Authors: Calista Fox
He remained buried inside her as his heavy breaths matched
hers. When their excitement calmed a bit, he withdrew from her. He unfastened
the sash at her wrists and sprawled on the bed beside her. They lay
face-to-face and she couldn’t contain the smile that played on her lips.
In a tone that sounded provocative to her own ears, she
said, “Anytime you want to teach me a new lesson, I’m game.”
“Hmph.” He sneered. “I should have made the sandwich and
read the book. But I can’t walk away from you when you’re naked and ready for
me.”
She gave him a kiss and said against his lips, “Now I know
how to keep you captive in my cottage.”
He stared deep into her eyes. “I’d stay here forever, Jade.
In your bed. With you.”
She frowned as her heart twisted. “But, of course, that’s
not possible.”
He remained silent as he stared at her, then asked, “Would
you want to spend an eternity with me?”
Swallowing down a lump of emotion, she said, “I can’t afford
to ruminate over things like that. Nor can I wrap my mind around it. An
eternity… I don’t think I was meant to live longer than it takes to help the
people I care about find their own sort of peace.”
“But what if you had the chance for immortality? Would you
take it?”
With a shake of her head, she said, “Humans don’t weather
grief and sorrow as well as demons do, I’m afraid. An eternity of suffering
would be a bit much for me.”
He drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. Then he asked,
“What if you actually had the capability to power through?”
“But I don’t. Remember…
human
. Mortal. We’re not built
like demons.”
Suddenly, he slipped from the bed and disappeared out the door.
Jade stared at the empty spot next to her, startled. A few seconds later,
however, he returned. He dragged on his briefs and lay beside her again.
He said, “You’ve questioned your place in the new world, but
have you ever questioned your heritage?”
She let out a sharp laugh. “What heritage? My cultural
differences don’t vary from most of the war survivors in this area. Yes, my
father had incredible leadership skills and he likely could have become a
slayer. But he chose political responsibilities more so than military ones.”
“No,” Darien said. “He
was
involved in military
strategy. Morgan worked very closely with him and they did maintain a balance
that helped my alliance to accept the terms I laid down when it came to leaving
the humans be. In fact, my vampires stuck to the castle to avoid temptation.
They respected my laws.”
He gave this further thought, then added, “From Sheena, I’ve
learned the craving to drink from a human source has mostly diminished for her
species. They’re content with animal blood. Apparently, it feeds their more
primal basic instincts in a way humans never did.”
Jade nodded. “She has proven herself capable of being around
me when I’m bleeding without looking the least bit enticed by me.”
“Yes. She’s proud of that. They all are. Though,” he added
in a softer voice, “she’s deeply hurt you chose to become a slayer.”
Jade stared at him a moment until the implication hit her.
“Oh no.” She rolled her eyes at her own insensitivity. “I never even
considered…
Damn it
. She thinks I don’t trust her?”
He nodded.
“And what about Morgan?”
“He doesn’t know yet.”
Jade’s stomach plummeted. “And was that the first thing
you
thought? That I didn’t trust you either?”
“I know you trust me.” He gave her a confident look. “But I
think you still have a lot to learn about my kind. And you have a lot to learn
about yourself.”
He unraveled the piece of paper he’d apparently retrieved
from his coat pocket when he’d left the room.
She pulled the duvet around her and sat up, curious about
this change in direction.
Handing over the small sheet that appeared to have been torn
from a book, he asked, “Do you recognize this mark?”
Jade laughed again. “It’s not a mark. It’s a formation of
freckles. I have the exact same—”
The paper fell from her hand and she covered the spots on
her neck with her palm.
Darien said, “Your father had this precise pattern. In the
same location on his neck as yours.”
Tension skittered through her as an ominous look filled his
amber gaze.
“So?” she tentatively asked.
Picking up the documentation, he told her, “You share a
common trait with him.”
