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

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Oh shit!

  A scream wrenches from my throat. Although I’m backward and can’t see where we’re going, I can picture well enough the jagged tips of the prison wall as we soar toward it.

  23.

  Talon

  My heart is pounding harder than it has in years as we soar toward the prison wall.

  Miscalculations will result in slow, painful deaths for both of us. And even if we do clear the formidable barrier, landing will provide its own challenges, particularly for Skye. She’s already injured, and there’s little chance that I will land delicately.

  But we have no other options, so I went the fuck for it. Now there’s no going back.

  Skye is upside-down and gripping my waist like I’m life itself. For her sake, I’m glad she can’t see what’s in front of us. The pointed blades that top the gate are coming closer and closer. If we can’t clear the top, I hope that I’ve provided enough momentum to get us close enough to it that I can pull us over. Hitting too low would mean certain death. There are too many silver shards emerging from the gate. I can handle slicing myself open with a few, but not many. And if the pain got to be too much, and I let go—well, I would survive the fall, but Skye wouldn’t.

  All that is assuming they don’t shoot us first.

  As we soar closer to the wall, it becomes clear that I’ve judged well. My hands reach out, and I brace myself for impact.

  I jolt as we hit the fortification honed of iron, silver, and cement. A rush of air leaves me. A few shards of silver punch small holes in my skin, and the flesh sizzles. But before it can do any real damage, I’m on the move, climbing the last two feet to the top.

  “Watch your limbs,” I say as I hoist first Skye, and then myself over the blades.

  She whimpers in response, and a funny thought enters my mind that I might have knocked the wind out of an air witch.

  The humor is fleeting, however, because as soon as we cling to the other side of the gate, I face our next trial.

  Getting us down.

  No guard has dared to follow us. No one is fucking crazy enough to climb that deathtrap, but the sound of shouting that hits my ears tells me they haven’t given up. They’ll follow us out the front door—and maybe send tracker shifters too. I have to move fast.

  My attention zeros in on the forest. We’re only a short lateral distance away from being able to leap onto a tree and cut our fall in half. It’s a risky move, but we have no choice.

  With the skill of a nimble monkey, I traverse the gate, my hands sizzling from contacting silver with each step forward. Sweat beads on my brow, and my muscles tense.

  Aside from being turned into a vampire, it’s the most painful sensation I’ve ever experienced. If I had to climb from the bottom of the wall to the top, I would never have made it. But I can handle a few more feet because I must.

  Aside from my siblings, I’ve never experienced the same sense of protectiveness over a person that I do for Skye. It’s strange to think I threatened to bite her days ago, and now I cannot fathom letting her go.

  “Talon,” she whispers, her voice slightly stronger than before. “Look.”

  My gaze follows her finger.

  Wolf-shifters, their ribs visible even from this distance, are running around the corner of the prison. Lights blink around their neck. They are inmates, sent to sniff us out if the vampires lose us.

  I swear beneath my breath.

  We will not only be running from healthy vampires, but shifters with something on the line. My guess is that the warden, or perhaps even my father, has promised them their freedom.

  I work to cover the remaining distance toward the tree that I spotted. Once there, I waste no time, and leap. Skye grips me ever tighter as we fall. The tree I was aiming for nears.

  Then we zoom right by it.

  I curse, and Skye releases a moan.

  Unwilling to let her pay the price for my stupid error, I twist in midair to create a shield between her and the ground, which is coming at us fast. I claw at the air, desperate to catch a branch or something to slow our momentum. I’m able to grab a few, but they break almost right away, reducing our speed only a little. When we’re mere seconds from crashing, I catch sight of something that might save Skye. An overgrown bush.

  It’s softer than the ground.

  Hoping that it’s enough to save her from the bone-crushing experience I’m about to undergo, I thrust her toward the bush.

  “TALON! Talon! Get up!”

  I groan as my eyes blink open. I couldn’t have been out longer than a few seconds. Only because I’m a vampire did I survive the fall. Still, that doesn’t mean the impact didn’t hurt like the devil.

