Dark Alpha's Embrace (8 page)

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before,” Jordyn said with a laugh. “Just tell Baylon what you’d like.”

River carried the apple as she ate the croissant on the way to the library. They had a lot to do and only a little time to do it.

She settled back in the chair from the night before and looked at the books spread out on the table. Thirty books with different stories, each in a long-forgotten Fae language, and each with something in the pages that could help them.

“Do you remember reading anything about the Netherworld?” Baylon asked.

River looked up to find him at the doorway. “Yes. It’s mentioned at least once in each of the books. Some just speak of it in passing. Something like the way humans would talk about Hell. The way it’s worded, sometimes it seems as if they expected whoever was reading the books to know a lot.”

“And in others?” Jordyn asked.

River pointed to the book in dark green leather. “In that one, there’s an entire chapter devoted to it. It speaks about the horrors of the Netherworld. About how all Fae are terrified of that place.”

Baylon moved into the cavern and picked up the book she spoke of. “Did any make mention of escaping?”

“No.”

Jordyn sank into her chair with a sigh. “If you can get into a place, then you can get out.”

“That was my thought,” River said.

But Baylon was shaking his head. “The Netherworld is a prison.”

“People break out of prisons all the time,” River stated.

Jordyn made a face. “This is getting us nowhere fast. Who made the Netherworld?”

“No one made it. It just came into being like the rest of the universe,” Baylon explained.

River finished her croissant and dusted off her hands. “Who decided to make it into a prison?”

At this, Baylon shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Death probably,” Jordyn said.

River leaned up, grabbed the green leather book, and flipped the pages to look for the chapter on the Netherworld.

“Do you really remember all that you read?” Baylon asked.

She glanced up at him. “You’re Fae, and you actually sound surprised at the idea of that.”

“I am,” he admitted.

“You shouldn’t be. I don’t recall all of it word for word. Some pieces stuck with me while others didn’t. The Netherworld intrigued me, because you could read the fear each family had of it in the written words.”

Jordyn tucked one leg under her. “You must remember a lot, because you know what’s in each book.”

“I couldn’t recite the books front to back, no. You must understand that before I could read, I heard the stories. Once I learned to read, I devoured the books as often as I could.”

Baylon leaned a hip against the table. “How often was that?”

“Up until I was thirteen, it was once, maybe twice a year. I used to beg to see Aunt Maureen more. She loved having me there, and my parents adored her. It wasn’t that far to see her, so I never understood why we didn’t visit more. Until she was killed, and I learned the truth. Every time I visited, I put her at risk.”

Jordyn’s smile was sad as she caught River’s eye. “Apparently your aunt felt the risk was great enough.”

“It killed her.”

Baylon stood, his silver gaze direct and unflinching. “The risks she took to teach you would’ve killed her eventually. She lived far longer than any of your other family.”

“Yes.” That was true. And River would probably live longer than Aunt Maureen.

Jordyn cleared her throat. “Do you have any kids?”

“No. And before you ask, I don’t plan to. This ends with me.” River looked from Jordyn to Baylon. “No one else will have to suffer.”

“You can’t be the only one who wanted this,” Baylon said.

River looked away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kyran and Fintan appear. “My aunt and her two sisters vowed to end it.”

“But your line continued.” Jordyn frowned. “How?”

River picked up the apple and turned it in her hand. “Maureen’s youngest sister, Mary, was gang-raped. They took her one night and kept her for a week. By the time Maureen and the family found her, Mary had lost her mind. She had to be committed.”

“Damn,” Fintan murmured.

“After my mother was born, Mary somehow got ahold of a razor and slit her wrists. She died before the Dark could kill her.”

Kyran ran a hand down his face.

River knew exactly how he felt. It was her family, and yet there were times she could barely take it all in. “My mother was raised by my great-grandmother and Michelle, the middle sister.”

“Not Maureen?” Jordyn asked.

River smiled as she thought of her great-aunt. “She was the one to initially take my mother to raise. I don’t know how it was decided or why, but Maureen left the family here in Scotland and moved to Ireland.”

