The Reign of Darkness

by Britney Jackson

  Rose looked up at Kara, her eyes glowing red. The power radiated from within, brought to the surface by her emotions—which were so high and surging, at the moment, that she couldn’t even make sense of them. She watched the way Kara’s muscles tightened and trembled, the way her lips parted, the way her eyes fluttered closed. It was such a beautiful thing, Rose realized—to watch someone like Kara, so strong and in control, slowly surrender more and more of herself to the feelings inside of her. Her lips moved, mouthing Rose’s name, but no sound came out, her voice no more than soundless gasps, at this point. Kara’s head tilted back. Her fingers clutched Rose’s hair, her hips rocking desperately against Rose.

  It all tightened—her grip, her muscles. Her thighs pressed harder against Rose, as her hands did the same. A flood of pleasure poured through her, as Rose licked and tasted—until, finally, it all shattered. Kara came apart with a breathless cry. Then, slowly, it all loosened again, as each muscle of her body began to relax.

  As Kara let her legs fall to the floor, Rose leaned back, staring up at her.

  Kara curled her finger slowly toward herself, beckoning Rose closer. She watched with a peaceful smile as Rose climbed onto the couch with her, and then, she sat up and pressed her lips against Rose’s, tasting the wetness on Rose’s lips.

  She leaned back, lifting her eyebrows, as she noticed the smile on Rose’s face. “You look hungry, still,” Kara said, “like you haven’t had enough of me yet.”

  Rose felt a sudden rush of heat in her face—and every other part of her body, for that matter. She leaned in, smiling shyly, as she whispered, “I haven’t.”

  Kara trailed her fingers over Rose’s face. “Good,” she growled, a hungry smile curving at her lips, as well, “because I’m not finished with you, either.”

  13

  The Truth

  Alana froze in the doorway, her eyes narrowing at the poofy, yellow dress in the floor. A dress that she knew, without a doubt, did not belong to Kara. She walked slowly toward the bedroom, jealousy lashing through her, like a fiery whip. She found Kara, still partially dressed, in bed with a mostly undressed human.

  The human sat on the edge of the bed, her curvy figure clad only in white undergarments. She tilted her head back, her long, brown curls falling around her shoulders, as she giggled at something Kara had whispered in her ear. She moaned softly when Kara began to kiss her neck. “Do you do this with a lot of women?”

  Kara laughed at that. “A lot…is an understatement.”

  The woman gasped suddenly as Alana grasped her by the hair and jerked her head back, exposing her throat. Her brown eyes widened—full of both fear and wonder—as she stared at Alana. Her fear seemed to fade, though, the longer she stared at the beautiful, blonde vampire, as a deep, primal desire replaced it.

  Before Alana could kill the human, however, she felt a sharp blade press into her throat. Her dark blue eyes shifted toward Kara—who now stood beside her, holding a sword against Alana’s throat. Fury burned in Kara’s light blue eyes.

  “I thought I commanded you to get rid of your weapons,” Alana said.

  “You never said that I couldn’t steal one from someone else,” Kara said.

  Alana let go of the woman, sighing irritably. “You and your loopholes.”

  Kara waited for a few moments for the woman to run away, but instead, the human just continued to sit on the bed, staring up at them with a mesmerized expression. “Anne,” Kara said, her brows high, “this would be the time to run.”

  “Oh!” the woman said, suddenly coming out of her daze. She jumped to her feet, snatched her dress from the floor, and ran out into the street, screaming.

  Alana narrowed her eyes at her sly, deceptive lover. “Don’t you think you should’ve let me erase her memory first? Now, we’ll have to find another house.”

  Kara lowered her sword. “Good. I’m sick of looking at this place.”

  Alana watched as Kara relaxed her stance, leaning back on her heels and resting the tip of the sword on the floor. Alana tugged a clip out of her hair, letting her pale blonde hair fall around her shoulders. “The deal, as I remember it,” Alana said with a tightly-curved smile, “was that you would stay with me for ten years.”

  Kara swept her free arm out and shrugged her shoulders. “Have I left?”

  Alana stepped closer, her lips curling into an unflattering grimace. “Me,” she repeated. “You agreed to be with me. Not every woman in the city of Paris.”

