Frailty: The Darkshine (15 page)

She leaned back, her eyes going back to his as she closed her mouth and tasted her blood. He stared at her with a look she couldn’t quite distinguish.

They stayed in bed together, holding each other and making love until Gaijryc had to leave. It was getting harder for her to say goodbye, harder for her to see him walk out the door. It was getting harder because she had grown to love him with everything inside of her.

Surprises

G
aijryc sat in
the living room and stared at the fireplace as the flames licked at the wood. The reds and oranges blended together, making a cacophony of colors that resembled the setting sun. He brought the crystal glass to his lips and let the amber liquor slide down his throat. The alcohol burned, a welcome feeling that he absorbed. The sun had since set and already he was feeling the itch to be with his female. He couldn’t risk it, though. Servants were already eyeing him with interest every time he came in. He continued to stare at the flames, the only light that touched the room.

“Why are you sitting alone in the dark?”

Gaijryc cringed at the shrill sound of Iena’s voice. His jaw tightened and he downed the rest of his liquor. He didn’t want to be trapped alone in a room with her. He didn’t doubt she would attempt to seduce him again. “Because I enjoy it.”

She sauntered in, the light spearing through her transparent dress and displaying her figure. “Aren’t you going to offer a lady a drink?”

If I saw a lady in the room I would have
. He gripped the glass and rose out of the chair, walking over to the bar and pouring a small glass of Crown. He handed it to her, not bothering to look at her. He felt her fingers skim over his before finally taking the glass.

“You know, Gaijryc, I don’t know why you have to be so distant with me. I could make you a very happy male.”

“I’m sure.” There was no feeling behind those two words, and he wanted nothing more than to leave the room and get as far as he could from her.

“You know I can smell her all over you.”

His head snapped toward Iena, his fists clenching as he stared at her smug expression. She smiled at him over the rim of her glass, taking a dainty sip of the whiskey. “What games are you playing, Iena?”

“No games. You covered her scent very well, and to be honest, if I hadn’t followed you and actually seen her, well, I wouldn’t have even picked up on her smell.”

“You followed me?” He didn’t bother trying to keep the rage out of his voice.

“Well, you have been leaving so frequently, much more than usual, and staying gone for so long. I was just wondering where you have been spending your time. I won’t lie, I was a little surprised to see that you have been bedding with a human, but then again, they do have their attributes.”

He stared at her, barely controlling the anger that was coursing through him. She looked at him with a smugness that made him sick, as if she had unlocked a monumental secret.

“You know, Gaijryc, if I told the Queen about your little
trips
to see that human female, she would hunt her down and kill her.”

“I warn you, Iena, if she is harmed because you felt the need to speak of it, I will make you wish you had died.”

She clicked her tongue at him, setting the glass on a table by the fireplace, the light from the flames piercing the crystal and casting a rainbow of colors across the polished wood. He watched the colors dance across her bare arm and wished it was the actual flames that licked at her skin. His eyes snapped up to meet hers as a wicked smile crossed her features.

“Now, Gaijryc, is that any kind of way to speak to your future queen?”

“You will never be my queen.”

She walked toward him, circling him as she ran a long, red painted nail across his back. “I won’t breathe a word about her to anyone—that is, if you mate me, make me the rightful queen of our kind.”

The sound of shattering glass bounced off the oak paneled walls of the living room, mixing with the sounds of the crackling fire. He looked down at his hand, shards of glass covering his skin, blood welling up from the numerous cuts the glass had made. He watched his skin, watched as his body pushed out the glass and knitted the wounds back together. After a minute, all that was left was drops of blood on unmarred skin. “Are you threatening me? I know you’re not threatening a member of the royal line.”

“Now, Gaijryc, wouldn’t you do anything for the one you love? You do love that weak human female, do you not? Of course you do. I can smell it all over you.”

“You truly are evil, you know that?”

Her laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. He gritted his teeth and stared at the fire as she continued to circle him, running her hands along his chest and back.

“I could make you a very happy male, you know I could.”

He wanted nothing more than to push her away.

“You know what they’ll do to the human female. I can smell how you have already claimed her.” She stopped in front of him and smiled. “I’ll even let you keep her as a pet, after we’re mated of course. You can do with her what you will but you must mate me first, give me a male offspring so that my position is secure.”

“Is that all you care about, Iena? Becoming queen?”

She eyed him, moving over to her half empty glass and taking a sip. “No, that’s not all I want. I’ve wanted you for some time, maybe not as strongly as I’ve wanted others, but still just the same. I could make you so very happy, so happy you will soon forget about that insignificant human you have hidden.”

He would never forget Helina. She was his heart, his very soul, and as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that if his mother found out she would kill her. He looked down at Iena, her blood red lips bright against the clear crystal of the glass. At this very moment he hated Iena with a furious passion, wanted to wrap his hands around her pale white neck until her bones snapped in half.

