Chained to Darkness

by Raven Woodward

  It must have been the guilt of sleeping with Rasimus that cast her into the strange dreamscape. It was dark with only a single light from above, shining down on the cage before her. A man sat inside, hugging his knees to his chest while resting his head on them. His familiarity hit her like a ton of bricks thrown from the highest building.

  Arian’s head snapped up, his dark hair falling over one tortured green eye. Registering who was watching him, he leapt to his feet.

  “Harlow?” His voice was dry and brittle.

  She took a few steps forward, suddenly wondering if it was real. But looking around at their surroundings—at the nothingness around them—dissolved her hope.

  Stopping just outside the cage, she saw Arian’s entire body tense as he sniffed the air. Her confusion was short-lived because his face screwed up in disgust. Then rage and hurt warred for dominance on his striking features. He stepped back, shaking his head slowly.

  “You didn’t,” he groaned, bending at the waist, and covering his head with his arms. She noticed faint silvery scars all over his arms, back, and chest. “Fuck, Harlow, tell me you didn’t.”

  The low, pained moan twisted her heart, shredding it into a thousand pieces.

  She sobbed. “What happened to you?” Where had he gotten so many scars? Was Onoliza torturing him?

  His head snapped up, eyes burning with golden fire. “Don’t change the subject!”

  Harlow took an involuntary step backward—Arian never lost his temper with her.

  “I had to,” she said, hoping she sounded stronger than she felt. “Oricus gave me an ultimatum. I did what I had to.”

  He sneered. “By letting twelve guys fuck you at once? What the hell, Harlow? You go from being a virgin to a gangbang in less than a year? That’s not like you.”

  The anger that flooded her threatened to consume her. It shook the floor and rattled the cage, making Arian pause. When all became still, the words she’d been too afraid to ask spilled out of her.

  “Did you kill my parents?”

  Arian’s rage still swirled in the molten gold of his irises, but she saw the faintest flicker of something more: regret.

  Shock stunned her into silence. It couldn’t be true.

  Arian had protected her for her whole life.

  He wouldn’t do this.

  He didn’t do this.

  It was a trick.

  Somehow.

  The pine-and-rain scent mixed with the cloying, unmistakable smell of decay told Harlow that though this was a dream, she was really speaking to Arian.

  But still she wanted to ask him something only he would know. Which meant it was either her subconscious, or it was really Arian. “The painting hanging up in your closet, what date did I paint it?”

  “April 13th, your senior year of college.”

  She exhaled, dropping her gaze to her bare feet. “I want to hear you say it. Did you kill my parents? Did you try to kill me and my sister?”

  Arian swallowed audibly. “I didn’t even know that Oricus knew. Figures he’d tell you to get you to sleep with him.”

  Her gaze snapped up to his, and she hoped he saw the unbridled well of emotion rising inside her. “Why?” The word was barely a whisper, yet her hair gusted off her shoulders, the air blowing through the shared space entirely her creation.

  This she remembered. Her volatile emotions wreaking havoc.

  And right now, they were about to unleash a torrent of hellfire that she hoped charred the man she’d trusted and given her heart and body to.

  Arian shook his head, pain fixed on his face. “It was a rash decision. I’d heard that Oricus was going to try to kill you himself and I panicked for a moment. Just long enough to step out onto the road, knowing your parents’ car was coming toward me. I knew the road would be icy and he wouldn’t be able to stop in time.” His eyes slid shut and a tear slipped down his cheek. “Harlow, since the moment your heart started to beat, I’ve cared for you. I tried so hard to protect you and give you a normal life, but I knew if you lived you’d forever be at my brother’s mercy. That he’d never stop until he destroyed you.” He opened his eyes again. True remorse showed on his face, but Harlow was unmoved. “You were my Marked and my only hope of ending my long miserable life. But if you’d died at least you’d never have suffered at his hands. At my hands.”

  His head fell, and Harlow almost felt pity for him.

