The Reign of Darkness

by Britney Jackson

  Rose frowned. “I was just saying that we need to get back to Canada.”

  “What you need,” the princess said, her brows furrowing, “is somewhere to hide. Humans have declared war on you. They’ll send more armies after you.”

  “Me, specifically?” Rose said bewilderedly. She sighed, shaking her head. “Look, I have no intention of hiding from the war. We need to plan and prepare.”

  “You can do that where we’re taking you,” Princess Myrinne assured her. “At this moment, humans know where you are. You are the most vulnerable.”

  “She’s right,” Kara murmured to Rose. “They have the upper-hand.”

  Rose glanced at Kara, considering that. “Still, we can’t hide from this.”

  “No,” Kara agreed, “but we can rest and regroup. The sun is rising soon. We’re isolated from our allies. We need to throw the humans off our scent.”

  “Your friend needs rest, as well,” Princess Myrinne told her. “The poison took quite a toll on her body. She’s healed—but not yet well enough for battle.”

  Rose nodded. She didn’t mind risking her own health, but risking Elise’s, especially after what happened, was out of the question. “Where are we going?”

  “My kingdom,” Princess Myrinne told them. “You’ll be safe there. I also suspect you’ll want to meet some people. They’re certainly eager to meet you.”

  “Me?” Rose repeated, her brows twisting with confusion. “Why me?”

  The princess laughed softly and shook her head, as if Rose had just asked the most absurd question she’d ever heard. “I need to check to see if your rooms are ready yet. The sun will rise soon, after all. I assume you’ll want two rooms?”

  Between her pounding headache and the dizziness that was beginning to plague her, Rose’s balance hadn’t been that great to start with. So, when the ship rocked a little, Rose stumbled backward. Kara stepped forward, sweeping her arm around Rose’s waist, catching Rose against her. Rose blinked up at Kara, feeling the warmth of Kara’s body against her and the strength of Kara’s arm around her.

  “Anchor,” Kara explained, her lips twitching up, into an amused smile.

  “Right,” Rose mumbled, hoping that Kara wouldn’t look any further into the imbalance. She knew that she should tell Kara about it, but…this didn’t feel like the time or place. She straightened, her skin tingling, as her blood reacted to Kara’s touch. She frowned at the princess, trying to remember what she’d asked.

  “Are you all right?” the princess asked, her brows creased with concern.

  “Yeah,” Rose said, her head spinning. “It’s just…my first time on a ship.”

  “We want one room, actually,” Kara told the princess. “With one bed.”

  Rose blushed, as the princess glanced from Kara to Rose, her pale blue eyes full of confusion. “Yes,” Rose agreed, avoiding the vampire’s gaze. “One.”

  The princess nodded slowly. “Of course, my Eklektos. You’d like to keep your warrior close,” she guessed. “I’ll prepare the best room on the ship for you.”

  “Uhh, that’s really not…” Rose began, but Kara cut her off.

  “Yes,” Kara said with a smirk, “she does like to keep her warrior close.”

  Rose glanced at Kara, her skin warming under Kara’s heated gaze.

  “It won’t take long,” the princess said, bowing slightly, “my Eklektos.”

  Rose watched as the princess walked away, her black cloak sweeping the wooden deck with each step. “Am I imagining things, or does she seem…old?”

  “You’re not imagining anything,” Kara said. “She is old. Ancient, even.”

  Rose frowned curiously. “But how did I,” she stammered, “know that?”

  “It’s instinct,” Kara said, as Rose turned to face her. “Animals dominate other animals through strength and power. So do we. But our strength and power are directly linked to our age. Older vampires are stronger, more dangerous. It’s instinct to kneel before those who are more powerful than us. Which is why we’re able to sense when we’re in the presence of an ancient one.” The breeze rustled Kara’s dark hair, blowing a few blue strands into her face. “They smell of power.”

  The breeze carried Kara’s scent closer to Rose. “Dominate?” Rose said.

  A smirk tugged at Kara’s lips. “You got a problem with that word, love?”

  The confidence and seductiveness that oozed from that smirk left Rose a little breathless. Rose swallowed. “I just don’t agree. About it being my instinct.”

  Kara stepped away from the railing, moving closer to Rose. “You don’t?”

