A Dark Collection

by Emma V. Leech

  A Dark Collection

  By Emma V. Leech

  ***

  Copyright © 2016 Emma V Leech

  Cover Design by Victoria Cooper

  Published by Emma V Leech

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B01CEKI66I

  No part of this book may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, or dead is coincidental.

  A Dark Design

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  A Dark Desire

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  A Dark Tale

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Bonus Material

  Interview With A Dark Prince by Evie Leigh

  The Dark Prince

  Want more Emma?

  About Me!

  Other Works by Emma V. Leech

  The Key to Erebus

  Dying for a Duke

  Acknowledgements

  A Dark Design

  Chapter 1

  A sharp cry pierced Corin’s tender brain and he winced before glaring up at the large flock of beautiful red birds that flew overhead. Their scarlet feathers flashed in the sunlight, glistening like wounds against the azure blue sky, then just as suddenly they were gone. He sighed and stretched, lying back with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. "I'm bored".

  "You're always bored," Laen grumbled from his position beside him on the grass.

  Corin frowned with indignation. "That is simply not true."

  Laen snorted and rolled onto his side to face him. "No, true enough, you aren't bored when you are leading us into trouble of some sort." He poked Corin’s shoulder accusingly and laughed as Corin gaped at him.

  "Oh yes,” Corin said, narrowing his eyes. “Like I'm the only one guilty of that recently."

  Laen sat up and shrugged his big shoulders and then stretched, stifling a yawn. "Well I didn't hear you complaining about being bored."

  "No," Corin agreed. "I was too busy trying to avoid a diplomatic incident."

  Laen lay back down and put his arm over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "The man was an arse."

  "I am in complete agreement, Laen, having said that, I do think he was perhaps within his rights to be a trifle miffed that you had your hand up his wife's skirts."

  There was a snort of laughter. "I was invited, and it's not as if your

  evening was spent any differently." He peered out from under his arm to see Corin sit up and massage his temples with a pained expression.

  "It was entirely different,” he said.

  Laen frowned. "How so?"

  "I didn't get caught," Corin said pointedly and got to his feet. He regarded his friend lying on the grass beside the lake where they had come to swim and cool off after sleeping most of the day. It had been a heavy night, and was very similar to most every other night of the past ... He’d forgotten how many months. He really should take a break. He slipped off his clothes and dived into the cool depths, hardly stirring the surface and appearing in the middle of the deep, dark water.

  "Smug bastard," Laen muttered and followed him into the water.

  They swam for a while until Laen made his way to where Corin was sitting on a rock, eyes closed, half in, half out of the water. "We're being watched," he hissed.

  "I know," Corin replied, not opening his eyes. "Don't worry about it."

  "What do you mean, don't worry about it?"

  One eye cracked open and regarded Laen with amusement. "It's the girls from the dairy; I don't think we are in any immediate danger." He sat up a little, watching the bushes. "Though I admit from what I heard them saying earlier we are lucky there aren't more of them and there is no rope in the vicinity."

  "Gods!" Laen muttered.

  Their eyes scanned the lush greenery edging the lake where faint giggles could be heard drifting over the water.

  "Well, dive in or something then,” Corin said, nodding at him. “At least make their efforts worthwhile."

  Laen flushed and shook his head. "Certainly not."

  Corin chuckled. Laen’s modesty was an endless source of amusement to him. "Oh, don't be such a damned spoil sport, they only want a peek."

  "No."

  Corin slipped back into the water beside him and grinned. "We're going to have to get out sooner or later," he pointed out

  “No.” Laen turned away from him and swam around for a bit before coming back to him. “Well they can’t stay there all day! Don’t they have work to do?”

  “I don’t expect they will leave until they see what they came for.” Corin looked at him and sighed. “Oh, fine. I suppose I had better defend your modesty.” He climbed out of the lake onto the rocks and stood up as the water slid over his naked body. His hair dripped in rivulets over his broad shoulders, sliding down his sculpted chest and abs as he shone in the sunlight like a Greek god cast in burnished bronze. Laen rolled his eyes as gasps and squealing came from behind the bushes. “You are such an exhibitionist,” he grumbled.

  Corin grinned at him, totally unabashed, and then executed a perfect dive into the water, resurfacing a few moments later beside his friend. “Your turn.”

  “No.”

  Corin huffed in exasperation. “Gods, Laen, how can you have spent so much time in my company and still be so shy? It’s not as if there’s any need to be. Go and give them a glimpse of that magnificent body of yours and they'll be dreaming of you for weeks."

  “I’m not shy and stop that," Laen muttered, looking uncomfortable.

  "Oh look, now he's blushing, how sweet," Corin mocked. He swam over, hooking an arm around Laen's neck. "Poor baby is frightened of the little girls, don't worry I'll protect you."

  "I am not! Oh gods, fine!"

  Corin laughed silently, loving how easily he could play Laen. He would really never learn. He watched as Laen climbed the rocks, and applauded him as he stood up. Laen rolled his eyes and then gave him a devilish look. He reached his arms up, stretching and showing off an impressive array of rippling muscles before diving in.

