by E. J. King
Five Souls, all dressed in the same black uniform as Conrad, marched into the Capitol’s clearing. They were talking and laughing with each other and seemed oblivious to the crowd that was staring at them expectantly.
“Brother!” The young man at the front of the pack grinned broadly when he finally spotted William. He was a stunningly attractive male, blond where William was dark. But otherwise the family resemblance was unmistakable.
“Alexander.” William took one step forward and because he was still holding onto me, I had to do the same.
His brother now turned his attention to me, his smile turning flirtatious as he gave me a good once-over. “Things have changed while I was away,” he said, eyes narrowing when he spotted our entwined hands. “Who is the girl?”
“There will be time for introductions later,” William said. “Let us debrief with the Council.”
“Yes, sir.” Alexander reluctantly pulled his eyes away from me.
The crowd followed us into the chambers where I had first been introduced to William. This time, I was given a seat in the front row, between Conrad and Alexander.
“This won’t take long,” William told me with a small smile as he finally let go of my hand. “Hopefully, my brother brings us good news.”
I nodded and quietly took my seat.
Of the thirteen seats facing the rest of the room, only half were filled with Councilmembers. Probably not everyone had heard about the return. William quickly called the meeting to order and then Alexander was asked to stand. He stood in the exact spot where I had stood less than a day earlier.
“What can you tell us about the hunt, soldier?” William asked, his formal tone fully in place.
“It was as we suspected. Benton Hart was building an army of Souls to make his move against the Hunter. We arrived just after the battle.” Alexander frowned. “The good news is that Benton and his army have been stopped. He has met the final death.”
William knew his brother well enough to know that this wasn’t the full story. “What else, Alexander?”
“Though this battle ended as we desired, the war still rages. The Dark Witch escaped.” His hands clenched into fists. “She is still a threat to us.”
“With good news there is always bad news,” William said, leaning back in his chair.
He was younger than both Daniel and Drake. He couldn’t be more than twenty-years-old in human age, but he gave off an aura of someone much older. He was supremely confident in every word and movement that he made. Alexander shared the same personal awareness and security.
“I believe that if you let me go back out, I will find her. We already found her once, just a few minutes too late. I won’t let that happen again.” There was a note of desperation in his voice.
“Now is not the time,” William said.
“But William-” Alexander started to protest.
“The answer is no.” William ordered. “You will stay here and regroup. We need to formulate a new plan before we make our move. The Dark Witch knows that we are looking for her. It will not be as easy to find her the second time. We need to wait.”
Alexander’s cheek twitched as he bit back a retort. “As you wish, sir.”
“Were you able to discover more about the Guardianship’s intentions?” William didn’t seem to find their exchange nearly as awkward as I did. “Do they know about the Darkness?”
“They do, though they don’t have any solid information on where to find us. But their primary goal is to find and destroy the Darkness.” Alexander relaxed now that he was no longer being bossed around by his older brother. “We should be safe, for now, but they have begun using magic to locate us. It is only a matter of time before they are able to penetrate our defenses.”
William turned to Octavia. “Speak with the Coven. We need to boost our defenses in any way possible.”
“I shall speak with them immediately.” She smiled, pleased that William had given her an important task. It didn’t take a genius to understand the look on her face. She was in love with William and was desperate to earn his admiration.
“Before this meeting concludes, I warn all residents of the Darkness to remain extra vigilant. We are under attack from multiple enemies. We cannot afford any lapses in judgment and concentration.” He placed both hands flat on the table in front of him and stood. “Meeting adjourned.”
Everyone in the room stood, so I did the same. It all felt strangely formal and awkward. That feeling only grew when William approached me and held out his hand, smiling softly. With every eye in the room on us, I took his outstretched hand and let him lead me from the room. I didn’t want to hold his hand. I didn’t like the conflicting feelings it created inside me. But I understood that it was important for me to appear complacent in front of the community. I needed them to believe that I was a willing guest so they wouldn’t suspect the thoughts that had been running through my head since the second I arrived.
I was surprised at how firmly William was holding my hand.
“Why is the Guardianship after you? And who is this Dark Witch?” Though I had understood the words, I was lost about what they had meant.
“It’s none of your concern,” he replied, hurrying me through the crowd until we were outside. His tone was irritatingly dismissive.
“Actually, it is completely my concern,” I snapped, yanking my hand free. “I live in the Darkness, too, now. If this place is in danger, that means I am in danger.”
“Grace,” William hissed. “Do not do this now.”
I scoffed. “You’re not my boss, William. If you want me to help you, then you need to be honest with me.”
Several Souls had exited the building behind us and were watching our exchange. William’s face darkened. “Fine. I will tell you everything once we are at home.”
I didn’t want to go along with this order. It was clear that the Darkness was hiding many secrets, any of which had the potential to put me in danger. I wasn’t ready to die just because I was being held hostage in the Darkness.