  “You were gone for three days,” Kara said with a shrug. “I got hungry.”

  Alana extended her arm, her pink, lacy sleeve falling away from her wrist, as she offered said wrist to Kara. “I apologize for the delay,” she said seductively.

  Kara glanced at Alana’s wrist, her light blue eyes darkening with obvious hunger. But she held herself back, somehow. “I seem to have lost my appetite.”

  Alana dropped her arm to her side, her dark blue eyes narrowing. “Liar.”

  Kara flashed a bitter smile at her. “Always.”

  “Fine,” Alana sneered, “starve, then. You’ll change your attitude when the hunger starts to drive you mad. You always do. You’ll beg for my blood then.”

  Kara looked away, her stomach already burning with agonizing hunger. “Where have you been, anyway?” she said, as she watched Alana undress. “When I agreed to this, I was under the impression that I’d be your lover for ten years, not your prisoner. But then, I suppose I’m always a prisoner to you, aren’t I?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Alana said. “I’ve given you plenty of freedom.”

  Kara laughed in disbelief. “The fact that you think my freedom is yours to give or take,” she said, her voice a low, bitter growl, “just proves my point.”

  Alana spun toward her. “You agreed to the deal. It was your choice.”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Kara argued. “I never do.”

  “You could have let the woman die,” Alana said with a nonchalant shrug. “She didn’t mean anything to you. She was just a human. But you made the deal.”

  “I always make the deal,” Kara said tiredly. “That doesn’t mean I like it.”

  “See, now, you’re lying again,” Alana murmured as she stepped closer to Kara. She lifted her hand and tucked a strand of dirty-blonde hair behind Kara’s ear. “You know you like being with me. You like the way I feel, the way I taste…”

  Kara growled, as a sudden rush of hunger coursed through her, and she turned her head, trying to sink her fangs into Alana’s wrist. But Alana pulled her hand away before Kara could. A smug smile pulled at the corners of Alana’s lips.

  “That’s what I thought,” Alana whispered, her dark blue eyes sparkling.

  Kara stepped back, her face twisting with pain, as if she’d been wounded.

  Alana watched her with an amused smile. “You know,” she said, stepping closer, “out of all the warriors I’ve known, I think it hurts you more than anyone.”

  Kara’s icy blue gaze shifted toward her. “What hurts me?”

  Alana leaned closer, until their bodies nearly touched. “Being powerless.”

  “Is that what you think?” Kara asked slowly. “That I’m powerless?”

  “You are,” Alana said with a smile. “You’re powerless against a telepath.”

  “Oh?” Kara said. She closed the last bit of space between them, and with a growl, she kissed Alana. One of her hands held Alana’s face close to her own, as she deepened the kiss, tasting Alana’s lips, exploring the warmth of her mouth.

  Alana looped her arms around Kara’s neck, eagerly surrendering to the kiss, and when Kara began to push her back, pushing her toward the bed, Alana didn’t protest. She lay back, watching with a smile, as Kara climbed on top of her.

  But instead of continuing to kiss her, Kara suddenly shifted, pressing her forearm to Alana’s chest and pressing the tip of her sword against Alana’s throat.

  Kara held the sword at an angle, her form perfect, and Alana felt a ru
sh of fear in her stomach as she realized that she couldn’t move without that blade slicing her throat. Kara’s growl was soft but terrifying. “Still think I’m powerless?”

  Alana stared up at Kara, her dark blue eyes glistening. “You tricked me.”

  “Of course I did,” Kara said with a smirk. “Don’t you know me at all?”

  “Stop it,” Alana said—in a soft, pleading tone. “Please. You’ll hurt me.”

  “What? Like you’ve done to me? Every night of my immortality?” Kara said darkly. Centuries of loathing burned in her light blue eyes. “You poor thing.”

  “Kara,” Alana said, her voice cracking in fear, “are you going to kill me?”

  Kara’s expression changed, the hardened lines of her face softening, the glint of anger in her eyes fading. “I won’t, as long as you answer my questions.”

  Alana relaxed, calmed by Kara’s change of attitude. “What questions?”

  “What were you doing with the monk?” Kara asked. “Isaac Attwood?”