  “You killed my parents, Arian. The two people I needed and loved most in this world. You took them from me. Not Oricus. You. My whole life you controlled where I went, who I was with. You made sure I never had lasting relationships or anything meaningful, for that matter. The job you gave Mary sent her to the other side of the world, leaving me entirely alone. Every bit of loneliness and loss I suffered was at your hands. Yes, most of it was because you were hiding me from Oricus, but Oricus didn’t rip my family apart. You did.” She shook her head. “You’re no better than him.”

  Arian leapt up, striding for the bars. He pressed his face between them. “I will never be able to live with myself for what I did, but Oricus has made you like me—like him—and you haven’t even learned what loneliness is. Just wait until you’ve watched centuries go by. All the people you get to know die in the blink of an eye. It’s all just temporary. But not you and not me.”

  “And I will spend forever figuring out how to keep you and the rest of your pathetic, lowlife kind away from me,” she spat.

  The ground shook again, and with the rising pulse of her pounding heart came a blast of blinding blue light.

  Then Arian was gone.

  Harlow sat up, gasping for air. The room was dark, but she felt some of them sitting just outside her room, soothing the ache of bone-deep hurt and betrayal.

  She hated that they were so close. Even more so, she hated that them being near instantly acted like a balm on a wound they each helped create. None of them were innocent, but truly only one man was responsible for her parents’ murder, and he was far away. Somewhere on this planet, but beyond her reach.

  Her door opened, revealing Xalicur and Koen. “Go away,” she hissed, leaning an elbow on her thigh and her forehead in her hand.

  They were both silent, but neither heeded her command. Stripping off his shirt, Xalicur strode into her room, undeterred by the venomous look she shot him. He climbed across her, settling himself on her right, while Koen did the same on her left.

  “We didn’t know,” Xalicur whispered, stroking a hand up and down her arm.

  Harlow examined his face in the dark, detecting the truth as though it were printed on his skin. He was easily the sweetest out of all her men, gentle and kind, though his body was hard. My men? But they were, weren’t they? By bond and by the joining they’d done. She found herself relaxing slightly but stayed upright.

  Koen pressed a kiss to her thigh. “I’m guessing Oricus didn’t tell us that Arian had been responsible because he didn’t want all of us to be guilty of keeping that secret. Which is probably the most selfless thing he’s ever done,” he said with a snort.

  Harlow didn’t laugh, though she finally scooted back under the covers, secretly loving the warmth and comfort they provided.

  “Thanks, but nothing is going to let Oricus off the hook for what he’s done. Everything that’s happened, he’s played a role in too.”

  “True,” Koen agreed, “but never underestimate the lengths that guy is willing to go for you.”

  She didn’t want to argue anymore. When she closed her eyes, she wanted to be the scared little girl who had climbed on her father’s lap during a thunderstorm, and for him to tell her stories until she fell asleep.

  But all she could think was that Maribelle was somewhere on Scondelade, scared, and likely had no idea where Harlow was or what had happened to her. And worst of all, she’d trusted Arian, when Arian had been the one to cause the accident and send their parents’ car careening over the side of a bridge.

 
He’d killed them. And he’d almost taken Mary from her too.

  Cocooned between two of her mates, it was the thought of revenge that sent her drifting back to sleep.

  The door flew open, jarring Harlow awake.

  “The hell kind of slumber party is this?” Oricus demanded, striding into the room. Curled up on the floor with pillows and blankets like it really was a slumber party, Tadaj, Lefayon, Darrow, Arodis, and Rex stirred.

  Oricus’s grey eyes flared with irritation in the room’s awakening light. “The Empress’s ship is being loaded. We have to go.”

  Harlow sat up, the warm bodies on either side of her rousing from sleep as well. Her stomach bottomed out when she looked around at everyone else’s resigned expressions.

  Stretching, Darrow said, “This is it, then. Off to battle we go.”