“Fine. Let’s go home.” The second the words left my mouth, I wished that I could take them back. William’s house wasn’t my home.
This time William didn’t take my hand, but he did put his palm against my lower back as he guided me toward the path that would lead us back to the house. I quickly pushed down the feeling of pleasure that surged through my body.
Neither of us spoke on the way back to the house. It was clear that he was still annoyed that I had challenged him in front of the others, and I was still harboring the resentment of being held as a prisoner. As we walked, I tried to replay every moment of our time in the Capitol. Since Alexander and the others had to come through there when they arrived, that also meant the exit from the Capitol was down the same path.
I was so busy thinking about that potential escape route that I didn’t realize we had already arrived at the house. William had stopped near the walkway and was looking at me expectantly.
“I’m not ready to go inside yet. Would you mind terribly if I went for a little walk along the beach?” I framed it as a question, but I wasn’t really looking for his permission.
He didn’t like the idea, but he nodded. “Find me inside when you are ready to talk. Please don’t stray too far down the beach.”
Walking along the water, I was able to trick myself into pretending that I was on an exotic beach vacation. The greenish-blue tint of the water was even more surreal than the sky. It appeared to have an energy of its own, rocking and crashing gently into the shore.
“Beautiful.”
The voice behind me seemed to come out of nowhere. I was alarmed at how easy it had been for someone to sneak up behind me without my knowledge.
“Aren’t you used to it by now?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Alexander stared hard at me. “I wasn’t talking about the view.”
“What do you want?” I asked bluntly.
“To meet the woman that has captured my brother�
��s heart,” he said with an easy smile. “I’m Alex.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” I hoped that it was dark enough that he couldn’t see the pink tinge of my cheeks.
His smile grew. “Grace, is it? It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You don’t even know me,” I replied with my usual sarcasm, forgetting for a second that I was speaking with a very old Vampire.
“Funny.” His head tilted as he studied me. “I can see why my brother finds you worthy. However, I’m not sure what you find appealing about life in the Darkness.”
I wanted to tell him that I found nothing appealing about the Darkness. This place wasn’t a home that I had chosen, it was a prison that had been forced upon me.
“You never answered my question. What do you want?” It took all of my focus to get the words to come out evenly.
When I had first seen Alex in the Capitol, he had appeared to be just like all of the other Souls- good looking and deadly. But upon closer examination, I realized that he looked more human than the others. His eyes were a fainter shade of gold and his smile actually reached his eyes. It was like looking at a non-Vampire version of William.
“You shouldn’t wander so far down the beach alone,” he said, his yellow eyes scanning my body and resting a little too long on my neck. “A pretty, defenseless thing like you isn’t safe in the Darkness.”
“I’ll take my chances.” I lifted my chin stubbornly. “The magic here may have weakened my Hunter strength, but I’m definitely not defenseless. Trust me.”
He grew serious and his eyes narrowed. “You’re a Hunter? That certainly does change things.”
I worried that I had said too much. When I glanced down the beach, the nearest house was still a hundred yards away. William’s home was twice as far in the other direction. I would never make it to either of them in time if Alex decided he wanted to stop me.
“Apparently there is no such thing as a Hunter in the Darkness,” I said, gesturing to the swirling purple haze above us. “Don’t worry- you don’t need to be afraid of me.”
“My dear, I’m not sure that is true at all,” he said, a playful smile curling his lip. “I think you are going to be my undoing.”
His tone was flirtatious and dangerous. Alex was much bolder and more arrogant than his brother. In fact, he reminded me more of Drake than of William.
“I should get back to the house,” I said, turning away from his sweltering gaze. “William is waiting for me.”
Alex chuckled softly. “I’m sure he is.”
“Do you really think the Darkness is going to be attacked?” I asked as we walked. I wasn’t sure I even cared about the answer to my question since I had no intention of still being around when it happened. I just wanted to control the conversation.
“It isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. The Guardianship has been trying to find this place for years. They don’t believe it is possible for Souls to control the urge to kill.” His arm brushed against mine in a purposeful way. “They don’t realize that killing isn’t the hardest urge to control.”
“What is?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“The lust,” he said, staring directly into my eyes. “The desire to have a human completely at your mercy. It’s like a drug.”
I swallowed hard. “How do you control it?” I challenged.
“Who says that I do?” His teasing smile returned as he reached up and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “Some urges are better to give into. Resistance is futile.”
While he stared at me, I sensed another pair of eyes watching us. I looked toward the house expecting to see William waiting for me. Instead, I found Drake staring at us from one of the many windows. He wasn’t at all embarrassed to have been caught.
“It seems William isn’t the only Blackwood brother that has been captivated by you,” Alex said, amused.
“I need to go.” I didn’t worry about being polite as I hurried down the glass walkway. It was surprising how anxious I was to find William. Even though he was a Vampire just like his brothers, I felt safer with him by my side. Maybe that was poor judgment on my part, but if I was going to survive the Darkness, I needed at least one ally that didn’t want to rip out my throat.