  I shift and notice that I dislocated my arm.

  I groan again. Of fucking course I did.

  A howl cuts through the night air, and everything in my mind snaps into place. I’m in pain, but there’s no time to dally. I grab the dislocated arm with my good one, and pop it back into place at the shoulder. I allow only a moment of revulsion to wash through me before turning to Skye.

  She’s crawled out of the bush and started toward me, which tells me she probably didn’t break anything. Twigs poke out of her sheet of black hair, and there’s a huge scrape on her face in addition to the leg wound she received in the prison yard, but she is alive.

  “The shifters. They’ll be here soon.” Skye’s tone is wobbly with fear.

  “Not fast enough to catch us.” I haul myself to my feet, gently pick up Skye, and take off like a shot through the woods.

  They may be on our tail for a while, but I am fast, and now that I have a purpose—Skye—I will see to it that they never catch us.

  24.

  Skye

  Thank the gods Talon is fast.

  He runs for hours, carrying me in his arms like a baby, over mountains, through streams, and down country roads no longer in use. Eventually, the howling dies behind us. Either the wolves have lost our trail, or the warden called them back to the prison.

  Whatever the case, I feel like I can breathe again. Yet at the same time, I can’t believe this is happening.

  We’re free.

  It’s only when the sun rises and I can see our surroundings clearly that I think it might be a good time to stop.

  Isn’t he getting tired? Do vampires ever tire?

  Gods, I have so much to learn about this guy who saved me.

  “Talon, I think we should stop and regroup.” My voice breaks from disuse.

  His eyes dart from side-to-side. We’re in a clear area of woods. Not many trees grow here, and the ones that do are small. Once upon a time, this area experienced a wildfire. Obviously, the openness makes Talon feel somewhat safe because his blazing sprint slows to a walk. Finally, after he determines a good spot, he sets me down against the trunk of a tree.

  “Is that okay?” he asks, concern in his eyes.

  “Okay? You hurled us toward a wall decorated with blades, and you’re asking if leaning me up against a tree is okay?” I aim for a teasing tone, but I’m so wrung out that it doesn’t land properly.

  “I couldn’t think of another—”

  “I don’t mean it that way,” I say, unwilling to let him go on like that. “I’m thankful that you did what you did.” I laugh and shake my head. “Gods I had you pegged wrong.”

  Talon’s gaze softens, and he comes to sit next to me. “You aren’t the only one.”

  He wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I tilt my head to lay it on his chest. So much has happened in one short week. I’m out of prison, and on the run with a vampire prince. It’s completely overwhelming.

  “Do you have a safe place to go?” Talon asks.

  I realize that while I’m considering a billion different puzzle pieces, he seems to be focused on one thing.

  Me.

  My insides warm, and I reach out to place gentle fingers on his chin. His eyes widen, and when I turn his head to face me, he looks even more shocked.

  Then I
press my lips to his.

  At first, he doesn’t respond, perhaps he’s still too shocked. Or perhaps he’s still listening for the shifters. But I can tell the moment that he gives into my kiss, because he returns my affection and then presses harder.

  A growl rumbles in his throat, and my toes curl as I meet his need.

  It’s the fiercest kiss I’ve ever experienced.

  Fire erupts in my belly, and all my nerve endings, which seconds ago felt deflated, lit up. A whimper escapes me, and I grip the back of his neck to pull him closer.

  We enjoy each other for a few moments more until I need to pull away for air. When I do, Talon is gazing at me.

  “You don’t breathe much, do you?” I ask lightly.

  He shakes his head. “No . . .”

  For a moment he looks like he wants to say something more, but doesn’t.

  “What? You can tell me. Was that out of line?”

  Had I read this entire situation wrong? Was Talon not into me, and he just saved me because it was the right thing to do? Were his actions a vendetta against his father for imprisoning him?

  My cheeks flush at the idea that I might have fallen for him and he does not reciprocate my feelings.

