Salvation in Darkness

by Nicole Edwards

  A soft knock sounded on his door, and Kaj urged them in with an abrupt bark. His stomach churned from the need for blood but more so from the ache of knowing his female would not be the one providing for him. He only hoped he could keep the blood down, otherwise it would be a wasted fucking effort.

  “Sit,” he commanded the female who stepped into the space.

  Though she was beautiful in her own right, the female was the opposite of Acadia. Where his female had fine ivory skin, this one’s was a soft, creamy brown. Where Acadia had long, dark locks, this female’s hair was short and tight to her head. Because he knew their eye color was the same, he refused to look directly at this female as he joined her. In an effort to show her he wasn’t a threat, Kaj had her sit in the chair positioned by the fireplace while he went to his knees before her.

  “I’ll take your wrist,” he said, his words rough as he accepted his fate.

  She didn’t speak, but he didn’t want her to. This was difficult enough without chitchat.

  The sleeve of her robe was pulled back, revealing the thin wrist. Biology had his fangs dropping into his mouth, blood rushing in his ears as he succumbed to his hunger. It took two tries before he could touch her, lifting her arm to his mouth. Two more attempts and he had finally pierced her vein. At that point, he closed his eyes and thought of Acadia. This female’s blood didn’t taste the same, but it was powerful enough to sate him, so he took as much as she could part with. And when he finished, he remained on his knees after dismissing her from the room.

  For a few minutes, he worried he was going to expel all he’d taken in. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth helped to settle matters. At least where his stomach was concerned. As for his heart … yeah, he seriously doubted that thing was going to find peace for a while. If ever. He felt as though he’d betrayed the female he loved, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. Vampires had to feed. It was a biological necessity. The longer they went without it, the worse they would get until, eventually, they would die.

  His body hadn’t responded the same to that female as it did to Acadia, so at least there was that.

  Kaj wasn’t sure how much time passed between the time she left and when he finally got to his feet. But when he did, he shored up his nerves and headed out of his room, down the grand sweeping staircase, and to the main floor below. He didn’t stop, ignoring those who were still hanging around. They’d moved a few people into the Lair until the mansion was back to its former glory, and the additional souls were adding to the chaos.

  Hoping to help Obsidian and his brothers, Kaj headed for the mansion, traversing the tunnels, making his way past the infirmary, beyond the war room, which was a hub of activity, through the bar that was, not surprisingly, vacant. Despite the energy he now had, there was still an emptiness within him. But it wasn’t until he made it up the stairs to the mansion’s kitchen that he fully understood why. There, sitting in the sunroom, was Acadia. Her eyes appeared vacant when they met his.

  Kaj stopped, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

  She knew. His female knew he’d fed from another. It was the first time he’d done so since his return nearly three months ago. For the past eighty-four days, he’d relied on her blood to sustain him, and now he’d sought another. He briefly wondered if she felt the same pain he did when it had happened. Fuck, he hoped not. Regardless of how things stood between them, the last thing he wanted was to cause her pain.

  I’m sorry, he relayed directly into her mind.

  Acadia didn’t respond, her vacant gaze still on his, and he knew he’d hurt her. Perhaps in a manner she would never be able to recover from.

  Truth was, he didn’t necessarily blame her.

  But more importantly, he had to wonder if, on some level, he hadn’t done it on purpose. As a way of protecting her from him. Didn’t matter that he’d bonded with her, that he wanted to spend eternity with her; Kaj knew, deep in his dark soul, that she was better off without him.

  It well and truly sucked, but it didn’t make it any less true.

  “How’re you feeling, brother?” Eclipse asked Obsidian when he joined the male in the underground bedroom he and Penelope had temporarily moved into.

  “I’ll live,” Obsidian grumbled, offering a smile. “And I thought lightning bolts were a bitch.”

