The Reign of Darkness

by Britney Jackson

  “Then, the sex. Then, the clothes,” Rose teased, listing it with her fingers.

  Erik frowned at her. “Surely you’re more aware of the process than that.”

  “She’s teasing. Obviously,” Kara said, rolling her eyes at him. She tilted her head back, flashing a flirty smirk at Rose. “She’s…very aware of the process.”

  Rose blushed. “Anyway,” she said, quickly changing the subject. “Please, tell me you’re not going to break Colina’s heart for a little bit of information.”

  “It’s information we need, Rose,” Kara told her. “Colina’s a weak link.”

  “What you mean to say,” Rose corrected, “is that she’s nice.” She leaned back in her seat, giving Kara a knowing look. “Talulah was nice, too, wasn’t she?”

  “I’m a spymaster, Rose,” Kara sighed. “I screw people over for a living.”

  “I know,” Rose said easily. “And I’m Rose. I don’t like to hurt people.”

  Kara stared at her for a moment, her scowl slowly giving way to a bright, affectionate smile. She tilted her head back, groaning playfully at the ceiling. When she leaned forward, she was grinning at Elise. “Elise? Rose says she doesn’t want you to break Colina’s heart, and I say that I want you to get as much information as you can out of her.” She lifted her eyebrows. “Think you can please us both?”

  Elise smiled at the challenge. “I am certain that I can please you both.”

  Erik scratched his head, causing the messy, blonde curls to fall in his face. “I’m like eighty percent sure you guys are talking about a threesome right now.”

  Rose wrinkled her nose at him. “Do you ever think about anything else?”

  “Not really, no,” Erik said shamelessly. “Well…maybe alcohol.”

  “Speaking of alcohol,” Kara said, absently trailing her foot along Rose’s thigh, “I have to try some of that wine of theirs. It’s apparently quite intoxicating.”

  Rose grasped Kara’s ankle, as Kara trailed her foot just…a little too high.

  Kara grinned, as Rose shot a half-amused glare her way. “So, Elise,” she said, “did you learn anything? Other than that Colina gets clumsy when aroused?”

  “Nervous,” Rose corrected, blushing. “It’s the nervousness that does it.”

  Kara watched Rose with a knowing smile. “Whatever you say, sexy.”

  “I did find out one thing that might interest you,” Elise said. When Kara looked her way, she continued, “Those books that you wanted me to ask about?”

  Kara sat up straight now, her full attention on Elise. “Yeah?”

  Elise spread out her hands and shrugged. “They’re prophecies.”

  “Princess Myrinne mentioned some kind of prophecies,” Rose muttered.

  “The princess. Right,” Elise said, pointing at Rose. “That was the other thing Colina said. They’re only pieces of the prophecies. Like…favorite quotes.”

  Rose frowned curiously at that. “Like verses of the Bible.”

  “Maybe,” Elise said, shrugging. “She said that the only people who had ever seen the rest of the prophecies were the high priests and high priestesses.”

  “Princess Uptight used to be a high priestess,” Kara said thoughtfully.

  “But they said she’s not anymore,” Rose added. “So, who is it now?”

  “No one,” Elise told them. “Princess Myrinne is the only person left alive who has seen the prophecies in their entirety. And I doubt that’s a coincidence.”

  “No,” Kara said with a smile, “that kind of thing is never a coincidence.

  Bad Omens

  Kara caught Rose’s wrist mid-swing, her grip tight. “Sloppy. Try again.”

  They’d been at this all night, since they’d woken to a large, empty room—with no princess knocking at the door—practicing old moves, learning new ones.

  Rose sighed and pulled her hand out of Kara’s grasp, only to have Kara catch it again. Kara adjusted Rose’s fingers around the dagger, improving her grip.

  “And hold on to the dagger,” Kara urged her. “You tend to lose it a lot.”

  “Okay. Ouch,” Rose said with a sassy smile. “Aim low, why don’t you?”

  Kara smiled at her snarky attitude. “If you’re carrying plenty of weapons, fine. Leave it embedded in their stomach,” she said, as she released Rose’s hand. “But if you’re only carrying one, you need to hold on to it. You know I’m right.”

