Daughters of the Morrigan Boxed Set: (Books 1-3)

by Nina Croft

  He glanced down at himself. He was covered in blood. Some of it was the hound’s, but more of it was his own, and he couldn’t seem to care. The knife dropped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. What was he supposed to fight?

  He caught Gina’s gaze and saw the same anguish reflected in her eyes. For a brief second, a savage wave of satisfaction washed through him, but it passed quickly, and he knew he would do anything to take that sadness from her.

  He turned away. Picking up his shirt, he used it to wipe the blood from his shoulder. The cuts were deep and stung viciously, but he relished the pain.

  “Darius,” Gina said softly. She reached out a hand to him, then dropped it, as though she, too, knew the futility of any gesture at this point. “This is my sister Regan.”

  “Oh, we’ve met,” he said, keeping his voice clear of emotion.

  “You have?”

  She wrinkled her brow, and he realized they had never spoken of his visits to her sisters. “I went to find you, after you’d disappeared the first time. She”—he nodded at the redhead, who was bent over the fallen hound—“threatened to set the dogs on me.”

  ***

  Gina frowned. Her sister hadn’t told her that Darius had come looking for her all those years ago, but then, why would she? Or that she had handed Raven over in person.

  Regan was crouched beside the hound, her hand stroking its huge head, and he struggled to his feet, sides heaving. The hounds were the only creatures she had ever known Regan to show affection to. Now she turned to stare at Gina, accusation clear in her face.

  “He’s hurt.”

  “Well, it’s your fault,” Gina muttered. “You shouldn’t have sent them.”

  “You gave the vampire a knife.”

  She glared at her sister. “What did you expect me to do, stand by and watch while they ripped him to pieces?”

  “Yes,” Regan hissed. She stood up and whirled toward Darius. She raised her hand, and Gina knew she was going to release magic that would destroy him forever. Gina stepped between them.

  “Stop it,” she said.

  Regan looked at her, but her hand remained poised to strike. “We should have finished this years ago.”

  A soft growl came from behind her, and Gina knew it was Darius. She glanced at him. With his whole body radiating tension, he stood poised to leap. Maybe he would make it. Maybe he could get to Regan before she released the magic.

  Then what?

  There was no good way for this to end. Gina didn’t want either of them to die, and she had accepted her own fate long ago.

  She put up both hands, palms out, one facing Darius, one Regan.

  “Stand down. Both of you.”

  Regan stared at her through narrowed eyes but lowered her arm. Gina turned to Darius. He nodded once and stepped back. The tension drained from his body, and acceptance dulled his dark eyes. She reached out and touched him gently.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. She wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for—the hounds, her sister, for coming into his life and ruining it forever.

  He looked at her, his eyes bleak. “So am I,” he replied. He walked away from her and sank down on the edge of the bed, the blood-soaked shirt clenched in his fist.

  Gina stared at him, trying to imprint his face on her mind. Then she turned back to her sister and drew herself up tall. She knew Regan loved her. She had cared for Gina her whole life, brought her up when their own mother had abandoned her as a baby, but it was time her older sister learned that Gina could be pushed only so far.

  “I’m coming back with you because I know my duty, not because you are forcing me.” Her voice rang cold in her ears. “I’m willing to pay the price for what I did but know this. If you lay so much as one finger on him, I will disappear.”

  Regan watched her carefully. Her eyes flicked from Gina to Darius, as if weighing the risk. “It wasn’t hard to find you this time,” she said.

  Gina shrugged. “You can send the hounds after me, they can drag me back, and you can do what you must. But remember, a payment given freely is worth far more than one taken.”

  “You would force me to do that?”

  “Yes.” Gina knew, in that moment, that she spoke the truth. After all, she was the daughter of the Morrigan, goddess of war and pestilence, and a part of her knew that if Darius died, she would let the whole world burn and not care about the consequences.

  She allowed the truth to show in her eyes.

  ***

  Darius looked at her, and despair flooded him. A moment ago he’d stood poised, knowing he could take her sister before she could speak the spell. Then there would have been nothing and nobody to stand in their way.

  Gina’s words had stopped him. He realized now that he had always thought of her as vulnerable. He’d clung to the idea that she needed protection. His protection. In the deep recesses of his mind he’d believed she was going back only because her evil sister was forcing her. She’d spoken of duty, but he hadn’t believed it.

  Now he saw her clearly. She was strong, powerful. She was going back because it was the right thing to do. She would take on the world to protect him, but she wouldn’t be his.

  His gaze flicked to her sister. Their gazes met, and he saw the same knowledge reflected in her face, and knew he was safe from her attack. The thought brought him no pleasure.

  “I won’t touch him,” Regan said. She turned to Gina. “Come now, we must go.” She clicked her fingers, and the hounds came to her, whining softly, nudging at her hands.

  Darius forced himself to sit unmoving, not to call out to Gina. He was so used to taking what he wanted, but now he must let her go. He had to be strong for her. At the last moment, as they stood at the portal, Gina hesitated.

  “Wait,” she said to her sister. “I need to say good-bye.”

  Regan nodded once, then backed away to stand by the portal, the hounds at her side.

