Lord of Shadows (A Paranormal Romance Book): Blackness Falls

by Shania Tyler

Barna’s eyes turned toward the arrow and though she seemed loathe to let her mouth go from Kelly’s wound, she said, “What is that?”

  Another arrow appeared, closer than the other and near to Barna’s head.

  The woman rose from the bed.

  The door swung open and it was Theo. “The Scourge has returned. I must get you both to safety so that the death toll doesn’t climb.”

  A series of arrows rained into the room, and Kelly screamed and balled herself against the bed. Projectiles landed everywhere, making a circle around her on the bed, trailing on the floor and the furniture.

  The white of Barna’s eyes was visible as she scrambled toward the exit. “No, I wish to get out of here. Take me to the door.”

  “This way,” Theo said.

  “What about me?” Kelly asked in outrage. She couldn’t move for fear of the arrows.

  Theo frowned at her. “I’m sorry, Kelly, but I must see to my aunt first. She is all that matters to me.”

  “Yes,” Barna said. Obviously, her obsession with Kelly was short-lived. “Take me from here.” She was yanking on Theo to leave the room.

  Theo closed the door behind him and an arrow slammed into the door.

  Kelly heard Barna scream.

  Kelly covered her ears and closed her eyes as more arrows fell. Her pulse pumped hard through her body and the only part of her she allowed to move was the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her thoughts immediately went to Mason and how he’d lost his first wife thanks to the government and now he would lose his second.

  She kept her body locked in that position, for how long she didn’t know, but she jumped when hands touched her and Mason’s familiar scent filled her lungs. She looked up and found him silently studying her.

  “You’re safe,” he said.

  “So are you,” she announced. And then to make sure, she ran her eyes over him . . . and when that wasn’t enough, she used her hands.

  Mason grabbed her hands. “I was shooting the arrows, Kelly.”

  “Why?”

  “To get Barna’s claws off you and send her home angry.”

  “You could have shot me,” Kelly whispered.

  He frowned and looked at her scar, completely ignoring her comment. Probably because he was just that good with a bow and arrow. Her man was good at many things. “I swore she wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “It’s okay,” Kelly whispered, glancing at her scar and then turning back to him. “Nothing rock contact won’t cure.” She tried for a smile.

  Mason kissed her head and then picked her up and carried her toward her wardrobe, making sure to avoid arrows. He placed her down on an empty spot and said, “Get dressed and I’ll take you outside.”

  She dressed quickly and they were outside in minutes.

  The moment she was outside, she already felt better. It reminded her of her days at Morwen University when she’d stand in The Square.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then she looked at her arm. “All healed.”

  “From what I remember about healers, it’s never worked this way.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “They never needed to be outside for it to work,” he told her. But then he shrugged. “Though, we never needed diamonds to channel our abilities either.”

  Kelly frowned. “Is that why you all wear the diamonds?”

  He nodded. “While living in Morwen, the Rebels found out that the purity of the stone helped with our speed and strength, something that all vampires have innately, yet even that has started to become hard to reach. The diamond helps.”

  Kelly held up her hand. “But, I wear your diamond now.”

  He pulled her into his embrace and said, “You are my diamond. I need no stone.”

  Kelly wondered how any woman was to have a fair chance at not falling in love with this man. Then she wondered what was stopping her. Her world had been pulled from under her feet, and she was falling fast.

  Mason touched her cheek and then leaned forward and kissed her.

  Heat engulfed them.

  Mason broke the kiss and lifted Kelly up and over his shoulder.

  She gasped. “Where are we going?”

  “You know where.”

  She did. “My bed has arrows in it.”

  “We’ll use mine.”

  She smiled and relaxed as he carried her through the house. Then a naughty thought entered her thoughts, and she opened her mind just enough to let him peek.

  His steps faltered and then he swiftly swatted her on the ass. “Oh, Kelly, I’m going to do all that and more.”

