Fire In The Darkness (Darkness Series #2)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  My gaze snapped over to Torin. His jaw locked tightly, turning his cold, unemotional face toward mine. “Did you really think I had feelings for you? A Dae? You are revolting. My Queen needed you, and I will stop at nothing to please my Queen.”

  An impish smile curved the Queen’s lips. “And he does know how to please me.”

  “It was all a lie?”

  “I found it laughable how easy you fell for it.” His sneer looked wrong on his face.

  “Y-You are sickening.”

  “No dear, you are the one who is nauseating. And your odor is even worse.” The Queen grimaced as she stepped closer. “Actually, it suits you.” She smiled cruelly. Gulping, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was stunning, powerful, and extremely scary. She was my height and, therefore, could look directly into my eyes. A strange cloud seemed to pass over her features as she assessed me.

  Her hand reached up to my hair. I flinched back, but she didn’t seem to notice or care. For some reason I didn’t feel like she was really seeing me. Her hand slipped through my hair, softly rubbing one of my red streaks between her fingers. Her focus became even more distant. She was not here with me, but lost in some past memory I was not aware of. Keeping my eyes on her, I watched as her hand moved up, cupping my face. Vulnerability and an unbelievable sadness flooded her face.

  She whispered something so softly I couldn’t make out what she said. There was something about the way she said it that made me react. My movement finally broke her trance. Her hand jerked away from my face and anger filled her body. Fury shot from her eyes, as she looked me up and down. “You are a disgrace to Fay blood,” her voice seethed. “You should not have lived. You took everything from me!”

  A palpable energy saturated the room, making it hard to breathe. Her anger was so palpable I could feel it digging into my skin. Silent tension kept even a single breath from being released. The Queen looked around suddenly aware of being watched by her people. She snapped back into her usual cool, controlled demeanor. Taking a step back, she yelled, “Guards, take this thing down to the dungeon.” She swished her hand at me and pivoted, heading to her ruling seat.

  “My Queen, permit me to take her down.” Torin took a step forward. “I feel the need to see this all the way through. I want the honor of locking up this atrocity myself.”

  Turning back to face Torin, the Queen stared at him for a brief moment before a small, cruel smile hinted on her lips. “If it will make my love happy.” My stomach rolled at her words. Her tone had me feeling I was missing something.

  “It will, my lady.”

  “Then by all means take her,” the Queen replied.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Torin grabbed my arm as he gave another bow to the queen.

  “Get away from me!” I screamed as I looked back at him. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Like I want to.” Torin looked me up and down with revulsion. Hurt flushed through me. No matter what, I couldn’t stop his callous tone and gaze from ripping through me. Tugging me roughly by the arm, he quickly rushed me out of the hall. Neither of us spoke as he pulled me through the corridor, down the long descending stairs, and among the dark, dingy hallways leading to the dungeon.

  Stopping at the door he abruptly turned me to him. With gloved hands he unlocked my irons, looping them back onto his belt. Then taking another key from his belt he opened the entry to the crypt. Rows and rows of cells lined the way, disappearing in the murky shadows. The heavy, wooden door creaked with weight as he pushed me through it. As soon as we were in, I whirled around to face him.

  “Well . . .” Crossing my arms, I took in his stony expression. Slowly a grin turned up my mouth. “We did it.”

  His features softened and suddenly I was in his arms, his warm lips kissing the top of my head. “I hated every minute of that.”

  “Yeah, but it had to be this way. You said so.” I shifted under his embrace to look into his eyes. “Do you think she bought it?”

  “Definitely. She would never dream I would betray her . . . and technically I did not. I told her of our plan. It was the truth.”

  “Part truth. Thank God she did exactly what you thought she’d do.”

  Our plan was based upon Torin knowing her so well that he could predict, down to the most minuscule aspect, how she’d react. Though I hated that he knew her so intimately, I couldn’t deny it had been extremely helpful in this case.