  Rose licked her lips, trying to alleviate their sudden dryness. “I wouldn’t obey a vampire, just because they’re older than me. I’d never kneel before them.”

  Kara’s smile deepened, and her icy blue eyes sparkled with mischief. She stepped closer—close enough for her scent to affect Rose, close enough to drive Rose mad with hunger. She tilted her face closer to Rose’s, her violet-scented hair falling over her leather jacket, her lips inches from Rose’s. “You knelt before me.”

  Rose’s lips parted, a quick breath falling from her mouth, as heat flooded her body, all at once. She couldn’t help but think about that day. She couldn’t stop the memory that replayed in her mind. Her cheeks reddened. Whether that was due to embarrassment or the flush of arousal under her skin, Rose couldn’t have said. “That was,” she said breathlessly, “an entirely different circumstance.”

  Kara reached out and curled her hand around Rose’s hip. “Was it?” she whispered, tugging Rose against her. She leaned forward, brushing her lips against Rose’s ear, and murmured, “Why don’t you describe that…circumstance to me?”

  Rose tried to swallow against the desire pouring through her, but by this point, she didn’t have any saliva to swallow. “I’m sure,” she said, “you remember.”

  Kara pulled back, just enough to trail her dark, lustful gaze down Rose’s body. “Oh, yes,” she said. The sensual curve of her lips deepened. “I remember.”

  Rose blushed deeply—because something about the look that Kara was giving her made Rose think that Kara was imagining it now: Rose, on her knees.

  Kara released her, suddenly, and stepped back. It was shocking—the way the cool breeze contrasted with the heat of their bodies, the heat of their desire.

  Rose tried to pull a breath of salt-scented air into her lungs, but her body didn’t want to cooperate. It didn’t help anything that she could feel Kara’s desire, aching and pulsing between her legs—as powerfully as her own.

  Kara raked her fingers through her blue and black hair, pushing it out of her face. “Maybe you have no desire to be ruled because…you’re meant to rule.”

  Rose blinked—a little too distracted to process that. “Umm…what?”

  Kara’s light blue gaze shifted toward her. “Your instincts are different.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rose said. “I’m still trying to remember the conversation.”

  Kara’s mouth curved slowly—into a deep, hungry smile. “I bet you are.”

  Rose somehow managed to blush even more. She buried her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, rocking forward onto her toes. “My instincts,” she mumbled to herself. She frowned at Kara. “You think my instincts are different?”

  “I rebel,” Kara said, lifting her eyebrows. “It’s what I do, what I’ve always done. But it’s an intentional choice for me—to disobey Aaron. It’s easier for you.”

  Rose shrugged. “I don’t believe that someone is worthy of respect, based on age alone. Decency, wisdom, and compassion—those are what matter to me.”

  Kara studied her with a frown. “Most vampires don’t have that choice.”

  “Why not? Is it like a…compelled reaction?” Rose said. “Like the allure?”

  Kara considered that. “In a sense, yes. We naturally bow to power,” she said, waving her hand as she tried to explain. She froze. “Of course! Your power.”

  Rose lifted her
eyebrows. “What about my power?”

  Kara looked at Rose. “You’re more powerful than them,” she reminded Rose. “Even the oldest of them don’t compare to you. That’s why you don’t feel it—the urge to follow. Because it’s as I said. You’re meant to rule, not to be ruled.”

  Rose laughed nervously. “That’s…nonsense,” she muttered. She shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. She avoided Kara’s gaze, which was full of curiosity and intrigue, at the moment. “You…make me dizzy sometimes, you know,” she said, trying to keep her tone light, even as her head spun violently. “One moment, you have me halfway seduced, and the next, you’re saying stuff that makes no sense.”

  Kara laughed, amused by Rose’s rambling. “Just halfway?”

  Rose shot a peeved look at her. “You do this on purpose, don’t you?”

  Kara leaned against the railing. “I do enjoy riling you up,” she admitted, her shoulders lifting in a languid shrug. “And I know you secretly enjoy it, too.”

  Rose laughed. “I…will neither confirm nor deny that,” she said playfully.

