The Reign of Darkness

by Britney Jackson

  Rose glanced at her, squinting suspiciously. “Prophecies?” she mouthed.

  The princess didn’t see her—since her attention was on the crowd—but Kara did. “Thank you,” Princess Myrinne said, as the warriors returned to their feet. “I have nothing more tonight, but I’m sure Ligeia wants to speak with you.”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Ligeia agreed, from somewhere behind them. “I’ll find you in your room when I’m finished. If that’s when you want to see me?”

  Princess Myrinne turned toward her, nodding once. “One hour.”

  Colina approached them with a white-haired man trailing behind her. “I found Galenos, Princess,” she said with a bow. “He said your rooms are ready.”

  Galenos glanced back and forth between the princess and Rose. “Is this the Eklektos?” he whispered to the princess. When she nodded, he immediately fell to his knees, as well—much to Rose’s dismay. “I’m so honored to meet you!”

  “No, no,” Rose said under her breath. “Don’t be honored to meet me.”

  “I need to meet with Zosime for a few moments,” Princess Myrinne told Galenos and Colina. “So, I need you to show the Eklektos and her friends to their rooms.” Her pale blue eyes narrowed meaningfully. “No detours. Understand?”

  Kara flashed a knowing smirk at the princess. “Hiding something?”

  “Of course not,” Princess Myrinne said, offering Kara a forced smile. “I just wanted you all to get some rest. You’ll get a full tour tomorrow. I promise.”

  Kara snorted at that. “Of course we will.”

  Zosime stepped closer to Rose and whispered, “You’ll enjoy your room.”

  Rose glanced at her. “Oh,” she said, blinking. “That’s…not creepy at all.”

  —

  “I have to admit,” Elise said, as she followed Colina to their room, “once you’re down here, you can barely tell you’re underground—deep inside a cave.”

  Colina followed her gaze, glancing at the stone walls and ceiling. “If you like this, wait until you see your rooms,” she bragged. “Our halls have never been the focus of our builders. Only the rooms. All of our rooms are quite beautiful.”

  She turned a corner, leading Erik and Elise further away from the others.

  “And the temple,” Colina said absently. “It’s the most gorgeous of all.”

  Elise let out a surprised laugh. “You have a whole temple down here?”

  “Should we be concerned about you separating us?” Erik asked suddenly.

  Colina slowed to a stop. She glanced back at him. “From the Eklektos?”

  “From Rose and Kara,” Erik said, shrugging. “Why did you split us up?”

  Colina shifted nervously. “Did…you all want to stay in the same room?”

  “No,” Erik scoffed, “just close enough to find each other, if we need to.”

  Colina nodded, as she realized what he meant. “You don’t trust us yet.”

  “We trust you,” Elise lied. “We just want to know where our friends are.”

  Colina glanced at her, a relieved smile curving at the corners of her lips. “I…wasn’t actually told,” she admitted. “Galenos was the servant assigned to the Eklektos. I was only told where your rooms were.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “But if you’d like, I can find out where her room is and come tell you.”

  “I’d love that,” Elise said with a smile. She stepped forward and tucked a strand of pale blonde hair behind Colina’s ear. Her blue-gray gaze met Colina’s, and her smile deepened. She let her fingers linger a moment. “It was in your face.”

  Erik suppressed a laugh, amused by Elise’s exaggerated flirting.

  Colina, on the other hand, fell for it wholeheartedly. “Oh,” she said, her face reddening, “thank you.” She slid her own hands over her long, pale blonde hair, making sure the rest of it was in place. “Let me show you to your room, first. Then, I’ll find out where they are,” she said, trying to sound more professional.

  Elise swept her arm out encouragingly. “Lead the way, then, sweetie.”

  Colina smiled shyly and stepped forward to open a door. “This is one of them,” she told them. “Look around, and if you need anything, let me know.”

  Erik stepped into the room. He circled the room slowly, taking in all of the furnishings—the stone tables and stone chests that set against the stone walls, the large bed with a bronze frame that set at the back of the room, and a long, rectangular seat, that resembled a couch, in the center of the room. He turned to Elise, giving her a sad, pouty look. “There’s no TV in here, either,” he whined.

