Darkest Before Dawn: A Muse Urban Fantasy (The Veil Series Book 3)

by DaCosta, Pippa

  I had, when he’d first taken me to the lake house, before he revealed the depth of lies he’d told me to protect his sister, before a lot of things, none of them good. I didn’t know what to say to him. Nothing I could say would change the weight of the past pushing down on us.

  He was in front of me so suddenly I gasped and jolted back, shoving against his chest. Instincts demanded I escape, but his hands clamped down on my shoulders, fingers digging in. Pain bloomed in my wounded shoulder muscles. I flinched and tried to pull away. “Stefan, please... you’re hurting me.”

  He bowed his head, pulling me tight against him. This wasn’t anything like the warm embrace we’d shared moments before. His body trembled with chilled restraint. A blast of cold stole the breath from my lungs. A dusting of ice tightened my skin.

  He brushed his cheek against mine, his demon purring, “I came to warn you. The netherworld is dying. The princes are rallying. You are not prepared.” He sighed and slumped against me as though speaking the words relieved him. “I am the Prince of Wrath. And I’ve never needed your help more than I do right now.”

  I gasped and pulled back. His words pierced my soul like splinters of shattered ice, and everything I’d felt for him, every tiny flicker of hope I’d cherished, scattered, chased away by terror. His hands tightened on my shoulders, gaze drilling deep. The demon that was Stefan damned me beneath his glare. The colors of the veil danced in his eyes, but further inside, deeper, I witnessed a soul cowering behind a barricade of ice. Brittle fractals sparked across his cheek, lanced into his hair, and sliced across his lips, cracking, spitting, as it smothered his expression in a mask of lacy frost. The restrained power I’d felt pulsing inside him since his return suddenly broke out and washed over me. I groaned and arched back, torn between fighting him and the terrible urge to answer his power with my own. The flood of ethereal energy slammed my humanity down. My demon roared inside my head, thrashing against her restraints in a bid to devour the source of chaos inside him. I tried to swallow a wail of despair, but it tore from me in an anguished cry.

  The Prince of Wrath glared down at me with terrifying certainty. He’d come for vengeance. On his father, on Akil, on anyone who’d ever wronged him. Including me.

  I looked up into his diamond-eyes and knew it was too late for Stefan.

  I’d already destroyed him.

  The reaching tendrils of Aki’s power encircled me before I even knew he was nearby. Ice and fire wove around me. The opposing elements tightened against my skin and vied for supremacy. I heard Stefan’s snarl just as I was wrenched back out of his vice-like grip and pulled into a chasm of darkness. For the briefest of moments, I was nowhere. It was time enough for panic to clench around my heart and my demon-hitch-hiker to spill its poison through my veins. It was only the scent of cinnamon and cloves among the suddenly embracing warmth that prevented me from losing my mind to fear. Akil. I stumbled out of the dark and fell into his arms. Or I would have, had I not spun and slapped him so hard his teeth rattled.

  I shoved off him and staggered back, trying to get my bearings as the room around us sharpened into focus. The lounge at Blackstone. It had undergone some re-decorating: new leather couches, a new coat of paint so fresh I could still smell it drying. My demon shunted my humanity to one side and snarled at her failed attempts to be free. I threw that snarl at Akil. “Take me back!”

  He worked his jaw and fingered the flushed mark on his cheek. “You’re getting stronger.” He spoke with pride in his eyes.

  I didn’t have time to deal with his ego. Stefan needed me, and Akil had just stolen me out of his arms. “Take me back right now.”

  He arched a dark eyebrow, managing to look both bemused and haughty. “You are capable of many things, but suicide is not one of them.”

  I glowered. “Stefan wasn’t going to hurt me.”

  He sighed, his shoulders slouched, and his eyes lost some of their luster. He appeared to age a few years in a few seconds. “He killed you once, Muse. In that very apartment. By some miracle, you came back to me. You’re mortal, and I’m not making the same mistake twice.”

