sit up for short periods of time, and I could eat and drink again. When I got tired of the stale air in my bedroom, Rafe scooped me into his arms and carried me outside.

  He piled blankets around us and we watched the snow fall. I had been recovering for a week already, and it looked like it had been snowing the entire time.

  “A winter wonderland,” I said dryly.

  “I have no complaints,” Rafe said, hugging me tight.

  I poked him in the ribs. “I don’t know what to think about this sappy, sweet act you’ve been doing the last couple of days.”

  “You don’t like sweet?” He pretended to be offended.

  “I like it fine. But I really liked that brazen, flirty stranger that first moved in upstairs. He was hot.” I nipped at his ear and he groaned.

  “Keep it together, Hart. You need to get your strength back.” His protest was mostly just for show because his lips were moving down my jaw.

  He paused at my lips, teasing me with his tongue, before moving down my throat. I gasped at the tingle of my skin and he froze.

  “It’s okay. Keep going,” I said, a little breathlessly.

  But Rafe had been distracted by something. His hand left my body and moved up to my neck where it froze, just an inch above my skin. It was the first time that I fully remembered what had happened.

  My blood had cured Rafe, but not without a cost. I’d had to slit my neck and force my blood into his mouth. When the bloodlust had taken over, he’d torn into my skin with his fangs. Hope’s Soul blood had brought me back to life and healed the wound in the process, but it hadn’t been able to erase the scar.

  The knife wound had healed cleanly, but when my fingertips grazed over the spot, I could feel the rough tattoo of Rafe’s bite.

  “I’m so sorry, Kaylie. I never wanted to…” he trailed off, eyes on that permanent reminder of how close he had come to killing me.

  “It’s okay, Rafe. It wasn’t your fault. I made you do it.” I grabbed his face, lifting it so that he was looking into my eyes rather than at the scar. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”

  “I swore that I would never do that. Hurt you. I would’ve rather died.” His blue eyes were even darker and more foreboding than his creepy Soul eyes had been.

  I hated seeing him like that. “I’m fine, James. Really.”

  “Well, if you’re using my real name it must be true.” He forced a smile for me. Then he lowered his head again, this time pressing his lips to the scar.

  “Ahem.”

  We both jumped.

  “Link. Been there long?” I squirmed uncomfortably in Rafe’s lap. Despite what I had overheard Lincoln say when he thought I might be dying, I was certain he hadn’t suddenly had a change of heart about me and Rafe.

  “You should be in bed, Kaylie,” he said, sounding very much like our father when he used his stern voice. “Alone.”

  Rafe coughed and I knew that he was poorly attempting to hold back a laugh. I dug my elbow into his ribs.

  “I’m fine, Link. Feeling better than I have in a long time.” It was true. My strength was coming back more every minute.

  “It’s going to take time to recover.” His eyes darted to Rafe who was sneakily creeping a hand under my shirt. Fortunately the pile of blankets on top of us kept it literally undercover. He was really embracing his return to the flirty and brash guy I’d claimed to miss.

  “Really, bro. Stop worrying.” I tried to ignore Rafe’s wandering hands.

  “He almost killed you,” Lincoln spat out in a rush. “You
almost died.”

  My blood ran cold. Rafe’s hands dropped away and I felt his entire body tense.

  “Lincoln.” I fixed him with a hard glare. “That’s enough.”

  Lincoln just glared back at me. Just like when we were kids, I knew he was angry at me without him needing to say a word.

  “I made the decision, Link. Not Rafe. I did.” In fact, I had planned it so that Rafe wouldn’t have time to make any decisions at all.

  “You almost died,” he repeated quietly, eyes flitting to Rafe. “She almost died for you.”

  I noticed that Lincoln said for you and not because of you. It was only then that I understood what he had really been trying to say. He wanted Rafe to know that I had put his life before my own. I had chosen to die if it meant that he might live.

