Illuminate: Upper YA Paranormal Romance

by Sarah Addison-Fox

  Lucius’ voice held amusement. “Though I am loath to blackmail you, I seem to have no choice. You will lend your support, or I will have your family cottage burned with them still locked inside.”

  Skylar surprised him by spitting a curse. “You can’t do that. You swore if I came here willingly, you’ve leave her out of it.

  Lucius seemed to think it over before his eyebrows knotted together. “And what do you think, Tarquin? You know I don’t make idle threats.”

  Skylar’s lip curled. “Leave him out of this.”

  Lucius only chuckled. “I have no reason to leave him out. He’s my finest achievement. He can manipulate any Luminary. Even a high-ranking member of the council like you, it would seem.”

  Skylar stiffened. But he said nothing only shifted his gaze to Tarquin. “You never answered the question. If you put her through all this, if you slept with her…”

  Before he could speak, Merrin whirled to face Lucius. Her eyes burned white hot as her temper grew along with the volume of her voice. “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room!”

  As if to prove how angry she was, she grabbed Lucius’s wrist. Lucius chuckled and extended his other arm. “See? She wants to know the truth. She wants to see what you really are. Show her, Tarquin, show her the history the Chief has stolen.”

  His heart in his throat as Merrin’s jaw tightened. “Do it. Take hold of him. Show me the truth the council has been hiding.”

  A wild spark of rage filled him as Lucius amusement increased. His hand was on his former master in an instant, and his connection with Merrin returned. Show me.

  With a grimace, his closed his eyes and latched on to the thread of Lucius Tartarean’s consciousness.

  His thoughts became entangled with Merrin’s, and as if they’d been doing it together for years, they began to read the faint strand of Lucius Tartarean’s remaining inner light.

  ***

  Tattered thoughts pierced into Merrin. Too tangled with Tarquin’s and Lucius’ to separate, she grasped at the first one she could latch on it. They cast me out when I became too strong. A chill ran the length of her, blackness closing in, separating her from the light, from Tarquin, from Lucius, as she felt herself drift towards it. He’s stronger. Tougher. Can withstand anything.

  The dark clutched at her, a rolling entity that threatened to wash over her and consume her as it had done before. But this time, Tarquin’s presence strengthened her and with warmth and light encouraged her to probe. Merrin concentrated on separating Lucius’ light from Tarquin’s.

  The faint mutterings of men as they gathered around a fire, the wind, bringing with it scents of blood, of dirt, and death. Whispered promises of deceit, of a way to control. A pact, sealed with blood, with secrets, and with an unthinkable sacrifice.

  Cloying fear choked the air, a palpable force of fire and power, all clothed in human form. His eyes were fixed on the humble hut deep inside a forest. A hideaway. A secret spot where lovers could meet.

  Lucius pushed open the door, his eyes on a beautiful woman sitting by the blazing fire.

  Her long, blonde hair hung loose at her waist, her face fraught with worry as she cradled a baby in her slender arms.

  At the sight of Lucius, all hints of distress left her face. The baby cooed and Lucius accepted him into his outstretched arms. “He returns, my lady. And he seeks you out. I need to return to my home.”

  The woman’s smile disappeared, her eyes welling. “No. Please. You can’t leave me. I won’t be his wife anymore.”

  Lucius tried to return the baby to her, but the woman was no longer interested in her blue-eyed child. “Lucius. I cannot live without you.”

  A placating smile appeared on Lucius’ handsome face. “My lady. Give me what I desire, and I will never leave your side.”

  The woman swallowed, her nod limp, desperation evident as she stood. She ran her hands down her embroidered dress, a deep green, with golden embellishing about her bust. “You promise? You promise you will stay as my protector?”

  Lucius smiled then. But there was no warmth in his cold, dark eyes. “Give me the child, and I will protect you from the Chief.”

  A barrage of images flooded in as Merrin watched the scene play out as though she were a bystander. Blood spilled on the ground, dark prayers offered in exchange for power, dominion and control to all he claimed for the dark clan Tartarean.