  Harlow forced herself to swallow, meeting Oricus’s intense gaze. With one look he held her captive, bound, and at his mercy. She tried to reign in the desire flooding her body, focusing instead on the fact that they were about to go to war. Finally, he tore his attention away from her, shooting each one of them a snarling look of disgust before marching back out of the room.

  Her mates climbed out of bed, and after a moment she did as well. Xalicur pressed a kiss to her temple, then he followed Koen and the others out, their paces far more relaxed than she thought the situation called for.

  She strode to her wardrobe. It opened for her, and a wicked, gleaming suit of black armor detailed with golden whorls whirred to the front of the rack. She took it, her hands starting to shake.

  This is happening, she thought to herself. She’d never been in a full-on war before. It was impossible to know what to expect, though she’d seen movies and read about plenty of wars.

  She slipped into the armor, and each piece hugged her body like a second skin. It was light and beautiful in its craftmanship. No doubt a prince of Scondelade would have access to all the best armor. Had Emuria made it?

  A moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in,” Harlow called, still admiring the beautiful design inlaid into the steel or whatever material her armor was made from.

  Oricus stepped in, his bare chest painted in black symbols, dark pants hugging his lean legs. When his grey eyes swept down Harlow, taking in her custom-made battle gear, satisfaction lit them. “Time to go,” he said.

  Swallowing hard, she nodded, and followed him. In the hall, her other mates circled her, their chests bare and covered in the same symbols. Only Rex wore armor similar to hers, though the gleaming black metal was absent of any ornate design. He walked beside her, casting a small smile in her direction before locking his gaze straight ahead. Determination, anger, and eagerness radiated from him.

  They all felt the same: the thrill of battle tainting the air. Even Harlow felt it beginning to take root in her veins, her magic swelling in her palms.

  Onoliza would not get far enough to take over the Earth. Harlow wouldn’t allow it. She would sooner pour out every ounce of power than allow the corrupted Empress to rule over humans.

  I just hope we all survive in the process.

  They sprinted as fast as they could, feet flying over rough terrain as though they simply glided. The dark sky was filled with even more aircraft than the night before, their lights bathing the ground in an eerie glow. They crossed the bay using the old footbridge though it was in serious need of repairs.

  By the time they’d crossed most of the land, her body ached, and the air hummed with ships preparing to make the jump to Earth. Eqoraline, as Oricus had called it, came into view not long after. Most of the city still slumbered, allowing them to enter through the main entrance at top speed.

  The castle floated high up in the sky, and she began to wonder how they would get there. But instead of explaining, her mates all crouched low before springing up into the air like little rockets. Harlow—not wanting to look the fool—followed suit, and was shocked when her feet landed on the steps leading inside.

  But Oricus had them sneaking around the back, diving behind statues whenever guards came into view. At her internal musings of the stone lovers entwined in the throes of pleasure, Oricus had said it was one of the few things Onoliza had accomplished during her reign.

  They crept around the corner where servants filed in and out. Harlow’s heart pounded at the sight of a massive freighter ship that cages were being loaded into. They were placed on boards that hovered a foot or so off the ground. When the last flying platform floated out of the open port, hundreds of guards piled in after. Harlow caught sight of the Empress standing in the shadows. The darkness seemed repelled by her presence, her thin, metallic blue gown glittering as though it were crafted from a million tiny shards of ice. Maybe it was.

  Her jade skin seemed to be lit from within, her blue hair oiled to one side of her face. And clutched in her hand was a chain. But this time, there wasn’t a massive beast at her side.

  Arian, entirely man, stood with a collar around his neck. A spike of anger suffused through Harlow’s veins at the sight.

  Murderer.

  Though he seemed to blend into the darkness far better than his keeper, Harlow could still see the gaunt lines on his face and his bloodshot eyes.

  He looked like a mess.

  Good, she thought darkly, then guilt washed through her. No one deserved what he was suffering.

  Oricus nudged her, forcing her attention to him. He focused on Arian too for a moment, then motioned toward the floating airship.