  Eclipse chuckled. “Yeah. I suppose sharing a body with an archangel does make electricity look like kid’s play. Have you heard from him? Michael? Since, you know…”

  Obsidian shook his head and propped himself up on the pillows of the enormous bed. “No. And I’ve reached out. Nothing.”

  Eclipse had worried that would be the case. He wasn’t sure whether anyone was considering the fact Michael’s hands were supposed to be tied here on Earth. For him to have used his own powers against Eevuhl, even if it had been through the use of Obsidian’s physical form, that didn’t change the fact he’d intervened, which violated the Almighty’s rules. Heaven only knew what punishment for such an egregious act of defiance might be.

  “How’s Penelope?” he asked, nodding toward the female, who was currently perched on a small settee in the corner, her feet propped up on an ottoman, eyes closed, a pair of headphones covering her ears.

  “Surprisingly, she’s content.”

  That was surprising considering she’d already passed her due date. Not by much, mind you, but according to the good healers, she was now twenty-one weeks along. Granted, none of them knew exactly how an angel birth on Earth would play out. Perhaps she could carry that baby for a full forty weeks like humans, but if she did… Eclipse seriously doubted she’d be able to hold that thing in there. As it was, her belly appeared stretched to maximum capacity.

  Obsidian glanced over at her, his eyes softening the same way they always did when he looked at the female.

  “You two need anything?” Eclipse offered.

  His brother’s attention returned to him. “Yeah. An update. How’s it going with the construction?”

  “Almost complete. What takes humans six months takes us only a few days.”

  “Damn good thing, too. I intend to have my ereswa back in her own bed when the baby’s born.”

  Eclipse knew that. It was the very reason they were busting ass to make it happen. Thankfully, on the third floor, all of their bedrooms faced the rear of the mansion, with the hallway along the front as well as the additional spaces, including their private recreation area and the room Penelope had been working on as the female getaway. Those had been obliterated, as had many of the bedrooms on the second floor. Thankfully, they still had overflow belowground, as well as space in the vampire lair. For now, they were scattered, but if all went well, they’d be back to normal by the time the calendar flipped to February.

  “We have to have more protection,” Obsidian said softly. “This can’t happen again.”

  His brother didn’t have to tell him that. Eclipse felt the same, and with the help of the fiestreigh, they’d been designing some additional security measures, including a wall that would surround the entire grounds, something they could defend in the event—God forbid—something like this happened again. As it was, they had no idea who knew of their location. Though they’d considered vacating Darkness entirely, they’d come to the conclusion that if they had found them once, they would find them again, so the best thing they could do was simply be prepared.

  “We’re working on it,” Eclipse assured his brother. “But you let us handle that. Right now, you need to work on recovering. Before you know it, you’ll have something else to focus on.”

  Once more, Obsidian’s gaze swung to Penelope and he smiled. “That I will.”

  “If you need anything, holler. Everyone’s here right now, and they’ll remain in residence until we decide it’s safe to venture out. Won’t be for a few weeks, at best.”

  They’d all agreed to remain in Darkness for the time being, especially with the baby coming any day now.

  “Thanks.”
/>   Eclipse turned toward the door. “And if you hear from Michael … tell him I said thanks.”

  “Trust me,” Obsidian’s voice was stronger than before, “I have every intention of letting him know how I feel about what he did.” The male’s smile flashed fangs. “But I’ll mention you’re appreciative, too.”

  Eclipse smirked. Though Obsidian clearly hadn’t appreciated being violated by an archangel, they all knew Michael had been their saving grace. Had it not been for him … well, Eclipse didn’t really want to think about where they might be now.

  After closing the door behind him, Eclipse remained in the hall, listening to the familiar sounds. The war room had been overflowing since the incident, the fiestreigh insistent on using this as a lesson and fortifying the mansion against an attack of this nature in the future. The bar, which was currently empty, would be full by the time the sun was coming over the horizon. They’d all taken to hanging out a bit more than usual. That was what happened when you were grateful to have those you cared about in one piece after a tragedy. They’d been lucky. So fucking lucky. They had lost no one during the attack although they’d been caught completely off guard.

