by J. L. McCoy
“As you wish,” he said, bowing his head respectfully before turning his attention to Aiden. “You are dismissed.”
Aiden shot daggers at me with his slowly fading eyes, shook his head, and got back into the limo.
“Come, kitten.” Corvus smiled seductively, offering me his elbow. “Father awaits.”
I got my first good look at my surroundings and noted I’d been brought to an underground parking garage. I followed Corvus’s lead and allowed him to navigate my body into the attached building and then onto an elevator. Sliding a security card through the reader, he hit a series of numbers on a keypad before selecting a numberless floor. The elevator immediately closed its doors and started its rapid descent.
A full minute later, the car slowed and came to a graceful stop.
“I feel I should warn you,” Corvus whispered, turning to me as the elevator doors opened. “There are quite a few people here tonight that object to your attendance.”
“Bully for them,” I replied, meeting his gaze. “Sadly, this is nothing new to me. I’m actually starting to get used to people not liking me. Truth be told, I’ve gotten more hate since becoming a vampire than I ever did as a human. I can’t do a damn thing to change how I was reborn. I’m half Dark, half Day. Like it or not, I am who I am. Haters are going to hate, you know?”
“You are a unique woman, Skye Morrison,” he said seriously, his eyes slowly sweeping my entire face. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“I am definitely one of a kind,” I answered thoughtfully. Truth was, there wasn’t another vampire or human on this planet with my abilities, aside from Amun, at least to my knowledge, and that made me extra special; not that I particularly liked it or anything, but it was what it was.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I was confronted with a checkpoint. Two walk-through metal detectors were flanked by four heavily armed men, two on each side, and my back immediately straightened as I realized I would not be allowed to carry my dagger beyond this point.
“Your bag, madam?” the man closest to me asked with a proffered hand.
Sighing in disappointment, I reluctantly handed over the black jeweled clutch. There goes my cell phone. Not wanting to surprise the men, I immediately let them know I was carrying my dagger as I moved to lift the bottom of my dress.
“Hands out to your sides,” the other man barked as he flashed the few feet to me, his hand going to the gun on his hip.
“Easy,” I placated, slowly moving my arms out and away from my body before turning my head and eyeing Corvus with some distaste. “If he shoots me, that’ll make two dresses I’ve had ruined by your kind. I thought we weren’t going to make this a habit.”
“Protocols are protocols, Miss Morrison,” he answered with a slight tilt of his head. “Even Dark Ones go through security when there is a public trial.”
Pursing my lips, I returned my attention to the first man who was actively lifting my dress to unsheathe my eight-inch blade from its holster on my left thigh.
“Do you have any other weapons to declare?” the man gripping the butt of his holstered gun asked gruffly.
“Nope, just the blade.” I frowned, already feeling naked and vulnerable without it.
After setting my dagger and clutch in a bin, the man returned to my side and motioned for me to step through the metal detector. I did so with a bored cock of my brow and looked back at him after I passed incident free.
“See?”
The other two men on the new side of the gate flanked me, and I was instructed to hold my arms out. The man to my left ran a handheld wand over every inch of me as I stood still for him. When he was done, the man on my right came to stand in front of me. What came next was both incredibly uncomfortable and somewhat appalling. I took a deep, calming breath as he proceeded to physically search my body for weapons.
The guards touch was light, but efficient, as he slid them up and down my dress. I gasped hard as his hands went under my dress, and my wide eyes flew to Corvus, who had just cleared the metal detector himself.
“Is this really necessary?”
“Completely,” the man searching me answered, his hands quickly brushing the apex of my thighs before moving down the other leg.
Clenching my jaw hard, I steeled my features and endured the rest of his pat down in silence. Once it was over, I was informed that I would have my belongings retuned to me when I left the compound.
Corvus’s search was over in seconds, and it was only then I realized I got the brunt of their attention. Apparently, they thought I would have been packing some serious heat, and I rolled my eyes at the absurdity as I turned back to the guard. “Are we done here?”