  He watched as Gina walked toward him. Her beauty tore at his heart.

  “What?” he asked. “Tell me what I can do for you.”

  She swallowed, then reached out and touched his cheek. “Forget me,” she said.

  He shook his head. “I wouldn’t even if I could.”

  He took her hand, kissed her palm. It wasn’t enough, and he tugged her toward him. When she didn’t resist, he dragged her closer so she tumbled across his lap. He held her against him, feeling her heart beating against his. Then he lifted her chin, baring the long line of her throat.

  He could see her pulse thundering beneath her skin. He kissed it softly. She stiffened in his arms and then relaxed, going boneless and languid. His fangs ached, and he knew she wouldn’t stop him, but instead, he kissed up her throat, along her jaw, his lips settling on hers, his tongue slipping inside to taste her. His body hardened against her as hers grew softer.

  Finally, he forced himself to pull back and look into her strange eyes one last time. They were soft with longing.

  “I will never forget,” he said, and released her.

  She rose to her feet, swayed slightly. He reached out a hand to help, and then let it fall. She turned and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder once.

  Mine.

  The word echoed through his mind, and then she was gone.

  Her sister stood staring at him, hatred stamped on her face. She turned to follow Gina, but Darius needed to make one thing clear. “She’s mine, not yours,” he said. Regan paused. She glanced back over her shoulder, and he continued. “When she comes back, we will be together. However long, I’ll wait.”

  Regan’s eyes narrowed on him. He’d always believed her cold, entirely without feelings. Now she allowed him a glimpse of the pain that lay behind the coldness. “You don’t understand, do you?”

  A wave of foreboding washed over him. “Understand what?”

  “Gina is never coming back.”

  “You can’t banish her forever.”

  “Banish her? If she told you that was the payment d
ue, then she lied.” Regan looked at him, and something close to pity crossed her features. “No, Gina’s life is forfeit. Her death is the price. She dies tomorrow night.”

  Shock ripped through him. He stared, unable to speak.

  “That is what you have brought her to, Darius Cole. This is your fault.” Regan turned back to the portal.

  Darius stumbled to his feet. “Wait,” he said. “There must be some way. Take my life as payment.”

  She ignored his words and took the final step.

  “Come back,” he screamed. “Tell me what I can do.”

  A single word echoed back as the portal closed.

  “Pray.”

  Chapter Eight

  Darius stared at the spot where Gina and Regan had disappeared. The portal had vanished, leaving only the lingering scent of ozone hanging in the air.

  He wanted to believe Regan had lied, but he’d seen the truth in her eyes. Forcing down the panic, he went over everything Gina had told him. She’d cleverly hidden the truth, speaking in half lies, and he’d believed her. Now it was too late. A scream of pain tore through him. It couldn’t be over. She couldn’t die. He wouldn’t allow it!

  He left the room, heading for the elevator. It took him up to the roof of the building. As he stepped out into the hot night air, crimson lightning still flashed across the sky.

  He’d never been one to pray, even before he’d lost his soul. He’d always taken whatever he wanted and to hell with the consequences. Now he would pray. He would make the gods listen. He sank to his knees. And prayed for a way to save her.

  My life for hers. Whatever it takes… Just tell me how to save her.

  A shadow passed across the moon, and he glanced up as a huge crow swooped down and landed on the wall beside him. Darius rose to his feet as it watched him, head cocked on one side, yellow eyes bright. It hopped down to the floor, and a moment later, a woman stood before him.

  She was tall, slender, with long black hair threaded with crow’s feathers, and silver eyes rimmed with charcoal. Her skin was smooth and olive-toned, her face was marked with curling runes radiating out from the corners of her eyes, and she wore a band studded with rubies around her upper arm.

  She was beautiful, yet something about her made him step back and widen the distance between them.

  She smiled. “Darius Cole, I presume?”

  He nodded, watching her warily, and her smile widened. “Do you know who I am?”

  “I can guess.” He looked her over carefully. “Am I supposed to kneel or something?”

  “No, but perhaps a little humility would not be amiss.”

  He thought about it for all of two seconds. “I’m not very good at humility,” he said.

  “No, I’d heard that about you.”

  He stared at her. Had she come to answer his prayers or had Gina’s family decided to finish him off, after all? He remained silent, waiting.

  She was still studying him in return, head cocked on one side like the bird she’d appeared as. “You know,” she said, “I have often been accused of being an unnatural mother, of not caring for my children. I suppose there is some truth in that, but while I have never involved myself in their upbringing and their lives, I have not cut my ties with them entirely.”

  “Are you going to help us?” he snarled.

  “Such impatience. I can see why you wind up Regan so much. Then again, I can also see the attraction.” She ran her eyes over the length of his body, and his skin prickled. “I’ve never had a vampire,” she mused. “I always thought they’d be too much trouble, but maybe I should give it a go. Maybe I would like you to kneel for me, after all.”

  He growled low in his throat.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” she said, “you’re already spoken for.”

  “I am?”

  Her eyes narrowed at that. “Aren’t you?” she asked. “I was under the impression my daughter had claimed you.”