  Something they had no plans of letting happen again.

  Rather than walk through the mansion, Eclipse disappeared himself, resuming form in the main-floor kitchen. He peered up into the sunroom to see Orianna sitting on one of the far sofas with Zeus and Aphrodite. She’d been attached at the hip to those two since the incident. When he’d heard how she’d gone upstairs and dug them out of the rubble, his heart had squeezed in his chest. Despite the danger she’d been in, her first instinct had been to get the family to safety, and Zeus and Aphrodite certainly qualified.

  “Sire?”

  Eclipse pulled his attention to the here and now, turning toward Phillip. “S’up?”

  The male smiled. “It’s imperative we make a grocery run.” His eyes lowered. “And I apologize for having to bother you with the specifics, but I felt it necessary to seek approval before I allow them to head out.”

  While it would’ve been great if they could’ve locked down the mansion indefinitely, Eclipse knew that wasn’t possible. The rest of them took for granted all that went on behind the scenes, such as grocery shopping and laundry, because they weren’t burdened with the chores. However, he was well aware of all the effort that went into maintaining the residence, as well as taking care of the lot of them.

  “For the time being,” he told Phillip, “the only request I have is that they take someone with them. I’ll let Reidar know you’ve got errands to run and he can assign someone. Just pretend they’re invisible.”

  Phillip grinned. “As much as is possible, sire.” His shoulders squared. “Is there any news on the expected arrival?”

  “Not yet, but I’ll make sure you’re one of the first to know.”

  The male put his hands together. “That would be wonderful, sire. As you might expect, we’re quite delighted to welcome a babe into the world.”

  Having something to look forward to certainly wasn’t a bad thing. Especially a blessed event such as this.

  And it seemed they were all counting down.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Oliver was exhausted.

  Not that he was complaining.

  He figured he had no right to bitch and moan considering all that had gone down. A week ago, they’d been looking forward to chilling with beers and watching a couple of angels give a go at the dueling pianos. Now, they were grateful they were all alive to do that.

  It was hard to believe they’d been attacked. In this fortress of all places.

  And fine. Maybe Oliver had gotten used to feeling safe within the mansion. He’d been whisked out of his everyday life, saved from what would’ve probably been a horrific death at the hands of a demon who’d been wearing the suit of a human stripper. Since then, the most drama he’d endured had been the arguing between Winnie and Reidar before she’d gone back to the human world.

  Now…

  Well, fuck. Where did he begin? They were putting the final touches on the exterior and would soon be moving on to making the repairs to the interior of the residence. As for the bedroom he’d been sleeping in… that fucker was decimated by whatever that demon did to the house. Had Oliver been in that room, he would’ve been incinerated. Damn good thing those demons couldn’t come out during the day. Had they, Oliver figured he would’ve been having these thoughts from somewhere else, and he didn’t really want to dwell on which direction he would’ve gone if he’d officially checked out.

  New lease on life? Yeah. Perhaps that was what this was. He’d spent the past week feeling a blush heat his face every time one of the angels thanked him for assisting in getting everyone to safety after the explosion. Back in his office job, he’d craved the praise. Then again, he would’ve been the first guy out, running for his life, and to hell with everyone else.

  Here … he’d done what he felt he needed to do, and well, he didn’t want the pats on the back. He felt it was as much his duty to pitch in as everyone else. And he’d been putting forth the effort as much as he could. No way to ignore the fact he was human and couldn’t perform the same as the angels or even the vampires. He still remembered the way Bijou had hefted Elizabeth into her arms and carried the woman down two flights of stairs then through the tunnels below the mansion to get her to the Lair. She’d never even broken a sweat.

  So, yeah. She was stronger than he was. The old Oliver would’ve felt inferior. The new Oliver found it hot as hell. Don’t ask him why because he honestly didn’t know.

