He posed a question. “But how often have you acted on it?” He held out his hand in front of him, closed it tightly then opened it as a small flower began to grow. “This flower does not choose to be planted, it simply is. What would happen, do you think, if the flower decided it wanted to be planted elsewhere, if it demanded of its creator to be given an entirely new occupation, a new existence, and this creator, in his divine love for this flower… allowed it.”
“The flower…” I swallowed even though my mouth had gone dry. “Not knowing the dangers of life, could ask to be planted in the water, on a hill without sunshine, the flower could die, the chances are, the flower will die—if left to its own devices.”
“Yet.” Sariel held up his hand. “It’s allowed… because one cannot truly love something yet keep it in a safe little box. That is not love. Love does not hold back, it allows us to fall, to break, and yes Cassius, sometimes, it even allows us to die.”
“You’re not making me feel better.”
“I never was good at these sorts of talks.” A foreign chuckle escaped between his lips and closed his hands. “I see many futures for you. I also am purposefully blinded from several outcomes. But I will tell you this. If she does not learn to control the Darkness, if you do not help her, she will kill you. And I will have no choice but to help her, or she will destroy herself in the process.”
I sucked in a breath. “You’d help her kill me?”
“To save the girl you love? To save your mate? What would you have me do, let you both die?”
“No.”
“Then you have your answer.” He nodded curtly. “You’ve had centuries of practice. She’s had a week, and if she’s not careful, she’ll get drunk on the power, she’ll allow it to consume her, you realize how the Darkness calls… it never screams your name.” He leaned in close his eyes turning black. “It whispers.”
Stephanie
SLEEPING NEXT TO CASSIUS still felt forbidden, like someone was going to barge into our room and yell. Or like Alex was going to ground me, which was just ridiculous! I was a grown woman.
But still. I could see him trying it.
I only needed around six hours of sleep, and even then I could go days without rest, but Cassius, I’d learned, had turned into one of those over-protective boyfriend types.
When I told him I wanted to stay up and watch movies with Genesis, he picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and ran up the stairs with me. And when I tried to pull his shirt off, he lightly slapped my hands and told me to rest.
I didn’t even realize I was tired until my eyes were too heavy to keep open, why was I suddenly exhausted? I knew Dark Ones rarely slept. Maybe it was just the day.
“Sleep,” he’d kissed my forehead, and then lain down next to me.
I glanced at the clock.
Four in the morning.
Ethan would probably be up soon, Vampires liked to be up with the sun, and Mason had suddenly developed a horrible habit of baking first thing in the morning so that when Genesis woke up she was able to have a warm muffin to ease her morning sickness.
With a sigh, I tossed and turned, then finally got comfortable enough to close my eyes and nestle into Cassius’s strong arms.
Sleep again overwhelmed me as the blackness of the room swirled around me in… warmth.
I didn’t think I missed the warmth.
Until now.
“Cold?” a voice whispered.
I blinked open my eyes but all I saw was darkness. Was I dreaming? I felt the bed for Cassius. He was still next to me but I couldn’t see him.
“I can make you warm.” The voice chuckled. “Shall I start a fire? For both of us?”
“What?” I reached out in front of me, unable to even see my hand. “Who are you?”
“Darkness,” it hissed.
I would have laughed if my body hadn’t chilled in that very moment and then, nearly wept with the rightness of it. “Darkness, you say?”
“I am Darkness. Your other half. Hello.”
Did it just say hello?
Frowning, I reached out this time, my fingers came into contact with something, the Darkness rippled in front of me, and then like a mirage, the Darkness turned into a face. The beautiful face of a man. He grinned. “Come a little closer.”
I tried, but my feet felt like they were stuck to the ground.
“Mated.” He shook his head. “That is unfortunate for you. If you were free to choose me, I’d make you warm. Now, you must stay cold. Grounded.”
Black feathers surrounded his shoulders, attached in weird haphazard ways all around his muscled body. “Now, if he was gone… you would be mine.”
The idea thrilled me, but I had no idea why.
“I’m extremely powerful…” His eyes became pensive. “All you have to do is embrace the power…” He shrugged. “The power in every Dark One…”
“Cassius, he has this power too?” I asked.
“For a while.” The man shrugged. “He used it for a while, but his friends–” He spat the word. “–brought him back.”
Confused, I tried to search for something familiar, but the room was still blanketed in black and the man in front of me was growing by the minute. “One day… one day you will call upon me in your time of need. Then, I’ll prove my loyalty. And then, we’ll be together.”