Darkness Falls (23 page)

Sitting in the dark, watching Feryn’s form in the shadows as he slept, she pulled out her phone and tried her father’s number again. Not for the first or fifteenth time, she wondered if it was still his phone number. Maybe it really
was
a sub shop and the owner – Benny? – was not very phone savvy. After the beep, she murmured, “I need to order an International Delight, extra banana peppers, maybe four or five, and one with olives, lots of olives. All of the extras.”

Hanging up, she discovered her hand was shaking though she didn’t know why. Even if Feryn was awake and had heard her, he wouldn’t understand that she had just told her father she needed an ID for a young male and a second one for an older female, if it was possible to get to Nadine and fix her memories. Of course, the extras were everything from cash to credit cards and transportation to an untraceable cell phone. Everything she did was to protect the brother she never knew she had.

Why did she feel guilty?

Then there was Jack, back from the dead, no longer a vampire, and apparently a Breeder. If she was a different person, she could trade Jack for Hunter but there was no way she could do that. Of course, the moment the Aradians discovered Jack’s secret, they wouldn’t let him out of their sight either.

It made sense, though. Breeders are the Aradians’ other half and as an Aradian creates a vampire, a Breeder creates life, another Breeder. If Feryn ever discovered she had the ability to create Breeders, he might reconsider his relationship with her. One Breeder in exchange for however many Breeders she could create before dying from blood loss would be something to take into serious consideration. Not even Feryn would be able to dismiss it out of hand. It would be even more tempting if they could create female Breeders.

What if it was only the females that could create new Breeders?

Stiffly, she unfolded herself from the chair and made her way through the rooms to the office to delve further into the number her father had left with Nadine all of those years ago. Sitting in the chair, she booted up the computer and tried to ignore the doubts that plagued her thoughts. Maybe a Breeders place was within the Aradian community….

The light from the monitor seemed overly bright in the dark room and she had to squint until her eyes adjusted. Looking around, as if Feryn or Jiro were about to step out of the shadows, she went to one of the restricted websites and typed in the necessary password. With trembling hands, she entered the phone number and watched with growing dread as it bounced from one hub to another.

It was her father’s phone. He had either forgotten about the decades old number or he was ignoring her. She couldn’t think of anything else she could do for Hunter or Jack until she heard from her father because so far all of her ideas had been disastrous. Plus, she didn’t have the resources available to create new identities and get them off the island. Well, not unless she didn’t mind getting caught, which would only lead to more questions.

“Usually I’m the one who can’t sleep,” Feryn’s warm voice interrupted her thoughts. Startled, she closed the incriminating website and looked up to find him standing in the door way with his arms crossed across his naked chest. Pajama bottoms hung low on his hips, his hair was sleep-sexy tousled and he wore a slight smile, though his eyes were wary. “Are you all right?”

Forcing a smile to her lips, she quickly wiped the browser’s history and stood up. “Of course. I’m just worried about my father.”

A grimace pulled his lips as he stepped into the room and held his arms out to her. Without hesitation, she stepped into his embrace and felt as if she were home. It didn’t matter that she was troubled with his decision regarding her brother because Feryn was her mate, her other half. As he stroked her hair, her eyes slid closed and she pressed her cheek against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” he murmured, trying to reassure her.

Inhaling deeply, she breathed his masculine scent deep into her lungs and his warmth eased the knots in her stomach. Lightly, she touched his stomach, smiling when his flesh leaped beneath her hand. “I think I can sleep now, if you want to take me to bed.”

“Always,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head before he swept her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest before striding down the hall back to their bedroom. His eyes were intense as he studied her face in the low light of the room. Concern etched across his brow as he looked at her, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Her chuckle sounded forced even to her ears but she nodded, “It’s just been a stressful couple of weeks and then there’s Jack and on top of all of that, a brother I never knew I had.”

Feryn’s lips pressed into a firm line at the mention of her once-dead husband and she could see his struggle to keep his jealousy in check. Cupping his cheek in her hand, she held his eyes as she vowed, “I am yours, Feryn, no matter what. We just have to figure out a way to deal with my brother. He can’t stay here.”

“He can’t leave,” he countered, his eyes growing more troubled, more weary. “I thought we agreed to let this subject rest for now.”

“No, I simply decided not to discuss it in front of Jiro,” she countered, looking up at him through her lashes. He hadn’t put her down and she had no intention of saying anything because she liked being in his arms.

A slight smile curved his lips as his eyes shimmered with dark humor, “You think it’ll be easier to twist me around your little finger if my brother isn’t here to be the voice of reason.”

“Jiro is not the voice of reason,” she said, rolling her eyes at the thought but she couldn’t stop the smile from curving her lips. “Besides, I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes you would,” he chuckled, kissing her forehead. “And you have. You, my love, have the ability to make me do anything your heart desires.”

“I sincerely doubt that.” She was startled by his teasing confession and her blood racing through her veins. Was he telling her what she wanted to hear or was he being serious?

“But in this I cannot let you have your way,” he said, genuine regret in his words. Shaking his head, he sat down on the bed, holding her on his lap. Placing his hand on her stomach, he held her eyes as he said, “You mean everything to me, Malorie. Everything. You brought me back to life and if there is a chance for more of my brethren to experience this reawakening then I owe it to them to do everything in my power to make that happen, even if it means keeping your brother.”

