Darkness Everlasting Read online

  “Have you ever thought about just voting for a leader?”

  His fingers clutched at her hips as she shifted and sent a flare of pure heat through his body.

  “We are not yet that civilized, angel,” he said huskily. “Besides, we have to have some fun.”

  There was a hint of censure in her gaze. “There are many less violent means of having fun.”

  “I find myself in complete agreement, angel.” With a deliberate motion he rolled his hips upward, a smile touching his lips as she gave a soft gasp. “Would you like me to demonstrate?”

  “I think you’ve done quite enough demonstrating,” she warned, although her body didn’t seem to agree.

  In fact, she reacted with a ready passion as he slowly began to thrust at a steady pace.

  “Never enough,” he whispered. “I will never have enough of you, angel.”

  “Styx…”

  Whatever she was about to say was lost as he abruptly rolled her onto her back and covered her with his body.

  Eventually dawn would arrive and he would have to sleep to recover his strength.

  Until then he intended to fully enjoy this rare time alone with his beautiful prisoner.

  It was hours later before Darcy at last returned to her rooms and climbed into a hot tub to soak her weary body.

  She was sore, but it was the sweetest sort of pain.

  Sweet and rather frightening.

  Closing her eyes as she floated in the vast tub, Darcy heaved a faint sigh.

  It wasn’t that she was frightened of Styx, although he could be unnerving when he wanted. It was more her own reactions that made her a bit squirmy.

  Great sex was one thing. Something never to be taken for granted or dismissed lightly. But the past few hours with Styx had gone way beyond great sex.

  Cuddled in his arms she had felt cherished in a way she had never before experienced. As if she had been more than just a warm body and convenient blood donor. As if they had been connected beyond the mere flesh.

  As if… as if she weren’t quite so alone in the world.

  Disturbed by her thoughts, Darcy briskly scrubbed herself clean before leaving the tub and thankfully pulling on her own jeans and comfortable sweatshirt.

  It was a relief to have her clothes. A sense of familiarity in very unfamiliar surroundings.

  After brushing her teeth and running a comb through her hair, she headed back downstairs. Her life had always been far too hectic to allow for much primping. She was a low-maintenance sort of gal.

  Which suited her just fine.

  The sun had set by the time she entered the kitchen, but there was no sign of anyone stirring. No doubt the Ravens were scurrying through the tunnels to ensure nothing was allowed to sneak up on their master, and Levet would be scouring the woods in search of wild game.

  Ick.

  Thankfully her own dinner had been left by the housekeeper. A truly gifted woman who had managed a tofu stir-fry that melted in Darcy’s mouth.

  Perhaps when she had enough money to open her health food store she could lure the woman away from Viper, she thought. A few shelves of prepared meals that tasted like this would bring in customers from all over the city.

  After polishing off her dinner, Darcy washed the dishes and then aimlessly wandered toward the solarium. Although she had lived alone most of her life, she found the vastness of the house increased her sense of isolation.

  Or perhaps she was simply becoming too accustomed to Styx’s companionship.

  A dangerous thought.

  Firmly shaking off the flutter of panic, she entered the solarium and moved to tend to her recovering plants. She had no need of a gorgeous, aggravating vampire to give her life meaning.

  If she had learned nothing else in the past thirty years it was that she had to depend on herself to find fulfillment.

  Humming beneath her breath, she spritzed the plants with water and gently plucked off a handful of wilting leaves. She was just considering the necessity of pruning her overgrown fern when a sound behind her had her abruptly whirling in surprise.

  Her surprise only deepened as she watched the slender woman with long black hair, oddly bronzed skin, and golden eyes walk toward her.

  The stranger was stunningly beautiful, but even to her untrained eye she sensed that she was something other than human.

  Not a vampire. But something.

  Coming to a halt directly before Darcy, the woman slowly smiled and any unease at her less than human status was forgotten.

  There was an entire world of kindness in that smile.

  “Am I disturbing you?” she asked gently.