“Sure.” Her voice was still full of hesitancy as she tried
to ascertain the direction in which this conversation was going. “I already
told you—and you’ve witnessed—that I have psychokinetic powers and can rapidly
self-heal. So could he.”
Sitting up, Darien said, “Have you ever read Greek
mythology?”
His question confused her—what did it have to do with
genetic traits?
Regardless, she said, “A little, yes.”
“Some of the most renowned characters in Greek mythology
were demi-gods. For example, Hercules and Achilles. The immortal ruler, Zeus,
was their father, but their mothers were mortal. So they ended up with
extraordinary strength and skills, but they could still die.”
His brows drew together. “Well, in some recollections, Hera
actually granted Hercules immortality at the end, but he did suffer a mortal
death. It’s rather complicated… Point being, these demi-gods possessed
abilities gifted to them by their father, but they didn’t have immortality on their
side.”
She eyed him curiously. “Are you about to tell me I’m a
demi-god from Mt. Olympus?”
“No.” He chuckled. “But haven’t you ever wondered how your
father ended up with the gifts you inherited?”
“Of course. But he didn’t talk about it, especially because
it seemed to be a sore subject with my mother.”
“That was because she wasn’t like the two of you.”
“No, she wasn’t. Not at all. She was actually very delicate.
It worried my father incessantly.”
“Yet he didn’t obsess much over you? He knew how strong you
were from the beginning?”
She considered her younger years and said, “I always thought
he’d taught me to fight and to take care of myself because he secretly wanted a
tough boy but ended up with a girl instead. Later on, I realized there was more
to it than that. Looking back now, I can see he had a plan in mind for me.”
Thinking of her parents was painful, so she asked, “Why are we having this
conversation?”
“Because,” he said, his voice suddenly brooding, “I recently
discovered something about your father that he didn’t share with you.”
This piqued her interest. “And what would that be?”
“It involves the marking on your neck,” he told her as his
fingers grazed the skin below her ear. “I believe one of the reasons your
father opted not to take the slayer’s oath, when he was clearly in the position
to do so and possessed the expertise needed, was because he might have
struggled with the moral dilemma of killing his kind.”
Her jaw dropped. She stared at him, her mind instantly
assaulted by a barrage of thoughts and questions, the first one popping into
her head being, “What the hell are you talking about?”
His apprehension was evident, though he forged ahead.
“I know this will be difficult to comprehend, but the
marking you share with your father is that of a cross-breed. Somewhere in
his—and consequently
your
—lineage, a demon impregnated one of Liam’s
female, human ancestors. I don’t know when it occurred or to whom or whether
the act was forced or by consent. My guess is it was many generations ago. But
this explains your ability to heal yourself quickly, despite the fact that you
are, indeed, mortal.”
Her eyes had to be the size of snowballs. They felt huge in
the sockets. She gaped again, at a complete loss for words.
Darien took advantage of her silence and continued. “I know
this comes as a shock, but it really does shed some light on your physical
strength, your fighting skills and your territorial tendencies.”
She finally spoke. “‘Territorial tendencies’?”
Regardless of the obvious strain his revelation caused, he
grinned at her. “You took me on without a second thought when Jinx died. You
stand up for your rights and the rights of others.”
“Yes,” she said as her stomach tightened. “I want what’s
fair for the people in the village. But…” She still couldn’t grasp what he’d
told her about her gene pool. And yet, their discussion earlier about her being
an effective liaison between races came back to her.
She mentally debated things she knew to be absolute
truths—that humans had been, and still were to an extent, terrorized by demons
and living in a repressed state because of it. Conversely, the king of those
demons allowed her to open his eyes to life as a human and the fact that having
compassion in his heart hadn’t equated to empathy in reality, until recently.
Being a cross between the two races did, as he’d pointed
out, clarify a lot of convoluted notions she’d had since her childhood. Perhaps
it also fed into her isolation. For someone who’d been viewed as a potential
leader all along, she’d kept a wall around her.
