The Reign of Darkness

by Britney Jackson

  “Are you sure?” Rose muttered dryly. “Because I fumble a lot of words.”

  Kara snorted, “Yes, you do.” She tilted her face and licked Rose’s neck again—with no warning, this time. She pulled back, her eyes darkening with lust, as she noticed the quick, erratic pulsing of the artery, beneath the discolored skin.

  Rose watched Kara’s reflection, noticing the hungry, predatory gleam in her eyes. “This mark seems to have made you a bit more…vampire-y than usual.”

  “Mmm, yes,” Kara growled, kissing Rose’s neck, “it is quite…enticing.”

  Rose smiled, moaning breathlessly as Kara’s warm mouth met her neck. “Are you going to bite me there?” she breathed, as she felt Kara’s fangs. “Again?”

  “I want to,” Kara growled against Rose’s skin, causing Rose to shudder pleasantly. She looked up, then, meeting Rose’s gaze in the mirror. “But I won’t.”

  Rose lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. “Umm, you…won’t? Why not?”

  Kara smiled, amused by Rose’s disappointed tone. “Because you’re not healing as quickly as you should,” she reminded her. “You’ll need to feed, love.”

  Rose nodded slowly, still a little disoriented from that aroused fog that was clouding up her brain, at the moment. “But I didn’t overuse my power,” she said, her thoughts inching sluggishly forward. “Nightmares don’t count, do they?”

  “They shouldn’t,” Kara said—though she didn’t seem too worried about the dream. She seemed far more concerned by the fact that Rose wasn’t healing. “Alana used her power in her dreams, but that was different. She was a telepath.”

  Rose’s curiosity, on the other hand, was piqued. She let Kara lead her by the hand, from the bathroom, as that image manifested in her mind—the monster in the water, with shadowy eyes and swirling hair. “You really think it’s overuse?”

  “I don’t know what it is,” Kara admitted, as she pulled Rose into the bed with her. She pushed the long, red hair out of Rose’s face, studying the dark circles beneath her eyes. “Injuries can also impair our healing abilities. Are you injured?”

  “How could I be injured?” Rose said with a laugh. “Nothing happened.”

  Kara nodded, her brows furrowed. “Well, you need to feed, regardless.”

  Rose’s bright blue gaze shifted toward Kara’s neck. “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m always sure, sexy,” Kara murmured. “Especially about you.”

  —

  As Rose waited for Erik to answer the door, she glanced at the glistening, marble wall and froze. She’d caught just a hint of her reflection in the shiny stone, and for the briefest moment, she thought she’d seen the creature from the lake.

  That dark, terrifying monster from her nightmare.

  Erik opened the door, peeking out at her. His gaze darted from Rose to the wall and then back again. “Er,” he muttered, “is there something on the wall?”

  Rose blinked and returned her attention to him. “No. I just…zoned out.”

  Erik stepped out of her way, waving her inside. “Yeah, well,” he said with a grin, “that’s what happens when you stay up all day, having rough make-up sex.”

  Rose’s face reddened—from anger or embarrassment, Erik couldn’t tell. He sensed a mix of both. “You don’t know that we did anything of the sort.”

  He snorted, “Yeah, I’m sure that mark on your neck was a pillow bruise.”

  With an annoyed groan, Rose stepped past him. She headed over to the couch-like seat in the middle of room. “Where are Elise and Colina?” she asked.

  “Elise thought it would be best if they weren’t here, when you got here,” Erik explained, “since…you know…we’re kind of betraying Colina’s trust here.”

  “Yeah,” Rose sighed regretfully. “What did she tell you that was so bad?”

  Erik crossed his arms across his chest, his black shirt stretching tight over his torso. “A lot of things,” he said pointedly. “She told us what happened at the wedding. Rose, did you really call a ten-thousand-year-old queen a ‘psychotic idiot?’”

  “She’s psychotic. And an idiot,” Rose said. “What else would I call her?”

  “If you don’t want us all to die,” Erik muttered, his eyes wide, “queen?”

  Rose noticed a stack of books on the table beside the bed. She stood and walked over to it. “She’s not my queen,” she said, as she flipped through the book.

