A Token's Worth (Spawn of Darkness Book 1)

by S. A. Parker

  “I’m surprised such a small thing can eat so much food.”

  I sit up, on alert, gaze skimming around the room and coming to rest on Day. “How long have you been standing there?” I feel my cheeks heat. Not gonna lie, I ate that meal like an animal. I glance down at myself. Phew … no splotches on the dress. My bandages, however … aaargh.

  He shrugs and pushes off from the wall, sauntering towards me with an air of bravado. This kingdom suites him, I can tell that already. “I snuck in part way through the first serving, so I got to experience the kaleidoscope of sounds you made throughout all eight servings after that. I must say, I’ll dream about those sounds tonight when I’m alone in my bed.”

  I roll my eyes. Cock in hand; he doesn’t need to say it. I was moaning like a bitch in heat throughout most of my meal. I know what that sound does to a man’s, well, manhood. Hey there, soldier.

  I lick the last of the drizzle from my fingers, wash it down with a chug of water then clank the glass back on the table with gusto, feeling like I could sleep for another few days now. Though, I’ll probably need someone to roll me back to bed first. I yawn, almost cracking my jaw in the process, but two strong hands land on my shoulders.

  “Out of the question, you’ve been asleep in my palace for two days. You need sunshine. Flowers don’t bloom in the dark, Dell.”

  I turn my head to scowl at Day over my shoulder. “What are you talking about? I saw myself in the mirror earlier and I look like a blushing goddamn bride.”

  His grip tightens as he leans in close. “That’s because I fed you daylight, little mortal. You were starved of food, sunshine, and many other things, but I cannot replace the real thing.” He gestures towards the nine empty plates before me, that were all heaped with food before I attacked them so voraciously. “Obviously. So, whether you agree to this or not, is irrelevant. I can always take you out to play by force.” He pulls away, releasing my shoulders and tugging my chair back with a loud grind.

  I turn on the spot. “Don’t fucking damage the floor! I was eyeing that bit for my Eastern Territory fund!” That was a real pretty piece, now it’s all scuffed up and will probably take a year to fucking polish.

  He cocks a brow. “You were going to steal a piece of my floor?”

  Oops. I slowly stand. “No … of course not.”

  He shakes his head, a small smile wrestling its way onto his perfect fucking lips.

  “Why am I here? Did you snatch me from Aero?”

  Day’s eyes glint, the powder blue stark in the light. “No, he had some urgent business to attend so he couldn’t babysit you, which he would if you were at his palace because he’s becoming dangerously attached to our pet mortal, if missing his dawn call is anything to go by.”

  Wanker. I’m not a pet, least of all theirs.

  He takes my wrist and tugs me towards the open wall. The sparkling metropolis lies sprawled below, a conglomeration of glittering buildings, all different heights and widths, much like a collection of shiny, pointy schlongs.

  Better not say that out loud.

  The cyan shoreline laps at white sandy beaches stretching as far as I can see in both directions.

  I lean out, trying to see how tall the palace is. I have a sneaky suspicion Sol is trying to advertise the size of his cock with the height of his palace schlong spires. His grip on me tightens and he tugs me in.

  I throw him a venomous leer. “Why are you holding me so tightly?” It’s starting to fucking hurt. “Ouch!”

  “Can you think of no reason?” He asks in a cutting tone that probably sends most women to their knees with his cock in their mouths.

  Of course, he watched me jump off a goddam cliff. That stupid little stunt’s going to follow me around for the rest of my life.

  “Except for the promise of a magic boost, you don’t seem like the type to care.” I narrow my gaze on him. “Wait, is that why you brought me here? Because you don’t give a fuck and won’t go all crazy Fae on me and shirk your responsibilities?”

  He tugs me a little closer and I suck in a breath, because now we’re very close, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

  “I brought you here because of all the Sun Gods, I have the most control over my body and my mind. And … others.” He looks me up and down.

  My breath thickens, which I try to hide, and likely fail.

  “And because I prefer not to lose track of my possessions.”