  Something close to hope flickered to life inside him. Darius pushed it aside. Hope was a wasted emotion. What he needed was action. “Tell me what I can do,” he said. “Tell me how to save her life.”

  “You cannot. Her life is forfeit. She must die to return the world to balance.”

  Rage surged through him. “Then why are you here? To taunt me? To tell me I am to blame?” He turned away, fists clenched at his side. “I don’t need to be told—I already blame myself.” The Darkness was rising inside him. He forced it down and turned back to face her. “Why did you come?”

  “Because you asked me.” She considered him, her eyes boring into his soul. “What are you willing to do to be with my daughter?”

  He answered without thinking. “Anything.”

  “And what do you think Gina is willing to do, to be with you?”

  He frowned at the question. “She will not risk the world.”

  “Well, that’s good. But beyond that?”

  “Beyond that, I believe she would risk anything.” He shrugged, then gritted his teeth. “Goddamn it, tell me what to do.”

  She sighed, as if impatient with his slowness. “You are a vampire?”

  His eyes narrowed in frustration. “You know that.”

  “And what must one do to become a vampire?”

  He closed his eyes. At last, he understood. “You have to die.”

  Darius stood on the clifftop, high above the sea. The tang of salt filled his nostrils; the crash of the waves sounded in his ears. The stone circle loomed stark before him. It lay in ruins, many of the great stones fallen and overgrown, but the hum of magic still radiated from the place. The Morrigan had told him Gina would come here tonight. She’d take her own life here, among the stones, in payment for saving their daughter.

  He leaned against one of the rough stones, shoved his hands in his pockets. All he could do now was wait, but panic clawed at his insides. What if she wouldn’t agree? What if he was wrong and she didn’t love him enough to risk her soul? What if she would rather die than become a vampire?

  Then again, what if she agreed, and he failed? The transition didn’t always go smoothly. Many died and were not reborn if the vampire’s blood was not strong or the recipient was too weak. Darius gritted his teeth. He would make it work.

  He caught a glimpse of movement beyond the rim of the stones. He straightened. Gina was here.

  ***

  The night was warm, but Gina shivered as she followed the narrow track up the steep hillside. Fear gripped her mind, and only force of will kept her feet moving forward, one step at a time.

  The stones came into view, and she paused. She was nearly there now. It was almost time. She closed her eyes and tried to picture Darius, but fear clouded her mind. Some part of her wished he had fed from her one last time and strengthened the bond between them. It would have been good to feel him now, as the end drew near, but that wouldn’t have been fair. This way, he would eventually forget, move on with his life.

  She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The lightning was almost constant now, illuminating the ring of stones that stood on the crest of the hill.

  She walked on, finally stepping between two huge fallen rocks to stand within the circle. The flat altar stone lay before her, and the air throbbed with magic. Gina’s hand slipped down, her fingers stroking over the ceremonial dagger at her waist. She would use it to open her wrists. The blade was sharp, it would be painless, and her life would simply drain away.

  And she would never see Darius again.

  Her whole being screamed against that thought, and in her mind, she sensed a faint flicker of response. She whirled around.

  Darius?

  A tall figure separated from the dark shadows of the standing stones. He walked toward her. She could sense his fear and, beneath the fear, an eagerness she did not understand. Had he come to try and stop her? He couldn’t know what she was about to do.

  He halted a foot away, so close she could reach out and touch him. Her hands clenched at her sides. “What are you doing he
re?” He looked at her for long moments, and she saw the pain in his eyes. “Oh God,” she said. “You know?”

  “Regan told me.”

  “She had no right.”

  He shrugged. “I asked her what I could do. She told me to pray.” Gina frowned, but he continued. “I didn’t believe I would be heard, but your mother came.”

  Gina started in shock. “I—”

  He put up a hand. “Hear me out,” he said. “She told me there was nothing I could do to prevent it. You must die. But…” He paused, ran his fingers through his hair. He appeared unsure about how to go on.

  “Tell me,” Gina urged.

  “There is a way for us to be together.”

  She searched his face. He’d said she had to die. Did he mean to die with her, then? Her whole being rejected the idea. “I will not allow you to take your own life.”

  He stared at her intently, searching her face. “Then will you allow me to take yours?” He looked deep into her eyes. “Are you willing to become a vampire to stay with me?”

  Gina’s brain stopped. Then she was flooded with thoughts, all clamoring in her head. To be a vampire. She would lose her soul but gain Darius for all eternity. Was it possible?

  Something struck her then. “Regan told me you would one day take my life. Could this be what she saw?” She was finding it hard to take in. “My mother suggested this?”

  He nodded.

  “Will it be enough? Will the price be paid?”

  “She said so, but you must know the consequences. You will lose your soul, never see the sun again.”

  It didn’t matter. A wild surge of hope was building inside her, and she knew then that she would rather have the night with Darius than the daytime alone. “I’m willing.”

  He closed his eyes. When he opened them, she saw the same hope reflected in his face. He reached out for her, and she slipped her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the altar.

  “What must I do?” she asked.

  “Your body must die. I’ll drink from you until your heart stops beating, then you must take my blood to be reborn. Will you accept my blood?”