His words, spoken so earnestly, tore her up inside because she couldn’t turn her back on her brother, no matter how much Hunter hated her. He had to be given the choice after he understood what it would mean to be a part of the Aradian world. The same was true of Jack. Hell, even she wasn’t sure what all it entailed to be part of the Aradian world and she was the mate of the freaking emperor.

Blinking slowly, she looked at him, her mouth suddenly dry, “Why didn’t you tell me you were the Aradian emperor?”

He looked at her, his expression blank for a moment before color crept into his cheeks and he glanced away. “Aradians are fairly autonomous, Malorie. I’m only there to arbitrate disputes between Aradians and make sure everything runs smoothly.”

“In other words, you’re their emperor.”

More color burnished his cheeks as he murmured, “It was never a secret.”

A sound between a snort and a huff pushed past her lips and she raised her eyebrows at him, “Feryn, I had to learn from a total stranger that I am mated to the Aradian emperor. I mean, I knew you were a leader amongst the Aradians but I didn’t know you were the emperor.”

When he finally looked at her, he had a strange expression on his face. “Who told you about me?”

“Um….” This time she blushed and looked away, not sure how much she could tell him without getting Scott in trouble. “Well, when Jiro sent me through Netherspace, he wasn’t very precise when it came to my destination and I sort of ended up a little further away from where I needed to be and a very nice, um, officer, found me and gave me a lift.”

“Let me guess,” he said through tight lips. “He wasn’t human.”

Shaking her head no, she looked up at him with wide eyes, “I hadn’t even known there were other creatures out there but they’re aware of you and they have a healthy fear of you. Luckily, my rescuer felt it was wiser to take me where I wanted to go rather than drop me off in some seedy section of the city to avoid your wrath.”

By that time, he was grinding his teeth together and Malorie was sure they were going to be ground to dust if he wasn’t careful. “Did he touch you?”

Malorie arched an eyebrow at that, trying desperately to keep from laughing. “Yes. He was kind enough to help me to my feet and then hold me steady so I wouldn’t fall. Would you rather he left me in the pile of snow?”

His jaw moved back and forth as he struggled with his jealousy before he finally bit out, “I’m glad he was there to offer assistance.”

Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she smiled against his skin as she placed her palm along his jaw. “You’re all that is sweetness and light, Feryn.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Never,” she denied, her eyes dancing with laughter, brushing her thumb over his lower lip.

He looked at her with a bemused expression, shaking his head with a slight smile. “Why are you being so amenable? Before you left, you were accusing me of suffocating you and you looked at me as if I was a villain.”

“I don’t like being away from you,” she answered honestly, without going into all of the details of the memories that bombarded her every now and then. “But on occasion I just need a little space to be able to breathe. I
am
grateful you trusted me enough to let me go.”

His body shuddered as he took a breath, “It kills me letting you out of my sight. I’m so afraid something is going to happen to you and I won’t be there to stop it.”

“Feryn,” she chided softly, lightly scraping her nails through the thick strands of his hair. “You save me. You always save me.

“But what happens if you’re attacked again and I don’t make it in time?” he asked, his breathing ragged as fear darkened his eyes. Hugging her tighter, holding her against his hard body, he rested his forehead against hers, “You are my everything, the very air I breathe, and I cannot fathom a world without you in it.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she murmured, listening to his words and trying to determine the sincerity of them. She hadn’t had these doubts until she remembered the virgin he had used, knowing that the girl hadn’t been the only game he had played. At the look he gave her, she flushed, “Well, if I do go off on a mission or something I will always come back. Always.”

He pressed his lips against her palm, squeezing his eyes shut and her heart trembled in her chest, out of love, out of guilt. She could only hope he loved her enough to forgive her for what she was going to do, what she knew was the right thing to do. Maybe in a few years, when her humanity was no longer clinging to her, she’d be able to accept the unacceptable but she prayed that wasn’t going to happen for a very, very long time.

As she slowly made her way through the dark caves, Malorie realized she had been there before, though it was unlike anything she had ever remembered seeing. A woman’s voice was echoing off the walls, filling the caverns with her fury and hatred and Malorie recognized the voice: Taella. The vamp-mad Aradian must have gone to ground after Feryn destroyed all of her vampires.

“I’ll fucking kill him!” Taella screamed. The sound was distorted so Malorie had no way of determining where the woman was, if she was miles away or around the next bend. “Your father deserves to die for what he did to me!”

Frowning, Malorie cautiously made her way forward, trying to pinpoint Taella’s location. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to confront the Aradian or avoid her but either way she needed to find her.

No, it wasn’t Taella she was looking for. It was the soft voice that cried out to her in the night that was silent when she woke. She remembered this dream and it frightened her because it was important but she always forgot it as soon as the fog of sleep lifted. There was something she had to do, someone she had to save, but he never let her remember.

Afraid to call out in case Taella was listening, she peeked around the corner before she quietly moved forward, her heart racing madly in her chest. Wiping her sweaty palms against her pants, she wished Taella was millions of miles away. The Aradian was still powerful despite the loss of her vampires and Malorie knew that fact deep in her bones. It shouldn’t have been possible but somehow Taella discovered the secret of retaining some of her power after her vampires were destroyed. As soon as the vamps had been destroyed, they should have found her weak and broken body on the outskirts of the town but she had managed to escape. She had managed to disappear.

“Thirsty,” a low voice rasped and Malorie’s racing heart started pounding even faster until she was afraid her heart was going to burst or stop altogether. Pressing a hand over the unruly organ, she stilled as she waited for Taella’s reply. “Please, I wish for fresh water.”