  Talon’s eyes dart to my cheeks and then, gently, he reaches out to cup my face. “Nothing—well, almost nothing—you can do is out of line. I was merely shocked because I wasn’t sure if it was real.”

  My heart clenches. “It was,” I whisper. “I mean, at first, I hated your guts, but somehow, some way, you got to me.” I furrow my eyebrows. “That wasn’t compulsion, was it?”

  I don’t feel foggy like I hear compelled people do, but still—it’s better to ask.

  “Absolutely not,” Talon replies. “And you? Did you use your . . . mental power on me?”

  My stomach twists. It’s time I came clean.

  “I did once, but you caught me. Remember when you mentioned a flashback?”

  He nods.

  “I saw that memory, but that was the first time I used my power. To be honest, I was scared to do so, although now I’m sort of glad I did. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

  He gives me a small smile “Our attempts to learn each other’s secrets for personal gain actually brought us closer.”

  “What was your father going to do with me?” I ask.

  Talon’s face hardens. “Use you to get rebel secrets, and then kill you.”

  I gulp. Yikes. “He wouldn’t even use me as a slave in the palace?”

  Talon snorts. “A Borges? No. Once he wrung every tidbit he could from you, it would have been over. To be honest, I’m wondering if he didn’t murder an entire town just to make me take the fall and get me in here to do his dirty work. It’s convoluted, but that’s him. He can play the long game and wait for a win.” He grabs my hand. “But now you’re free, and he’ll never lay a hand on you.”

  My fingers squeeze his, and we fall silent as we relax into the tree.

  I’m not sure how long we remain there, maybe minutes, maybe hours, but eventually my stomach growls loudly, breaking the calm.

  “We might need to find me some food soon for the journey west,” I say.

  “West?”

  “Misty and I spoke—through our minds—right after you arrived at the penitentiary.” I shake my head, unable to believe that so much has happened in less than a week. “I know the location of the headquarters they’re holed up in. They should be there for at least another two weeks, if things go to plan.” I shield my eyes from the sun. “Obviously I don’t know where we are now, but once the stars appear, I’ll figure it out.”

  Talon looks at me with awe, and it makes my heart rate speed up. I like impressing him.

  “So, are you going to come?” I ask, even though I don’t want to.

  More than the logistical worries of how I’ll get to headquarters with a bum leg and no assistance, I don’t think I can handle a denial. There’s already a pit in my stomach, and I’m sure that if he says no, it will spiral out of control and devour me whole.

  “Or is this . . . goodbye?” I finish.

  Talon sits up straight and repositions himself so that he’s kneeling right in front of me. The look in his eyes is so serious that I’m sure he’s about to tell me he needs to go do something—anything—other than travel with a rebel leader. He takes my hand, and my surety that the blow is coming grows.

  “Skye Borges, unless you wish me to leave, this is not goodbye. As far as I’m concerned, this—you and me—may be the start of something beautiful. Something this kingdom desperately needs.” Talon pauses, and the sound of a tiny gulp reaches my ear. “And so I ask, do you want me to go? Or can I stay by your side, getting to know you, protecting you, and learning of your body?” The last bit comes out in a sexy growl.

  It takes great control not to fling myself at him.

  “I don’t want you to go. Stay with me, Talon. I want you to stay.”

  “As you wish,” Talon says, seconds before he leans forward and seals our future—and possibly the future of the kingdom—with a kiss.

  The end

  About the Author

  ARIA STARLING IS A paranormal and alien romance author. She loves steam, sass, and hot as sin otherworldly characters. She lives in Portland, OR with her hubby and their dog. You can often find her walking around the city with her head in the clouds dreaming up a story, reading, or buying fancy doughnuts to indulge her sweet tooth.

  Join Aria’s Facebook group here.