“Come now, kitten.” Corvus chuckled, offering me his elbow once again. “You want to see your father, don’t you?”
Shit. The invasive search had me so frustrated that I’d forgotten I was about to come face-to-face with my scheming, lying, backstabbing, sorry excuse for a father. I swallowed hard, slipping my arm in his, and approached a tall metal door at the end of the corridor. Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for what I was about to encounter on the other side.
Chapter Eight
The tall metal door clanked loudly as it opened, and the voices on the other side of it quieted as we stepped through. Rows of curved stone benches lined each side of the room, and more than one hundred Dark occupied them. Hushed whispers began to sound as they recognized who I was.
“That’s the child who defeated the Dark father.”
“No good Day Walker.”
“...can’t believe Master allowed her to attend.”
“She’s prettier than I thought she’d be.”
“Does this mean she’s joining us?”
“...shouldn’t be here.”
“Disgusting.”
“Bet she’s just like her traitor father.”
“...heard she has all these powers.”
“Insulting.”
“Ignore them,” Corvus whispered, leaning his head closer to mine. “They don’t truly know you.”
I did my best to block out the hateful comments as Corvus directed me to the front of the room.
A raised, stone dais sat front and center, a marble throne upon it. I knew this was from where Atticus held court. Directly in front of it lay thick silver chains, secured to the floor by an ancient metal ring. I swallowed thickly, imagining my father would be shackled here in a short matter of time, as a cold chill went down my spine.
Off to the side, I noticed another metal door and somehow knew Lucian was somewhere behind it. I was incredibly nervous to see my father, but ready at the same time. I had questions only he held the answers to.
As we approached it, Corvus whispered in my ear. “Lucian has been in quite the mood since he was captured. Don’t be surprised if you walk out of here without the answers you seek. He hasn’t been very forthcoming with information.”
“He’ll talk to me,” I said quietly, for my benefit alone. His silence wasn’t an option, and I didn’t even want to entertain the idea. I desperately needed to know why he’d done the things he had to me. His actions had hurt so very badly and, honestly, had cut me down to my very core.
“I hope you get what you seek,” he said genuinely as he put his hand on a wall-mounted security scanner. A second later, the door hissed and popped open. “After you.”
I cautiously stepped through the threshold and was met with a long, stone hallway. We walked in silence to the end of it, and I waited as Corvus knocked on the next metal door. Security cameras whirred as they zoomed in on us, and after a brief wait, the door was opened.
“Mr. Frost,” a big, burly Dark One greeted as he stepped aside for him to enter. He was tall and muscled to the hilt with eyes that screamed “I’m dangerous.” He was definitely not a man I’d want to meet in a back alley if I’d been a mere human.
“This is Miss Morrison. She’s here to see Lucian.”
“Master informed us of your
impending arrival,” he informed us.
“Have you told your prisoner I was coming?” I asked.
“We do not speak to it,” he growled with disgust, eyeing me with silent judgement.
Great. He hates me too, I mused with a sigh. This was going to be a long night, I feared.
“Escort Miss Morrison to his crypt,” Corvus ordered sternly before turning to me, his tone softening considerably. “I’ll be waiting for you out in the hall when your visit is complete.”
Nodding, I watched as he eyed the guard, giving him a silent warning, before exiting the room.
“This way,” the guard rumbled, turning on his heel.
I followed him down hall after hall, all lined with silver-barred rooms that had been carved out of ancient, solid stone. Prisoners, some no more than skin and bones, called out to me from behind the silver bars.
“Ignore them,” the guard ordered, seemingly unconcerned with their grave conditions.
“You’re starving them?” I gasped, appalled at their critical state.
“Some of them, yes,” he answered matter-of-factly.
“That’s inhumane.”
“That is just punishment for their crimes,” he scoffed. “They are lucky Master let them live at all.”
I silently shook my head behind him, knowing arguing with him was a lost cause. Besides, who was I to say what proper punishment was when I didn’t even know their crimes.