“Smack in the middle of the Fae,” Baylon said.

Jordyn made a face. “Not something I’d have done.”

“But a perfect place to hide. They didn’t look for her there. Between that and hiding her beauty, Maureen was able to watch my mother grow and learn her heritage from her family.”

Kyran caught her gaze. “When were Michelle and your great-grandmother killed?”

“The day after my mother’s thirteenth birthday.” River didn’t know what the significance of thirteen was other than puberty. They were too young to survive on their own.

“Did your mother know the family history?” Jordyn asked.

River nodded. “Of course.”

“But she had a child,” Fintan said. “Why would she continue the line?”

She wistfully thought of her parents. So carefree, so naïve. “My father convinced Mum that if they didn’t speak of it to me, then the Fae would leave us alone. If I wasn’t taught, then how could it be passed on?”

“But you went to Maureen’s,” Baylon argued.

“Yes.” River set aside the apple, no longer able to think about eating. “That was Mum’s doing. In her heart, she knew I had to learn. If she couldn’t teach me, then she would make sure Maureen could. She kept it from Dad. He thought Maureen was from my grandfather’s side.”

Fintan’s white eyes focused on her. “Whatever woman decided not to have children must have been persuaded—or forced—in some way. The same could happen to you.”

“Why do you think I’ve taken such precautions to stay hidden?” River asked. She stood, the book in hand. “You laughed at my clothes before, but believe it or not, they helped.”

She watched as Fintan’s gaze slowly ran down her body from the sweater that gently hugged her to the jeans that conformed becomingly against her legs. When he looked back into her eyes, she saw desire in his gaze.

“It’s not just the clothes,” Jordyn said. “It’s the hair, the glasses, and the attitude. You were still pretty though few noticed. Dressed are you are now, everyone would be looking.”

“Aye,” Kyran said.

River’s gaze slid to him. She wondered what he thought of her change in clothes. If he desired her, he hid it well—unlike Fintan.

While Fintan said and did whatever he wanted, not caring how it affected others, Kyran was like a caged beast. Waiting for the time he could escape and decimate everything around him.

Why then was it Kyran she found herself attracted to? Why was it him she wanted to look at her as if he could devour her with one kiss? Why was it him that she yearned to have claim her?

She looked for him when he wasn’t in the room. She sought him out when he was. How? Why? She managed to stay away from guys after she graduated school in nearly every capacity. Why was this happening now?

“Oh crap,” Jordyn said. “I left my laptop in our chamber. I need to get it.”

River didn’t move as both Jordyn and Baylon left. A moment later, Fintan turned on his heel and walked away. Leaving her alone with Kyran.

He moved around the table and came to stand in front of her. “You’ve suffered a great deal.”

“My family has suffered.”

“Aye. Now everything is on your shoulders. It’s a heavy burden, but you carry it well.”

River turned her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want it. Nor will I put this on another’s shoulders. It will end with me.”

“Aye,” he whispered.

She looked to find him within inches of her. His red gaze was hooded and focused on her mouth. Her heart skipped a beat when his finger caressed her jaw with the softest of touches.

“It will end,” he vowed, his red eyes meeting hers. His head lowered slowly, almost as if he wasn’t sure if he should.

River lifted her face, both eager for the kiss and frightened of where it might lead. Then she looked into his eyes. That’s when she saw it, there in his gaze.

“You know who’s been killing my family.”

A mask fell over his face as he took a step back. “I do.”

“Who is it? Is it the same one who began this whole mess?”

He gave a firm shake of his head. “Nay, but after I have a talk with them, their attacks on you and your family will end.”

Chapter Ten

Cael strode through the jungle of flowers. He didn’t carefully pick his way through as he usually did. This time he didn’t care if he pissed off Death—because he was too furious.

The white tower rose toward the clouds, the sunlight nearly blinding. Bees buzzed, birds chirped, the breeze rustled the leaves.

But he heard none of it.

He reached the tower and tried the metal handle. It didn’t budge. If Cael thought he could break through the oak door, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But it was fortified by Death’s magic. Nothing was getting through that Death didn’t want.