  Turning, I looked at the tiny, cold cells lined up down the long corridor. Scatterings of dirty straw sparsely covered each cell floor. A set of chains hung off each of the back walls.

  “Home sweet home,” I said dryly.

  “Just for the night,” Torin replied. “We will have you, your dad, and friends out soon. I promise.”

  I nodded, my eyes locked on the set of shackles.

  “You trust me, right?” Torin’s gentle hands gripped my arms. “You know I’d do anything in my power for you.” He pulled me to him and his warm lips found mine in the dim corridor. My first instinct was to push him away, but he held me in tighter, his lips hot and passionate, consuming me with emotion. Like floodgates, all the emotion I kept locked inside—the hurt, the fear, the loneliness—came pouring out. I kissed him back with desperation and need. He was my only link to safety, to my family and friends, to my escape, to anything I knew. Passion and desperation are strong motivators. Heat sizzled in my veins as his mouth moved over mine. I longed to escape from this harsh reality, to let him help me forget Eli, to forget all my pain.

  “Oh, this really is precious,” a voice tinkled out of the dark, full of saccharin. “Young love always is, but young love renders you stupid. You become careless . . .”

  Torin and I sprung apart, whirling around to the shape emerging from the shadows. Queen Aneira stood behind us, followed by several soldiers. Her eyes on Torin.

  “You are a fool. You thought you were being so careful, so meticulous with your little planned rendezvous with her. I knew you would hang yourself eventually; all I had to do was provide you with a little rope and be patient. In the meantime, you would lead me directly to her.” She continued to move forward, her gaze never leaving Torin. “My dear . . . how much you have hurt me. I have given you everything. Loved you.” Her voice held no emotion as she stepped up to him, her fingers gliding softly along his face.

  Torin had become still as stone, jaw and emotions locked down hard.

  “Nothing?” Aneira nettled him. With no response from Torin, she sighed. Her voice then turned icy. “Kill her.”

  “No!” A protest immediately came from Torin. “Your Majesty, you don’t want to do that. Please, hear—”

  “You. You of all people dare ask me for leniency?” She spit at him. Her face twisted into fury. “You, who betrayed me? I gave you everything . . . and you deceived me for this monster? How could you? Is it because you were promised to her years ago? This was not what was meant for you. You were promised to a true Fay, not this abomination. You were meant for me.”

  “My Queen, you don’t understa—”

  “Stop,” she demanded. Magic flared through the room, zeroing in on Torin. Pain and anguish distorted his features, bringing him to his knees under the pressure. “You have no rights anymore.”

  “Guards, dispose of them both,” the Queen ordered.

  Overcome with terror, I could feel my powers rise to the surface. But, there was too much iron in the room for them to work properly. The Queen did not suffer from this same weakness. Being Queen she probably could handle higher amounts of iron before it affected her like the rest of us. Good to be Queen.

  “My Queen, please listen to me. You do not know the whole truth,” Torin exclaimed through gritted teeth. It was taking every bit of his strength to fight against the Queen's painful hold on him.

  Whole truth? What was he talking about?

  “What whole truth?” The Queen echoed my thoughts; her voice was tight and barely able to utter the sentence. All she wanted was to kill us right then,
to see her betrayers destroyed, not to listen to words. But Torin seemed to have some kind of hold over her that prevented her from gutting us right there.

  “She is a Dae . . .”

  Annoyance flickered over her face. “I know that.”

  “No, but that is not all she is.”

  My head jerked over to look at him.

  “What are you doing?” I said into his head. Torin and I had always been able to communicate in our heads. It wasn’t the same thing I experienced with Eli. Torin and I could communicate without looking at each other.

  “Trust me,” he pleaded.

  Did I really have a choice at this point? It would be death now or later. I voted for later.

  “What do you mean? She can’t be more than that. She is either a Dae or she is not.” The Queen’s patience was waning and her previous admiration for Torin would only go so far.