  Alana paled. “How did you…” she sputtered. “How did you know that?”

  “I’m a spymaster,” Kara reminded her. “I know when people are hiding something from me, and I have ways of finding out exactly what they are hiding.”

  “You can’t know,” Alana whispered. “You’re not supposed to know.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t go straight to Aaron,” Kara said. She pressed the tip of the sword harder against Alana’s throat, tipping her head back. “Is this one of your revenge schemes? Do you know what Isaac Attwood is? What he believes?”

  “He’s an Assassin of Light,” Alana said easily, “and he’s the scum of the earth.” Her expression seemed to change, the shock gradually melting away. “And yes, I will have my revenge. One day.” She smiled. “But Isaac Attwood is part of something much bigger. Which is why, my darling, I can’t let you remember this.”

  Kara straightened. “Alana,” she said worriedly. “Stay out of my head.”

  “Too late,” Alana said with a seductive smile. “I’m already in there.”

  Kara dropped the sword, leapt off of the bed, and raced toward the door.

  Alana sat up. “Stop,” she commanded, taking control of Kara’s mind.

  Kara froze, just inches away from the door, but unable to take another step. Her light blue eyes glistened with tears, as she tried to resist Alana’s control.

  Alana circled around her, watching Kara’s pained expression with a cruel smile. “Like I said,” she whispered, stepping closer to Kara, “you’re powerless.”

  Kara glared at her. “One day, you’ll die, and I won’t shed a tear for you.”

  “You know as well as I do,” Alana said with a smug smile, “that’s a lie.”

  Kara didn’t argue. “Erase my memory, if you want, but I’ll still find out.”

  “And when you do,” Alana whispered, “I’ll just make you forget again.”

  Kara’s eyes widened, as she realized, “You’ve done this to me before.”

  “Many times,” Alana confirmed. “I’m sorry, my love, but this is one thing you cannot know.” She tilted her face closer, until their lips almost touched. “This is so much bigger than you and me. He warned me that you could ruin the plan.”

  “Who warned you?” Kara asked, her brows furrowing. “Isaac Attwood?”

  “Oh, no,” Alana said, shaking her head. “This is bigger than him, too.”

  “Alana,” Kara said worriedly, “what have you gotten yourself into?”

  Alana lifted her hand to touch Kara’s face, slipping another lock of ash-blonde hair behind Kara’s ear. “You have to forget this, love,” she commanded, controlling Kara’s mind. “Forget what you discovered. Forget your suspicions.”

  A dizzying haze washed through Kara’s mind, erasing recent memories.

  “Good,” Alana said, as she watched the memory fade from Kara’s mind. “Now, you and I are going to have a wonderful decade together. Aren’t we?”

  Tears fell from Kara’s glistening, ice-blue eyes, as she whispered, “Yes.”

  —

  Kara opened her eyes, blinking wearily at the ceiling. A strange, nagging feeling prodded at her mind—urging her to think, to remember—but she wasn’t sure what she’d forgotten. Much less how to remember it. She didn’t know what she’d dreamt about, but it had felt so different from what she felt now that it was like a shock to the system—like stepping out of fire and into ice-water. Kara was content and comfortable here—with her legs and Rose’s entangled, with her body curled around Rose’s. She had no desire to revisit where she’d been in the dream.

  “Kara,” Rose said sleepily. She glanced up at her. “Are you all right?”

  Kara glanced down at Rose, a content smile curling at the corners of her lips, as she saw Rose snuggled up against her—Rose’s arm around her waist, and her head on Kara’s chest. Affectionate warmth filled her chest, like a balloon, and she pressed her lips against Rose’s forehead. “I’m more than all right, love. Why?”

  “You were sad,” Rose murmured. “I thought you’d had a bad dream.”

  “I don’t remember,” Kara admitted, smiling at her, “but I’m happy now.”

  Rose gave her a weak, sleepy smile. “Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

  Kara chuckled at Rose’s sleepy sappiness. She arched her back, stretching her arms over her head. She froze, as she felt the cold marble press harder against her back. She glanced around them, her eyebrows lifting, as she realized that they were in the floor, still, sleeping naked, in front of the couch. Kara started to laugh.