  “Not at all.” Darcy tilted her head to one side. “Are you a friend of Styx?”

  “Not precisely. I’m Shay, and you must be Darcy.”

  “Shay.” It took a moment before Darcy’s eyes widened with recognition. “Viper’s… mate?”

  The woman chuckled at her hesitant tone. “Yes, for my sins.”

  Darcy wasn’t certain why she was caught off guard. Shay was certainly lovely enough to have captured the elegant vampire’s attention. But there was something earthy and warm about the woman. Viper… well, not so much.

  At the thought of the silver-haired vampire Darcy clapped her hand to her mouth.

  “Oh, you shouldn’t be here.”

  Shay gave a lift of her brow. “I shouldn’t?”

  “I know this is your house, but I think this solarium was supposed to be a surprise.”

  The woman laughed as she glanced around the beautiful room. “Viper isn’t nearly as sly as he believes he is. I’ve known for weeks that he was planning this.” She returned her attention to Darcy with a wink and a smile. “Still, I won’t tell him if you don’t. Men can be so sensitive when they think they’re being clever.”

  Darcy couldn’t help but return the smile. “I won’t say a word.”

  Shay moved to settle on a padded bench. “I hope that you’re comfortable here. Well, as comfortable as you can be, considering that you’re being held against your will.” She gave a tug on the long braid that had fallen over her shoulder. “Someday I’m going to plant a stake in Styx’s heart regardless if he’s the bloody Anasso or not.”

  “The Anasso?” Darcy questioned.

  “Master of all vampires.” Shay rolled her eyes. “And doesn’t he just know it.”

  “He does have a certain arrogance about him,” Darcy admitted.

  “A certain arrogance? Ha! He could write the book on cold-blooded pride.”

  A frown touched Darcy’s brow. Granted Styx had taken her captive. And he could be aloof and distant at times. But she also knew that he possessed wonderful qualities that he kept hidden from most.

  “He takes his responsibilities very seriously. Perhaps too seriously at times,” she said in a quiet tone. “But, he can be quite kind and gentle once you get to know him.”

  Her guest gave a choked cough, but seeming to sense Darcy’s dislike in speaking ill of Styx, she managed a faint smile.

  “I’ll have to take your word on that.”

  “If you’re here to see him I’m afraid he hasn’t yet risen.”

  “Actually, I’m here to see you.”

  “Me?”

  “Viper told me all about you and I just had to come and meet you for myself,” Shay explained.

  Darcy grimaced, remembering her brief, but tense confrontation with the vampire. “I can imagine what he said. He didn’t seem overly fond of me.”

  “Actually he was quite impressed.”

  “I find that hard to believe. He seemed convinced that I intended to slay Styx the moment his back was turned.”

  Shay gave a rueful lift of her hands. “He’s just concerned with his Anasso. The vampires are all quite protective of him.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Darcy retorted dryly.

  “Yes, I suppose you have.” Shay gave a small laugh as she rose and paced toward the plants that Darcy had set on the wooden shelves. There was
a restless energy that seemed to crackle about her slender form. “Are these yours?”

  “Yes.” Darcy moved to stand at her side. “I hope you don’t mind me taking over your solarium, but I was worried about them being alone in my apartment.”

  “Of course I don’t mind.” The woman reached out to lightly touch an African violet. “You obviously have a green thumb.”

  “I enjoy plants.”

  “So do I, but somehow I always end up killing every thing I touch.” Shay turned to regard Darcy with her odd, golden gaze. “Maybe I can hire you after the solarium is finished. I’ll need someone to keep me from committing vegetative mass murder.”

  Darcy smiled. “I wouldn’t say no. I’m always looking for jobs.”

  “Viper said you are a bartender?”

  “Among many things,” she readily admitted. “I never finished high school so I take what I can get.”

  “You’re alone in the world?” Shay asked gently.

  “Yes.”

  “So was I for many, many years. It’s…” The golden eyes darkened with a pain that was only now beginning to heal.

  “Lonely?” Darcy finished, with a sad smile.