  Erik watched, as Rose scanned the Skotalian book, as if she were looking for something. “Well, I have some experience with psychotic people, and I…”

  “While I appreciate the unsolicited advice,” Rose interrupted, flashing a sassy smile, “you said you had something to tell me—something I need to know?”

  “I do, but,” Erik paused, giving her a serious look, “I’m concerned, okay? When you’re dealing with people like that, sometimes it’s best not to…provoke.”

  “I appreciate the concern,” Rose said, closing the book, “but I don’t play nice with evil. If I’m forced to coexist with it, I’m not going to pretend to like it.”

  He nodded. “Okay, yeah, but,” he paused, wincing, “she’s just so…scary.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I thought Vikings were supposed to be fearless.”

  He scratched at his collar, laughing nervously. “Nah, that’s just Kara.”

  “Yeah, well,” Rose said, her smile fading, “that queen hurt the woman I love. She’s lucky all I did was call her a psychotic idiot.” That glowing, blood-red haze overtook Rose’s eyes, and the table began to rattle against the wall. A glass vase fell to the floor, shattering. “Because if she touches Kara again, I’ll kill her.”

  Erik took a step back. “Eyes, Rose,” he whined. “Eyes.”

  Rose blinked, stunned that her power had burst forth so suddenly. She clasped her hands over her eyes, as if that would force them back to their normal color. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, as she heard his footsteps. “I can’t control it.”

  “It’s all right,” he told her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, soothing her emotions. “After what you’ve been through lately, losing control is expected.”

  Rose glanced up at him, relief softening her features. “These nightmares aren’t helping anything, either,” she said, looking away. “I barely sleep anymore.”

  His brows furrowed. “That sounds a lot like what Alana went through.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said dismissively. She leaned back on her heels, staring at the wall, as if she were lost in thought. “I just…can’t let anything happen to her.”

  “I know you can’t,” Erik assured her. “She feels that way about you, too.”

  Rose cast a curious glance his way, wondering how much he knew. “You still haven’t told me what Colina told you. What was it that had you so nervous?”

  Erik leaned against the wall, exhaling a shaky sigh. “So, Princess Myrinne has spies of her own, right? Vampires who watch human society and keep her up to date on current events?” He paused for a moment. “Like the war, for instance.”

  “Yeah, of course,” Rose said—not surprised. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing,” Erik said, “except…she’s not keeping us up to date, is she?”

  Rose straightened, her brows creasing with worry. “What’s happened?”

  “I don’t know,” Erik said, “but Colina said that Princess Myrinne’s spies often bring back newspapers. I assume those would have updates about the war.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said with a nod. She winced. “I hate that I’m playing into this, but…” She glanced at him. “I wonder if Colina could get us a newspaper.”

  “I’ll see if Elise will ask,” Erik said. “We need to know what’s going on.”

  “And if our friends are okay,” Rose added—in a small, nervous voice.

  “Hey,” Erik said. He reached out and touched her arm, briefly projecting a wave of calm. “Don’t worry about that. Kallias will protect your friends, okay?”

  Ro
se’s glistening, bright blue eyes shifted his way. “I meant him, too.”

  Erik dropped his hand and nodded. “I’m sure he’s fine,” he said softly—though a bit of anxiety bled into his tone. He leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest. “Now—thanks to you—Kara kicked my ass yesterday. I think I’m owed a bit of information, don’t you?” He smiled. “Why are my best friends fighting?”

  “Well,” Rose said dryly, “Kallias and Kara fight over me, her dishonesty, Aaron, Alana, general ethics, and…basically anything that crosses Kallias’s mind.”

  Erik rolled his eyes at her. “I was talking about you and Kara, you idiot.”

  “I am far from an idiot,” Rose complained. She looked up at him, a slow smile curving at her lips. “Do you really think of me as one of your best friends?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “The most annoying of best friends, but yes.”

  Rose laughed. “Ditto.” But then, her smile faded—her previously bright smile tainted by fear. “Was she really that angry with me?” she said, knots twisting in her stomach. “She said she understood, but if she did that, then… What if…”

  Erik stepped forward immediately, placing both hands on her shoulders. “Whoa, slow down,” he interrupted. “Kara would kick someone’s ass just because it’s Tuesday. It doesn’t mean she’s angry. It just means she’s feeling something.”