  Rose’s smile faded, as she felt the warm liquid trickle from her nose. Rose lifted her hand, touching her fingers to her face. When she pulled her hand back, her fingers were coated with blood. She looked up, meeting Kara’s hungry gaze.

  Kara’s light blue eyes darkened. “I was hoping you’d tell me sooner.”

  Rose wiped away the blood, as her eyesight began to blur. “You knew?”

  Kara nodded slowly. She stepped closer to Rose, sliding her finger under Rose’s ear. She held out her hand, showing Rose the blood. “It’s your ears, too.”

  Rose swayed. “Kara,” she slurred, her eyes fluttering, “I think I’m…”

  “Go ahead,” Kara said, looping her arm around Rose’s waist to hold her weight. The scent of Rose’s blood filled her senses, intoxicating her. “I have you.”

  Her body suddenly went limp in Kara’s arms, as she lost consciousness.

  Kara swept her right arm beneath Rose’s legs to pick her up. She lifted Rose easily, cradling Rose’s unconscious body in her arms. Blood trickled from Rose’s ears, nose, and mouth, still—powerful blood that no vampire could ignore.

  Almost on cue, the princess rushed around the corner—clearly alarmed by the scent of Rose’s blood. Her mouth fell open. “What did you do to her?”

  Kara raised an eyebrow. “You think I made her faint?” she scoffed. Her lips curved. “I’m hot, sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever made a girl literally swoon.”

  Princess Myrinne scowled, her pale blue eyes narrowing dangerously. “I want to know what happened to the Eklektos. I expect an answer immediately.”

  A hint of excitement sparkled in Kara’s ice-blue eyes—as if a part of her wanted to challenge that—but ultimately, her concern for Rose won out. “Didn’t you see the battle? When she blew up a ship and killed the Assassins of Light with her mind?” Kara reminded her. “Or did you just appear out of thin air afterward?”

  Princess Myrinne’s gaze softened with understanding. “Overuse,” she realized. Her brows furrowed. “Why didn’t she tell anyone before it got this bad?”

  Kara brushed past her. “You don’t know anything about her, do you?”

  The princess bristled. “I know everything that’s ever been written about the Eklektos.” She instantly fell silent, as if she’d said more than she should have.

  Kara quirked an eyebrow at that. “Interesting,” she murmured, much to the princess’s dismay. But then, she tilted her head in the direction of the rest of the ship. “I need you to take me to that room you were preparing for her. Now?”

  The princess blinked at Kara’s demand, but then, her gaze shifted toward Rose. She nodded—though still clearly annoyed at Kara. “Of course. Follow me.”

  The Future

  Erik ran his hand over his neck, touching the partially healed bite wound. He watched as Elise raised up in the bed, her thin, delicate form bare to his gaze.

  Elise brushed her fingers through her curly, blonde hair, scooping it up off of her shoulders. She swept her gaze around the small room. “Where am I?”

  Erik folded the pillow beneath his head, watching as Elise picked up her blood-stained dress, examining it with a frown. “How much do you remember?”

  Elise traced her fingertip over the bullet-hole in her dress. “I was shot.”

  Erik watched her with a concerned frown. He sensed her emotions easily, as intensely as his own, and he knew the fear that coursed through her. “Yes,” he said gently. “During the battle. On the beach. Do you remember anything else?”

  “Rose was worried about me,” Elise murmured, frowning. “I didn’t want her to get herself killed, too. So…I told her I was fine. But I think she realized…”

  “She did,” Erik assured her. “She sped up the battle to save your life.”

  “But how?” Elise said, turning toward him. “It was the poisoned blood, wasn’t it? I could feel it—killing me. I didn’t think there was a way to save me.”

  “Neither did we,” Erik said, “but we met someone. Or…some people.”

  “You met some people,” Elise repeated. “When? During the battle?”

  “Er, afterward?” Erik said with a puzzled frown. “It sounds even weirder retelling it. You didn’t happen to see them, did you? The ones who helped you?”

  Elise shrugged her small shoulders. “I woke up once, but I thought I was dreaming,” she mumbled. “I remember seeing some kind of equipment, I think.”

  “Equipment?” Erik said, his eyebrows high. “What kind of equipment?”

  “I was barely conscious,” Elise laughed. “I don’t remember that much.”