  “Well, duh,” Rose said with a playful smile. She stepped back, preparing to try again. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t go a little easier on a beginner.”

  Kara stepped forward, closing the space Rose had just put between them. “Do you want me to make you a warrior,” she said, lifting an eyebrow, “or not?”

  Rose shrugged. “I was just shooting for geek-who’s-secretly-a-badbutt.”

  “Badbutt?” Kara repeated, laughing at her word-choice. “Oh, Rose.” She leaned closer. “You’ve always been a badass. Why do you think I’m so into you?”

  Rose blushed. “Wait. You think I’m…” she trailed off. “Do you, really?”

  “Mm-hmm,” Kara murmured. Her intense, light blue eyes shifted down, watching Rose’s lips. She stepped back. “Now, try again. Slash, twist, then stab.”

  Rose smiled, her chest fluttering with excitement. Kara had ignited a new feeling in her chest—the tiniest spark of confidence—and that spark burned away her insecurities and hesitation. It made her long for more, long to prove herself.

  She gripped her dagger and stepped forward.

  But at that moment, someone knocked at the door.

  Kara smiled affectionately as she noticed the disappointment that flashed across Rose’s face. “I’ll get it,” she told her. But as she turned to head toward the door, she added, “For the record, though, you would’ve gotten it right that time.”

  Rose felt a small smile curving at the corners of her lips. “You think so?”

  Kara turned, as she reached the door, grinning at Rose. “Oh, I know so.”

  Rose glanced down at the dagger in her hand, her cheeks growing warm.

  Kara opened the door, leaning against it. “Well, look who it is.”

  Colina cradled a cylindrical basket against her chest. Her pale blue eyes shifted past Kara, clearly searching for Rose. “May I come in?” she asked softly.

  Kara stepped back and swept her arm out, gesturing for Colina to come on in. She closed the door behind her and followed Colina into the room. When Colina came to a stop, Kara circled around her. “Colina. You look…different.”

  Colina blushed. “I do?” She touched the white-blonde braid that lay over her shoulder, playing with it nervously. “I…braided my hair. Is that what it is?”

  A sly smile pulled at the corners of Kara’s lips. “No. It’s something else.”

  Rose pursed her lips to hide her smile, shaking her head at Kara’s antics.

  “It looks like,” Kara said with a smug grin, “you’ve had a very nice bath.”

  Colina’s pale blue eyes widened. “Shit.”

  Rose blinked. For whatever reason, Rose had never expected that word to come out of Colina’s mouth. “Kara,” she said with a laugh. “Leave her alone.”

  Kara lifted her hands. “Of course. Wouldn’t dream of embarrassing her.”

  Colina sighed at Kara’s teasing. “Just, please, don’t tell the princess.”

  “We wouldn’t do that,” Rose assured her. “I promise.”

  “Of course not,” Kara agreed. “I was just having a bit of fun. That’s all.”

  Colina breathed out a relieved sigh. “Thank you.” She averted her gaze, shifting her feet anxiously. “I don’t want to give her any more reason to hate me.”

  Kara’s light blue gaze shifted toward her. She kept her facial expression perfectly neutral, taking extra care not to react to that slip, and when she noticed Rose open her mouth to respond, Kara grasped Rose’s arm to get her attention.

  Rose immediately fell silent. Kara did
n’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. Her flashing, cornflower-blue eyes were expressive enough, all on their own.

  “She hates you?” Kara asked Colina. “I figured it was Isodore she hated.”

  Colina shook her head sadly. “Yeah, but that’s different.”

  A smile curved at the edges of Kara’s lips. “How so?”

  Colina froze, suddenly. She looked up slowly, grimacing, as she realized what she’d said. “What do you,” she said in a defeated tone, “know of Isodore?”

  Kara shrugged. “That, apparently, the princess has a reason to hate him.”

  Colina shook her head at her own mistake. “Zosime warned me not to talk to you. I should’ve listened,” she muttered under her breath. “I have to go.”

  Kara watched, as Colina turned to leave. “What’s in the basket, Colina?”

