Hearts of Darkness: A Valentine's Day Bully Romance Collection

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I have to get her out of here before it’s too late.

  19.

  Skye

  My heart slams against my chest as I rush through the hallways of the prison. Just as the night before, the corridors are clear—Talon’s work, no doubt—and for that, at least, I am grateful. Running into a guard in my state and having to explain myself would be a disaster.

  I have experienced many things in my twenty-four years, but never something like this.

  I can’t even pinpoint the emotions that rush through me. Betrayal, fear, sadness, anxiety, and worst of all, a lingering arousal, all flow together, twisting and turning around each other like air currents. My breath is coming in gasps, and sweat slicks my face.

  It’s only after I am in my cell that I let it all go. I fling my head into my pillow and scream and scream and scream.

  No one comes to my aid. Screaming is a common noise in the penitentiary, so the guard watching my floor that night doesn’t even bother checking on me. He continues to pace up and down the hall as if nothing is happening.

  Gods, why are all vampires such pieces of shit?

  A ball of ice freezes in my gut as a more important question dawns.

  And how am I going to protect Misty now that our secret is out?

  20.

  Talon

  Try as I might—and I try very hard—I cannot get Skye to talk to me the next day. One time, I corner her in the cafeteria, but the witch is enterprising and calls a guard who I possess no leverage over to protect her.

  It’s not like I can make them leave her alone. My father only owns the royal guards who accompany me, and they cannot exert too much dominance here, because technically, the king does not run the prison.

  And I cannot compel them in plain sight of everyone else either. That is playing with fire, and vampires are very flammable.

  The hours tick by, and Skye continues to evade me. When the door to my cell closes for the evening, I sit on my bed and throw my head into my hands.

  I’m not unfamiliar with failure. I’m the second-born son of the king of North America, the child who will not inherit the kingdom—even half a kingdom. I know how it feels to bomb. Usually, I allow my rage to consume me for a time, and then eventually brush it off. But I cannot brush off Skye.

  My feelings reinforce a truth I’ve suspected for days. I should have told my father to eat silver and chosen Skye.

  I slam my fists into the cement of the prison walls and release a roar of frustration.

  Why does she have to be so damn pigheaded that she won’t even speak to me for longer than the two seconds it takes to tell me to get away from her? I need time to explain myself. It’s not like I can yell out the truth of what my father bade me to do across the cafeteria. That would be treason. And knowing my father, he would slice off both our heads.

  Heads . . .

  Tomorrow, the king will return. I am sure that after learning of my failure, he will not dally in torturing Skye for information, and then executing her.

  My heart clenches at the thought. It’s shockingly painful. In fact, in the past day, I have experienced more painful sensations than in the last fifty years combined.

  But what will I do about it? I ask myself for the billionth time.

  I lift my head and stare out through the grate of my cell. The same royal guard who was present during my father’s visit paces outside. He doesn’t remember the meeting in which Father told me to get Skye’s secrets, so there’s no way he can know what I am being so morose about.

  In truth, he seems not to care in the slightest. He’s a machine. Someone the king can boss around who will not question him. My father’s favorite type of soldier.

  I shake my head. They may as well walk around compelled for their entire lives.

  My spine straightens as an idea hits.

  Then I stand.

  This may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but I don’t care.

  It may also save Skye’s life, which means I have to try.

  21.

  Skye

  My head is still buried in my pillow when I hear the door to my cell whine open. I shoot straight up and thrust my hands forward—a reaction that, despite being spellbound for months, I cannot seem to break.

  Talon stands before me, his arms lifted in surrender.

  My heart thunders, but I hide my fear with a scowl. “Go away! Guards—”

  Using vampiric speed, Talon races across my cell in seconds, clamping his hand over my mouth. “Shhh! Stop yelling. I’m here to bust you out.”

  “What the hell?” My question comes out as a garbled mess as I fight against his damnably strong arms.

  “We have to get you out of this prison. Now, if I take my hand off your mouth, do you promise not to scream?”

  I still. Did he just say what I think he did?

  My eyes lift to meet Talon’s. He seems genuine, but . . .

  For a second, I’m tempted to try to break into his head again.

  As if he’s reading my mind, his eyes narrow. “None of that. At some point, we must discuss manners regarding compulsion and mind magic—or whatever you call what you do. Even royals have etiquette when it comes to compulsion.”

  I roll my eyes.

  Talon’s lips flatten momentarily. “But we don’t have time for any of that right now. We need to get the hell out of here, and quick. Blink three times if you agree to be quiet when I remove my hand.”

  I blink and then, still unable to really understand what I’m hearing, I do it twice more.

  Talon removes his hand from my mouth, and the immediacy of the action affects me more than anything he has said.

  “You—you’re here to save me?” I ask.

  “Yes.” Talon’s eyes soften a little and he sighs. “I made a terrible mistake, Skye. My father arrived right after our first couple of interactions . . . you know, when I—”

  “Threatened my life,” I say, because it’s clear that he is uncomfortable calling a spade a spade at the moment.

