When Darkness Ends (12 page)

She'd been brought to this world for a reason. And the attack on Cyn only stiffened her determination. The mysterious enemy now knew they had been spotted. It was very likely they would step up their pressure on the Commission to complete the spell.

She had to discover who was responsible before it was too late.

That duty was greater than any contract her father signed.

“I can't return,” she said, her voice low but steady.

“You are my fiancée.” The words were cold, clipped. “You will do as I say.”

His power beat against her, but Fallon squared her shoulders, refusing to be intimidated.

“Not this time.”

Magnus went rigid, his nose flaring. “You dare to defy me?”

Was that what she was doing?

Fallon gave a sad grimace, staring at the man who was supposed to be her life partner. She'd never been foolish enough to believe that he actually cared about her as a woman, but she assumed he would at least be concerned about her as an investment.

“You haven't even asked how I got here. Or if I've been harmed,” she pointed out, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Or if I want to return.”

With a sharp motion Magnus turned to the side, almost as if he were trying to disguise his reaction to her soft chastisement.

Which was ridiculous.

The prince believed himself omnipotent. He couldn't possibly feel guilt.

“I see your short time in this world has already started to corrupt you.” He proved her point with his stark chastisement. “The sooner you are back in your father's palace the better.”

She heaved a sigh. “I told you that I can't leave. The Oracles have commanded my service.”

“The Commission has no authority over the Chatri.”

“Maybe not.” Fallon had no knowledge of the hierarchy between her people and the Oracles. To be honest, she didn't care. This was about saving lives, not playing political games. “The danger this world faces might eventually threaten our people as well.”

He turned back with a frown. “What danger?”

“I'm not allowed to say.”

There was a silence, almost as if the prince was actually intrigued by her demand to stay. Then his expression was wiped clean, his inner thoughts hidden by his mask of royal superiority.

“I will not argue with you,” he informed her. “Either you return with me now or you can consider our marriage contract null and void.”

Fallon was stunned. She'd expected him to be angry. To even try to bully her into returning with him.

But never to end their contract.

He'd bartered for years with Sariel to earn the right to marry her. His House had spent a fortune to celebrate their coming union, gloating in their elevated social status and inscribing Fallon onto their family tree with Magnus's blood.

They would be horrified to be publically demoted.

Of course, their humiliation would be nothing compared to hers. A woman who was jilted by her fiancé not only lost the protection of her lover, but her own family. It was the ultimate insult.

And all because she'd refused to obey his command?

Surely not even Magnus could be so cruel?

She studied his handsome face, noticing the way he refused to directly meet her gaze. He was hiding something from her. Something that was pushing him to cause this break between them.

But what?

She was the last princess that was unwed. There was no other female Chatri who could offer him more.

“You”—she licked her dry lips, wondering if this was just an empty threat—“wouldn't do that.”

“The choice is yours.” There was no compromise. “Return with me now or risk becoming a pariah among your own people.”

Fallon hesitated.

She didn't love this man. And the last thing she wanted was to be his wife. But the thought of being treated as an outcast for the rest of her life was horrifying.

Was she truly willing to sacrifice her position, her reputation, and her father's respect to help a world that wasn't her home?

For a heartbeat she wavered.

It would be so easy to give in to Magnus's demands. She could return home and live the life that had been expected of her. No fuss, no muss.

And no happiness.

Or she could stay and risk losing everything.

Then she caught sight of Cyn standing as rigid as a statue in the doorway and her decision was made.

“No.”

The soft refusal hung in the air, seeming to pulse there before it shattered the fragile bond that had been forced between her and Magnus by a toxic combination of family and duty and pride.

The refusal captured the prince's full attention. For a long moment he studied her pale face, something that might have been regret at last flaring through the cognac eyes.

“Fallon—”

“You heard her,” Cyn growled, moving to stand at Fallon's side.

“Stay out of this, vampire,” Magnus snapped, angling his body so he could keep an eye on both Cyn and the King of Vampires who joined them in the hallway.

Cyn pulled back his lips to reveal his fangs. Not that he needed the lethal display. The icy flood of his power was already causing the floor to tremble beneath their feet.

“You have your answer. Now leave,” he told the prince.

Magnus held Fallon's gaze, his expression unreadable. “You understand what this means?”

She did.

And it made her heart break.

Perhaps sensing her pain, Cyn stepped toward Magnus, his hands clenching as if he was considering the pleasure of punching the intruder.

“Time to leave, you pompous prick.”

“I am happy to leave.” Magnus offered a mocking bow, his gaze never leaving Fallon's pale face. “Your father will no doubt wish to speak to you once he learns of your reckless disregard for his position. If nothing else, he will need you at his side when he publicly shuns you.”

Without warning, Styx had reached out to grab Magnus's arm.

“Sariel isn't going to know about this,” he warned, his expression grim. “At least not yet.”

Magnus gave a low hiss, his honey tinted skin glowing as he allowed his power to flow through his body.

“This is not your concern.”

“Tough,” Styx snarled, pointing a finger directly into the prince's handsome face. “This is what's going to happen. You're taking me back to my lair and then you're staying there with your mouth shut until the Oracles get their shit together and I can either kick you out or kill you.”

Magnus narrowed his gaze, but shockingly he kept his power firmly leashed. He didn't even fight against the vampire's grip.

Weird. Very weird.

“You are not my king,” he muttered.

“No, but I can promise you that Sariel won't be pleased to discover you've made an enemy of the Commission,” Styx said. “Now let's go.”

