Blood Beyond Darkness

by Brown, Stacey Marie

  Owen bobbed his head. A few moments passed before he found his voice. “It won’t. Half or full, you are still my brother.”

  Cole took one large stride and engulfed Owen in a hug, pounding on his back. “I don’t want Jared to know.” I heard him whisper into Owen’s ear. Owen nodded, his hand moving to Cole’s shoulder as they separated.

  Lorcan’s hatred of Cole now made more sense to me. Lorcan had taken out his anger at his father on the innocent boy, a result of an affair. This had made Cole’s ascent to Alpha even more of a sting to Lorcan, especially when Cole chose Eli.

  And here I thought my family should be on a reality show.

  Eli’s feet held resolutely to the ground as he looked at his two older brothers. I knew Eli thought of his whole clan as his brothers and sisters, but this was a little different. Cole was blood—a half-brother he had never known about. A deep family secret finally found its way to the surface.

  Cole’s gaze landed on Eli, softening. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to be the one who destroyed your views of your father. I thought it better to keep everything the way it was.”

  “You still should have told me.” Eli’s hands went up, as he roughly scoured his head. “Why now, Lorcan? Why bring it up now?

  “Because I felt it was time you knew the truth. You are so determined to have me be the villain even though you have no idea how many times I protected you, how I stood in front of Father when he became abusive and cruel. I took the beatings when he got drunk and his temper needed an outlet.” Lorcan rapped his fingers on his chest. “You still want to make me the bad one? Fine.”

  Reaction to Lorcan’s words contorted Eli’s face. His fists clenched and his shoulders twisted down. A palpable hush enveloped the group. We entered the eye of the storm, waiting in trepidation for Mother Nature’s wrath to reassume.

  Cole’s low voice finally cut through the invisible barricade. “I do want to talk about it, Eli. We have a lot of things to discuss, but I think we should do it later, privately.” Cole scratched at his scruff. It was his gesture when frustrated or nervous.

  Eli clasped the back of his neck with one hand. I wanted to comfort him, but I knew he needed to process the facts first. Right now he would reject any comforting. His instincts were on guard and defensive.

  “Yeah. We need to get back to what is really important—killing the Queen.” Eli’s tone sounded cold and clipped.

  Oh, yeah, he is going to need some time with this one.

  “Eli?” If I could sense Eli shutting down, then Cole could sense his Second’s mood shift, as well.

  “No, you are right.” Eli rolled his own shoulders, his neck rigid. “We can’t change the past. Let’s focus on what we can alter.”

  Nervousness crawled over my heart, as I felt his mood veering down a vicious alleyway.

  Eli cleared his throat and adjusted his stance, a clear sign he was changing subjects. “You all know I was recently taken to the Otherworld where Aneira lifted the curse so I could get through the doors.” He paused. My feet felt like they were standing over a trap door, not sure where he was going with this. “I figured it was temporary, but to my surprise, when we escaped, I could once again get through the doors. It took me a while, but it finally came to me Aneira had granted all of you,” Eli’s hand waved around in the direction of Lorcan’s group, “the same liberty when you were working for her. I suddenly wondered, what did you need Kennedy for? Why kidnap her and talk of your need for her if you could already get through the doors to the Otherworld?”

  My head wrenched up as his point completed its circle in my brain. Everyone, except Lorcan’s clan, snapped to look at Lorcan.

  “Holy shit,” Gabby belted out. “Why did you kidnap her?”

  Multiple questioning stares landed on Lorcan. He tugged at the bottom of his jacket, a pained smile on his face. “Because the curse is not lifted.”

  My hand went to my hip as I shifted my weight to the side. “What are you talking about? Did she put it back on you? I’ve seen Eli go in and out of those doors.”

  “No, you stupid bitch.” Samantha edged herself in front of Dax and Dominic.

  Heat burned up my neck as ire filled my bones, and Eli quickly stepped in front of me and glared at Samantha. “I’m looking at the stupid bitch, if you open your mouth again.” His voice iced so quickly it chilled my fury.