  Talon gulps and nods. “Yes. As you recall, we had not developed a relationship yet. So when he bid me to seduce you and get your secrets, I was all for it—”

  My eyebrows arch high as my heart rate speeds up. “Bid you to seduce me? Are you telling me that what happened between us wasn’t real?”

  “No. Well, at first it wasn’t,” he amends. “But somewhere along the line during my seduction attempts, I actually began to like you. And now . . .” He shakes his head. “Well, I can’t believe I chose my father over you. That ass has never valued me, but you . . .”

  Is this really happening? Is a royal vampire actually admitting to doing something so fucked up? And am I about to believe it?

  If I were watching our interaction like a fly on the wall, I would warn myself against trusting him. I would scream at the top of my little fly lungs for me to run.

  The problem is that I feel the truth vibrating between us. And while the unbelievable events have been unfolding, I have been there, present for every magical moment—and the terrible ones too. In fact, I’m just as guilty as Talon, trying to sway his loyalties to benefit me.

  “I tried to learn your secrets too,” I admit. “I’m sorry.”

  Talon shrugs. “I know and I don’t care. All I care about is getting you away from the prison and what my father has in store for you.” He holds out a hand. “Are you ready to add another rebel to your ranks?”

  My eyes pop open wide at his words, and I let them sink in one by one. A Tenebris prince is turning on his family, a powerful dynasty in control of the entire continent . . .

  And he is doing it for me.

  My heart bursts, and I fling myself into Talon’s arms. Our lips meet in a fierce kiss, which Talon ends a few breathless heartbeats later.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Now let’s make a run for it, Commander Borges.”

  22.

  Skye

  Briefly, we discuss how best to breach the prison walls. Sneaking
out the front is the most appealing tactic—fewer guns and stake-shooters. But it is also nearly impossible. There are at least twenty locked steel doors and over a dozen guards between my cell and the front door. In the end, Talon insists that we escape via the prison yard—preferably the Shifter Woods, if we can make it that far.

  I have no idea how he plans to accomplish this. I can’t escape—not without my magic. I hope he can outrun guns loaded with a mix of silver and iron bullets, and machines designed to shoot stakes. A shitload of vampires wielding those weapons is what we’re up against.

  I’m thankful that Talon has already crept through the prison on his way to my cell and compelled at least twenty guards. As we tip-toe past dozens of cells, I’m relieved to find that most inmates are sleeping. And if they’re not sleeping, they’re reading, because there’s nothing else to do here.

  We take a few turns down the corridors before I realize the guards that Talon compelled are following us.

  I turn and knit my eyebrows together in confusion before the answer as to why hits me.

  Talon intends for them to be our soldiers.

  My breath catches in my chest.

  “Talon! We can’t risk their lives! Even if none of the guards shoot them, when your father finds out that they let you go, he’ll . . .”

  I don’t even have to finish my sentence for Talon to wince.

  “We have to go at this alone,” I insist.

  Talon’s eyes veer back to the wall of guards he has coerced to follow him. A few are his own royal guard, sworn to die for him. It’s a concept that Talon is used to, and I can’t fault him for it. However, I also know I won’t be able to live with myself if I let others die for me.

  “Fine,” he says finally. “But are you opposed to using them as a diversion?”

  I open my mouth to retort that I am, but he cuts me off.

  “One that won’t risk their lives?”

  I tilt my head to one side, unsure how he plans to pull this off. I shoot a glance back at the guards, who are waiting like statues.

  We can use all the help we can get.

  “Are you sure you won’t be putting them in danger?

  “Positive.”

  I stare into his eyes and find nothing there to doubt, so I give a single nod. “Let’s do it, then.”

  MY HEART IS THUNDERING as we burst through the side door of the prison with a wall of guards at our backs.

  Gods, I hope Talon’s plan works.

  The compelled guards are still following us, but with the directives Talon has given, it’s obvious that something about them is off.

  If stark naked prison guards holding their guns high above their heads as they run doesn’t tip their colleagues off that something is amiss, I don’t know what will.

  If I was more of a delicate flower, I would be blushing. As it stands, all I can do is avert my eyes so I don’t burst out in laughter at the sight of their wangs flopping around everywhere.

  Gods, it is funny, but I don’t need a comedic distraction stealing my breath. I need to run my ass off.

  That becomes more obvious as the first bullet rips by me.

  “Shit!” I scream.

  It’s so dark that I can’t tell which direction it came from. All I know is that the penitentiary has three massive towers overlooking the yard, and vampires are always on rotation up there. By now, vampires could even be running behind us, the buggers are so damn fast.

  Another round of bullets sprays from somewhere on high, and I release a grunt as I push myself harder toward the Shifter Woods. It’s our hope that we can make it there, since it morphs into a true forest outside the prison’s barrier wall. The outside woods are our best means of escaping and remaining hidden. How we’ll get over the weapon-decorated prison wall is still a mystery. I picture Talon hauling me over his shoulder, fireman-style.

  But can he manage it?

  We’re halfway to the woods when things take a turn for the worse. A naked guard who has been running at my side and twirling his gun high overhead explodes into a cloud of ash. I yelp at the unexpected brutality that some unknown guard has shown his comrade.