  “But something could be anger,” Rose said. Anxiety whirled around in her head, leaving no room for anything else. “She’s already terrified of what she feels for me. What if this is the last straw? I’m not worth all this. She must know that.”

  Erik stared blankly at her. “Are you even listening to yourself right now?”

  “I have to know the truth,” Rose sighed. Her brows creased. “I can’t just drop it because she wants me to. I need to know. It feels…important, somehow.”

  Erik nodded in understanding. “As an empath, I tend to trust feelings.”

  Sadness pulled at Rose’s features. “I don’t know why I ever thought Kara would stay with me long, anyway. She’s gorgeous and seductive and brave and…”

  “Totally in love with you?” Erik finished. His eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “Come on, Rose. It’s one disagreement. You’re overthinking the hell out of this.”

  Rose nodded way too quickly—clearly on the verge of panicking. “I am?”

  “I don’t know why you’re even worried,” he said. “Kara and Alana tried to kill each other every day, and Kara stayed with her for fourteen hundred years.”

  Rose frowned. “But that was only because Alana wouldn’t let her leave.”

  “Not the point,” Erik said. He leaned against the table, crossing his arms. “What makes you think Kara would run away at the first sign of disagreement?”

  Rose chewed on her lip nervously. “People…tend to run away from me.”

  Erik snorted, “Well, can you blame them? You’re an annoying, sarcastic nerd, and…you’re kind of a mess.” He looked away. “And sometimes terrifying.”

  Rose flashed her sassiest smile. “Wow. Thanks, Erik,” she said, her voice sharp with sarcasm. “This is exactly the kind of encouragement I was looking for.”

  “But,” Erik continued, scowling at her interruption, “Kara’s into that.”

  Rose gave him a skeptical look. “She’s into terrifying messes?”

  “Well, she did date Alana,” Erik muttered under his breath.

  “Umm,” Rose said, squinting bewilderedly, “so did you?”

  “What I meant was,” Erik grumbled, his gaze shifting back toward Rose, “she’s into you.” He shrugged. “You might be a total failure at everything else you do in this world, but…you make Kara happy.” His brows furrowed. “Somehow.”

  Despite the anxiety whirling around in her head, Rose couldn’t help but smile. “How do you manage to make me feel better and worse, at the same time?”

  Erik shrugged, flashing an arrogant smirk. “Just one of my many gifts.”

  Rose’s smile faded. “Thanks for talking to me,” she sighed, “about Kara. But I should go.” She stepped past him, heading to the door. “I have a lot to do.”

  Erik frowned worriedly at that. “Rose?” he called, before she could leave. When Rose looked his way, she was stunned to find that, for once, there were no traces of humor in his expression. He scratched his head, messing up his wavy, blonde hair. “I don’t know what Kara’s lying about this time, but I sensed…fear.”

  Rose was quiet for a moment. Then, she nodded. “I sensed it, too.”

  She’d never seen Erik so nervous. “Kara is fearless, and she loves danger. What scares most people excites her. So, if this secret scares Kara,” Erik paused, regarding Rose with a worried look, “it must be more terrible than I can imagine.”

  Rose sighed, “If you’re trying to scare me…”

  “I’m not,” he interrupted. “I just want you to be careful.”

  —

  When Rose returned to her room, she found Kara sitting on the couch, her long, leather-clad legs stretched out in front of her, her hands folded over her lean stomach. Rose started to walk past her, toward the bed, but Kara spread her legs and motioned for Rose to come sit with her. Rose continued toward the bed, anyway—which actually made Kara frown worriedly, for a moment—but then, Rose snatched one of the blankets off of the bed and returned to the couch.

  She crawled onto the seat and folded herself comfortably between Kara’s legs. Rose leaned back against Kara, as Kara pulled the soft blanket around them.

  Kara pressed her face into the curve of Rose’s neck, inhaling her sweet, appealing scent. “I thought, for a moment, you were going to bed without me.”