  Elise tilted her head to the side, blonde curls falling over her shoulder, as she lifted her eyebrows at him. “Surely, you weren’t expecting there to be one?”

  Erik looked away, sulking. “Nothing wrong with a little false hope.”

  Elise frowned a little at that but didn’t argue. She turned toward Colina, offering her a friendly smile. “What should we do about our clothes?” she asked, waving her hand at her slightly damp, black dress. “I got a bit dirty in that water.”

  Colina glanced down at the dress, her gaze lingering a little too long on the bare skin of Elise’s legs. “Oh, yes. Of course,” she said easily, as soon as she remembered the question. “There are extra clothes in the chests. They’re a little different from what you wear. I think, in English, the term is ‘robes?’ But they’re quite comfortable. Just put them on and leave your wet clothing outside the door. I’ll clean them for you. I’ll have you back in your own clothes before tomorrow.”

  Elise smiled. “That leaves a lot of time for you to have me out of them.”

  Erik glanced at Elise, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. She wasn’t the most subtle when it came to seduction, anyway, but this was exaggerated, even for her.

  Colina’s eyes widened, as well. “I…oh,” she mumbled, as she seemed to suddenly realize that Elise was coming on to her. “I have two rooms prepared—in case you wanted to stay in separate rooms. Would you like to see the other?”

  Elise stepped closer to her. “How about you show me yours? And then, if I want a change of scenery,” she paused, sweeping her gaze over Colina’s slight, willowy form, practically undressing her with her eyes, “I can just come to you.”

  “I’m afraid my room isn’t as nice to look at as yours is,” Colina said.

  Elise giggled, “Aww, sweetie. The scenery is you. I’m flirting with you.”

  Colina straightened. “Oh,” she said, blinking in surprise. She took a slow, nervous step back. “I should go check on your friend’s room. I’ll be right back.”

  Elise watched her leave with a frown. “Merde. I thought I had her.”

  Erik sat down on the bed. “It sounds like you’re really into her, then.”

  Elise glanced at him, a smile curling at the corners of her lips. “Why? Are you jealous?” she teased. “Because we agreed, remember? This is not exclusive.”

  “I’m not jealous,” he assured her. He smiled. “Just curious. That’s all.”

  She nodded. “Good,” she sighed. She walked toward him. “Promise not to repeat this?” When he nodded, she said, “Kara asked me to get close to her.”

  Erik frowned. “To Colina? What does Kara want with a servant?”

  Elise closed the space between them. “She thinks Colina’s the weak link. She’s shy and sweet, like Rose,” she laughed, “and I bet she lies like Rose, too.”

  Erik snorted, “If she lies like Rose, she won’t be able to hide anything.”

  “Exactly,” Elise said with a smile. “She’s our key to solving this puzzle.”

  “More like cheating it,” Erik scoffed. He curled his hands around Elise’s hips, pulling her closer. “Be careful now. You seduce one woman for Kara, and next, she’ll have you using sex to steal information from someone like Talulah.”

  A decadent smile curved at the corners at Elise’s lips. “Oh, she wouldn’t even need to ask me to sleep with Talulah,” she laughed. “
I’d do that on my own.”

  “Really?” Erik said. “Because I always thought she was…intimidating.”

  “Intimidating can be sexy,” Elise said, smiling, “and Talulah is very sexy.”

  “Ah,” Erik said, nodding. “I’m a warrior. That’s intimidating, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, Erik,” Elise said, pressing her hand against his chest. She gave him a little shove, pushing him back on the bed, as she climbed on top of him. Blonde curls fell around her face. “You’re cute and sensitive, and that has its own appeal.”

  A relieved smile twitched at the corners of Erik’s lips. “You think so?”

  She leaned closer. “Can’t you tell?” she whispered. “Empath?”

  —

  “I thought you said this was a room,” Rose scoffed. “Not a gymnasium.”

  Galenos straightened. “I’m sorry?” he said with a frown. “My Eklektos?”

  Kara strode into the room without waiting for an invitation. She headed straight for the stone chest. She lazily toed one of them open, peeking at the robes inside. “What? No gold? Silver? Anything? What a disappointing treasure chest.”