  I jerk my arm, but his hold is firm. Bastard. I’m nobody’s bitch. Well, anymore. Unless they drop me back on Kroe’s doorstep.

  A mischievous glint appears in his eyes and he spreads his glorious silver wings, tugs me tightly into his chest and throws us off the balcony.

  I scream then laugh as the wind whips at my face, my body tucked in against Day’s muscular form. His hold on me tightens as we bank sharply, dodging our way through the cluster of pointy, sparkly, schlong towers.

  They become gradually less coagulated, before we fly over the band of bleached sand, skim across the crests of the tumbling waves then drop to the water’s surface, levelling out to meet with a pod of dolphins cavorting through the crystal-clear water, so close the spray from their play dances across my skin. We race ahead of the dolphins, flying so fast now the wind catches my laughter and whips it away before it leaves my lips.

  But those wings. My vagina wants to rub herself all over them, though I’m trying my hardest to block her running commentary on how big and shiny they are. She’s weeping with delight that she’s getting to see them up close and personal again, and it’s really distracting. I wish she’d keep her happy vagina tears to herself.

  I’m starting to think the Sun Gods are enjoying parading their massive godly wings around for me, flashing them about and pumping at the air. If I see another pair of Sun God wings in the not too distant future, I might just have a coronary. My vagina’s eager to rise to the occasion, but personally, I could barely handle one High Fae, let alone four High Fae fucking Sun Gods. It might actually kill me. Immortals have too much stamina for my little mortal vagina, even if she does consider herself a thoroughbred.

  I glance back at the city, which backs onto an impressive mountain range that’s all lush and fertile beneath the bright rays of the midday sun. And I confirm, Sol’s palace spires are fucking huge. My vagina just fainted, but Sol’s grip tightens and she rouses immediately from her dramatic, temporary exit. I wiggle a little so he loosens his hold, not so much that he’ll drop me, that wouldn’t be fun, but enough so my vagina can recover and regain her limited mental capacity.

  I breathe in a large dose of sea air. Yeah, I must admit, the sunshine on my face feels damn glorious.

  “You’re relaxing,” Day states.

  I twist my head around to look at him. “Am I not meant to be? I thought that’s what you wanted?” High maintenance Fae God.

  He smiles. “It is what I want, I’m just not used to your scent smelling as such. It’s nice.”

  Nice? Well, fuck me. I never thought I’d hear that word come out of his controlling, sadistic mouth. I shift my gaze back to the ocean. “I made it down to the kitchen earlier, —”

  “I noticed.”

  “And,” I continue, glaring at him. I should probably die for that, but he only arches a brow, and I carry on, like a boss. “I noticed both men and women working the kitchen. Why?”

  A beat passes, then another, before Day spins me around so I’m now facing him. His expression is hard, his eyes a little inked, but they quickly return to normal. He searches my face, finally shaking his head. “I shouldn’t be able to tell you this. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “I don’t abide by the King’s rules where I can avoid it—nor does my Kingdom. Same goes for Dawn, Dusk and Night. I don’t give a fuck that the world gave birth to him and his pure white fucking wings. That dove-man is a psychopath and one day, I will kill him.”

  Well, fuck, that was a slap to the labia.

&nbs
p; “Kill him? Isn’t he integral for the world to … to … I don’t know, stay round or some shit?”

  “All he’s doing is poisoning the world that gave him life. Can’t you tell it’s rotting? It’s people along with it? I know you haven’t seen much beyond that shit smeared city, but the land is withering, just like his ancient, ungodly mind.”

  Fuck. I feel the blood draining from my face, my vagina ducking under the covers as my heart begins to gallop in my chest. This is … a lot.

  I shake my head. It doesn’t make sense …

  “Why haven’t any of us on the mortal lands heard of this?” My voice is hoarse, because if it’s true, this is ground-breaking. For many.

  For me.

  He frowns. “Why would he tell anyone on the mortal lands? All that would do is plant a seed of doubt in everyone’s mind. Spark rebellions. Not that much could be achieved from the slums the mortal lands have become, but still … he may be a psycho, but he’s no idiot.”