  “She also has the blood of a Dark Dweller.”

  Her audible gasps echoed through the room.

  Oh. My. God. . . . No! I had never told him. How did he know?

  His eyes met mine. “I dreamwalked in on you and the Dark Dweller doctor talking about it.”

  “You what?”

  “I am sorry. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I overheard him telling you.”

  My memory recalled that evening with Owen—the moment I had felt someone watching me, the chills. It had been Torin. It was the same reaction Jared and Kennedy had when I dreamwalked on them, perceptive to the spirit form visiting us.

  The Queen stood in shock for a few moments before her voice wavered, “T-That is not possible.”

  “It is, Your Majesty.” He looked up at her. “It was my plan to tell you this all along.”

  My eyes widened. He said to trust him, but my past record of people betraying me was consistent. I found it hard to fully believe this revelation wasn’t solely to save his own ass.

  The Queen lifted her fingers and the pressure in the room eased. Torin climbed back up to his feet, standing tall and proud. “Torin, I cannot foresee what game you are playing or why you would lie to me since you know I can easily find out the truth of this claim.”

  “I assure you I am not lying.”

  The Queen cocked her head, taking in Torin’s genuine demeanor. “Thara? Come forward.”

  A girl who looked all of sixteen came forward. She had long, flowing, dark hair, deeply tanned skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. She was elegant and majestic and looked like a descendent of Pocahontas.

  “Yes, Your Majesty?” The girl’s soothing voice seemed to slide into my bones, immediately calming me.

  “Thara, could you please verify what Torin said is true?”

  Thara bowed her head and walked up to me, closing her eyes. She didn’t touch me or do anything except take a deep breath. My skin tingled and I knew, like the forest, she was “tasting” me. I stayed frozen, watching her.

  She stepped away from me, reopening her eyes. “Yes, Your Majesty, he is speaking the truth. She has Dark Dweller blood in her. Her body has adapted and taken on some of their traits.” Thara smiled at me, which was warm and somehow comforting.

  “How is it possible?” the Queen mumbled to herself in disbelief. “No Fae can take the blood of another species.”

  “Remember she is no ordinary Fae, my lady; she is a Dae.”

  The Queen took this in, the wheels of thought spinning in her mind.

  Torin looked over at me. “You are safe from death, mo chuisle. Do not be afraid. She will not kill you now.” His voice spoke softly into my mind.

  My defensive walls instantly cracked. I should have known Torin would do everything and anything in his power to keep me safe. My heart warmed as I looked at him. Love was never a word I said or admitted easily. I kept myself guarded and protected from it. But in time, there was a possibility I could find myself falling for him. He must have seen something different in my eyes because suddenly his own glinted with hope and . . . love.

  A slow, seductively dangerous smile spread over the Queen's face. “Torin, I will not forget your duplicity, but in time, if you keep proving yourself like this, I might come to forgive this transgression.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Torin looked pained as he uttered the words. He would take whatever came his way. All because of me.

  “Guards take him to my chamber and tie him up. I will see he is properly punished.”

  A boulder plummeted into my gut. “What? No . . . !” She would torture and abuse him.

  “Ember, let it be,” Torin said firmly into my thoughts.

  “No Torin, I can’t let you do this.”

  “You don’t have a choice. I can handle it. I can handle anything if I know you will be all right.” Grief filled my entire body. This was so wrong and twisted. Disgusting. I felt like I was going to throw up.

  The guards circled around. He held up his wrists as they clamped on iron cuffs. It took everything I had not to fall to the ground as they led him out. He kept his head high; his form was tall and proud even as he was being led away to humiliation and abuse.

  “Stay strong. You will stay alive as long as you are useful to her. I love you, mo chroi,” he uttered into my thoughts before he vanished out the door.

  Tears freely fell down my face now. How did our plan turn out so wrong?