  He broke the surface, water sluicing over his massive shoulders, to find Corin roaring with laughter.

  “What?” he demanded, blinking water from his eyes.

  “I think you may have over egged the pudding, Laen,” Corin spluttered.

  “Huh?”

  “Well, if I’m not very much mistaken ... one of them fainted.” He dissolved once again as Laen grinned and looked smug. They listened as rustling could be heard from the bushes.

  “I think they’ve gone.” Corin grinned and swam to the edge of the lake before getting out and flopping down in the sunshine to dry off. Laen swam a while longer before following him out. He shook his head like a dog, splattering Corin with drops of icy water.

  “Ugh! Stop that!” Corin yelped. “Dammit, Laen, I’d just dried off, you’re such a child sometimes.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  Corin sighed. “Are you trying to illustrate my point?” He rolled his eyes as Laen shrugged at him. Grumbling, he rubbed his forehead with his fingertips and then groaned as the frogs began to sing, their chorus ringing through his head as he blinked against the br
ight sunlight.

  “Still hung over?” Laen asked, grinning unsympathetically.

  “Yes,” Corin muttered. “Thank you for asking.”

  “Well you did put it away last night.”

  “As did you.”

  Laen sighed and stretched luxuriously. “I feel wonderful.”

  “As well you might,” Corin said, glowering at him. “I healed you!”

  Laen propped himself up on one elbow, grinning unrepentantly. “I know. Such a pity it doesn’t work on you.”

  “Isn’t it though,” he huffed. Reaching out with his magic, Corin touched a tree growing some distance away and a branch snaked out towards them, heavy with plump, black apples. He reached up and broke one off, tossing it to Laen before taking another for himself and restoring the tree to normal. Biting into the crisp flesh, he savoured the honeyed taste on his tongue, licking his fingers as the red juice dripped over them.

  Laen stretched out beside him, crunching contentedly and enjoying the sunshine. “So what are we doing tonight?” he asked between mouthfuls.

  Corin hesitated, glancing at Laen with unease. “I’m not doing anything except sleeping.”

  Laen rolled on his side and narrowed his eyes. “She’ll be furious if you don’t go.”

  “I’m not stopping you from going.”

  Laen gave a short bark of laughter. “She doesn’t give a damn if I go or not, I’m only her brother!” Corin could feel Laen’s eyes on him and knew that wasn’t the end of it. He was unsurprised when Laen spoke again. “You know she’ll be angry with you.”

  “Oh, Aleish is always angry with me,” Corin muttered. “It really makes no odds.”

  “She says she’s given up on you so you don’t need to worry. She’s not expecting a proposal or anything,” Laen said as Corin avoided his eyes. No Aleish wasn’t expecting to marry him any more. Her new proposal had been far more alarming and if Laen discovered it he would be incandescent. “I think I finally got it through her thick head that you would make an appalling husband,” Laen added with a grin.

  Corin pursed his lips. “Why, thank you, Laen,” he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

  “Well you would, so there is no point denying it. Gods, you as my brother in law! It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

  “Well,” Corin snapped with some asperity. “Maybe you would like to consider Alfgriel Bretailk who is her next target. Do you know what Alfgriel means?” he demanded. “Elf spear! Well he may well look like one, but I’ve never seen a man less likely to wield one!” Corin shook his head and tossed his apple core into the bushes with a swift, angry movement. “A strong breeze would probably snap him in two,” he muttered.

  Laen grimaced. “I admit, next to Alf you look like a most agreeable prospect.”

  “Do shut up before I am forced to hit you,” Corin said mildly.

  “Corin?” Laen said looking pensive. “You and Aleish, you never did ...”

  “No!” Corin said hurriedly. “Of course not, I swore I wouldn’t and I never have.” Though if Aleish had her way he would not be able to say that for much longer. She was a practical woman and wanted to get out of her brother’s draughty castle and have a home of her own, and the only way was to get suitably married. She had once hoped that Corin would step up and, indeed, they had even spoken of it. Corin would have to marry, sooner or later, and Aleish knew him for what he was. It seemed a sensible solution to him. Aleish knew he would be kind and generous, but she also knew he would never be faithful and she couldn’t accept that.

  The man who she had now set her sights on was gentle, dependable and interminably dull. She had decided the likelihood was he would be just as dull in the bedroom and had determined that Corin should educate her so that she could remedy this over time. Aleish was a very single-minded and beautiful young lady and very hard to refuse and yet he had given Laen his word of honour that he would never touch her.

  He was caught on the horns of a dilemma and either way he was in deep trouble.

  Laen slapped his shoulder. “No, of course not. Forgive me, I should never have asked. I know I can trust you.”

  Corin smiled half-heartedly.

  “Seriously though, you are going to come? If people know you are attending tonight the party will be a success and she is so looking forward to it. Besides, she will nag me for the rest of my days if I don’t get you there. Honestly my home has not been my own for weeks. Why she couldn’t have had it at the palace is beyond me.”