  The Chief’s smiling face as he greeted Lucius as though he were a brother, then his horror as Lucius lied boldly about The Chief’s beloved wife stealing his child and leaving him to embrace the dark.

  The Chief’s grief. His surprise as Lucius used the opportunity to challenge his leadership, the arguments, the harsh curses as many of the original council turned and fled from inside the halls of Evanswood.

  Lucius’ banishment, his rage as he separated from the light and willingly welcomed dark to take its place in exchange for a life.

  Merrin’s eyes flew open, her heart running too swift, her veins firing with outrage and renewed loathing for Lucius. Her eyes met Tarquin’s, but he was still concentrating on Lucius, his eyes squeezed shut, a fierce expression on his face.

  Skylar’s enquiring voice was less than a vague interruption she easily swept aside. Merrin closed her own eyes and returned to seek what Tarquin must be hiding from.

  A dark-eyed boy no older than ten battled over a wooden practice sword with a younger boy outside of a cottage. A woman scolded them as she pegged washing on a line.

  Dark edged into the brightness of the summer’s day. The breeze turned cooler as a handsome man, dressed in black, approached the young boy. His hand clasped the older boy’s wrist, and he gave the younger a coin before he drew the older boy away.

  Her breathing became rapid as she stole a look at Tarquin. His face still grim, his own breathing too fast. When she closed her eyes again, the scene had changed, and it was Lucius’ faint light she read.

  Darkness pressed all around, a girl whimpered as she was pinned against a wall. A man, fumbled with his belt as he held the girl with one hand, his face hidden turned as his head sagged.

  He pushed her away in disgust, and she ran, sobbing into the darkness. A cruel laugh pierced the dark. Lucius’ voice rose, a mocking sneer and a taunt. “Again, Skylar? What is it this time?”

  The muscled man turned and shook his head. “I don’t understand, Master.”

  Lucius scoffed at Skylar. “No, you don’t. And that’s why you’re no good to me. Go find your pathetic hope of salvation. It is no match for what lurks in your heart. When the time is upon us, you’ll come when I call. You’ll forget you knew me. But you won’t forget what you’ve done and what you failed to do.”

  Leaves rustled on trees, sunlight pierced the gloom. A vast meadow, yellow flowers and a red-haired girl laughing at the muscled man’s joke.

  He nudged her shoulder and chastised her for not listening more closely. The girl’s forehead knotted, but her smile said she wasn’t angry. “If you weren’t so funny, this would be even more boring.”

  The meadow faded away until Skylar’s face and body became dark and lean. His fists became Tarquin’s fists as he struck a man down, a blank expression on his face as he kept striking the man on command. Then the darkness pressed in. Blood. Pain. Sweat. Shame.

  A girl’s captivation as a stony-faced Tarquin held her in his grip. A single word was all it took to convince her. His lips on hers. His hands on her body. Another girl took her place, then one after the other until they all blurred into one horrendous tangle.

  Then flames, and screams, women and children being dragged from buildings. Tarquin’s questioning of Lucius’s order, then his back being torn apart as Lucius lashed him in front of all the other trapped Luminary.

  A ragged prayer as Tarquin collapsed into his bunk, covered in blood as he forced the vial to his lips and, under duress from Lucius, swallowed. Please, I don’t want to keep doing this. I don’t want to find the Luminary you want.


  Tartarean’s sneer as he spat the words. “Keep fighting me, and I will return to destroy your family.”

  Merrin’s hands left both Lucius’ and Tarquin’s. Bile rising to her throat, her mouth filling with moisture as she staggered away from them both, retching as she tried to wash away the sights that burned her eyes.

  No wonder Skylar had come by her home so often. No wonder he’d confused their friendship. Nothing was as it appeared. Tartarean had been manipulating them both for years. Making sure that when the timing was right, they’d both be able to assist him.

  Tarquin had been the catalyst, the reason they’d come together, and Tartarean had used every opportunity to pit Tarquin and Skylar against each other to make sure someone under his control bonded with her. But why her? What made her so special?

  Unsurprisingly, it was Skylar’s hand that rubbed her back, and tried to soothe. “Freckles, what did you see?”