  I clutched at the cool leather of the couch I’d bumped into, needing something to keep me upright while my legs threatened to give out. My head still wasn’t quite grounded, thanks to the unexpected reality-hop. An ache throbbed behind my eyes, and my parasite’s sickly touch still burned in my veins. It was all I could do not to double over and hurl all over Akil’s polished, marble floor.

  I sucked in a deep breath. “I have to go back.”

  Akil shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the opposite couch. He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled his sleeves up. All the while, his gaze seared me as though we were about to engage in combat. “You don’t seem to understand the danger you’re in. Let me be perfectly honest with you—”

  “That’ll be a first.”

  He ignored me. “No more half-truths. You are a weapon. The princes are aware of this pertinent fact, due to your antics over the past few months. Titles are shifting. Half bloods are rising. An immortal prince dies. Another has his title ripped from him by an upstart half blood ice demon who doesn’t know any better. The netherworld is dying. The veil weakens.” Akil scooped up a TV remote from the coffee table and flicked on the vast ultra-thin TV mounted on the wall. “Lesser demons are bleeding through. And you, my Muse... are the eye of the storm.”

  I blinked, wondering if I should be feeling something, but my body was numb and my thoughts hushed. The TV played a newsfeed. I got a glimpse of the reporter, but no sound. Akil had muted the volume. I didn’t need to hear what was being said because the Hellhound sprawled on the road outside a McDonalds restaurant really didn’t need an introduction. There were a number of things very wrong with that picture. People aren’t meant to be able to see Hellhounds. But that fact didn’t appear to have reached the members of the crowd taking pictures with their smartphones. Also, Hellhounds don’t die. From the glassy red-eyes and lack of breathing, that one sure appeared to be dead.

  “Oh.”

  “Indeed.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “The princes are coming. I’ve deterred them as long as possible, centuries in your time, longer in theirs. Unfortunately, the netherworld is dying. My home is no longer able to sustain the demons. And as with all immortals, the princes tire of that which they possess and hunger for that which they can acquire.” He sighed. “Chaos is forever hungry.”

  This was big. Bigger than me. Bigger than the Institute, than Boston. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

  “It is. And inevitable.”

  I turned away from the TV and found him standing close enough that I had to look up to meet his gaze. “How much of this was your doing?”

  “None.” He swept a lock of hair from my face.

  Why did I find that hard to believe? “Right. And I’m Mary Poppins. Wait while I get my umbrella, so I can beat you to death with it for never giving me a straight answer to anything. Cut the crap. Give it to me straight. I’ve earned that much from you.”

  He smiled. “You have. I told you once of the King and how the Queen killed him. You remember?” I nodded. “Good. The King and Queen—control and chaos—together maintained balance in the netherworld. When the Queen killed her counterpart, chaos reigned, and the beginning of the end of the netherworld was born. Unbeknownst to the remaining princes, the King lived in hiding. He was weak—”

  “Okay, I’ve heard enough. Is this the part where you tell me you’re the King? Because really, my head’s already spinning from Stefan’s revelation...”

  He fought with a grin. “No. I’m flattered, but no. I’m just demon remember.”

  “Just demon,” I echoed and didn’t believe it for a second. I’d thought Akil had killed Sam in a jealous rage, but I was wrong. He’d killed an Institute spy to protect me. I’d tried to point fingers at him, accusing him through rose-tinted glasses of being inhuman. Well, he was demon. I was just too much of a dumbass
to accept it. And now he was telling me about a King who wasn’t dead but had been weak, hiding on this side of the veil. So pinch me if I didn’t quite believe him. Akil hid the truth in lies.

  “Are you quite finished scowling?”

  “Not by a long shot.”

  “As I was saying, the King was weak. He came here to regain his strength while the princes believed him dead. I know where he is. I helped him, in fact. We will need the King if we’re to protect the human realm from the Princes.”

  I think I liked him better when he was wrapping me up in a bubble-wrap of lies. “I’m hearing a lot of plural talk in there.”

  “Well, you are the Mother of Destruction. I was hoping you might like to help save your city. But you do get a choice. Where you go, destruction follows. You merely need to choose which realm you reduce to rubble in your wake.”