  “Guess you’ll have to pillage and plunder somewhere else,” Rose teased.

  Kara’s piercing, ice-blue gaze shifted toward her. “Maybe I will,” she said with a wink. Then, she strolled over to a stone table to examine a stack of books.

  Galenos frowned, confused. “It’s a storage chest, not a…treasure chest.”

  Rose ventured further into the room—because she was starting to feel a bit awkward, just standing there, staring at the serious, white-haired vampire. She watched Kara out of the corner of her eye, as Kara traced her finger over a symbol on the cover of a book. It was such a graceful movement. So gorgeously pensive.

  Rose stopped by the long, rectangular seat. It looked strikingly similar to a couch, yet not similar enough to call it one. She leaned against it, before glancing at it curiously. “This is like the kline—that they had in Ancient Greece. Isn’t it?”

  Galenos straightened, his pale blue eyes widening in alarm. “Greece?”

  Kara watched him carefully, studying his reaction. Her intense, blue gaze shifted toward Rose. “What is a kline?” she said, mimicking Rose’s pronunciation.

  “Piece of ancient Greek furniture,” Rose said. “Like a couch. Or a bed.”

  Galenos frowned worriedly. “No one told me you knew Ancient Greek.”

  Rose glanced at him, frowning at his anxious state. “Is that a problem?”

  Galenos’s response was quick. Alarmed, even. “No! Of course not,” he told her. He laughed nervously. “Nothing the Eklektos does is ever a problem.”

  Rose frowned. “Pretty sure a lot of things I do are problems, but okay.”

  Galenos seemed to suddenly take notice of Kara—after several minutes of ignoring her. He stepped forward, his previously dull, pale blue eyes suddenly flashing. “What are you doing? That’s a sacred text. It’s not meant to be touched.”

  Kara dangled the book carelessly from her hand. “This is a sacred text?”

  Galenos glared at her. His pale blue eyes shifted down, narrowing even more. “And are you aware that your boots are tracking water all over the room?”

  Kara lifted her foot, raising an eyebrow at the water that was still dripping from her black boots. She set the book aside. Then, with no warning whatsoever, she strode toward him. She leaned forward, her blue and black hair falling around her face, as she tugged each boot off of her feet. She placed her boots in his arms and strolled back into the room—leaving Galenos at the door, holding her shoes.

  Galenos frowned at the boots in his hands, and then, he shook his head and set them outside the room. He dusted his hands off on his cloak and turned back toward them. His pale blue eyes widened, as he noticed Kara picking up that book again—the one he’d just told her not to touch. “Put that down. Right now.”

  Kara snorted, “How are we supposed to read it, if we can’t touch it?”

  “You’re not. We are,” Galenos stated. “You don’t even know Skotalian.”

  Rose watched them argue—Kara totally at ease and Galenos practically enraged. She wondered what it was about this book that had him so worked up. Even if it was a sacred text, it was just a copy—in a spare bedroom. It couldn’t be that important, could it? Rose glanced at the book, wondering if she might be able to make sense of it. Skotalian sounded like Greek. Maybe it looked like it, too.

  “Why would you put books in our room that we’re not allowed to read?” Kara laughed. She leaned against the bed and crossed her arms. “What a tease.”

  His pale blue eyes narrowed. “They’re in all of the rooms, not just yours,” he muttered, “and they’re meant to be admired, not read.” He turned to Rose and sighed. “Would you like me to take the warrior with a bad attitude elsewhere?”

  “The warrior with a bad attitude is my girlfriend,” Rose said, “so…no.”

  Kara set the book aside and returned to Rose’s side. She grinned at her.

  Galenos stared, slack-jawed. “Oh,” he finally managed to say. He glanced at Kara, frowning, as if he couldn’t imagine what Rose saw in her. “The warrior?”

  “Yes, the warrior,” Rose said sassily. “What’s so confusing about that?”

  “She’s just so…” Galenos trailed off, as if he’d suddenly realized who he was talking to. He dropped to his knees. Again. “Please, forgive me, my Eklektos!”