  She was more than pleased when he did.

  * * *

  The group left the next day to Pria. The company was made of Theo, Kelly, Noel, and a handful of servants. The servants and Noel rode on the horses while Theo and Kelly rode in a stylish carriage. “For appearances” had been the answer Theo had given her. Kelly was posing as his whore and Noel as her guard.

  Ethan had asked to come as well, but Mason had forced him to stay behind. He’d said Ethan needed further training from Maurice, and when Kelly had asked for the truth, she’d received a simple, “Because I say so.”

  She’d been upset by this reply, but had calmed when she remembered how territorial Mason seemed to be whenever Ethan was brought up. Her vampire didn’t like to share and neither did she.

  Mason would not be traveling with them, but he’d told her he’d be near and as they’d left, Kelly could feel just exactly how near he was. He’d told her that this would happen, along with explaining the other coupled abilities they would receive. They’d be able to find one another over great distances, channel emotions to be shared, and read one another’s mind.

  They rode for hours it seemed and Kelly was just started to get the sense of time in Morwen, learning the different between early night, when people would usually be up and about versus late night when people slept. It was late at night when they arrived at their first stop in a small city and Noel went inside an inn to arrange their stay.

  Kelly looked outside the window and was surprised by the number of people scattered far into the distance, pitching tents with the aid of torches. Many of them had slaves doing the hard work while children ran through the tent city and down the single road in town that hosted all the businesses.

  The buildings looked to be made a dark clay, stacked only two to three stories off the ground with open windows that had no glass. Jolly pub music floated toward her ears. A man sat in a chair by the building that had the most traffic. Couples and families littered the dirt road.

  “Where are we?”

  “Floren,” Theo said. He was also looking out the window as he spoke. “The people outside are all heading toward Pria, and we’ll meet up with more people on the way.”

  “That is a lot of people,” Kelly said, gazing at the tents. There had to be at least a few thousand people out there. “Will they all fit into the city?”

  “Yes, Pria has been throwing this festival since the gods got too lazy to take care of Asea themselves and divided the work—or the gifts—between the people. Pria also holds the Temple of Jinn, so many of the vampires you see will walk into the temple to gain their blessing. It is why the Year of Blessing lasts so long. People must travel from all over to reach their family lands.”

  “Where are they coming from?”

  “Some are from Morwen like us. Others took ships from Corena, which is located on the other side of the Vena Sea, which is south of us. Even still, there may be some who travel from the Middle Lands, but you won’t see many people from the Eastern Lands. They want nothing to do with Pria and its government.”

  She didn’t blame them.

  Noel appeared at the door. “They were full, but I managed to get you their best rooms.”

  Kelly looked at him from lowered lashes and said, “I wonder how you managed to arrange that.”

  Noel grinned. “The innkeeper was very nice. She insisted.”

  Kel
ly chuckled and shook her head.

  She was walking toward the inn when she heard someone call her name. She frowned and turned and then her heart stopped. “Amity?”

  Amity Woods, her friend who’d graduated from Morwen University last year, ran toward Kelly and embraced her in a hug. “Kelly, what are you doing here?” Her green eyes twinkled with happiness.

  Kelly grabbed Amity’s hands. “I was going to ask you the same question.”

  “I’m here with my husband. He’s from here.”

  Just then, a man walked over to them and Kelly lifted her eyes and was struck mute for a moment. “President Scott?” He’d been the president of MU during Kelly’s junior year.

  She remembered then the conversation she’d had with Amity in the cafeteria at school about Mr. R. Scott being a vampire. Now, she was definitely a believer.

  Mr. Scott threw her a handsome grin that reached his starry-blue eyes. “You can call me Ronan. I no longer work at MU.”

  Kelly shook her head, thinking about what Ethan said about people at Morwen being from this world. Would she run into anyone else she knew?

  Amity laughed. “Oh, my god, Kelly, you are the first human I’ve seen in forever! Ugh! You have no idea what it’s like!”