  But I don’t have time to dwell on it too long because a hailstorm of bullets rains down upon the prison yard.

  They don’t give a fuck that Talon has clearly compelled the other guards. Their only objective is to capture or kill us.

  That becomes even more plain as a fully clothed guard dashes to my side and raises a dagger overhead.

  “Talon!” I scream.

  The vampire prince with his super strength and speed leaps into action, darting behind me so that I don’t trip, and tackling the other vampire before he can bring the weapon down upon me. Although I’m worried about Talon, I don’t stop running.

  What would be the point of that? He’s trying to save my ass, and then I just stop? Shit, I might be a powerless witch trying to escape the most secure prison on the continent, but I’m no rookie.

  Talon reassures me that my choice is a good one when he reappears at my side a few seconds later. I shoot him a glance. He’s covered in ash from the skirmish, but otherwise looks as if he might be taking a walk in the park.

  “Thanks,” I wheeze. He might not have to run hard to keep up with me, but my ass is all-out sprinting.

  “No problem,” Talon says, and as if to emphasize that he means it, he leaps and twist mid-step, just in time for another uncompelled guard to run right into a stake he’s procured.

  Holy shit, shit, shit.

  They’re really coming after us now and we still have so far to go. A wave of sweat slicks down my face. We’re about one hundred yards until we reach the cover of the Shifter Woods. Then we have to scale the forty-foot prison wall covered in vicious iron and silver shards. It’s possible that we won’t make it.

  In the next second, the odds become even worse as a bullet rips through my upper thigh.

  I release a blood-curdling scream and fall to the ground.

  “Skye!” Talon has to double back to come check on me because vampires can’t stop on a dime. “Where did they hit you?”

  I groan and grab my leg. He rips the pants material so he can assess the damage. Red flashes in his eyes as he catches sight of my witch’s blood—blood that few vampires can resist. I hold my breath and only exhale when Talon speaks.

  “It didn’t hit an artery. The bleeding will be heavy but not lethal.”

  I’m about to ask how he knows that when he hauls me up and over his shoulder. A yip of pain leaves me, but Talon doesn’t acknowledge it. He only increases the pressure of his grip and says, “Hold on tight.”

  I press my lips together in anguish as Talon takes off like a shot with me thrown over his shoulder.

  A part of me wants to scream and demand he put me down. I’m no damsel in distress. But if I did that, we’d never make it.

  I guess being a damsel in distress is better than being captured or dying, so I’ll take it.

  As it turns out, playing the damsel card is way fucking faster. We’re inside the cocoon of the Shifter Woods within seconds. A few naked guards who survived the onslaught of bullets are still swirling around us. Under the cover of trees, I feel a little safer, but it’s a false safety.

  The tower watchmen might not be shooting at us any longer, but you can bet your ass that the prison will send more guards after us.

  Talon is rushing along my favorite trail, moving so fast that the wind whips by, chilling the sweat on my face.

  Wind. Gods damn it.

  If I wasn’t spellbound right now, I would be unstoppable. Vampires might be strong, but they’re not as strong as Mother Nature and the havoc I could rain upon them by using her.

  For the first time in months, I allow myself to think that maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to use my powers again soon. The thrumming of my heart speeds up, and it’s all I can do not to urge Talon to run faster.

  “What’s the plan?” I ask instead, and am shocked to hear that my voice is hardly mo
re than a whisper when it comes out.

  “You don’t want to know,” he replies.

  My stomach clenches and my mind flips through terrifying scenarios.

  I need a better imagination, because nothing I anticipated happens. Instead, I find that we’re no longer running on the ground, but up the trunk of an enormous tree. I’m dangling from Talon’s shoulders, facing the ground and becoming further away from safety with each inch he climbs.

  “Holy shit!” I wheeze.

  “Quiet!” Talon commands in a tone that’s little more than a whisper.

  If I wasn’t holding onto his waist for dear life, I would clamp my hands over my mouth. My voice is weak, but vampires have incredible hearing.

  What’s his plan? It’s not like we can hide in the tree for forever.

  I keep my questions locked up tight so as not to distract him or draw attention as he claws his way toward the top. He stops a few feet above the rest of the canopy. We’re in the tallest tree, the one that, despite the thin mountain air and weather-altering spells, has grown even higher than the wall. The branches up here are thin, and the trunk has become dangerously wispy. But from how Talon shifts his weight from side-to-side, I realize that those characteristics are why we’re up here. One shift takes us farther from the wall, and the next inches us closer to it.

  My stomach drops as his intentions become clear. The crazy-ass vampire prince plans on leaping at least thirty feet toward the prison wall . . .

  With me clinging to his back.

  My teeth gnash together as I gauge the distance again and again and again. Every time, I come to the same conclusion. Even with him using his weight to swing the treetop as close to the wall as he can get it, the feat is impossible. We won’t make it.

  “Talon,” I whisper. “Stop. We’ll find a different—”

  The treetop swings toward the wall, and Talon twists to face the fortification head-on, releases, and leaps.