  Rose grimaced and stepped back. “Oh my word, relax,” she said, alarmed by his reaction. “Why are you all scared of me? I’m just a socially-awkward nerd.”

  “Who blows up ships and kills entire armies with her mind,” Kara added.

  Galenos climbed to his feet, slowly, watching them with a worried frown.

  Rose tried to glare at Kara, but she smiled a little, as she did—which just amused Kara more. “She’s exaggerating,” she assured Galenos. “It was one ship.”

  That didn’t seem to help. “And,” he said nervously, “how many armies?”

  Rose winced at the question. “That…depends on how you define army?”

  Fortunately, Princess Myrinne saved her from having to go into any more detail. “Go on to bed, Galenos,” she said, as she appeared, suddenly, outside their room. She no longer wore her long, black cloak. Now, she wore long, blue robes that clung to her willowy figure, as she walked. “I’ll take care of the Eklektos.”

  Galenos fell to his knees again, when he saw her. “Yes, Your Highness.”

  Then, he hurried out of the room—but not before bowing again to Rose.

  Rose watched him with a frown, still confused by all of the bowing.

  Princess Myrinne offered Rose a friendly smile. “Do you need anything?”

  “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Rose muttered bewilderedly.

  “We just want to make sure you’re comfortable,” Princess Myrinne said. “If you need anything, just ask. I’ll get you whatever you want. Anything at all.”

  Kara raised an eyebrow at the overly helpful princess. “Anything?”

  Princess Myrinne glanced at Kara. “Anything for the Eklektos. Not you.”

  Kara chuckled, clearly enjoying herself. She left the princess with Rose and walked over to the pointlessly large bed. She collapsed tiredly on the bed and, once again, grabbed the ancient, leather-bound book that she wasn’t supposed to touch. She began to flip through it—even though she couldn’t read a word of it.

  Princess Myrinne stared at Kara, her nose wrinkling at Kara’s clear lack of manners. “Uh,” she muttered, “people don’t usually lie down in my presence.”

  Kara folded her arm behind her head and lifted her eyebrows. “Really?” she said, a wry grin tilting at her lips. “Do you have sex standing up, then?”

  Rose stared at a random flower vase, her eyes wide. “Oh my word.”

  The princess offered Rose a forced smile. “This…is the one you love?”

  Rose shrugged sheepishly.
“She’s…umm…an acquired taste?”

  Kara snorted at that.

  Princess Myrinne shot another glare at Kara—who simply smiled back at her. “I don’t see how,” she muttered. She turned to Rose. “Is the room okay?”

  Rose stared blankly at her. “It could be bigger.”

  “Oh,” Princess Myrinne said, straightening. “Well, I could try to find…”

  “That was sarcasm,” Rose interrupted, her eyebrows high. She waved her hands at the massive bedroom. “It’s like…four times the size of my apartment.”

  Princess Myrinne frowned. “Oh. Then, I assume…you’re comfortable?”

  Rose glanced at Kara, who was currently stretched out lazily on the bed, flipping through that ancient, leather-bound book. “Well, she’s comfortable.”

  An amused smile curved at the edges of Kara’s lips, but she said nothing.

  “I’m not concerned with her,” the princess said. “Are you comfortable?”

  “I’m surrounded by people I don’t know, and I don’t even know where I am,” Rose said slowly, “and people keep bowing to me!” She threw her hands up. “How am I supposed to feel comfortable when people keep bowing to me?!”

  The princess shrugged. “People bow to me all the time. I’m a princess.”

  “Oh, really?” Rose said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “I thought Princess was your first name. And the tiara was some kind of new fashion or something.”

  Princess Myrinne shot a wary look in Kara’s direction. “Is she joking?”

  “Usually,” Kara said, flipping to the next page of the Book of Gibberish.

  Princess Myrinne turned back toward Rose. “Bowing is merely a sign of respect, my Eklektos,” she said with a polite smile, “and a sign of reverence.”

  “Reverence?” Rose repeated with a frown. “Reverence for what?”

  The princess turned to leave. “You’ll understand. Soon enough.”

  “Oh, great. More vagueness,” Rose said. She flashed her sassiest smile. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Erastos, by any chance, would you?”