Bound in Darkness

by Nicole Edwards

  Yes. He liked that idea very much. He would put her on display before those who served him, give them physical proof to his claim of being the king of this realm.

  And if the shadow beasts proved to be worthy, maybe he would make it a weekly thing. What better way to instill loyalty than to show them who the true king was.

  Perfidious peered down at his female and smiled. His cock roared to life, eager and aching.

  Yes, perhaps it was time to shift tactics.

  Chapter Six

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Kaj grumbled when he stepped into his bedchamber to find Blāz and two of the heurosp taking measurements.

  “I’ve been tasked with fortifying your private quarters.”

  “Fortifying?” Kaj watched as the heurosp dragged the tape measure from one end of the room to the other.

  “For starters, we’re taking down that wall”—Blāz motioned to his left—“so we can expand the space. Since this’ll suffice as a panic room, it’s necessary to give you the means to live in the event something happens.”

  “And what do you think’s going to happen?”

  Blāz shrugged. “Get that wall, would you?” he said to his helpers. “I figure you’ll need a kitchen and storage for food.”

  “So you’re prepping me for a doomsday event?”

  The male smirked. “That’s one way to look at it, sure. But we’re also going to insulate the walls, floor, and ceiling with titanium. Then I’ve got this cool material that’ll make it basically impenetrable.”

  “Perhaps I should find another room to sleep in temporarily.”

  Blāz smiled. “That’s actually a fantastic idea.”

  Kaj shook his head in disbelief. “It was a joke. Why can’t you fortify another room and I can move in there later?”

  “Because this one is directly above your office.”

  “I don’t have an office,” Kaj countered.

  “You will soon.”

  Great.

  “Which’ll allow me to provide access from below. In the event you need to take refuge should something happen while you’re working.”

  “Working? In an office?”

  Blāz peered at him, eyebrows slowly lifting. “That’s part of the role of Alpha, phaal. You’ve got documents to review, emails to tend to. Blah, blah, blah. You need a private space to take care of that.”

  No, what Kaj needed was to be out in the field, getting his hands dirty with the Zenith. Not to be locked in this house for the rest of eternity.

  “It’ll take some getting used to,” Blāz stated, as though he could read Kaj’s mind.

  “You don’t say.”

  “Huracān told me this is priority,” the male continued. “I’ll do my best to have the work done during the night when you’re tending to other business, but I can’t promise you’ll be able to stay here during the day. Construction and all.”

  Construction. Fucking great.

  Kaj turned to the heurosp. “Do me a favor. Have my things moved to another room.”

  “Of course, sire,” the male said softly.

  “You’ve got a week,” Kaj told Blāz.

  The vampire barked a laugh, then sobered. “You’re serious.”

  “I have shit to do, as you so kindly reminded me. I don’t have time for this disruption.”

  “Perhaps you could stay with Acadia.”

  Kaj narrowed his eyes. “That’s not an option.”

  “Oh.”

  Before Blāz could launch into questions about Kaj’s personal life, he spun around and headed for the door.

  “I’ll need you ready to go out with Mirakel,” he told Blāz. “I’m sending him to the Dungeon. I want cameras installed over there so we can keep an eye on Darko.”

  Because of everything going on, Kaj had put off addressing the traitor, but he had every intention of making that fucker pay for his deceit. However, he knew it had to be handled in a diplomatic fashion, hence the reason he was going to get a look-see as to what the vampire was doing.

  “I’m ready when he is,” Blāz called out as Kaj stepped out into the hall, then his voice lowered as he began barking orders at the poor heurosp who had been doomed to this task.

  Kaj strolled down the hallway, past the various rooms, only four of which were occupied since they had yet to fortify the ranks of the Zenith. At some point, he hoped all the rooms would be filled. God knew there were enough of them. Not nearly as many as the angels had built in the mansion they’d moved to. When they’d lived here, he figured the fiestreigh had been sharing spaces, probably two or three to a room if he had to guess.

  That thought led to another. When the day came that Acadia moved in with him, and they were mated appropriately, that small space wouldn’t be nearly enough. Especially not if his female was open to having a family. He knew the Fae had been rendered infertile because she’d told him as much, but if Michael expected Kaj to go along with the plan of resurrecting the original vampire, that was something that would have to be corrected. Kaj wanted babies with the female if she was open to the idea.

  Spinning back around, Kaj strolled back to his private quarters, stuck his head in. “If you’re going to accommodate me for the future, I suggest you add a couple of rooms onto this space.”

  “Rooms?”

  “Yes. Adjoining. With bathrooms.”

  Blāz’s eyebrows lowered in confusion.

  “If you’re hell-bent on keeping me confined, you might want to account for the family I intend to have one day.”

  When those nearly colorless eyes widened, Kaj smirked, then spun around and headed back down the hall. Let the male chew on that for a little while.

  There was no sense going into a lengthy explanation, but the gist of it was, Kaj had every intention of mating the female who owned his heart. No matter how long it took, he would wait until she was ready.

  One day, though.

  She knew she was losing it as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings, the strangers moving about the room, the weird machines connected to her via tubes in her arms, but she couldn’t help it. The panic continued to rise, making it difficult to breathe.