  “Hey,” Ronan called in a teasing voice. “You’ve a vampire standing right here.”

  Amity turned her brunette head toward him and delivered a peck on his cheek. “Except for you, sweetie. You’re awesome.”

  Ronan grinned.

  Amity turned back to Kelly and said, “But I swear, it’s like one Twilight Zone episode after another around here.”

  Kelly knew exactly what she was talking about, though she didn’t know how to tell Amity that technically . . . she wasn’t human either. The freakiness of it all was not just happening around her, but happening to her.

  “Twilight Zone?” Ronan asked.

  Kelly bent her head to hide her giggling.

  Amity sighed and then hugged Ronan. “I’ll explain it later.”

  “Kelly.”

  She turned around as Theo approached. Theo’s eyes rose past hers and he chuckled. “Ronan, haven’t seen you at headquarters in a while. Still working for the wealthy?” Then he turned to Amity and said, “Lovely to see you again.”

  “Likewise,” Amity cracked.

  Kelly looked between the two and was surprised Theo had known about Amity and never mentioned her.

  The two men shook hands.

  Ronan nodded his head. “Powerful elves are still going missing. I’m doing what I can to find them.” But then he lowered his voice and said, “But I have not forgotten the bigger mission. I’ve news for you.”

  Theo motioned for Ronan to walk with him. “Let’s talk then.”

  Ronan turned to Amity. “I’ll be back.”

  “Okay, I’m fine,” Amity assured him.

  Theo gave Kelly a key. “Go to the inn whenever you’re ready.”

  She watched the men blend into the passing pedestrians and then turned back to Amity.

  Amity grabbed her around the arm and said, “Let’s go to that bar and you can tell me everything!”

  It took two hours, with Amity’s interruptions included, for Kelly to tell her everything that had happened to her.

  “Wow,” Amity said with a grin. “You’re married?”

  Kelly nodded.

  “And you can’t tell me his name?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head.

  Amity turned her mouth to the side. “Well, that sucks. Do you love him?”

  Kelly’s heart raced and she shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s too early to say. I know what I feel when I’m with him.”

  Amity slowly grinned. “Yeah, it was that way with Ronan and I as well. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other when we first met. It drove me crazy!”

  “Yes,” Kelly quickly agreed.

  “I fell quickly,” Amity admitted wistfully.

  Kelly groaned and squeezed on the cup between her fingers as she closed her eyes. “But, doesn’t it go against everything everyone tells you about falling in love?”

  Amity shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean, look at how long you and Ethan dated . . . no offense.”

  Kelly frowned. She did take offense though admitted that Amity was right. She and Ethan had dated for forever and, pretend or not, eight years was a long time to never have once felt as much passion for Ethan as she did for Mason. “I just don’t know what to think.”

  “Being with Ronan wasn’t easy at first. In the beginning, he tried to push me away because of our differences, but I wouldn’t let him. I knew what I felt and I knew what he felt, and we took it from there.”

  Kelly nodded, sighed, and then smiled at her friend. “Wow, I didn’t realize how much I missed you. It does feel good talking to you again.”

  Amity grinned. “And imagine. One of these days, Theo said we’d move back to Morwen, which was where we stayed for a month before he got another assignment. Now, I’m looking forward to it.”

  Kelly loved the idea of having someone she’d known all her life around, because just like herself, Amity had also grown up in Morwen, Connecticut. The two held hands and promised to get together before departing in the morning.

  Kelly left the bar and went to her room, feeling exhausted, but when a maid offered to bring her a bath, she didn’t refuse.

  The bath was brought up, and Kelly stripped quickly and got into the metal tub. The hot water was slightly harsh against her skin, but she didn’t mind the heat. After riding in a carriage for hours, she could finally feel the aches and pains leave her body.