  “I didn’t mean him, Sol! Four gods against one? I know the King’s powerful, but from what I’ve seen, so are you four! Why the fuck don’t you tell anyone?” I’m yelling now, because the beast inside me is well and truly perched and ready to pounce. Her target—the God of fucking Day.

  His gaze narrows, nostrils flaring as his chest tightens against my body. “Don’t you think we would if we could? Don’t you think we’ve tried? We’re powerless! We’re nothing compared to what we used to be, Dell; practically fucking shadows of ourselves. You have no idea what we’ve lost! What we continue to lose every fucking day because of that immortal bastard who doesn’t deserve the title of God!”

  He’s yelling. Guess it’s contagious. Fury’s rolling off him in waves, causing my vagina to shrivel up, even from her little spot beneath the covers. Fucking pussy. I harden my features to make up for her incompetence.

  “He’s cast a ward, causing everyone to forget the binding phrase; the words you used to summon us the day you threw yourself off the cliff.” The bastard’s having a jab.

  “You want to go there again, Sol?”

  He hisses at me. Savage.

  “We are fucking there! You shouldn’t have been able to use them! You shouldn’t have gotten that fucking wish in the first place!”

  Yikes. Feral, growly Sol is in full swing.

  “Those words are special, Dell. They are the key to the give and take of power between the beings born of this world, and the sun. Or us as it’s representatives. Without them, we haven’t been able to restore our energy, our anchor which holds us here. Not only that, we’ve been forced to control the sun with our stores, which are running dangerously low.”

  Yeah, wow … okay.

  This is too much to take in. I’m feeling a little nauseous. Actually … a lot nauseous.

  “He’s warded us against speaking of, or even representing such things outside our kingdoms. In our weakened states, going against those wards would actually kill us. That’s why everyone thinks we’re on his fucking side, mortal.”

  Kill them? Fucking hell—this is too much. I don’t want to hear more, but I can’t bring myself to stop him either …

  He shakes his head, then arches his neck left and right, as if he’s working to expel some of the tension coiling his muscles. “Our territories used to be split four ways, evenly across the globe. There are physical markers that represent the old boundaries. Though he’s incredibly powerful, we resided in harmony for thousands of years with King Sterling, caring for our people, and our world, together. But something changed and he got sick of sharing. Now our people, who don’t have access to the Bright like us Gods do, are literally walled off in our kingdoms.” He tugs me closer to his body, crushing me against him, fuelling my concern that I’m about to vomit all over the man. “If King Sterling knew we were dragging a mortal through the Bright to get her around, we would get spit roasted.”

  A Sun God spit roast sounds fucking delectable, but you didn’t hear it from me.

  His gaze shifts from my face, to the horizon. “He’s stronger than ever, so are his wards. We still hold power over and around our kingdoms, but even that diminishes daily, the wards tugging closer every fucking hour as we slowly lose the ability to fight them.”

  No wonder they’re so desperate for a power surge. No wonder they’re so desperate to keep me safe.

  “What … what happens when your power runs out entirely?”

  The muscles in his jaw tense and he stares ahead, not meeting my gaze. “He’ll take our wings, and we’ll fall.”

  Motherfucker.

  “And the sun cycle?” I choke out the words, afraid of the answer, but needing to know.

  There’s a pause and our gazes lock, his wings beating in rhythm to my pounding heart.

  “He thinks the world can survive without it, without us. My guess is Kal, Drake, Aero and I will be absorbed by the sun again, and the world will perish, along with every mortal and immortal living here.” He shrugs. “Like I said, a flower doesn’t bloom in the dark, Dell.”

  I’m going to vomit. My mouth starts filling with saliva. Yeah, definitely going to vomit.

  “Mortal?”

  I shake my head, covering my mouth with my hand, because the last thing I want to do is projectile vomit all over those beautiful fucking wings. We’re suddenly whisked into the Bright so quickly that the nausea strengthens twice fold, but then I’m landing on sand, before a bush. I part the branches and proceed to empty my guts. Repeatedly.