“You should be careful with him, Grace,” Alex said with a blank face. “William may not kill humans, but that doesn’t mean he won’t rip out your heart.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
WILLIAM
When Grace stepped through the door, I felt her before I saw her. Her presence was like electricity filling the air. The blood in my veins began to crackle.
“Did you have a nice walk?” I asked, hating how stiff my voice sounded when I spoke to her. It didn’t soften the same way that my heart did when she was around.
“I ran into your brother,” she said with a frown.
I immediately worried about what Drake might have said. “Drake wasn’t inappropriate, was he?”
“Alex, not Drake,” she clarified. It didn’t necessarily make me feel any better. “And he wasn’t inappropriate, not exactly. He did make some assumptions about us though.”
“I am sure he did.” I was sure that everyone in the Darkness had made those same assumptions. In fact, it was essential that they believe that our relationship was of a typical companion variety. “Are you ready to have a conversation about what happened at the Capitol?”
Grace shrugged and came further into the room. “Sure. Let’s have a conversation.”
“Shall we start with the Guardianship, or the witch?” I asked.
“Actually, I was thinking we could start with me telling you to never speak to me like that again,” she snapped. We were standing close enough to each other that I could see a fire sparking in her eyes.
“I only did that to protect you.” My words had become even more clipped.
She took another step forward until she was close enough to touch. I wanted to reach out and stroke her soft cheek, but instead I clenched my hand into a fist at my side. “I don’t need you to protect me, William.”
It was an argument I was never going to win, even if I told her the full truth. Grace wasn’t safe in the Darkness. She wasn’t safe anywhere. The monsters of the world were hunting for this woman, and I was the only one that could protect her- if she didn’t destroy me first.
“Fine. I will refrain from giving you orders.” If that was all I had to do to keep Grace by my side, I would gladly do it.
“Good.” Her head moved in a perfunctory nod. “Now let’s move onto other matters.”
I convinced her to take a seat as it wasn’t going to be a quick conversation. She perched on the edge of the couch across from me, refusing to make herself comfortable.
“A few weeks ago, we heard that a powerful Soul, Benton Hart, was building an army of Dark Souls. We’ve been spending the last month hunting him and Alexander went on this last mission with the primary goal of killing Benton. A secondary goal was to learn more about a powerful witch that has been using Dark Magic.” I did my best to summarize the mission as quickly as possible.
“So Benton is dead and the witch took off?” Grace said, summarizing my words further. “I don’t understand why you are all so worried about this one witch. She must be pretty special.”
She was clearly digging for more information, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet. “At the same time, we have become increasingly more concerned over the strides the Guardianship has made attempting to find the Darkness.”
“There are plenty of monster out there. Why is the Guardianship so focused on this place?” She folded her hands in her lap.
“The Guardianship doesn’t waste their time with normal monsters. They go after the ones that other Hunters avoid.” I smiled grimly. “I’m not your average monster, Grace.”
Her eyes were wide and unreadable when she said, “I’m beginning to believe that.”
Not for the first time, I wished I could know what she was thinking. If
I had compelled her when she first arrived, I could just ask and she would have to tell me the truth.
“I’m sure that you have more questions, but the party will be starting soon. You may want to change.” I took a small amount of delight from the shocked look on her face. It was nice to actually be able to read her expression for once.
“What party?” she asked suspiciously.
“To celebrate the safe return of Alexander and the others.” The Darkness was so secluded that we had to create our own entertainment. That meant that we were always looking for an excuse to throw a party. The safe return of our group was more than enough reason to celebrate.
“A party?” Grace was seriously befuddled. The wrinkle of her brow was adorable. “Where is this party?”
“Right here,” I said, surprising her further. “Well, it will actually be out in the Grand Hall. It is the only part of this house big enough to host all of the Darkness citizens.”
She stared at me for a few more seconds and then laughed. “Did you just invite me to a Vampire party?”
I loved the sound of her laugh, so light and full of life. I wondered if my laugh had ever sounded like that. It certainly hadn’t in a long time.
“I did and I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the party.” I wanted her to enjoy the party. For some reason, it was important to me that she find some small amount of joy living in the Darkness. “I arranged to have some dresses delivered to your room.”
“Dresses?” Her eyebrows shot up. “So it’s a fancy Vampire party?”
“You must remember that many of the residents of the Darkness have been around for centuries. We are used to a certain type of festival setting.” I could tell that she was still skeptical. “I encourage you to keep an open mind. Just like the rest of the Darkness, I think this party will surprise you.”
It took a bit more encouragement, but Grace soon departed to her room to get ready. I decided to take a swim in the ocean while I waited for her.
When the Royals had picked this area to build the Darkness, I had instantly been drawn toward the land near the water. Centuries ago, when I had still been human, I used to swim in a beautiful lake behind my parents’ home. So many decades later, I still found the water to be calming and familiar. As I swam, I found myself thinking about Grace.