  With her eyes closed, she felt a presence and opened her eyes to find a tall figure dressed in a dark robe standing by her tub. The hood was pulled over his head, but she didn’t need light to know who he was. Her body had felt his presence near and she had to stop herself from jumping out of the tub when Mason removed his hood.

  “Hey,” he said.

  Kelly felt her awareness of him wake her. “Hey.”

  He removed his cloak, revealing a white shirt with rolled up cuffs, black jeans, and black boots. He knelt by the tub, leaned on the edge, and simply stared at her. “Had fun at the pub?”

  She nodded. “You know Amity?”

  He trailed his fingers in the water and Kelly watched the flexing of his muscled arm. “I met her when she stayed at Morwen on her first visit, but Ronan travels often, so I don’t know her well. He’s a Rebel.”

  “So, I learned,” Kelly whispered as he picked up her rag. “I didn’t tell Amity who you were.”

  “Wise of you,” he told her. Then he took the rag from her hands, reached for the bar of soap, and began to lather it.

  “What are you doing?” Kelly asked.

  “Bathing my wife,” he told her.

  Kelly licked her lips lasciviously.

  Mason chuckled. “Only bathing you. Nothing more.”

  Kelly pouted, but closed her eyes as Mason began to move the rag over her, sliding it down one arm and then the other, even taking the time to wash each finger and in between. He did the same for her legs that stuck above the water. He washed her toes, feet, and calves before rinsing her limbs off and Kelly thought about how intimate the act he was performing was. He was being so sweet. So kind and gentle. And she told herself not to be turned on and to take the gift he offered her, but when he positioned himself behind her and began to trail the rag down her chest . . .

  “Lean forward,” he said in a harsh whisper, proving to her he was not unaffected by what he was doing. He washed her neck, back, and sides, and when he was done, he rinsed her and told her to lean back.

  Resting once again, he proceeded to clean her front and when the rag went over one nipple, her breath hitched. His hand slid down to her stomach and then back up to her other nipple.

  Kelly moaned.

  His fingers grazed her flesh and then she felt the fingers on both his hands touching her. The rag was forgotten.

  One
of his hands traveled down her stomach and reached into the curls between her legs.

  Kelly splashed water as her hands went to the side of the tub and her fingers gripped the edge. “Mason . . .”

  A finger dipped inside her and his other fingers pinched her nipple.

  Kelly lifted her thighs, immediately wanting more.

  A second finger entered her and they found a rhythm.

  Kelly grew hotter than the water around her and was surprised it didn’t boil over from the heat Mason had created between her legs. “Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

  He licked the back of her neck.

  Kelly almost leaped from the water, and she tightened the muscles around his fingers.

  He bit her, not hard enough to break flesh, but just enough to send her close to the edge.

  “Do it,” she told him as she rode his hand.

  Mason shook his head and then kissed her throat. “This is about you. All about you.”

  Kelly bit her lip as tears came to her eyes. She was close, but hadn’t realized just how close she’d been until Mason’s other hand slid farther into the water and touched the small bud at her opening.

  Kelly choked back her cry of pleasure, but couldn’t stop the trembling of her body before she collapsed back against the tub. “That was amazing.” Then a moment later, she whispered, “You’re amazing.”

  Mason’s hands rested across her shoulders and his breath tickled her ears. “Many would not agree with you.”

  “Then they’d be wrong.” She placed her fingers around his arms.

  He leaned forward until his chest touched her back. “I’m not who you think I am, Kelly.”

  Kelly shook her head and thought about Monrel and how Mason wished to control the shadows. She had questions around that, but still whispered, “No, Mason. You’re not who you think you are.”

  Mason kissed her temple as he took his hands away and leaned out of her reach. “Don’t fall asleep in the tub. Elves can drown.”

  Kelly smiled. “I won’t.” But when she turned to look at him, she saw he was gone without a trace. Only the tingling between her thighs told her that someone had been in the room.

  And it had been the man she loved.

  * * *