Mentally exhausted and perplexed, she flopped down onto the
mattress and stared up at the cracked ceiling. “Why is it that every time I’m
with you, something completely insane happens?”
Darien’s tone was a consoling one. “I don’t mean to make life
more difficult for you, Jade. But you have to admit, there really is so much
more to you than an orphaned girl trying to survive from day to day.”
She sighed. “I just can’t fathom how something like this
could come about.”
“It’s elementary,” he said. “Were you and I to have
children, they would be demi-demons. Although, because of my lineage, our
children would have my dominant traits. Your demon blood is obviously not as
strong as mine, since you’re mortal.”
“Are you saying our kids would be
im
mortal?”
“Yes.”
Her head rolled on the pillow and she gazed at him. She
recalled the incident in her bathroom following the chicken slaying and said,
“You didn’t seem the slightest bit upset or reticent when you asked if I was
pregnant. But you had to be bothered by the notion, right?”
He settled beside her and his hand cupped her face. His
thumb swept over her cheek. “Why would that bother me? I told you I love you
and that I want to marry you. I didn’t make the proposal lightly, nor did I
fail to take into consideration all it would entail. True, your comment about
where a bird and a fish would live together took me off guard, though I suppose
it shouldn’t have.” He gave her an earnest look. “I know you don’t feel safe in
the castle, surrounded by demons.”
She searched his eyes as she asked, “Is that one of the
reasons you told me about my skewed genetics? Do you think being a partial
demon will make me more comfortable in the presence of other demons?”
“Would you consider how easily you and Sheena bonded? How
strong the friendship was between Morgan and Liam—and that Morgan has concern
for your welfare because of that relationship? How even Jocelyn sensed there
was more to you than human flesh and blood?” He gave her a moment to process
this, then added, “I knew you were different, but I couldn’t get past your
suffering to pinpoint what set you apart from other humans I’ve met.”
Jade’s mind reeled, but more absolute truths infiltrated her
jumbled thoughts. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “I once told Lisette the
demons I’d crossed paths with from time to time all seemed to watch me
curiously. Not warily. But it seemed as though something about me perplexed
them.”
Darien nodded. “Your heritage isn’t common. There are very
few like you, which leads me to believe the demon seduction way back when with
your ancestor was by mutual consent.”
With a snort, she said, “Thank God they didn’t pass down
horns from generation to generation.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “You have a timely sense of
humor.”
Despite the levity she tried to infuse into the discussion
and the reality she faced, her brain still churned with the “how did this
happen and what does it really mean?” concepts. Yet it was all too much to
process at the moment, so she didn’t give in to the dark side of the situation
Darien had brought to light.
“What else I am I going to do,” she remarked, “if not crack
a joke? I’m part demon. It’s not every day a girl receives that sort of news.”
“I can bring you the book I tore that page from, if you’d
like. There’s a chapter on your kind. It might be enlightening.”
She eyed him closely. “You haven’t read it?”
“No, not all of it. Just enough to grasp the meaning of your
mark. I didn’t want to discover something I might be able to hold over your
head to get you to marry me.”
A laugh fell from her lips, unexpectedly. “Still riding that
train, I see.”
He gave her an honest and raw look that set her nerve
endings on fire and also made her pulse pick up a few extra beats.
“I know what I want,” he said, his voice confident and strong.
“And when I make up my mind, it doesn’t change.”
As much as his unwavering commitment to her warmed her
heart, she had to say, “Telling me I’m not one hundred percent human doesn’t
pave the way for a formal union between us, Darien. And I do need to be careful
when we’re together, because having a child when we’re not married would only
create more tension in the village. And between us.”
In her mind, it went without saying where each of them would
want their child to reside and be raised—Darien would demand it be the castle
and she would insist it be the cottage. What an explosive situation that would
become!
Resisting the urge to groan, she said, “Perhaps we should
change the subject. You’ve already blown me out of the water with your little
discovery and I’m not sure I can take any more hits.”