  None of us said anything as Lincoln went back inside. It was only when the door closed behind him that Rafe finally spoke. “He thinks you made a terrible mistake saving me. I wasn’t worth the risk.”

  “He just thinks I was reckless,” I said, trying to explain it in a way that didn’t sound so bad. “He was worried about me.”

  “He doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.” Rafe didn’t sound mad, just resigned to the fact.

  “He’s my big brother. He’ll never think anyone is good enough for me.”

  I was starting to get tired, my limbs felt heavier than normal.

  Rafe sighed. “He’s right.”

  “Stop.” I kissed him quickly. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks.”

  “We should go in. You’re getting tired.” He hoisted me effortlessly.

  It wasn’t until later, after I had slept for a few hours, that I started to think about that moment more deeply. Just after Rafe said he’s right, a look passed over his face. I had ignored it, thinking that Rafe was just being sensitive, but when he didn’t join me in bed later, I started to wonder.

  In fact, I didn’t see him again until the next morning when I went searching for coffee. He was focused on the coffee pot and didn’t hear me enter the room. I stood in the doorway and watched him, a slow warmth building in my chest. It was always the same every time I saw him and I doubted it would ever change.

  Rafe finished with the coffee and leaned on the counter, staring blankly out the window. I was done fighting the urge to touch him.

  “Hey, stranger,” I said, wrapping my arms around him from behind.

  He sighed instinctively, relaxing in my arms. “Good morning.”

  “I missed you last night.” I rested my chin on his shoulder, my breath tickling his ear. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I never sleep well when you’re not beside me,” he admitted.

  “Well, whose fault was that?” I teased.

  He turned slowly, careful not to leave my arms. Now it was his turn to wrap his arms around me and I leaned into his chest. “I wanted you to get some rest. We tend to distract each other in the bedroom.”

  I glanced up, expecting to see his usual wicked smirk. But his face was tight and his eyes were unreadable.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  He didn’t quite look at me when he answered. “Sure. Coffee is ready.”

  “Hey.” I held on despite his attempt to walk away. “You aren’t still thinking about what Link said yesterday, are you?”

  “He wasn’t wrong, Kaylie. You can do better than me.”

  I raised up on tiptoe until we were eye level. “Too bad. Because I don’t want anyone but you. It’s always you, James. Always.”

  Finally, he gave me that smile that I loved so much. “Ditto, Red.”

  When he kissed me, everything felt right. Rafe was cured, I was feeling better. Lincoln was back in my life. Hope was slowly adjusting to her new life. It felt like I was finally close to the life I’d always wanted. That’s how I should’ve know that something was about to go terribly wrong.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was December. Ten days after I cured Rafe, life finally felt normal again. My strength was back and I no longer felt tired just walking from one room to another. While I was bedridden with my recovery, I got a lot of studying done and felt pretty good going into my finals.

  Rafe banished himself to his own apartment upstairs so that I would focus on finals and not on his body. He said it was for my own good, but it felt like I was being punished. Hope had delayed her departure until she was sure that I would be okay.

  Lincoln and Olivia had been planning to take her to some people that Olivia knew that could help with her newfound thirst for blood. I hated to see them go, but I knew that Hope needed help. She still kept herself locked away in her room most of the time so that she wouldn’t attack us. It wasn’t fair to ask her to keep living that way just because I wanted my friend to stay.

  “Olivia really thinks these people can help me,” Hope said.

  I was helping her pack. I’d just finished my last final an hour earlier and Rafe wasn’t home so I had a lot of pent up energy and I needed an outlet.

  “Who are these people again? I don’t understand how they are going to help.”

  “Olivia hasn’t given me a lot of details. I think she’s afraid that if you and the boys find out, you might go after these people. They help a lot of Souls.”

  I had to admit that it was a logical conclusion. We were Hunters, and we didn’t sympathize with Souls. At least, we never did until Hope was turned. Now things were a little different.