  Colina stopped. She turned just a little, refusing to make eye-contact with Kara, and held out the basket. “Clothes,” she said distractedly. “Princess Myrinne has asked that the Eklektos wear them to the wedding later tonight. And if you’d like me to wash the clothes you’re wearing now, leave them in the hall, and I will.”

  Kara took the basket, frowning at the layers of cream-colored silk inside.

  “Wait. What wedding?” Rose sputtered. “I didn’t sign up for a wedding.”

  Colina glanced at her, and for a moment, she looked conflicted. She still wanted to run away, of course, to prevent herself from making any more mistakes. But she also wanted to please the Eklektos. She turned and sank to her knees.

  “Dang it,” Rose muttered. “I thought we weren’t going to do this today.”

  “Hey, I could’ve kept her on her toes,” Kara said with a shrug, “but you wanted me to take it easy on her.” She grinned playfully and gave Rose the basket.

  “Forgive me, my Eklektos,” Colina sighed, “for not doing this earlier.”

  “It’s okay,” Rose said, her eyes wide. “Like…really. It’s more than okay.”

  Colina ignored her. “And as for the wedding, all I know is that they want you there,” she explained, “and that the princess wants you to wear those clothes. They’ve been tailored to match the sizes of the clothes that you’re wearing now.”

  “Well, that’s weird and invasive,” Rose muttered. She glanced inside the basket, grimacing at the silk. “Are these those robes again? Because I don’t…”

  “They’re trousers. And a shirt,” Colina said. “Like what you’re wearing.”

  “I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt,” Rose said. “Pretty sure it’s different.”

  “What if she wants her warrior with her,” Kara asked, “at this wedding?”

  Colina laughed, “Zosime said you’d ask that, and she told me to tell you to check the stone chest by the door. Apparently, she borrowed something for you.” She waited, as Kara did as she said. “She said to tell you that you’ll need it.”

  Kara opened the stone chest. “She borrowed a set of armor for me?”

  “Ligeia initially said no,” Colina giggled, “but Zosime doesn’t really take no for an answer. She asked me to hide it in here last night, during the meeting.”

  “She thinks Kara needs armor?” Rose said. “That sounds like a warning.”

  Kara nodded. “Giving armor to one specific person? Yeah, I’d say so.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t go at all, then,” Rose suggested. “I mean, why are they dragging me around to all these things, anyway? What am I? Their mascot?”

  “I’m not familiar with that term, my Eklektos,” Colina began nervously, “but I can assure you: what you are to us is…so much more than you think.”

  “Suspiciously vague,” Kara muttered. “It’s not as fun on this end of it.”

  “Princess Myrinne will come by later to talk to you about the wedding,” Colina assured them. “She’s…indisposed, at the moment, but later, she’ll be able to answer your questions. I was just supposed to tell you to put on those clothes.”

  “Someone probably should’ve warned these people about how stubborn I am,” Rose muttered under her breath. “I’m not a fan of being told what to do.”

  “No! I wasn’t…” Colina trailed off, her eyes wide. “We would never…”

  Rose’s brows furrowed, as she realized that Colina was freaking out. “I’m joking,” she said with a laugh. “I mean, no, I don’t like being told what to do, but I’m not going to like…get angry at you for it. I’m really not that scary, you know?”

  Colina squinted at that, as if Rose had said something absolutely absurd.

  Kara reached out and opened the door beside her. “All right, Colina. If that’s all you needed to tell us, why don’t you give us a moment to talk? Alone?”

  Colina straightened. “Of course. I wish you well tonight, my Eklektos.”

  “Yeah. You, too,” Rose said with an awkward shrug. “And thank you.”

  As Colina stepped past her, Kara said, “Hope you have a nice bath later.”

  Colina blushed profusely, before disappearing into the hall.

  Rose rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible to her.”

  Kara strode over to her. “Nah,” she said with a playful smile, “I just like making her blush a little.” She circled around Rose. “I do the same to you.”

  Rose smiled, shivering a little, as she felt the warmth of Kara’s breath on her neck. “Yeah,” she laughed, “but I signed up for your shenanigans. She didn’t.”

  Kara pressed her lips against Rose’s neck, chuckling into her skin. “You have to keep the liars on their toes, Rose—because that’s when they start to slip.”