  He made it sound as simple as whether I should have chocolate sprinkles on my cappuccino. “Yay. A win-win situation,” I replied, dryly. This night was just getting better and better. “Okay, say for a second I take your word as the truth—which, by the way, I don’t—why on this earth should I listen to you? You just used a little girl to wipe out the Institute. Convenient timing. From where I’m standing, that sure looks like you’re on the side of the princes. Also, there is the fact you are a prince with a reputation for manipulating the truth.”

  “Sacrifices must be made. The Institute was ill prepared. They played at being protectors, but it’s not nearly enough.”

  “Are you telling me you did it for their own good?”

  “Back any creature into a corner, and it will fight. Now the Institute gathers, galvanized. More of their ranks will come to Boston. They ready their soldiers. I disturbed the nest so that they’d wake in time to see the truth and prepare.”

  I pinched my lips together, biting back the urge to tell him people had died when he’d decided to rattle the Institute. He would tell me they were collateral damage. “And what do you get out of this? What does the slippery Prince of Greed gain? Because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that you don’t do anything unless it benefits you.”

  “I get my city back.” He smiled a broad wolfish smile. “I have no desire to see this world burn. I’m content with playing these humans for the fools they are. Boston is mine, and I will not suffer any demon, prince or otherwise, who dare attempt to steal what is mine.”

  That sure sounded like the Akil I knew. I slumped against the couch, suddenly bone-tired. The news report, the plea from Adam to help the Institute, Stefan’s breathless cry for help, and Akil telling me I’m somehow caught in the middle of it all were too much. “And Stefan? He’s really a prince?”

  Akil straightened, squaring his shoulders. “Impossibly, yes.”

  “You knew?”

  “I did.”

  “For a long time?” I sighed as he nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “He’s beyond saving, Muse. He became prince not long after he believed he’d killed you. From what I understand, he laid waste to parts of the netherworld, attracting the attention of the princes. He made short work of Wrath. It should not be possible, a half blood as a prince...” He sucked in a breath, hissing air through his teeth. “Once Wrath fell, my brethren retreated. The damage was done. Had I told you, you’d have gone to him, and he’d have killed you again. Wrath is not just a name, Muse. It’s a title. Wrath is his purpose. There’s nothing you can do for him, but you can help stop the princes. Stefan will be among them, should he choose to be.”

  No, he wouldn’t. He’d come to me, asking for help. He knew what he was, but he was still in there—that kiss hadn’t been cold—and he needed me. I was sure of it. “Damn, Akil, this is a lot to wrap my head around. I need space to think.”

  “While you do that, may I suggest you help your former colleagues patrol the streets? The princes have begun summoning their lesser cousins. Their presence will rouse chaos, and where chaos reigns, the remaining princes will follow. Should chaos swell beyond control here, the veil will fall. Control the lesser demons, stem the flow, and buy yourselves time to regroup because, make no mistake, when the princes arrive, they will destroy Boston, and they won’t stop at one city.”

  Stopping lesser demons was something I was definitely capable of. “And what are you going to do? Go and find this phantom King?”

  He smirked. “You’ve already met him.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’d remember meeting the King of Hell. Forked tail, cloven hooves, goat legs, plays the fiddle?” Akil chuckled. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  “No. While he is weak, it is better you do not know.”

  “You don’t trust me?” I almost laughed when he frowned. “That’s rich, coming from the Master of Lies.” I snorted, then abruptly asked, “Is it you?”

  “No. Again. You appear to be having difficulty hearing the truth.”

  “That’s because, coming from you, truth and lies, right and wrong, they all sound the same.”

  “They are all a matter of perspective.”

  “Urgh...” I groaned. “I think I liked it better when you told me everything and nothing. Can we go back to that?”

  “We are both too much changed to return to how things were.”

  I stood and raked my hands through my hair. “You know what would be handy right now? A half blood who could kill princes.” I clicked my fingers. “Oh damn, you just sacrificed the best weapon we had against them.” Scrunching my nose up, I asked, “Whose side are you on again?”

  He gave me a sideways glance, arched an eyebrow, and twitched his lips. “Not the best weapon by far. I have that right here.”