  Somehow, the Empress hadn’t noticed their presence yet, but Harlow knew that wouldn’t last long.

  Get ready, Oricus said down the bond. The others nodded briefly, clearly hearing the instruction too.

  Harlow gave herself a final glance in Arian’s direction. She would free him from the treacherous bitch’s hold. Then she’d douse him in fire for the mother and father he took from her.

  ONOLIZA

  The cages were loaded into the ship’s open freight door. Crying and snarling came from under the black sheets draped over top. Though there was no sunlight, even artificial light was dangerous to their young. And she wasn’t completely heartless.

  Their venom was necessary for the coming battle. It would spread like a scourge among the human race, doing the work of reducing the population for her. And of course, if her precious Dominicus decided to act out again, the Couguay would control him. Now that Oricus and his band of misfits were aware that they were not as infallible as she’d let them believe for millennia, it would keep them in line too.

  The last cage, guided on the hover carriers by two dozen of her soldiers, was three times the size of the others. Inside, the beast slumbered in a magic-induced sleep only she could rouse it from. When the time came, she would do just that.

  The sky was filled with floating ships, glowing and ready for the sonic jump to Earth. She looked out on the armies she’d collected, and smiled. Though she’d vowed to never harm the planets her beloved had created, it was clear he was never coming back. It seemed only right to take them into her loving arms now.

  The pilot gave a nod to say the ship was charged and ready to go. The thrill of the battle and bloodshed to come made frozen parts thaw. What she wouldn’t give for a nice stiff dick right about now. Or twelve. She smirked before tugging on the chain in her hand—dragging Arian, who hissed menacingly at her.

  “Yes, yes, darling, I know, alpha male and all that. Collars aren’t your thing, but you really do look so sexy wearing it.” She winked back at him. His demeanor shifted, body tense.

  Before she could react, thirteen beasts launched their strong bodies onto the platform. The familiar furless grey monster with wicked eyes knocked her back against the steps. She smiled, wrapping her hands around his solid front legs, and let ice grow from her palms.

  Oricus roared in pain, snapping his jaw in her face. She moved just in time, his teeth hitting opulent pearl-encased stone instead. It cr
umpled easily, but her ice penetrated skin and sinew, working toward the bones. He jerked back, rolling away from her. Obviously, he didn’t like the idea of having to regrow his arms. Smart.

  The chain she’d released thrashed only feet away, still holding Arian while he fought in his sexy, virile beast form. She wanted to experience him like this. Growly, covered in fur, with claws and teeth that could maim.

  Oricus paced back and forth, limping, and his brother Rasimus joined in, midnight-black fur shining almost blue in the moonlight.

  “Rasimus,” she cooed. “It’s been so long.” Climbing back to her feet, she glanced over at the others as they easily tore through her Scondeladian guard, painting the steps in rivers of blood. With a sigh, she sent a wave of ice over the stairs. Screams and yelps rang out while everyone attempted to get to their footing. Many of the guards tumbled off, missing the open ship door by mere feet. Their screams dissipated as they plummeted to the ground below.

  Arian leapt for one of Oricus’s creatures—one that she didn’t recognize, with white fur —and it stumbled, its back paws slipping. The crunch of ice was all that was heard as it lashed its front claws in, trying to anchor itself.

  A whimper came from one of them, and Onoliza focused on it. Female, she realized.

  The fiery red fur and blazing blue eyes snapped into place: Harlow Marks. The human bitch that stole her men.

  But how had she—

  Whirling back to Oricus, she tsk-tsked. “You gave your mate my gift.” She took a step forward while his gaze flicked from the scrabbling creature—assisted by two others onto solid ground—to her. When Onoliza moved closer, his attention remained locked on her.

  As it should be!

  “Come now, Oricus, don’t try to fight me. You know you’ll lose. Just like you did when I murdered your mother and father. I licked their blood from my fingertips. Do you remember?”

  His eyes hardened to stone.

  “None of the times you’ve tried to trick me or take my crown from me have ever worked.”