  Samantha’s eyes grew wide, and then narrowed to slivers. “You are no longer my Alpha, Eli, and no longer the man I am supposed to obey. Cole ruined you. He took your true destiny away.”

  Eli’s eyes never left hers, his voice even. “And I am thankful.”

  Samantha’s eyes flourished into a deep red, and a snarl hissed from her teeth.

  “Stop!” Lorcan raised his arm at Samantha. “We don’t have time for your petty temper tantrums.”

  She scowled in his direction, before skittering back in between the two thugs next her. Her glare danced back and forth between Eli and me.

  “Now to answer your question.” Lorcan curved his body to face me. “We can still get in and out of the Otherworld doors, but it doesn’t mean the curse is lifted.”

  “Get to the point, Lorcan.” Cole restlessly rocked his body back and forth.

  “I also thought when Aneira gave us entrance, we no longer had to worry. I thought my plan had worked, and we had got what we wanted. I went back to the Otherworld, thinking we were home, where we belonged. We were there only one Otherworld day before we felt it.” Lorcan paused with dramatic flair. “It was like the land rejected us. After a while, it became too painful. We had to retreat to Earth.” His clan all nodded in agreement to his story. “We may be allowed to go in and out of the Otherworld, but we are still banned from the land. The curse of Aneira’s will never be lifted off us. Either we have a Druid break it, or Aneira has to die. We knew if Ember were the prophesized one, then it would be pointless to take the sword away from her. If she succeeded, then the curse would be broken. If she didn’t, I still had backup. Kennedy. It was the best of both situations.”

  Eli shook his head. “But I was there in the Otherworld, and I didn’t feel anything.”

  “You were only there for a few hours, and you were already hurt. How do you know you didn’t start to feel it?” Lorcan’s brow lifted, challenging Eli’s statement.

  “It’s true.” West said quietly beside Eli. “I didn’t understand at the time, but it makes sense. The lack of blood had weakened me, but it was more than that. Being there destroyed me, tore me apart on the inside. I thought it was because I had been on the Light side too long.” West had been bones by the time we got him out of there. His quick decline was caused by more than merely blood loss.

  Eli rubbed absently at his elbow, frowning.

  “He’s telling the truth.” Kennedy’s tiny legs carried her to Lorcan, standing defiantly beside him. “I did a revealing spell, and the curse was locked tight around his aura.”

  “Then nothing has really changed,” Cole said. “Breaking our curse is important to us, I know, but it will be all for naught if we have no Otherworld to go back to, or we have either become Aneira’s slaves or are on the run from her. We are a self-centered species, but we cannot forget the war is beyond our little problems. We fight for a bigger cause. We battle for all of the Dark Fae. Breaking our curse is icing on the cake if we kill her.”

  “Thank you.” I threw up my arms. “Finally you admit it.” Since the day I met the Dark Dwellers they had been obsessed with getting back to the Otherworld. It didn’t seem to matter who they hurt or what else was going on around them. It was nice to hear Cole recognize their fanatical tendency.

  “What?” Cole’s mouth quirked up.

  My lids lowered. “The whole ‘egotistical can’t-see-beyond-your-own-assholes’ part.”

  Snickers broke out through the gathering.

  “The ‘it’s-not-all-about-you’ section.”

  “I did not get the memo.” West leaned out past Eli to se
e me.

  “Okay.” Cole clapped his hands. “For now I think we can take a break. Lars will be meeting with Lorcan and me later, and we will let you know what the plan is. Until then, let’s stay out of each other’s way and try to get along when you do.”

  Murmurs hummed through the clans as people dispersed.

  “Eli?” Cole called. Eli gave a swift nod and move toward the other Dark Dwellers.

  “Hey.” I grabbed his hand. He looked back at me, emotionless. I didn’t say anything out loud or through my eyes. I didn’t need to. His head lifted ever so slightly and he squeezed my hand. Then he turned away and walked to his new family. Owen, Cole, Lorcan, and Eli headed into the cabin and shut the door behind them.