  “No it isn’t.”

  Laen grimaced. “No, I suppose not. Father does tend to kill any spirit of enjoyment.” He sat up, throwing his apple core into the lake. “So you’ll come then?”

  Corin groaned internally and vowed to stick to Laen like glue all night. “Yes, I’ll come,” he said, resigning himself to a very difficult evening.

  Chapter 2

  Laen looked around the impressive castle that he called home and sighed. Flowery garlands hung at every corner and candles lit even the gloomiest spaces making it seem far more like some idiot human’s idea of a fairytale castle than the fortress the King’s Marshall would habitually reside in. He bit back an oath as he was jostled in the grand entrance hall as dozens of Aleish’s maids scurried back and forth like demented ants, polishing anything that stood still for long enough. The terrified apron-clad girl who had been pushed against him by her frantic companions raised her eyes to his in awe. He did his best to smile at her but was already beyond irritated and the result was more of a grimace. The girl quailed and ran away with a squeak of alarm which only irritated him all the more. Did the stupid girl think he would eat her? Muttering a string of profanities he found sanctuary in his study, which he had told Aleish in no uncertain terms was strictly out of bounds. The sooner this damn party was over, the better.

  Sitting down at the large oak desk, he poured himself a drink and reclined in his chair. A disquieting feeling murmured in the back of his mind and he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what was causing it. He had previously put it down to the fact his home was being turned upside down and, indeed, it was not helping. However, that wasn’t it. He considered the fact that he had hardly seen Aleish over the past few days. This was to be expected he supposed. The military precision with which this event was being produced needed an evil genius of the kind he knew Aleish had in surprising quantity. Her fragile blonde looks were exceedingly deceptive, as he knew to his cost. He pursed his lips as he considered the nervous excitement in her eyes when he had finally tracked her down earlier this morning. He had assumed it was the just the party but ... He cursed inwardly as he realised there must be more to it than that. The scheming brat was up to something ... But what?

  ***

  Between the two Princes’ lands Corin crossed the border and observed the glowering clouds on the horizon with a wry smile. He could well imagine his friend was being vexed beyond measure at the frivolous goings on Aleish was bound to be subjecting his home to. As a general rule Laen did not like people at all and much less in large numbers, and his only reason for attending any gathering was to hunt an evening’s entertainment amid the female population. The upcoming party was going to be a trial for him and no mistake, as he would be expected to behave or it would reflect badly on his sister. Behaving invariably made him extremely bad-tempered and Corin could only be grateful he wasn’t being enveloped by a thunderstorm. In truth Corin was looking forward to the evening with even less enthusiasm than Laen. He had come to the discomforting realisation that he was being pursued by a single-minded and determined female and could only swallow nervously at the thought of what may be in store for him if said female got him alone. It was a strange and disturbing realisation as he was well used to this kind of attention and was generally just as content to be pursued as to pursue, but then he never had any problem with being caught. He had long since come to conclude that temptation was best yielded to without hesitation. After all, he would in the end in any case and to delay only caused a lot of needless f
uss. In this case, however, if he yielded to temptation, and he had to admit that he badly wanted to, Laen’s discovery of his crime would be swift and brutal and most likely exceedingly bad for his health.

  He sighed heavily. He had often wondered what it would be like to take Aleish to his bed and he was more than willing to find out. Saying no to her was not going to be easy. They had been … intimate on a few occasions before Laen had discovered what was going on and extracted a promise from Corin at knife point that he would never touch her again. They had been very much younger then and Aleish very innocent and so things had not gone far but ... But the memory of her kiss lingered on his lips when he thought of it. Damn.

  As he approached Laen’s castle, his guards swarmed forwards, surrounding him. Dark Fae territory was a dangerous place as far as they were concerned. Laen had made it clear his father’s opinions were not his own and had opened his home to guests from Alfheim before, but still there was distrust between the two lands and no amount of assurance would make his men relax their guard. Of course there were many occasions when he eluded their escort in order to use the gateway to the human world but once he was gone there was little they could do except complain when he returned home.

  Dismounting at the main entrance, he threw the reins to a waiting groom, waved his personal guard away with annoyance and strode inside. The place was already swarming with people, most of whom surged forward as he arrived, eager to greet him and to boast they had spoken with the glamorous Prince of Alfheim. With relief he didn’t see Aleish, who was hopefully occupied, and with a brief but courteous nod of greeting he extricated himself and headed quickly for Laen’s study. Pushing the door open, he entered the room to find Laen glowering out of the window.

  “Do come in,” Laen said with a scowl.

  “Thank you, I have,” Corin replied, closing the door firmly behind him with a sigh of relief.

  “I know! Don’t you ever knock?”

  Corin headed to the drinks cabinet and helped himself. “If I feel it necessary, certainly. However, it was clear you were skulking in here alone so I saw little point in it.” He raised the decanter in Laen’s direction.