  “How long will you be gone?” I tried not to sound too whiny. Since Hope had moved into my extra bedroom, I’d grown quite attached to her.

  “At least a month.” She shrugged. “Maybe longer.”

  “Ethan has been acting depressed. I don’t know what he’s going to do when you are gone.” I actually couldn’t remember the last time I had been around Hope without him by her side. They had become quite attached in recent days.

  Hope smiled sadly. “He will survive. He knows that I have to do this if we ever have a shot at being together. I can’t exactly be with him if I’m thinking about draining his blood the entire time.”

  She hadn’t meant anything by her words, but they still stung. I realized that up until ten days ago, that had been almost the exact dynamic between myself and Rafe.

  “You’ll go, you’ll get help, and you’ll come back.” I tried to sound optimistic. “Who knows, maybe we’ll finally track down Benton and his blood while you’re gone.

  “Please be careful, Kaylie. I know you want to help me, but I almost lost you once already and I don’t think I can do that again.” When Hope looked at me, I didn’t see a trace of vampire in her eyes. She was just my friend.

  “I’m a Hunter, Hope. It’s what I do.” I knew that it had to seem strange to non-Hunters. Why would you devote your life to something that was so dangerous? But it was the only life I had ever known. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself. And I’ll take care of Ethan, too.”

  She laughed. “Good. Make sure no snobby sorority girls hit on him while I’m gone.”

  “Deal.”

  We made a second deal, which was that all of us would spend her last night in the house together. This random group of people was the closest thing I had to family and it was important that we all be together one last time.

  Rafe got home just a few minutes later, and I felt lighter and warmer just hearing his footsteps above us.

  “Are you good here, Hope?” I tried not to sound like I was in a hurry to get away but Hope picked up on it anyway.

  “Go. Have fun with Rafe.” She winked at me. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “So the sky is the limit, then?”

  I laughed as she chucked a pillow at my head.

  Rafe was in his room when I found him, sitting on his bed with his head over a book. His hair was damp from the snow that was still falling outside, his cheeks tinged pink from the cold.

  “It’s about time, Rafferty,” I said, my body humming at the sight of him.

  “Kaylie.
” He looked up guiltily and tossed the book aside. “Did we have plans?”

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that I needed to book an appointment with your secretary.” I tried not to sound annoyed. “How far in advance do I need to book our sexcapades?”

  He chuckled and stood, looking tall and strong. “Is that what this visit is about? I had no idea.”

  “So, should I come back after you’ve had time to put this in your day planner, or…”

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Get over here, Hart.”

  It had been ten days and I was a bundle of hormones waiting to explode. Rafe had to slow me down almost a half-dozen times.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Kaylie,” he said for the third time as I tore at the button of his pants. “Slow down. Breathe.”

  “I want you, Rafe,” I breathed, unable to steady my hands. “Don’t you want me?”

  “Of course.” He caught both of my hands in his and held them to his lips. “But we have all the time in the world.”

  He was right. I was so used to every minute with him being a countdown that I didn’t know how to just enjoy our time together without racing the clock.

  We took it slow, like it we had our first time together. I found myself relearning Rafe’s topography. His body was different now that it didn’t hold Soul blood. While he was still fit and muscular, his body was also softer, more human. He no longer felt like a supernatural being in a man’s body. He just felt like a man.

  I loved how his skin warmed beneath my touch and how his face lit up like he was seeing me and feeling me for the first time. We had been given a second chance and we were going to enjoy every second of it.

  We were still coming down from the adrenaline rush almost two hours later, bodies tangled together on top of his bed.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, his fingers lazily trailing down my spine.

  “No.” I was lying on top of him and his body heat warmed me to the bone. “I’m comfortable.”

  But more than comfortable. Content. For so long I had been trying to force some idealized world into my life, and now I finally had it.

  “I didn’t think it was possible, but I think I like you even more now,” I admitted, my lips lightly grazing his chest.