He abruptly stopped in front of one of the cells and peered menacingly through the bars. “You have five minutes,” the guard said, addressing me as he turned his gaze my way. “Do not touch the bars or attempt to touch the inmate. I’ll be watching you.” To prove what he said was true, he pointed to a surveillance camera mounted at the head of the crypt.
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath as the guard turned on his heel and walked back the way we’d come. You can do this, I silently cheered myself on as my stomach did summersaults.
“I knew you’d come for me,” a relieved voice whispered from the back of the cell, and I startled hard at the sound.
Taking the last few steps toward his holding cell, I turned my neck and peered in. Lucian was standing at the far side of the chamber, his back to me, dressed in all white.
“Atticus invited me to your trial,” I whispered, matching his pitch, almost at a loss for words, the sight of him proving to be harder on me than I was prepared for.
Turning toward me, he slowly approached the bars, his eyes positively beseeching. “You know in your heart I am innocent, don’t you?” he implored hastily with conviction. “I would never consort with the likes of those traitors, and I would never hurt my daughter. You mean so very much to me, Skye. I would never jeopardize our relationship. Not for anything in this world.”
His voice screeched out in a vile tone, one I hadn’t yet encountered before. It was deafening, practically screaming his lie in my face, the sound vibrating crudely in my newly sensitive ears. Wincing with pain, I quickly covered them with my hands in a vain attempt to protect them from the verbal assault. This was the first lie I’d heard since Aoife’s, and I wasn’t prepared for the sting it delivered. For some reason, my father’s lie was more brutal on my hearing than the one Aoife told. I didn’t understand why.
“What’s wrong?” my father probed, his face concerned at my drastic change in demeanor.
“Nothing,” I said softly, my own lie sounding rough to my ears. Shaking my head, I dropped my hands and stared deeply into his eyes, tears starting to well up in mine.
“Can you get me out of here? Atticus badly wants you on the side of Dark. If you were to agree, you could lobby for my release as a condition. Convince him that this was all just some unfortunate misunderstanding, that I have always been loyal to him. He’ll see reason from you; at the very least, he’ll respect your standing and powers enough to give in to your demands.”
“And was it a misunderstanding, Lucian?” I questioned, already knowing in my heart of hearts what the true answer was.
“Of course it was,” he said, as if he couldn’t believe I’d ask such a thing. He was really laying it on thick, and if I hadn’t had Aoife’s blood, I might not have known if he was telling me the truth or not.
Something he’d said struck me as odd. I had yet to mention that he’d hurt me. I highly doubted Atticus would have mentioned my best friend being kidnapped or our house being destroyed, seeing as how his crimes against the Dark were, in Atticus’s mind, far worse than what my father had done to me. I decided to confront Lucian with it.
“I never told you I was hurt. Who said anything about you hurting me?”
He went absolutely still, his face falling as he realized his potential mistake. I watched as his eyes darted to the right, his body language a telltale sign he was about to lie to me, before returning to me. “One of the men who brought me here,” he said slowly.
Covering my ears yet again, I couldn’t help the painfilled whimper that spilled from me. The lie that rolled so easily off my father’s silver tongue was yet another deep cut. You’d have thought I would have been prepared for them by now, but the truth was, I was far from it.
“What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep grasping your head?”
“You’re lying to me,” I cried out, my eyes watering even more in my anger and discomfort.
“I would never lie to you,” he said indignantly, shaking his head.
The screeching sound crescendoed, bombarded me, overwhelming me, and I immediately tried to tighten the seal over my ears in a futile attempt at blocking out the vile reverberations. “Stop! Oh God, just stop. Please. No more.”
“What the hell is going on?” he asked, utterly confused, leaning toward the bars to peer down the hallway, as if something or someone were harming me in some way.
“You keep lying to me!” I yelled, anger and hurt enveloping me. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. Everything out of his mouth so far had been a lie, and I just couldn’t take another second of it. “Stop lying to me, because I hear it every single time you attempt to.”