Cael took a few steps back and looked up. He saw the shutters open high above him. “You can’t keep me out forever.”

“Of course I can,” came the soft reply behind him.

He whirled around and came face-to-face with Death. One of the fiercest creatures in the universe only reached as high as his shoulders. Death wasn’t a skeleton or even a man.

Death was a woman.

She blinked at him with eyes a soft shade of lavender. Long, thick black lashes framed the unusual hue. Wide lips, full and alluring, didn’t tilt up in a smile—though that wasn’t out of the norm.

Hair as black as pitch fell past a slim waist to narrow hips. An onyx silk gown encased a figure that made his hands ache to touch. The skirt was full, as typical, with crimson edging the trim. It faded to black, mixing with the black.

He held Death’s gaze, waiting. It wouldn’t do any good to argue. Because Death never lost.

“Let me inside,” he said between clenched teeth.

Erith sighed. She turned her head to the side when a dragonfly circled her face, the sunlight glinting off its iridescent wings.

She held out her hand, and the dragonfly alit upon her palm. To his shock, Cael saw her lips tilt up in a smile. In all the thousands of years he’d known her, not once had he seen such.

As if she realized she wasn’t alone, the grin disappeared. A moment later, the dragonfly flew away. Erith slid her gaze to him. “I don’t want to beat the information out of Seamus, Cael. I want to flip him to our side.”

“He ventured into the Netherworld for Bran. Seamus isn’t going to switch sides so easily.”

Death’s head cocked to the side. “I can be very … persuasive … when needed.”

Without a doubt he knew that to be true. It only took one look for males of all species to want her. It was one of the reasons Erith kept to her own realm where no one dared to venture.

All across the universe, Death was feared. And she used it to her advantage.

“I need to see him.” The bastard needed to be gutted several times over for releasing Bran back into the world.

Death closed the distance between them and laid her palm on his chest. “Calm your anger.”

Cael stared down at her in shock. The only other time she touched him was when he became a Reaper. Erith always kept her distance from anyone and anything. Yet she was touching him now.

He could feel the warmth of her hand through his shirt, sinking into his skin. Though he couldn’t discern any magic being used, his anger began to fade.

She was so close he could see the dark purple encircling her irises. He could smell the scent of the flowers she loved so much clinging to her, as if they needed her almost as much as …

Cael didn’t finish the thought. He couldn’t.

Erith lowered her gaze to the ground before she dropped her arm. She then stepped around him. The door of the tower opened as she approached.

He turned, watching her. He drank in every moment with her, because it might be a millennia before he saw her again. Seeing her, talking to her always affected him deeply. She had no idea how acutely he coveted every morsel of time with her.

Nor would she.

Cael’s gaze followed the flow of her hair down her back, itching to touch a lock. He kept his hands to himself and observed how the train of her gown floated upon the air, inches from the ground.

Cael took a deep breath and slowly released it. Erith then paused as she began to ascend the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at him and gave a nod.

He strode inside the tower, taking the stairs three at a time to catch her. Halfway up, the sound of the tower door closing reached him.

“Don’t say a word,” Erith ordered Cael when she reached the fourth landing.

Cael flashed her a smile. “I always behave myself.”

Her gaze cut him a baleful look before she touched the door with her palm. It swung open without a sound. Erith’s chin lifted as she proceeded into the chamber.

Cael peered inside, not at all sure what he might find. He’d seen Death’s mercy. He’d witnessed her anger. And he’d beheld her vengeance. The one thing he wasn’t ever sure of was Death’s mood.

He walked into the chamber to see it looked like a guest room one would find at a mortal’s home. Cael remained by the door as Erith moved to the window where Seamus sat with his back to Cael, staring out over the beautiful sea of flowers below.

There was more silver in the Dark’s hair than black, which told Cael how much evil Seamus had done in his lifetime. Seamus wasn’t tied to the chair or otherwise bound. He held a mug of tea in one hand, sipping at his leisure.

Just what was Death about?

“I’ve learned more about you, Seamus.” Erith stood beside the window, her gaze directed outside as well.