  “Lonely and frightening.” Shay gave a shake of her head, as if clearing her dark thoughts. Then quite unexpectedly, she reached out to take Darcy’s hand in her own. “Do you mind?”

  “Do I mind what?” Darcy demanded.

  “Viper tells me that you think you might have demon blood. I’m half Shalott, which allows me to detect most sorts of otherworldlies. I might be able to tell you some thing of your heritage.”

  Darcy hesitated for a long moment. She didn’t truly believe the woman could help her discover the secrets of her past. Not even if she was a demon.

  Still, it seemed somehow rude not to allow her to try.

  “What are you going to do?” she at last demanded.

  Shay wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry, but I need to smell you.”

  Smell me? Jeez. What is it with these people?

  “All right,” she warily agreed.

  The demon lifted Darcy’s hand to her nose and sniffed deeply of her skin. And sniffed, and sniffed, and sniffed again.

  It seemed to be a demon thing.

  “Strange.” The woman dropped Darcy’s hand and stepped back with a confused expression. “I would swear…”

  “What?”

  “There is the faintest hint of werewolf,” Shay confessed.

  Darcy threw her hands in the air. “For God’s sake, I’ve taken two showers and a bath since I was near Salvatore. Do I have to boil myself in bleach?”

  “You were with a Were?”

  “Only for a few moments and he barely touched me.”

  Shay chewed her lip as she pondered Darcy’s words. “That could be it.”

  “You don’t sound very certain.”

  “I’m not, which is very odd.” The woman heaved a deep sigh. “I’m sorry; I hoped I would be of some help.”

  Darcy instinctively reached out to touch her hand. “It was very kind of you to come here and try. I do appreciate it.”

  “I had to come.” Her eyes darkened. “I know, Darcy. I really, truly know what it’s like to be different, to have to isolate yourself from others in the fear they might discover the truth, to always wonder if you will ever feel safe.”

  Darcy smiled gently. She felt an unexpected connection with this woman. A kinship that warmed her heart.

  “You do know.” She gave Shay’s Fingers a small squeeze. “But you’re happy now.”

  Shay blinked, as if startled by Darcy’s perception. “Yes.”

  “I am too. Happy. I mean,” she assured the demon. “It took a while, but I’ve discovered that life is very precious, even when it’s difficult. It would be very wrong not to appreciate each day that is given me.”

  A silence filled the solarium before a smile chased away Shay’s dark expression. “Viper was right; you are impressive.”

  Darcy waved aside the ridiculous words. “Most people think I’m a freak, but that’s okay.”

  “Most people are idiots,” Shay readily retorted. “And since I’m a genuine freak myself, I think we should get along just fine.”

  Darcy thought so too.

  For the first time in her entire life she was surrounded by those she didn’t have to hide her true self from.

  She didn’t have to lie or pretend or concentrate on her continual charade of being normal.

  It was… peaceful, she realized with a flare of surprise.

  An odd feeling considering she was being held prisoner by a vampire and hunted by a pack of werewolves.

  Ah, well.

  It was one more strange adventure in a lifetime of strangeness.

  Chapter Nine

  Styx awoke alone.

  Nothing new in that.

  He had been waking alone for endless years. All of them without the least amount of regret.

  Vampires were not by nature an intimate race. They formed clans for protection more than any need for a family, and while friends might be willing to kill for one another, they rarely felt the need to seek out one another for simple companionship.

  On this evening, however, Styx discovered himself downright grumpy as he rolled to the side and found the bed empty.

  By the gods, this was wrong.

  Darcy should be in his arms. Her warmth should be cloaked about him, and her scent filling the room with her sweetness.

  Why had she left him?

  It was something he intended to discover.

  After taking a swift shower and tying his hair back with a leather band, he pulled on a robe and went in search of the woman who was consuming far too many of his thoughts.

  It didn’t take long.

  He was a vampire and he’d had Dairy’s blood. The moment he climbed the stairs and entered the hallway he could sense her behind the door of the solarium.