Lucian gaped at me, completely confused. Soon, his eyes widened as he put two and two together. “You absorbed another gift?” he asked, unsure, his brows pinching together.
I slowly dropped my hands from my head as I scowled at him. “Yes. I needed to know if you would be man enough to tell me the truth, but it looks like you aren’t. Not one speck of honesty has passed your lips yet.”
His face became a blank mask as he slowly turned his back on me, took a deep breath, and dropped his head. My father stayed like that nearly two full minutes before he spoke again. “You shouldn’t have come,” he rumbled lowly, finally turning to me. His irises were pitch black, showing his Dark anger for the first time since I’d met him. “I have nothing more to say to you.”
“Nothing?” I shrieked, a bit in disbelief. “After everything you just put me through? You don’t think I’m owed an explanation?”
“Leave!”
“No!”
He scoffed, eyeing me with disgust. “You have some nerve, bitch. Owe you? You put me in this prison! Why would I owe you a damn thing?” For the very first time, shocking, cold hard truth rang out in his words, and I knew without a doubt he believed them; he truly did blame me for his incarceration.
Gasping at his sheer audacity, I felt my eyes flicker solid black as my own anger reached its boiling point. “How dare you! You put yourself in there! I never asked you to involve me in your ridiculous attempt to overthrow your leader. I’m not even one of you, for fuck’s sake!”
“You would have been rewarded beyond your wildest dreams,” he sneered, flashing quickly to the bars and causing me to take a step backward. “You could have ruled with me!”
I recovered with a pissed-off huff and resumed my stance next to his cell. “I didn’t even know what the hell was going on, Lucian! You never told me anything! Instead of talking to me, your daughter, your own flesh and blood whom you supposedly loved, you go behind m
y back and have my best friend kidnapped and my house torched. Way to catch bees with vinegar, asshole!”
“I couldn’t tell you,” he yelled, raising his voice over mine. “If you did not agree to it, you could have turned us all in to Atticus! I couldn’t take that chance, not with my life on the line.”
“Oh, but my best friend’s life was okay?”
He looked at me like I’d just said the stupidest thing in the world.
Shaking my head in disgust, I glowered at him. “So you thought forcing my hand was the way? You don’t know me at all. The harder someone tries to make me do something, the more I push back against it. I won’t be forced into anything! Stanus and Weston learned that the hard way.”
“You didn’t have to kill them,” he spat, his face utterly sickened by me. “Stanus was our only hope in returning the Dark race to its original intended glory. You’ve ruined that now.”
“Stanus is alive,” I reluctantly admitted, my brow furrowed hard. How could he not know?
“You’re lying.” He shook his head in complete disbelief.
“It’s true. While I did indeed kill Weston, Stanus still lives. He was able to board his plane and escape before I had a chance to stop him.”
“Lies,” my father snapped, shaking his head harder. “He would have contacted me. He would have helped me when I fled New York.”
“Stanus doesn’t particularly strike me as someone who would give a shit about anyone other than himself. He left you here to take the fall all alone. If he really cared about you at all, I wouldn’t be visiting you in jail right now, now would I?”
“You don’t know him,” he said, lowering his voice, and I could tell he knew I was speaking the truth.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said with a sigh, changing the subject as I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. This wasn’t what I was there for; I was there to get answers from my father, and they were long overdue. “What does matter is you’re supposed to be my father, and you betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. You ruined my friendship with my best friend, you sold me out to a bunch of psychotic Dark, you ordered the only thing I really had in this life to be destroyed, and worst of all, you made me believe that you actually cared about me. That shouldn’t hurt the worst, out of all the horrible things you’ve done to me, but it does; it breaks my fucking heart. My entire life, all I wanted was a father, and you preyed on that. You actually made me believe you cared about me and loved me. How could you do that to me? How could you be so cold? I’m your child, dammit!”