“You want me dead right at this moment, don’t you?” She said it without a trace of fear in her voice, even had the gall to laugh as she said it. “Well, love hurts, does it not, Gaijryc?” She finished off the rest of her Crown, setting the glass back down, the ice clinking together slightly. “Here’s how it is going to work. The ball will go on as planned. In the end, though, it is I who you will choose to be your future queen.” She smiled, her bright white teeth flashing. She walked up to him and ran her hand along his chest, making his insides churn with disgust. “Are you in agreement with the offer, Gaijryc?”

He didn’t speak for several minutes, didn’t know what to say. If he were to agree to what Iena offered, then at least he knew Helina would be protected. On the other hand, if he chose to be with Helina, to mate her and make her his queen, then he would forever have to be watching, making sure no one would dare hurt her. He thought about it, knowing that if he chose his female, and she was to die, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. It would be his fault, his own stupidity if something were to happen to her because of his own selfishness. He stared again at the fire, watched as the colors mingled together, blues turning to yellows, oranges and reds. He hated himself at that moment, hated the very blood that ran through his veins. He didn’t look at Iena, didn’t even glance her way as he nodded in agreement. Her skeleton fingers ran over his shoulders, her body rubbing against his as if she were a cat in heat.

“It’s a shame you have given all your love to the human. No difference, I suppose; you will learn to care for me as much as you do her.”

He knew that would never be the case, that he could never love Iena in any sense. He knew that the only emotion he would ever have toward her was hatred, a deep anger that pierced his very heart.

“Well, my future king, my future mate, I must bid you a good night. I do need my beauty sleep.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

Her lips felt like dry ice on his skin, like they were burning his flesh right down to the bone. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move as she left her lips on his cheek for longer than was necessary. She left the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. He stared at that fire until all that was left was red embers and black tendrils of smoke.

Tomorrow night would be the night that his very heart and soul would forever be lost. Tomorrow night would be the night that he was forced to mate Iena in order to save the one person that meant more to him then life itself.

Ryce stood in
front of the double oak doors and breathed in deeply. His heart pounded in his chest as he prepared himself for what was to come. He didn’t bother knocking, just pushed open the heavy doors and strode in. Gaijryc looked up from his papers, first surprise and then a furious hatred crossing his features. In the quickest move Ryce had ever seen, Gaijryc was over his table and had him by the throat, his back to the cold, hard wall. They stared at each other for a suspended moment, Gaijryc’s fury like ice melting over a hot flame. He was breathing heavily, his hand periodically tightening around Ryce’s neck.

“You dare show your face to me!”

His air was cut off, his throat feeling like a vice was around it, strong and unyielding. He nodded, not bothering to speak, just staring Gaijryc in the eye. He knew before he came here what was to come, knew Gaijryc’s reaction would be just this.

“You go to my female and speak with her, look at her without my presence, without my permission! I should kill you right now, snap your neck in half and feed it to the dogs.”

Even though Ryce was over two thousand years older than Gaijryc and could easily throw him off, this was his future king, the high ranking prince of the DarkShine. He knew his place, knew that he should never have gone to see the human female without Gaijryc being there. He tried to speak, tried to tell him that he did have a reason behind it, but with his airway cut off, no words came out. He felt the hold on his neck loosen, felt air slide down his throat and into his lungs. He inhaled several times as Gaijryc stepped back and eyed him with an intense rage. He wouldn’t have died without being able to breathe, but it certainly would have been uncomfortable. “I was wrong, I know that, but I did it to make sure she was protected.”

“It wasn’t, and isn’t your place to protect her, Ryce. She is
mine
. It should have been plain as day to you. You should know better than anyone how important a mate is.”

Ryce saw immediate regret cross Gaijryc’s features. Ryce dropped his head, his memories coming to the forefront of his mind and blinding him. He worked hard over the centuries to get himself under control, but when you lost the one you loved, you were never the same.

“I’m sorry. I should never have said that.”

Ryce held up his hand and shook his head. “You are my future king. You do not apologize to me. I should have known my boundaries—should have known that I was not to go near her. I admit I was wrong, but you see, my lord, I knew Iena had seen her also.”

He looked up and saw that Gaijryc already knew.

“You knew?”

Gaijryc nodded, ran his hand through his hair and walked back over to his seat.

“She reminded me so much of… well, you know, and I saw a fragile being that needed looking after when you were away. I know I should have told you, and I was planning on it, but then I saw Iena one afternoon when you had gone. She had seen your human and I saw her evil corrupt mind working. I would have killed her right there if she approached your female, but she left as soon as she had seen her.” Ryce stepped away from the wall and approached Gaijryc’s desk. “So every time you left, I went back there, hid in the woods and made sure no one bothered her. I should have never approached her, never talked to her, but like I said, she reminded me of what I had lost, and I was weak. Forgive me. I meant no disrespect. I should have told you right away, I know this.”

Gaijryc stood from his chair and walked over to Ryce. They looked at each other, no words being spoken, just a silent communication passing between them. Gaijryc held his hand out, waiting for him to take it. Ryce looked down at the offering, smiling as he grabbed Gaijryc’s forearm in a warrior’s greeting.