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  Other books by Aria Starling

  Royal Alien Mates Series

  Beauty’s Alien Beast, Royal Alien Mates (August 2020 in the Once Upon a Fairy Tale Night Collection)

  The Playboy Alien Prince, Royal Alien Mates (Fall 2020)

  The Secret Alien Prince, Royal Alien Mates (Fall 2020)

  The Warrior Alien Prince, Royal Alien Mates (Fall 2020)

  The Wild Alien Prince, Royal Alien Mates (Fall 2020)

  Royals and Rebels Series

  Jailed with a Vampire, Royals and Rebels #1

  Taken by a Vampire, Royals and Rebels #2 (Fall 2020)

  Join Aria’s newsletter to stay apprised of the exact release dates!

  MY BULLY MAFIA KING

  Best Friends Series, Book 1

  Dee Stone

  Her father has always controlled her life, and now another man will take over to do the same... as her newly acquired husband.

  Ginevra ran away from her father, the Italian Mafia King under whose watchful eye she never got to truly live or be herself. She thought that she was finally free at the university, but after only six short months of freedom, her father forces her home to an arranged marriage to another mafia king who hopes to make a friend of her father and a pleasure of her.

  But first she must survive the dangers of being mafia royalty... and of losing her heart to the Bully Mafia King.

  CHAPTER ONE

  GINEVRA

  I WAS SO MAD I COULD spit. I could spit... something. Being sold to the Mexican Mafia King in an arranged marriage to solidify our new mutual friendship. My father must be getting senile, taking me away from my freshman year in university. My new found freedom. But I wasn’t going to stand for it. No way.

  In a big backpack that I used for school I dumped all my books, pens and papers out stuffing them in my closet under a blanket to hide them, I restuffed the backpack with clothes, my laptop, tablet, the cords needed for both machines and money I had been hoarding for an instance like this. I stacked my debit cards and all of my credit cards in my desk drawer with my cell phone because I had read somewhere you could track a person when they were used. I would buy a burner phone when I had the chance. There was no way, if I could help it that I would be married to Carlos Castillo. A violent gunrunning, drug pimping asshat. Good looking. Handsome. I could give him that.

  Sexy. I would not marry a man
like that for anything. I wanted love. That’s why I was running away. My life. My choices.

  Opening the window to my room I stuck my head and neck out checking for any guards or persons roaming that would see and stop me. This sprawling monstrosity of a mansion was all on one floor so I could slip out the window dropping to the ground with ease. Closing the window behind me I pretended to stroll nonchalantly across the wide expanse of green lawn with large planters of small flowering trees and colorful climbing flowers and roses to where my small smart car waited.

  Climbing in the unlocked door I thrust my backpack in the passenger seat and pressed the button to start the car relief thrumming through my nerves as the vehicle hummed. Parking the vehicle facing outward had been another gesture toward making my break for freedom. Dad had told me last night about his plans and I had spent the night making my own plans that I now executed.

  Turning my iPad onto my favorite music channel like I always did trying to appear as if I was going about my usual day I switched the volume on high so if anyone called out to me I could pretend I hadn’t heard them. I bopped my body around for good measure.

  Making a swift right turn into the busy street I winced as a loud horn of a truck pierced my ears. Mouthing sorry to his angry face, pressing down hard on the gas pedal I shot down the street at my usual high rate of speed. Nothing unusual here. Continuing on until I reached the first gas station I came to and filled it up until it couldn’t take anymore. Now I was glad I got a car with great gas mileage.

  Continuing on I stared at the big box store U almost passed by and did an illegal swerve into the parking lot the piercing horns assaulting my ears following in my wake. I needed to get a small cooler to put ice and drinks and food in so I would’ve have to stop often. Getting far away and out of Papa’s reach was my first priority.

  SHOVING THE BIGGER than I had planned cooler in the back seat I plopped the bags of ice and began tossing bottles of water as well as a few vegetables and a pack of meat. Setting charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid on the floor of the tiny car I thought maybe I could stay at a campground for a night or two in my car. I had napped once or twice in the vehicle on my way to university so I knew I could sleep in this comfortably if needed.