  SEVENTEEN

  Kennedy roomed with Gabby, so I headed directly there after the meeting. We had much to catch up on. My last encounter with Kennedy left me uncomfortable, shut out, something I hadn’t experienced with her. I never thought Kennedy capable of resentment or anger, but she was no longer the girl from school, no longer vulnerable. What if she found out I had never looked for her? My guilt alone was enough to put a partition between us.

  My knuckles drummed the wooden door.

  “Come in,” Kennedy’s voice soaked through the cracks.

  I stepped into the small, cozy cabin. Gabby’s clothes were draped everywhere, over a chair and oozing out of her dresser like it was retching up fabric, but she was not in the room. Kennedy stood with her back to me. She placed her folded clothes from her bag into a neat pile on her bed.

  “Hey.” I shut the door but didn’t venture past the entry.

  “Hey.” Kennedy kept her back to me. She pulled out more clothes from the canvas pack than she had before. Lorcan probably gave her the bag full of clothes he had acquired for her. The thought of him buying her things like shampoo or tampons did not settle properly in my mind.

  “Hope Lorcan had better fashion sense than Gabby or Owen did.” My attempt at humor fell flat as she wordlessly continued to unpack her suitcase. I shifted, feeling the uncomfortable silence building between us.

  “Ken,” I faltered. “I-I am so sorry.”

  She stopped, not turning, her arms bunched to her chest. “For what?”

  “For what? For not protecting you. For not stopping Lorcan from taking you. And not finding you fast enough.” For not even looking.

  She slowly turned to face me. “None of that was your fault. You couldn’t have stopped him, and you can’t protect me every minute of every day. I am not a helpless baby. I can look after myself.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” Friction bounced between us, spreading into every corner. I didn’t know what to do. The sensation twisted my hands against each other. Unspoken words crowded around us like bullies, tormenting and smashing at our friendship. The only way to deal with a problem was head on.

  I took a breath and leaped. “Are you all right?” My shoe scrubbed at the thin planks of wood. “Did he hurt you?”

  Sitting on the edge of her mattress, Kennedy shook her head. Her shoulders lowered along with her defenses. “No.”

  “What happened then?” I grabbed a wooden chair next to the bed.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Ken?” I sat and leaned forward to take her hands in mine.

  Kennedy moved from my reach, stood, and walked to the window. It hurt my heart. I felt responsible for what happened to her. I’d been too caught up in my own turmoil.

  “Kennedy, talk to me.” I turned to stare at her back.

  Kennedy whirled around, and her eyes narrowed on me. “You want me to talk? Fine. Why didn’t you tell me about Ryan?”

  It felt wrong to see her look at me like this. Anger and betrayal mirrored deep in her brown eyes.

  “I—”

  “You kept the truth from me.” Kennedy cut off my sentence. “Don’t you think I had the right to know my best friend, the boy I have been friends with since kindergarten, wouldn’t ever be able to return to Earth?”

  “Ken—”

  She waved her hand, cutting me off again. “Lorcan told me the truth. Do you know how stupid and betrayed I felt being the last person to know? You of all people should know how it feels, but you were the one who kept it from me. You complain about Fae keeping secrets from you, and yet you’re exactly like them.”

  A sharp breath snapped in my lungs at the truth of her accusations. I knew exactly how she felt.

  Her face now showed pain and sadness. “I believed all our work was to get him out, and for one of us at least to be free of this mess and the Otherworld. But Ryan can never come home. He can never see his family again or move to San Francisco like he dreamed.” Kennedy paced the room.

  “I know. I’m sorry.” My head lowered. “You probably won’t care, but I actually thought it was for the best and knowing about Ryan would distract you.”

  She stopped, her nose flaring. “You had no right to decide for me. How little you must think of me that I wouldn’t want to help. I also have a stake in the war. Ryan or not, I am going to fight. Aneira killed my entire family and would like to see me dead, as well. You are not the only one who has reason to hate her.”

  Kennedy was not a sweet, timid girl anymore. She was fierce and strong. She had always let me and Ryan dominate. Not any longer.

  “You’re right.” I nodded. “All I can say is I am sorry, and I will never keep anything from you again. You can handle much more than I ever gave you credit.”