  Her voice was a croak as she looked at him, her eyes filled with moisture as she recalled how much she’d cherished his friendship. She’d been so lonely and confused. Maybe that was why Tartarean had finally decided the time was right?

  Maybe no one else hated themselves quite as much as I did?

  With a groan, Merrin saw herself as Tartarean had. It was so simple. And it wasn’t that she was special or stronger. It was that she was he considered her the weak link in the chain, the most impulsive, the most reckless and the most likely to rebel of the young female Luminaries. Zolten was right. I shouldn’t have been illuminated.

  Her throat was thick as the tears began to fall. “The lies, Skylar. I saw the lies.”

  ***

  Tarquin’s body began to shake. Sweat trickled down his back as he stared at Lucius’ as he rocked back on his heels and took a shuddering breath.

  Instead of anger as Tarquin had expected, Lucius smiled up at him as though he were proud.

  He pulled himself to standing and straightened his clothing; his eyes strayed to Merrin. “Now she truly knows all the wicked things you’ve done.”

  His jaw tightened as Lucius smiled even wider. Is he completely insane? Had the darkness addled his mind? Had the dark power of Tartarean that he’d embraced warped him so that he still thought he was in control? Or is he still in control?

  The thought struck dully as Lucius gestured to where Skylar stood beside Merrin. “Do you really think she’d choose someone one who enjoyed so many other girls?”

  His skin rose as Skylar pulled a shaky Merrin away. She didn’t even spare him a look as Skylar’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and helped her take a seat.

  A cold, hard lump settled in his stomach, everything he’d feared, everything he’d thought about himself, all confirmed as Merrin placed her head in her hands.

  Lucius’ voice was almost soothing as Skylar rubbed Merrin’s back. “You were always mine, Tarquin. He never could have done the abominable things you did. But for her, he’ll do anything I ask of him. I suspect he’d even kill you.”

  Tarquin’s heart clenched in chest as he watched Skylar comfort Merrin as he must have been doing over the years. Lucius was right: he wasn’t good enough for her. He’d proven that time and time again.

  “You see now? You see you can never go back to the light. They’ll never really accept you. They’ll only ever see you as a half-light.”

  He didn’t try to stop Lucius talking as he carried on. “It was a risk, sending you in to her. But Skylar’s presence and your jealousy kept you from giving yourself fully to the light.”

  Tarquin’s eyes narrowed, his stomach twisting in rage as Merrin carried on crying. It should be me comforting her. Skylar lifted his head, and for a moment, he saw a flash of his own jealousy reflected on Skylar’s face.

  Everything stilled in the room as Merrin chewed her lip, her eyes watering as she placed her hands in her lap and looked at Lucius then Skylar. “Release the Luminaries you’ve taken.”

  Lucius laughed. “After it is done.”

  Merrin’s expression stayed blank, her face still pale, her eyes dimming as she looked sidelong at Skylar. “Lucius has been manipulating you. He needed you to care for me because he knew Tarquin is prone to jealousy and that you were prone to protecting women. He studied your weaknesses so that when the time came, he could use you in his attempt to overthrow the council.”

  Skylar frowned. “That’s not possible. Until I got a message that you would be here, I’d had nothing to do with him.”

  Merrin’s tone turned cooler. “I know what I saw. He twisted our friendship into something that it isn’t, because it served his purpose. I suspect all of his Sleepers serve his agenda somehow.”

  Skylar shook his head, his shoulders slumped and face etched with pain. “Freckles, that can’t be what you saw. We’ve known each other for four years. I know you better than anyone.”

  Tarquin’s stomach tightened as Merrin’s flinched. “He’s been planning this from the moment the chief banished him. He made sure you left the caves at precisely the right time. Just like he made sure Tarquin stayed. He chose us because we all have weaknesses he could exploit. He knew exactly what it would take to distract us from protecting the borders.”

  Lucius sniffed as though bored, but his smile was almost kind as he praised Merrin. “She is glorious!”

  Tarquin shook off the distraction. Distraction. The word battered around in his mind. Had that had been Lucius’ primary tactic. Distract them and wait for jealousy and self-doubt to help to tear them apart. But why?