  As he walked down the hallway to join her, Styx allowed a small smile to touch his lips.

  Thank goodness there were no Ravens about. Styx was not a demon who often smiled. Nor did he rush to be in the company of a mere human. His servants would no doubt fear he had gone mad.

  And perhaps they would be right, he ruefully acknowledged.

  As he neared the door, his smile abruptly faded at the unmistakable odor of gargoyle.

  “Damn,” he breathed as Levet waddled from the shadows and offered what could only be described as a smirk.

  “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” the gargoyle taunted, with a twitch of his tail. “Not if you value your… er… valuables.”

  “Why?” Styx stepped forward, his expression grim. “Has something happened to Darcy?”

  “She is fine,” Levet said hastily, no doubt smelling death in the air. “But she is currently occupied.”

  “Occupied?” Styx tilted back his head to sniff the air. His expression didn’t ease as he caught the familiar scent. “The Shalott.”

  “Yes.” The smirk returned to the ugly gray face. “And Shay isn’t at all pleased with you.”

  Styx shrugged. Shay was a long way from forgiving him for torturing Viper and attempting to sacrifice her to the Anasso.

  Go Figure.

  “And when is she ever pleased with me?” he demanded.

  “Never.”

  Levet appeared inordinately smug at Shay’s smoldering dislike for Styx and his Ravens. A dangerous expression considering Styx’s grumpy mood had just become categorically foul.

  The noble part of him wanted to be pleased that Darcy was with a companion who would intimately empathize with her. They were both part demon, and both alone in the world. Or at least Shay had been alone until Viper had mated her.

  Who better to reassure Darcy that the world of the supernatural was not as terrifying as she might fear. And more importantly, that being supernatural wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

  The far less noble part of him wanted to toss Shay off her own estate before sh
e could manage to poison Darcy against him.

  “How long has she been here?”

  “For the past hour or so. They seem to be quite taken with one another.”

  “Good,” he gritted, wanting nothing more than to wipe that evil smile from the tiny demon’s lips.

  “Good?” Levet gave a small laugh. “You’re not afraid that Shay will convince your beauty to stick a stake in your back?”

  Styx shrugged at the deliberate taunt. It was true enough that he made it an unshakable rule to trust no one but his Ravens. And possibly Viper.

  Suspicion and paranoia were a vampire’s best friends when it came to staying alive.

  But despite his instinctive wariness, he wouldn’t believe that Darcy could ever be a threat. She might possess incredible courage and a will of iron, but there was tenderness to her soul that couldn’t be faked.

  “Darcy is far too gentle to harm anyone,” he said with absolute certainty. “Even me.”

  The evil smile faded as Levet heaved a small, disappointed sigh. There would be no vampire staking today.

  “I must admit you have me there. She isn’t at all like a demon. Or a human, for that matter.”

  Styx gave a lift of his brows. “Have you managed to determine what she is?”

  “She is demon; there is no doubt about that.” A hint of annoyance entered Levet’s tone. He didn’t like not being able to determine Darcy’s ancestry. It was an insult to his gargoyle powers. “But it is as if it is somehow masked by her humanity.”

  Styx leaned forward to peer directly into the gray eyes. He wasn’t above using the gargoyle’s own insatiable curiosity against him.

  “Salvatore possesses the truth.”

  “The Were?”

  “Yes.”

  The gargoyle frowned, clearly sensing he was being manipulated. “He has already kicked your ass once. Do you truly wish to embarrass yourself again?”

  Styx gave a low hiss. Few would dare remind him of such a humiliating loss.

  “Any fool can shoot a crossbow while cowering at a distance. It was nothing more than a lucky shot.”

  Levet appeared stunningly unconvinced. “If you say.”

  “Very well, I am clearly incapable of outwitting the Were.” Styx controlled his temper with an effort and even managed a cold smile. “You, on the other hand, my friend, possess the extraordinary skills and intelligence necessary to make Salvatore appear a fool.”