  What he did know was that he was ready to sit down and have a convo with Bijou. Something about having the place blow up around you put things in perspective. So putting off telling her how he felt… Well, he didn’t want to wait any longer. Ever since their encounter in the sauna, he’d avoided her, scared that if he was around her too long, they’d end up naked and doing a hell of a lot more than a bit of oral exploration.

  He figured if that happened, then so be it. Perhaps it was meant to be.

  As he strolled beyond the rooms that were sealed off with thick sheets of plastic, he found himself smiling. He’d been looking forward to dawn all night, eager to get a few moments with Bijou and perhaps get their friendship back on track.

  That smile faltered when he stepped up to Bijou’s bedroom door and lifted his hand to knock. It wasn’t closed all the way and he realized she wasn’t alone. Madok, the Fae she generally fed from based on what he’d heard, was facing away from the door. Bijou’s hand was curled around his head as she held him in place, her fangs fixed deep in his neck. Her eyes were closed, and from his perspective, the two of them looked rather intimate despite the fact they were both fully dressed.

  From a logical standpoint, Oliver knew the angels and vampires required blood. He understood they took the blood of the Fae because that was how it was designed. From an emotional standpoint, he knew it wasn’t so much intimate as necessary.

  All good and fine. Made perfect sense.

  This … seeing it with his own two eyes… Fuck, he was at a loss for words. The scene before him should not have been erotic in any manner, yet it was. To a degree. If he superimposed himself over Madok, it was the hottest fucking thing he’d ever witnessed.

  But that was not him inside that room. That wasn’t his neck those fangs were buried in.

  That was someone else.

  Oliver had never felt the sort of pain that ripped through his sternum as he watched her feeding from him. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized he’d been banking on Bijou forgiving him and them finding their way back to one another. Or rather, to one another since back wasn’t really a direction they could’ve gone. Before that one intimate moment in the sauna, there’d been only friendship between them.

  But Oliver had wanted more.

  He wasn’t sure if he made a sound or if Bijou simply sensed he was there, but those eyes opened, and he was hit square in the fac
e with that lovely green.

  Rather than pull away, Bijou remained where she was, clutching Madok’s head as she sucked at his neck. Those beautiful irises seemed to glow from within, as though daring him to say something.

  Even if he had known what to say, the words never would’ve made it past the lump in his throat.

  Bolting would’ve been a brilliant idea, but Oliver’s brain was mush as he watched, helpless. It wasn’t like he could barge in and insist she not feed from the Fae. Sure, he could offer up his own vein, but they both knew that would be pointless. He’d already learned that vampires and angels could not survive on human blood.

  Being that he was a mere human … well, he was just shit out of luck.

  Truth was, he wanted to fucking throw something. To get angry because she was supposed to belong to him.

  Not that she knew that, but hell.

  Oliver’s shoulders slumped as defeat reared its ugly head. He held Bijou’s stare for a few more painful seconds, and when she didn’t release the Fae, he managed to duck his head and stroll off down the hall.

  Heart right in his damn throat.

  Having spent the past week helping out with the house, attempting to keep some sort of order amongst all the chaos, Orianna had tumbled into bed every morning and fallen asleep within seconds. It didn’t bode well for what had been a dynamic sex life. On those mornings she could’ve summoned the energy to crawl all over Eclipse, he’d been the one falling asleep before he hit the pillow.

  Quite the pair they were. Mated for one day shy of a month and they were hitting the sack like an old, married couple: comfortable to be in the same room, but anything more required effort.

  That so was not going to be them. Nope. No way was she allowing this heat between them to even simmer. They no longer had to battle that amnigh, which was a true blessing, but that didn’t mean Orianna wasn’t aching for him. Just the slightest glimpse of Eclipse warmed her from the inside out.

  Which was why this morning she was vowing to get them back on track.