  Where was she? Who were these people? What were they doing to her?

  Oh, God. Someone help me, please!

  Clutching her chest, she drew in big gulps of air, but they didn’t seem to make it past her throat.

  “Honey, I need you to calm down.” A firm but gentle hand curled around her wrist. “Take a deep breath. Yes. Good. Another.”

  The female looming over her sighed as though she was happy with the progress being made. She, however, felt no different. Her chest felt compressed, as though there was a great weight upon her.

  “Where am I?” she asked, not sure what was going on.

  “You’re in a hospital,” the female with the kind eyes and gentle touch said as she patted her hand. “I want you to focus on breathing. That’s all you need to worry about right now.”

  A series of approvals continued from the female as she inhaled, exhaled, managed to get her heart to calm.

  “Now, can you tell me your name?”

  Her gaze swung back to the female. Name? She had no idea what her name was. She had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten here, either. In fact, she was hoping they could fill her in on what happened.

  “It’s okay,” the older female wearing a loose-fitting maroon top and matching pants said. “Take a deep breath. We don’t have to figure that out now.”

  “Where am I?”

  “In a hospital,” the female repeated, her concern evident.

  “No, I mean, where?”

  “Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.”

  Manhattan? What was Manhattan? Where? Where was Manhattan, assuming it was a place? And if so, how did she get here?

  “I’m going to step out,” a younger female wearing a similar outfit to the other one, only in navy, said.

  “We’ll be fine. Won’t we?”

  Oh, she was talking
to her. Not sure what response was necessary, she nodded, tried to relax against the pillow, ignoring the scratchy sheets and the strong chemical smell that permeated the room.

  The door opened. One female slipped out; another appeared, this one wearing a white coat over a red silk shirt and black slacks. She was smaller than the female standing at her bedside, younger, too. Her dark hair hung over her shoulders, sleek and smooth. Her equally dark eyes were calm yet assessing.

  A smile pulled at the stranger’s mouth when she approached, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Good morning. My name’s Dr. Chopra.”

  She stared at the female, confused. “Are you a healer?”

  The female gave her an odd look but nodded. “I am. We’re glad to see you’ve woken up.”

  Had she been asleep? For how long? And why?

  The two females shared a quick look, the one at the bedside offering a quick shake of her head.

  “How did I get here?” she asked the two females, feeling a strange sensation in her chest, a tension of some sort that made it difficult to breathe again.

  “You’re having a panic attack,” the older female said softly. “It’s okay. Just breathe through it.”

  Panic attack? What was a panic attack? Would it kill her?

  “How … how did … I get here?” She clutched her chest to stave off the tightness and pressed her head into the pillow.

  “You were brought in by ambulance,” the young healer explained. “You were found unconscious in an alley. Someone called the paramedics. They noticed you had a contusion on your head. Brought you here.”

  Contusion? What did that mean?

  Oh, God. What was going on?

  “Do you have any family you’d like for us to call?”

  She stared up at the older female, studied her face. Did she have family? She honestly didn’t know. In fact, she didn’t know anything.

  “It’s okay,” Dr. Chopra said, her soft, cool hand gently settling on her wrist. “Right now, we only need you to rest. From the looks of it, you took a nasty fall, bumped your head. You’ve also got a broken ankle. I’ve had a few x-rays ordered, to make sure you haven’t broken any other bones that we can’t see.”

  Broken bones, contusion.

  What the hell was going on?

  More importantly, who was she?

  “Well, good evening,” Penelope greeted with a smile when Acadia joined the female in the nursery.

  “Good evening,” Acadia replied kindly. “I thought I’d stop in, check on our sweet angel baby.”

  The proud mother’s smile grew immensely. “She’s in a good mood this evening.”

  Acadia peered over the side of the crib, her heart swelling at the sight.

  “I hope I’m not intruding.”

  “Not at all,” Penelope answered quickly. “Josie actually had to step away for a few minutes and I was hoping to grab a shower. Would you mind watching Ari’el for a few minutes?”

  “Mind?” Acadia chuckled. “It would be an honor.”

  “Oh, you’re a lifesaver.” Penelope tugged the baby’s little pants into place over her diaper. “She’s dry and fed, so you’ll get some playtime.”

  Playtime with a seven-week-old was exactly what Acadia looked forward to. These days, Ari’el was staying awake a bit longer, her eyes wide as she took in her surroundings, every now and then a smile forming.

  “Go,” Acadia urged. “And take your time. We’ll be fine until you’re finished.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  No thanks were needed, but Acadia figured Penelope knew that. As it was, Acadia longed for any minute she could spend with Ari’el. It was the closest she would ever get to having one of her own, and she was hopeful all the angels in the mansion would produce offspring, simply so she could get these rare moments to spend with them.

  “Don’t you look pretty,” Acadia cooed as she carefully lifted Ari’el from her crib. “Mommy dresses you so sweetly. It’s probably a good thing Daddy doesn’t pick out your clothes, huh? He tends to favor dark colors for his wardrobe. Not that you’d look bad in them, but you definitely look like an angel in pink.”