“This will not be forgotten.” Magnus lifted his hand, but instead of sending a bolt of energy toward the Anasso as Fallon dreaded, he instead formed a portal and led Styx into the opening.

“You owe me, amigo,” Styx warned Cyn before he abruptly disappeared with Magnus.

 

 

Cyn remained silent as Fallon took an instinctive step toward the spot where her fiancé had just disappeared.

Rage ripped through him.

He wanted to yank her into his arms. To kiss her until her pale cheeks were flushed and he'd replaced the scent of the damned fairy prince with his own. Territorial? Hell, yes.

Unfortunately he couldn't risk touching her. Not when he continued to vibrate with the savage need to tear apart the male who had dared to try to take her away.

Instead he was forced to watch her stand in the center of the hallway, her golden hair tumbled around her shoulders and her amber eyes wide with a distress that sliced through his heart.

She looked like a lost waif.

It was . . . unbearable.

He stepped to stand close enough to feel her intoxicating heat wrap around him, easing the frigid fury that had nearly sent him over the edge.

“Fallon?”

“He's playing his own game,” she said, her voice distracted.

Cyn didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't that.

“Who's playing a game?” he demanded.

“My ex-fiancé.” She gave a slow shake of her head. “Styx is powerful, but Magnus possesses the magic of royals.”

Belatedly Cyn recalled Roke telling him about Sariel's ability to fry the Nebule demon to a gooey tar. He'd said that it'd destroyed everything in its path. He'd also admitted that it was a talent that his mate, Sally, had inherited.

It'd never occurred to him that Fallon might have the same dangerous power.

Bloody hell, he was lucky not to be a smudge on the floor.

“The burst of light?” he asked.

“Yes.” Her expression remained absent, as if she was pondering some deep thought. “It's lethal to most demons.”

“He's not stupid.” Cyn shrugged. Magnus might have all sorts of fairy magic, but it wouldn't protect him if he harmed Styx. “If he'd killed the Anasso there would be nowhere he could hide from us. We would destroy him.”

She continued to study that empty spot where Magnus had disappeared. “Still, he could have used his magic to disable Styx long enough for him to escape. So why would he have let himself be forced back to the king's lair?” The question wasn't directed at him. Hell, he wasn't sure she was even aware he was around. “And why didn't he try to force me home? It was almost as if he was hoping I would break our engagement.”

A rational part of him knew that Fallon was right to be concerned if her prick of an ex-fiancé was acting out of character. But he wasn't in the mood to hear another word about the glorious, fucking golden prince.

He'd been to the edge of death, and before he could fully recover, he'd been driven into a berserker frenzy. Who could blame him for being a little twitchy?

“Is he a threat?” was the only thing he wanted to know.

“No.”

Satisfied, he crowded her against the wall, using his larger size to keep her trapped. “Then forget about him.”

He heard her breath catch in her throat, her heart thundering, but her expression remained troubled.

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

His fingers tangled in her hair, his voice coming out as a rough growl. “You told me that you didn't love him.”

“I don't.”

Something dangerous eased in his chest as he allowed his fingers to lightly stroke through the satin strands.

“Then why are you upset?”

“I'm going to be shunned.”

He grimaced. He didn't know the ins and outs of fairy society—thank God—but he did know that any demon would be traumatized at being disowned by their people. Even vampires who could be solitary creatures instinctively created clans. It wasn't just a need for protection, but a sense of belonging.

To have that torn away because she felt it was her duty to use her skills to halt a looming genocide must feel like the worst sort of betrayal.

Someday he intended to beat the shit out of Prince Magnus and King Sariel for daring to treat this exquisite creature with anything less than utter devotion. But for now he couldn't deny that their stupidity played directly into his hands.

“Does that mean you can't return to your homeland?” he asked, his fingers sliding from her hair to outline the faintly pointed tip of her ear.

She was such a fairy.

Licking her lips, Fallon visibly struggled to concentrate even as the warm scent of champagne drenched the air.

“I can return, but I will no longer be allowed to attend any social functions or to be seated with my family during meals. It will be . . . difficult.”

His hand glided down to cup her jaw so he could tilt back her head.

“Stay,” he said.

She stilled, an unmistakable yearning darkening her wide eyes before she was hurriedly trying to disguise her vulnerable reaction. Her life among the Chatri had taught her not to reveal her deepest desires.

“Don't be ridiculous.”

“Why is it ridiculous?”

“You've been trying to get rid of me since I—”

He brought an end to her argument by the simple process of covering her mouth with his own.

Bloody hell.

She was right. He should be encouraging her to kiss and make up with her stupid fiancé so she could return to fairyland. She was in danger here.

And if he was being brutally honest, he was doing a piss-poor job of protecting her.

But the mere thought of her leaving . . .

He shuddered, deepening the kiss as excitement exploded through him. Oh God, the taste of her. Honey. And sunshine. And pure female temptation.

He groaned, dipping his tongue into the moist heat of her mouth. She was addictive. Like a drug that had entered his system and filled him with a need that threatened to overwhelm him.

“Stay,” he whispered against her lips, his hands greedily exploring her long, slender curves.

She shivered, her hands tentatively pressing against his chest. “How can I?”

He nibbled at the edge of her lips, his hand slipping beneath the border of her lavender sweater. Instant arousal seared through him at the feel of her satin-smooth skin beneath his fingertips.

“Will you die if you don't return to your homeland?” he demanded, tracing her lower lip with the tip of his tongue.

His elongated fangs throbbed with the need to sink deep into the tender flesh, but he was careful not to accidentally draw blood. There's no way he would force a mating on her. Not after she'd nearly been manipulated into one by her bastard of a father.