  “I am so glad I did not kill you. You will be even more useful to me.” She clasped her hands together, her fiery mood simmering into giddiness. “Dark Dweller blood mixing with a Dae? Who would have thought?” Her delight was clear. “Oh, the things I will be able to do now.”

  This time the Queen escorted me, hauling me down the rows of cells. The dungeon was dark and smelled of urine and feces. One of the guards pushed me into the far cell and pulled gloves off his belt, sliding them on, before reaching around me for the chain hanging on the back wall, a manacle dangling from it. He bent down and slipped it over my ankle, locking it in place. Then he did the same with one of my wrists. I instantly felt my energy being pulled from my body and my legs give out, falling onto the stiff, smelly straw.

  Damn iron. It always took a few minutes before my body accepted the shock and relaxed into it. After that I could function somewhat, but the first part was a bitch. I swallowed through the flash of pain. I hated feeling so helpless and vulnerable even for a short time. I held up my shacked wrist. “To keep us slaves well behaved?”

  She smiled smugly. “There was a reason Torin wanted you down here. But if he thought it would be more than a little reunion, he was sadly mistaken. Sorry, Ember dear, nothing down here can help you. I think my favorite prisoner is way past that—seemed a little broken the last time I tried to play with it.” Aneira nodded at the guard and he slammed the gate. The bars rattled, the reverberation hurting my teeth. Something at the other end of the cell stirred. I wasn’t alone. They locked me up with another prisoner.

  “I do hope you enjoy your time with us.” Aneira turned and swept out of the room.

  When the room emptied, my prison mate’s head rose up. Glare from the little light that was in the cell reflected in the eyes. It reminded me of when your car headlight catches an animal’s eyes. They nervously assessed the space. Sensing there was no immediate threat, the form sat up. The chains clinked and scratched across the floor and against the walls. By the simple movement I knew it to be a woman. The figure was too delicate and small in stature to be a man.

  “Hello?” The voice was quiet and groggy.

  “Hi,” I responded back, hauling myself up into a sitting position. The pain of the iron began to fade.

  “Did they just bring you in?” she asked, her voice so quiet. I couldn’t stop feeling like I recognized the voice from somewhere else.

  “Yeah. Guess I should not have checked the Dae box at immigration.”

  The woman went quiet for a moment before I heard her whisper, “Oh, holy crap on ash bark.”

  My stomach plummeted and chills rolled over my flesh. There was only one person I knew who had
ever used that phrase—but there was no way. No way.

  “What did you say?” I demanded.

  “No, I can’t believe this . . . you aren’t supposed to be here. That was the whole point,” the lady mumbled to herself.

  Fire and ice seared through me. My legs began shaking but somehow I got to my feet. Shadows were thick, but my eyes were slowly adjusting. I didn’t need to see, though; my heart and gut knew. The woman in front of me was a shell of what I remembered, but it didn’t keep me from seeing who it was. This was too much, my body quaked underneath me.

  “Oh, my God.” My throat felt tight as I whispered out, “Mom?”

  “Yes, sweetie, it’s me.”

  My mother was alive.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Air no longer moved in and out of my body easily. I stared at the outline of my mother with a numbness that cut off all thought. If I blinked, I was afraid she would disappear, an apparition created by hope and memories. My vision took in a hand reaching for me, the chains rattling. They sounded far away, muffled. The hand grazed my shoulder, but it didn’t feel like it was touching me. It was as if I was not present in my body.

  “Holy ash bark . . . you have grown up . . . into such a beauty.” She continued to ramble on about my looks, height and how old I had gotten but it was simply buzzing in my ears.

  “Breathe, Ember.” Both her hands moved to my shoulders, gripping me. Her orange-brown eyes stared into mine.

  With a sharp inhale everything came back into focus. Warmth from her hands soaked into me. She was real. “Mom,” my voice squeezed out, emotion choking me.

  “Yes, my beautiful girl. I am here.” Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me into her.