  Ari’el’s eyes remained on her face as she spoke. Acadia made sure to smile. Not that Ari’el necessarily knew the difference between a smile and a frown, but Acadia wanted only to bring joy to the infant.

  After settling into the white rocking chair in the corner, she got the baby situated in her arms so she could continue to talk to her.

  “So where did we leave off, hmm? We were talking about Asmia the last time we were together, weren’t we?”

  Acadia set the chair in motion, just a gentle forward-and-back movement.

  “Well, I still remember the day she came to the mansion. She’s the youngest of us, you know. So young. Which probably begs the question, how did she come about? To be honest, I have no idea. She doesn’t know, either, which is the most bewildering part, I think. But there she was, on our doorstep, eager and willing to be part of our world. I learned later that Michael sent her to us, but where he found her is anyone’s guess. You’ll learn that about him. He doesn’t share secrets often.”

  Acadia continued to rock.

  “Regardless of where she came from or how she got here, Asmia provided a radiant light that we all were drawn to. A sweet female with an enormous heart. And Taayin took to her right away.” She smiled at the memory. “He never truly believed she was his amsouelot, but that was because Fae do not have a predestined mate. Not anymore. We belong solely to the fiestreigh at this point. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find love. I happen to know this firsthand.”

  Her thoughts drifted to Kaj, to their recent encounters. Though they were still on rocky ground, she couldn’t help but think their path had shifted directions once again.

  “But that’s been rectified. Your daddy made sure to take care of Asmia, protecting her. We haven’t found her yet, but I have to believe she’s still out there and we will find her. We will bring her back. As for Taayin, I can’t wait for the day he gets to see her again, when his heart is no longer broken. I wish I could foretell the future, but it’s not for me to do.” Acadia brushed her finger over Ari’el’s downy-soft hair. “They will both love you.”

  She had to wonder if perhaps they should allow Taayin in to see the baby. Perhaps Ari’el could renew his faith, bring him a bit of hope in what had become such a dark and dreary world for him.

  “I’m going to visit him after this,” she admitted to the baby. “I go down every day, sit with him. It’s the least I can do. If I could bring her back myself, I would. Unfortunately, it’s out of my hands.”

  As Ari’el’s eyes began to droop, Acadia began to hum softly, urging the sweet child to rest. And while she did, Acadia gave herself a moment to pretend she would one day become a mother, one day have her own babe to hold in her arms like this. It was all she could do not to give in to the pain of reality. As much as she wanted to believe they’d paid their dues, atoned for the sins of their ancestors, that God was forgiving, she knew better than to hold her breath.

  In the same regard, she had never thought she would truly know love. And while she was hesitant to believe there might be a future with Kaj, Acadia couldn’t deny that she loved him, and she believed he felt the same for her. Considering she’d never thought a male would love her, it was more than she’d had before.

  And yes, miracles did happen. She had to believe that Asmia was one of them. Otherwise, how would the female exist? The Fae had been infertile for centuries, which would make her conception impossible. Yet she was Fae, because Acadia sensed it from the moment she came to the mansion. Plus Asmia had provided life to the angels over the decades. Had she been something else, it wouldn’t have been possible.

  Acadia had never thought to question any of it aloud, never mentioned it to Obsidian. She wasn’t even sure the male was aware of the history of her species, of how they’d met their demise. If he was, he hadn’t learned it from her. She’d told no o
ne other than Kaj about what she knew.

  Truly, she’d never trusted anyone fully.

  Not before Kaj.

  “Times are changing,” she whispered to the sweet child. “Let’s just hope it’s for the better.”

  Chapter Seven

  Friday, January 12, 2018

  “I’ve been here for how many weeks now?”

  Acadia smiled, having expected the question. She’d had to leave Kaj to attend her other duties while he slept, and it never failed, whenever she returned, he greeted her by asking a question.

  “Thirteen,” she said easily.

  “So why is it I’m not fully healed?” He grunted as he dropped his legs over the side of the bed.

  That was a really good question. One she honestly didn’t have an answer for. Even by her calculations, he should’ve been back to full strength by now.

  Acadia hurried over to assist. “You endured tremendous trauma to your body. It takes time to recover.”

  “You said with your blood I’d be healed by now.”

  She smiled, offering her arm as he pushed to his feet. “I said you’ll heal more quickly. As I am not a healer, I cannot gauge how long it will take a vampire to recover from the injuries you sustained.”

  Sounded good, anyway.

  He cut his eyes to hers. “I feel like an invalid.”

  “Well, I can assure you, you are not.”

  His response was a grunt.

  “I suppose you are seeking a bath?”

  Kaj shook his head. “I’d prefer a shower. I can’t sit for another minute.”

  “I’m not sure that’s wise. You have not been on your feet for quite some time.”

  “I’m taking a shower, Acadia. Argue all you want. I won’t change my mind.”

  She suspected that was true. One thing she’d learned about Kaj was he was stubborn. Though he appeared appreciative, she knew he wasn’t keen on being taken care of. Perhaps that was part of the reason she enjoyed it so much. The surly vampire was a welcome distraction to her mundane life, and truth was, Acadia looked forward to every minute she spent with him. Even if he didn’t return the sentiment.