  Why did I eat so much? That cake with the gooey drizzle does not taste good coming up the other way. It’s not until I think I’ve finished that I notice the hands holding my hair at the nape of my neck. Nice. Brownie points for Sol. “Thanks,” I croak, pushing the bush back into position and wiping my mouth.

  I’m about to try and stand when I’m suddenly swept up against Sol’s chest and carried towards the sound of lapping waves. I look around and see that we’re on an island, one so small I could walk thirty paces from one shore to the other in either direction. There’s a rustic little hut in the centre of the island, white curtains billowing softly in the wind. The building’s fringed with palm trees heavy with coconuts, and a few bushes—one of which has a pool of vomit beneath it, but we’ll ignore that minor detail.

  Sol places me feet first into the crystal-clear water. It’s tepid, I want to get in. No … I need to get in. I take a shaky step forward, but Sol’s holding my arms.

  “I want to swim.” I glance back at him. “Please don’t stop me.”

  He’s frowning. “You’re fully dressed and in a weakened state—it’ll be dangerous. You either take the dress off or you don’t go in at all.”

  I know he’s right, but it doesn’t stop me from rolling my eyes. Is it possible he’s concerned for my actual life rather than just his power boost? “Fine then. Turn around.” To my surprise, he does.

  With the dress gone, I’m left wearing only bandages and my high waisted underwear, but at least my scar’s covered.

  I dive in, relishing the sensation of the water dancing along my skin as I make my way into the depths, my body skimming through the water, unperturbed by the small waves. I surface, lick my lips, savouring the salty tang, the taste of freedom.

  I need to be under again. I need to be deep. I need to drown everything that’s playing out in my head. Closing my eyes, I dive.

  Visuals, too many visuals. Too many thoughts I’m trying to suppress. It’s like tearing open an old wound, and it hurts like hell.

  Suppress. Suppress.

  Because Aero can hear my fucking thoughts. Because I can’t escape even though I tried. Even though I know I’ll never be good enough.

  Opening my eyes, I push myself deeper. The light fades as I descend and the temperature cools. It’s a small release, a place for me to scream, and I do. Bubbles cascade about my face and make a mad dash for the surface, searching for their own freedom.

  I hover, lungs exasperated, controlling them. Don’t panic.


  Control. Control.

  I ignore the shadow circling above. I know it’s not a shark. It’s Sol; a predator of another kind. But not the sexual predator I initially thought him to be. He doesn’t realise it yet, but he’s hunting me. Just not in the way you might expect.

  How the fuck have I ended up here? I push myself to the surface, take deep, gasping breaths, then descend again. And scream into the ocean. Again and again I dive and scream. The water does not judge, she probably doesn’t even hear me. I’m okay with that because sometimes you just need to let it out.

  My mind is heavy, but for once, my body’s not. For once my body represents nothing. For once it’s not barren, broken, and defiled. Until it fails me, becoming tired and weak, and I must go in.

  I continue to ignore the shadow hovering as I swim to shore. When I reach the sand, arms covering my boobs, Sol lands before me, gaze wary. Perhaps he knows not to prod a dragon, because that’s what I am right now, and there is one thing I need to do today.

  One.

  It’s likely not going to go down too well, which is why I need to choose the right moment.

  I pick up my dress and drag it on over my wet skin, then walk past Sol towards the shack while unravelling the sodden bandages from my arms. As I climb the creaking stairs, I run my hand along the sandy rail that’s chipped and faded, the rough sawn edge scratching at the scar on my palm.

  I breathe my first unrestricted breath since Sol bombed me with information, because this place reminds me of home. The home I shared with my mother. It’s simple and ordinary. Aged but treasured. It’s just a feeling … but I know it in my heart. This place is loved. Loved like I was. Once.

  Walking through the gap where a door might have been, I take in the rustic charm of my surroundings before sitting on the edge of the large bed parked against the far wall. The linen is fresh and white, pillows plump and inviting. I put the bandages aside and grasp two handfuls of the bedding, fists clenched so tightly my hands go numb.

  Finally, I let go.

  Let go, Dell.

  Let. Go.