  Rose’s smile faded. “Should I keep that in mind? In case you lie to me?”

  Kara froze, for a moment, her mouth still against Rose’s skin. “Maybe.”

  “I don’t think I’m capable,” Rose sighed, “of keeping you on your toes.”

  Kara tightened her arms around Rose’s waist, holding her closer. “You’re already keeping me on my toes, sexy,” she said, pressing a light kiss against Rose’s neck, “just by being you—the one person in this world that I don’t want to lose.”

  Rose closed her eyes and leaned her head back against Kara’s shoulder. Even though she felt ridiculously awkward—holding a basket in one hand and a dagger in the other—comfort blossomed inside her chest, as Kara held her close.

  Rose wasn’t entirely sure what home felt like. She’d never really had one. Her childhood home had been a place to run from, not a place to run to. And the apartment she’d had in Florida had always felt kind of temporary. A place to rest.

  And Kallias’s home—well…that was a place that would always mean the world to her. A place with wonderful memories. And a place with terrible ones.

  It was a place that had changed her life. Changed her species, even.

  But it wasn’t home.

  But the feeling in her chest, now? The warmth and comfort and security that settled inside of her? The desire to go nowhere else but here? Was that home?

  Because if it was, then maybe this was the closest Rose had ever gotten.

  Not the kingdom, of course.

  But Kara.

  Just…Kara.

  “What are you thinking, love?” Kara murmured in her ear.

  Rose blushed, as she realized how far down the Sappy Road her thoughts had gone—thankful, for once, that Kara couldn’t read them. “Just that we should probably get dressed,” she lied, “since I have to attend a wedding. Apparently.”

  Kara laughed at her baffled tone. She released Rose and took a step back. “I wonder if they’ll have any of that wine of theirs,” Kara said, as she grabbed the basket and carried it over to the bed. “I hope they do. I’d love to try a glass of it.”

  Rose frowned, as she remembered what Zosime had told them the night before—that they’d both taste it. Zosime might’ve been right about Kara, but she certainly wasn’t about Rose. “I don’t even know if I’m going yet,” she muttered. “I mean, it’s weird, don’t
you think? Why would someone who doesn’t even know me want me at their wedding? And unless Princess Myrinne suddenly decided to get married, or Zosime and Ligeia suddenly worked out whatever that is between them, how could I possibly know the couple?” She shrugged. “I just got here.”

  Kara dumped the clothes out on the bed. “Well, it’s certainly not Princess Uptight. The only relationship she has was with those bottles of wine last night.”

  “She does seem close to Zosime,” Rose said, “but it’s platonic, I think.”

  “Definitely platonic,” Kara said, as she examined the pair of silk trousers. “I’d assume that she thinks of Zosime as family. More so than her actual family.”

  “It makes sense,” Rose said, as she considered many of her own friends, who felt like family to her. “The family we choose is often much more important than the one we’re born into. My biological family never cared about me, but my friends do.” She fell silent, her chest aching with grief. “Except Zach. He cared.”

  Kara’s light blue gaze shifted toward her. “Yeah. He really did.”

  Rose looked away, her eyes already burning with tears. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize for what you feel, love,” Kara said. “It’s okay to hurt.”

  Rose blinked, causing a few tears to fall. She couldn’t bring herself to say why her feelings terrified her so much. She couldn’t talk about the nightmares—or how terrified she was of tipping over the edge, of drowning in her own pain.

  If Rose told Kara everything, she might be horrified, and that would hurt.

  And if Kara wasn’t horrified, if she was understanding and kind and said all of the things Rose needed to hear…well, Rose didn’t think she deserved that, either. Maybe she hated herself too much to ever let herself have that comfort.

  “Rose?” Kara’s voice sounded closer now. “Where have you gone, love?”

  Rose looked at her, forcing a smile. “I’m here. I haven’t gone anywhere.”

  Kara stepped closer. She reached up and brushed her thumb over Rose’s cheek, wiping away a lingering tear. “Liar,” she whispered. “You’re always going somewhere. Somewhere that hurts you terribly.” She tilted her head, pressing her forehead against Rose’s. “And I’d burn that place down for you, if you’d let me.”