  “Right,” Erik said, his frown deepening. “Just trying to understand it all.”

  Elise climbed to her feet and stepped into her blood-stained dress. “Well, thanks for the blood,” she paused, flashing a playful smile at him, “and the sex.”

  Erik raised up, the sheets pooling around his waist. “Hey, where are you going?” he asked worriedly—when he realized that she was getting ready to leave.

  “To find Rose and Kara,” Elise said easily. “I’m sure they’re worried.”

  “Well, yeah, they are, but…” Erik trailed off, his brows furrowing.

  Elise turned toward him, still adjusting her dress. She wore everything so perfectly that she might as well have been on a runway, modeling a new fashion—instead of wearing a stained dress with a bullet-hole in the middle. Her lips lifted into an amused smile. “Ah, I get it. You’re upset because I skipped the cuddling.”

  He scoffed, “What? That’s…” He dragged his fingers through his messy, blonde hair—in what appeared to be a nervous action. “In my experience, women prefer to cuddle after sex.” He shrugged his bare shoulders, still avoiding her gaze.

  Elise smiled. “Really? Because I’ve slept with plenty who didn’t care.”

  He frowned curiously. “Who are you with more often? Women or men?”

  She laughed, “You just ask whatever you want, don’t you?” She returned to the bed, sitting on the edge. “Men, I suppose. But it’s not intentional,” she told him. “It’s just that I have to return to the colony by sunrise, and men are quicker.”

  A comical amount of shock and betrayal passed over his face. “Quicker?”

  Elise couldn’t help but giggle. “Not like that, silly!” she laughed. But then, she flashed a playful smile at him and added, “Well, maybe like that. Sometimes.”

  He leaned against the headboard, lifting his eyebrows. “Like what, then?”

  “Seduction,” Elise said. She slid her fingers through her hair, untangling some of the frizzier curls. “There are a lot more stages with a woman—questions you have to navigate through. Are they interested in women? Are they interested in me? Will they get attached? With all of the societal norms and double-standards women are held to, it tends to require more time. Men are more straightforward.”

  “Kara never seemed to h
ave much of a problem with it,” Erik muttered.

  “Well,” Elise said with a soft laugh, “Kara’s a lot better at it than I am.”

  He laughed at that. “You don’t like one gender more than others, then?”

  She raised an eyebrow at his intrusiveness. “Curious about bisexuality?”

  “Nah,” he said, shrugging. “I mean, not really. Alana was bisexual, so it’s not really something I’m totally unfamiliar with. Plus, there’s Rose—although she’s pretty private about stuff like that.” His bright green eyes shifted toward Elise, interest sparking within them. “It’s you, actually, that I want to learn about.”

  Her smile faltered. “Erik,” she said—with thick trepidation in her voice, “you don’t have any…expectations for this, do you?” Elise paused. “I mean, this is just about convenience, right? We’re both here, and we both need to feed.”

  “Right,” he said—a little too quickly. “Why would you think otherwise?” His bright green eyes narrowed. “Kara told you I get attached easily, didn’t she?”

  She frowned worriedly at his defensiveness. “No. Should she have?”

  “No,” he said, relaxing a little. His bright green gaze shifted down, to the pale, linen sheets on the bed. “The only person I ever got attached to was Alana.”

  Elise nodded slowly, her brows creasing with sympathy. “When you were with Alana,” she asked, “she was also in a relationship with Kara, wasn’t she?”

  “Alana was with a lot of people when I was with her,” Erik scoffed, “but yes, she and Kara had been together for a hundred years before Alana met me.”

  Elise studied him. “And did it ever bother you that she had other lovers?”

  “No, not really,” Erik said with a shrug. “She wanted a particular kind of relationship. I was fine with that. Her need to drag me around the world with her for a hundred years meant that I had to spend a lot of time around her other lovers. Especially Kara—since she dragged Kara around with her, too. I thought it’d be awkward, but it wasn’t so bad. Not with Kara, anyway. We became friends, even.”

  Elise smiled a little. “Well, I’m not possessive and psychotically jealous, like Alana. So, I’m not going to drag you anywhere,” she said slowly, “but when I do let things become serious with someone, I also like that kind of relationship.”