  Rose kept her eyes closed, but her brows furrowed. “What’s so funny?”

  “We never made it to the bed,” Kara told her. “We’re still in the floor.”

  Rose opened her eyes and jolted upright, glancing around the room. “Oh my word,” she said, as she turned to look back at Kara. “When did we fall asleep?”

  “Around the fifth or sixth time, I think,” Kara said with a cocky smirk.

  Rose blushed. “We didn’t…” she trailed off. “It wasn’t that many times.” Her brows furrowed, as she replayed the memory in her head. “Wait…was it?”

  Kara lifted her eyebrows, fighting back laughter, as she realized that Rose was actually doing the math—going as far as to count each time on her fingers.

  Rose was mumbling to herself, “Does it count as one or two when we…”

  Kara couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. She lost it, throwing her arms over her face, as she cackled hysterically. She felt Rose’s gaze on her, as Rose turned to look at her, but she couldn’t stop—not even after she ran out of breath.

  “You’re literally rolling on the floor, laughing,” Rose muttered, her brows high. “Like the text acronym. Except you’re actually doing it—not just typing it.”

  Kara eventually calmed down, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, as her cackling faded to breathless laughter, then to a sigh. She folded her hands over her bare stomach, gazing up at Rose with an amused smile. “I need to go.”

  Rose frowned curiously. “Go where, exactly? It’s the middle of the day.”

  “To steal those journals for you, of course,” Kara said, the corners of her lips tilting into a wicked smile. “You visited the temple earlier. Now, it’s my turn.”

  Rose swallowed uneasily, as the memory of that visit flashed through her mind. “Oh, yeah,” she mumbled. “My memory’s been a bit…unusual…lately.”

  Kara frowned at Rose’s sudden shift in mood. “It might be the sun.”

  “Yeah,” Rose lied, watching her hands shift in her lap—her bare lap, she suddenly realized. “I should get dressed,” she said, blushing. “I’m a little naked.”

  Kara grinned wickedly, her ice-blue eyes sparkling. “You are, aren’t you?”

  Rose blushed under her heated gaze. “Are you sure you want to do this alone? I know I’d probably just slow you down, but…I could also save your life.”

  �
��Rose,” Kara said with an affectionate smile. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Rose breathed out a shaky sigh. “And if not, I’ll feel it.”

  “Exactly,” Kara said. She sat up, leaning toward Rose. “And you’ll make whoever hurt me pay.” She jumped to her feet, bending to kiss Rose on the head, before snatching up her clothes. “Relax, sexy. I’m a professional, remember?”

  “I’m not sure professional is what I’d call you,” Rose teased, “like…ever.”

  Kara laughed. “You’ll take that back, when I come back with journals.”

  Rose smiled, even as her heart raced with anxiety. “We’ll see.”

  —

  With each step, Kara could feel the effect of the sun. Even when it wasn’t in contact with a vampire’s skin, it was still dangerous—because it weakened each muscle and cast a blurry haze over the mind. Kara had more experience than most vampires with functioning during the day—because in her line of work, she often needed to use a vampire’s weaknesses against them. Even if the weaknesses were also her own. Not to mention, all of those times that she’d almost killed Alana in her sleep—only to succumb to her feelings, at the last moment. She’d hated Alana with everything inside of her, but somehow, she’d loved her too much to kill her.

  Who would’ve thought that it would be Erik, in the end, who killed her?

  Kara froze, as a rock crunched beneath her boot. Although most of this underground kingdom was built like an actual city—with actual buildings—some of it was still just the bare rock of the cavern. The part of the cavern that separated the palace and the temple was bare rock—and much harder to slip across quietly.

  She glanced behind her, toward the building that she now knew was the palace—the same building that she and Rose stayed in, just a few halls away from the princess herself. She knew that Rose was in there, pacing the floors. She could feel the slight sensation of marble beneath her feet, still. But she didn’t see anyone come out, and she didn’t hear any commotion inside. So, she continued her walk to the temple, careful to avoid small rocks, this time. Rather than climb the steps to the temple and enter through the front doors, she crept around the side, where the rock floor itself sloped up toward the temple. She kept to the shadows—until she reached the small, back door that led straight into the princess’s healing room.