  “Yeah, well, this blunt weapon of mass destruction is going back to Boston to find Stefan. The end of the world can wait. I can drive there, or you can take me back right now so I can at least try to convince the Prince of Wrath to fight on our side.”

  “Stefan is beyond listening to reason. His demon rules him.”

  “He’ll make that call.”

  “I don’t like it.” A flicker of fire touched his eyes.

  “I don’t like you much either, but I can’t seem to get rid of you, so how about we stop talking and start doing?”

  Akil eyed me cautiously. “Stefan and I... The Prince of Wrath will not stop until his debts are paid.” I read that as it was intended. Stefan would kill Akil. Stefan was more powerful with the weight of another world behind him. He had the potential, the motive, and no reason not to. When Akil and Stefan threw down, I had no doubt who would walk away. Stefan’s only weakness was his mortality. I swallowed and denied those thoughts purchase. “Then stay out of his way, at least until I can talk to him.”

  Akil’s eyes sparkled while at the same time managing to rake me with a sympathetic gaze. “You can’t save half bloods. The trappings and foibles of your humanity provide you with great strengths but also insurmountable weaknesses.”

  “Yeah, yeah, half bloods don’t get happy endings. I get it. I’ve never been one to follow the rules.” I flashed him a bright smile and held out my hand. “Take me back.”

  He glowered at my outstretched hand and made no move to take it. “The safest place for you is here.”

  “It’s about time you trusted me, Akil. Isn’t this what it’s all been about? What were you keeping me for, if not to use against your enemies?”

  His gaze softened. “Once, yes. Now I find myself in the alarming situation of fearing I may lose you again and caring.”

  I instantly shoved that unnerving revelation to the back of my mind, ramming it down into the existing mental box marked ‘deal with this shit later.’ I could not even begin to consider what his words meant. Not with everything else crowding my head.

  I stood, grabbed his hand, and met his curiously pained expression. “Surely the Prince of Greed and the Mother of Destruction can kick some demon-ass back to the netherworld. It might mess up your street-cred, but I’m sure an ego the size of yours can take it. Once we’v
e averted disaster, you can go back to being the slippery, back-stabbing son-of-a-bitch I know so well.”

  He allowed himself a faint smile. “Boston is mine. I protect what is mine with every weapon at my disposal. No member of the Dark Court will take that which I possess.” The fierceness behind his words wasn’t lost on me.

  “Good. Hold onto that thought.” The enemy of my enemy was my friend, and right then, Akil was the only friend I had. It wouldn’t last. He wanted me so he could pry Damien out of my soul, take his place, and wield the weapon he’d been fashioning for himself since he’d first seen me all those years ago. Words like ‘love’ and ‘care’ were cheapened when falling from his lips. He was the spider in the web, but I saw him now.

  He looked askance at me, narrowing his eyes. He was an ageless chaos demon, and he wasn’t buying my thinly veiled enthusiasm. “Why do I feel as though I’m the one making a deal with a devil?” He closed his fingers around mine.

  I flashed him a sharp-toothed smile. And now we were equal.

  * * *

  Epilogue

  INSTITUTE CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT REPORT

  FAO: VP Sabine Sturgill, New York Hub. Source: Adam Harper, HO, Boston Hub.

  OPERATION TYPHON UPDATE

  (Previous file destroyed due to security breach).

  SUBJECT EPSILON – a.k.a. Dawn.

  STATUS: Contained & holding.

  Operation Typhon progresses despite the recent destruction of our Boston hub. We are now in possession of Subject Epsilon, a.k.a. Dawn. Regrettably, there were unavoidable casualties, due in part to how we acquired her. All necessary. Epsilon is alive and securely contained on site at the Middlesex Fells facility. From various reports by field Enforcer, David Ryder, Epsilon exhibits an element as yet untapped, but which could prove vital if Class A demons do breach the veil, as reports suggest. While demon chatter claims Subject Beta (Muse) terminated the Prince of Envy, David Ryder has confirmed Epsilon was responsible. Epsilon has the potential to be an invaluable asset. Her detainment is of the utmost importance. Her current status must remain confidential. Her continued existence is vehemently denied.