  Merrin’s voice held a wobble as she spoke to Skylar. “We need to take Lucius back to Evanswood. The Chief needs to deal with this.”

  Skylar nodded, his eyes locked on Lucius. “You’re right. Whatever else is going on, the council needs to decide his fate.”

  His smile was weak as he gestured to the door. “Glad to see you’re still thinking clearly, Freckles. Because I’m not.”

  Tarquin suppressed a retort even though the nickname sparked his jealousy again. He couldn’t look at Merrin as she asked Skylar to help her tie Lucius up.

  There was no point in telling Skylar that Merrin and he were bonded. The news that was to come would be punishment enough.

  But Lucius would never allow them to take him back to the council without causing as many problems as possible. There was only one way to ensure he didn’t cause any further dissent.

  And that was by taking him back to the caves.

  Chapter 6.

  Merrin stayed nearby as Skylar held Lucius by the arm and led him down the steps of the castle. Tarquin’s suggestion they use the caves as a shorter route back to Evanswood had met with little resistance from a still dazed Skylar, and she wasn’t sure if she could argue.

  Whether the drug had caused it, or the weight of knowledge had, exhaustion was setting in, letting her know that the last few hours had whittled away her resources.

  Fully aware of where she was now the light had broken through the drug, Merrin studied her surroundings.

  The castle was in ruins, just as the old temple was, stone blocks littered around an overgrown courtyard. Cracks split the slabs of stone they walked over, weeds pushed up, sprawling over the ground.

  The air was filled with permeating darkness, cloying scents that brought to mind peat and decay, almost as if the air itself surrounding the derelict castle was filled with decomposition.

  Her eyes settled back on Lucius as he continued walking as though he weren’t concerned at being a prisoner. He still carried an element of smugness which sent a ripple of unease through her.

  It would be a mistake to think he wasn’t still scheming and somehow trying to manipulate them. She’d seen for herself just what he was capable of doing.

  But when he caught her looking at him, even with his hands tied together, his smile chilled her to core.

  What he’d done when he’d spilled innocent blood that night in the forest, surrounded by fallen members of the council as they all wilfully gave up their light, had perman
ently stained his light.

  Even now, she could see how he’d fooled the Chief into trusting him. He’d leveraged the Chief’s grief and used it as a tool to convince the weaker members of the council that he was unfit. What he’d done, what he’d destroyed, had driven him past his quest for power and directly into the clutches of evil itself.

  A shudder ripped through her as she thought of Skylar and the depth of Lucius’s crimes. How can I tell him? But if he found out from anyone else, if he knew she’d kept it from him, he’d never forgive her.

  Somehow, she needed to find a way to repair the damage done to their friendship and find a way to overcome the awkwardness. It was just one kiss. He knew I wasn’t in my right mind.

  Her gaze shifted to him, and a wave of relief flooded her that was focussed on what he was doing. If anything, he was looking at Tarquin more often than her, though the glares they were silently exchanging made it apparent the antagonism wouldn’t ease any time soon.

  Tarquin’s eyes found hers as they walked across the field that led to the tunnel entrance. His smile sent a thrill through her body, that had they been alone would have pulled her back into his arms.

  But now was not the time for recalling his kisses, his muscle beneath her hands, and the feel of his stubble as it brushed against her lips. Her stomach twisted as memory after memory slammed into her. How many other girls has he kissed that way?

  Heat travelled the length of her as she forced her mind elsewhere. Nothing would be served by thinking about what Lucius had forced Tarquin to do.

  A niggling doubt settled in as she recalled the revulsion Skylar had shown when faced by the same choice.

  Why was it that instead of coercing Skylar and punishing him, Lucius had merely mocked Skylar and sent him away from the caves they now approached? Had he shown an ounce of kindness or was it by design?

  Lucius may have cruel to them both, but Lucius had treated Tarquin and Skylar very differently. Had he really been training Tarquin to become an expert in manipulating Luminary girls? While encouraging Skylar’s need to protect those weaker?