  “Sorry,” Rose murmured, resting comfortably against her. “Just thought you’d want a blanket. Since you’re being all cuddly and domestic, at the moment.”

  “Domestic?” Kara scoffed, laughing. “I’ve never been called that before.”

  Comfortable silence settled between them, and minutes—hours, even—passed, as they enjoyed each other’s presence. Rose didn’t get quiet moments like this often—not since the entire world decided to implode—but here, with Kara, it was easy to forget about it for a moment. To imagine that everything was okay.

  Rose traced her fingers over Kara’s long legs—which were folded around Rose’s. The leather pants molded to Kara’s skin—cool and smooth under Rose’s fingertips. Rose smiled a little, as she heard the catch in Kara’s breath, as she felt Kara groan against her neck. “It’s nice,” Rose admitted. “Cuddling with you.”

  Kara crossed her arms tightly around Rose’s waist, tugging her closer, as she pressed her lips against the soft skin of Rose’s neck. “Nice, yes,” she breathed. “You’re so soft, so luscious.” She moved her lips to Rose’s ear. “It’s…very nice.”

  Rose blushed, shivering a little, as a rush of desire poured through her.

  Kara’s hands drifted lower, sliding over Rose’s stomach, dipping between her thighs. She smiled, as Rose’s head fell against her shoulder, as Rose’s mouth fell open and a soft, pleasant sigh spilled from her lips. She felt Rose’s fingers curl around her own, and she brought their joined hands to her mouth, so she could place a kiss on the back of Rose’s hand. But when she did, she noticed something.

  Kara frowned curiously and sniffed Rose’s hand. “You went to see Erik.”

  Rose opened her eyes, watching as her gorgeous-but-occasionally-weird girlfriend sniffed the back of her hand. “Oh, no. I don’t smell like him, do I?”

  Kara laughed. “Whiskey,” she told Rose. “I smell whiskey on your hand.”

  Rose frowned, as she remembered seeing a small flask on the table, next to the books she’d flipped through. “And that automatically means I saw Erik?”

  Kara threaded her fingers through Rose’s. “The vampires here drink that blood-wine, not whiskey. So, it couldn’t have been one of them that you went to see,” she murmured. “But I know Erik has whiskey—because I gave it to hi
m.”

  “You did?” Rose said, her brows furrowing. “When?”

  “Before we left Kallias’s house,” Kara said. “It was in a small, metal flask. And I think he refilled it in Canada, when we were at the Village of the Undead.”

  Rose lifted her eyebrows. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”

  “Never,” Kara growled in Rose’s ear. “Were you hoping I would?”

  “No,” Rose said easily. “I would’ve told you, either way.” She tilted her head back, meeting Kara’s intense, ice-blue gaze. “Because you deserve the truth.”

  A soft breath fell from Kara’s lips—one that carried a faint scent of fruit and blood—and with that breath, all hardness in her expression slipped away. She stared at Rose for a moment, guilt twisting at her brows. “Oh, Rose,” she sighed, her voice barely a whisper, “my love.” She paused for a moment, pursing her thin, pink lips—lips that Rose ached to kiss and touch, even now, when they were at odds with each other. “You deserve…everything good in this world.” Kara rested her head against Rose’s shoulder, kissing her skin. “But the truth—it isn’t good.”

  Rose closed her eyes, comforted by Kara’s closeness—even now, as they struggled to understand the other’s point-of-view. “I deserve the truth—good or bad. We both do,” she argued. She shrugged the shoulder that Kara wasn’t leaning against. “Look, maybe I should’ve expected this. Maybe I should’ve known what I was getting into, when I chose to date someone who lies for a living. But Kara, you and I are a team. We’re supposed to deal with good and bad truths together.”

  Kara exhaled slowly, her breath warm against Rose’s skin. “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want you to be sorry,” Rose sighed. “I just want us to be together in this.” She turned in Kara’s arms, facing her. With two fingers, she pushed the dark, silky hair out of Kara’s face, meeting Kara’s glistening, light blue gaze. “You call yourself my warrior, and you clearly want to protect me. But Kara, I’ve never asked for your protection. It’s not a warrior that I want. What I want…is you.”