  Her shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”

  I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to hug her and have everything go back to normal. But we weren’t normal. There still seemed to be a fence between us. “Are we okay?”

  She looked up, meeting my gaze. “We will be.”

  My lips formed into a sad, thin smile. I understood. I would have to earn her trust over time. A long drawn-out silence filled the room, neither of us knowing what to say or do next.

  “Lorcan kept me safe. He didn’t hurt me. He actually helped me.” She spoke softly, wrapping her arms around herself, retaking a seat on her bed. “He’s taught me a lot. My magic has grown so much.”

  “Lorcan?” My eyes narrowed.

  Her head jerked up, her face becoming defiant. “He’s the only one who has been truthful with me. Cole and Owen never told me the full truth, even though they knew. Lorcan told me about my family and the true power of our magic. He’s made me stronger.”

  “Because he wants to use you.”

  Kennedy bolted off the bed. “I already know what he wants from me. He never kept it a secret. Can you say the same about Eli? Or Cole? They want me for the same thing. What makes him different?”

  “Because it’s Lorcan.”

  She pressed her lips together so hard they turned white. “He’s not what you think he is.”

  A sputter came from my throat. “Wha-what? Lorcan is the guy who kidnapped you, had Ian killed, and murdered my mother.”

  Her chest grew as she sucked in a bucket of air. “Samantha killed Ian. Lorcan did not actually want to hurt any of us. He was bluffing to get you to act.”

  My mouth opened and closed. “Lorcan doesn’t bluff. He didn’t give a shit if Ian died or not. He doesn’t give a damn about anybody but himself.”

  Kennedy’s expression went hard, the barricade falling thicker between us.

  “What the hell is going on?” I looked around like something in the room could answer my question. “Is it the Stockholm syndrome or something?”

  Kennedy tilted her head and glared at me.

  “What is this, Ken? Why are you defending Lorcan?” Then with one thought, ice trickled into my chest, freezing me. “You have feelings for him.”

  “Of course, I don’t,” she refuted.

  Her denial felt too fast. Too defensive. “Oh, no.” My eyes widened more as I watched her. She fidgeted under my gaze. “But Jared?”

  Fury flashed through her eyes. “I may have come to understand Lorca
n better, but I love Jared.” Her fists tightened against her legs. “Do not confuse your situation with mine. I am not you. Though, I don’t see how you have room to judge. You fell for a killer. But that’s okay because you let yourself believe Eli is different.” She brushed past me, stopping at the door. “You have kept secrets and lied to me. You say you’re different from the Fae, but you aren’t. You claim they only want to use me. I’m not stupid, Ember. I can feel you came in here for your own motives. What do you want to use me for?”

  My mouth couldn’t get out more than, “I-I ...”

  “That’s what I thought.” Though she looked at me, her eyes had a faraway glint. She grabbed the door, threw it open, and then turned back and spoke softly, “What has been done cannot be undone, not by my hand. His death will come by yours.” She blinked, coming back to herself, then stomped out the door. It slammed with a deafening bang.

  What the hell just happened?

  Her words twisted around my stomach, clamping down as I stood in shock. Consciously I had not come in here to ask for her help, but her seer saw my true desire. I felt sick and agitated. My emotions rotated through mad, hurt, devastated, and guilty. Kennedy was a huge priority of mine, but I could not deny Eli held an even bigger urgency. To find a way to break the curse on me so he wouldn’t die.

  Shame sat heavy on my conscience. What kind of friend was I? Not a good one lately. Her reaction toward Lorcan also bothered me, the way she defended and talked about him. It felt wrong, but nothing about our fight seemed right.

  EIGHTEEN

  Ugliness leaked into my soul. My last hope of saving Eli’s life while still killing Aneira had perished, turning my heart cold. Also I had never fought with Kennedy before, and not once had she been mad at me. Not like this.

  Even without my powers, the darkness still part of my DNA blinded me. It barraged my body because I could not release it. I craved to let the power take over and push me past feeling or caring. That kind of power only happened to me a few times, but the rush of complete control and strength—not caring about anything around me—was addictive.